WRPA's busy day features aviation presentation

VIENNA — The Western Reserve Port Authority is finishing a very busy meeting day, hearing a report from its air service consultant, approving economic development projects and participating in a ribbon cutting for the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics.

Mike Mooney of Denver, a partner in Volaire Aviation Consulting, gave a presentation on the extraordinary amount of competition in the ultra-low-cost airline business that entered the Northeast Ohio, Western Pennsylvania "triangle" around Youngstown in recent years.

VIDEO: Mike Mooney discussing focus of commercial air-service

It was that competition that caused Allegiant Air, which had operated at the local airport since 2006, to announce recently that it will end flights here in January, Mooney said.

He explained the airport's current focus on finding a "some sort of business-oriented air service, maybe to the East Coast, perhaps to the Washington, D.C., metro area" to replace Allegiant.

Meanwhile, the port authority's economic-development division and downtown Warren businessman Mark Marvin announced a collaboration in which the port authority will acquire the former SCOPE senior-citizen building on West Market Street downtown and a nearby vacant property on behalf of Marvin so that he can develop it into a riverfront attraction.

The city of Warren owns the property now. SCOPE will move to the YWCA building on North Park Avenue.