Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 26, 1991 TAG: 9102260257
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: MARGARET CAMLIN CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
In a 3-2 vote, the majority rejected Supervisor H.E. "Chunk" Neale's attempt to move forward with the study, which would have cost the county, Lexington and Buena Vista $2,400.
Petition signatures against the airport came from all corners of Rockbridge County - from Fancy Hill, where the airport earlier had been proposed, to Grassy Ridge, the newest proposed site.
Simply put, opponents do not feel the county needs an airport, especially with the Roanoke Regional Airport 50 minutes away. They believe it would disrupt the beauty and tranquility of the area, and end up costing the county too much.
Monday night's decision came as no surprise to William Cubbins, chairman of the now-defunct committee.
"The problem they have is all these people running around with petitions," said Cubbins.
He said the supervisors were too quick to react. "It's not a smart way to run government."
The continuing study had been requested by Cubbins, the Chamber of Commerce, Lexington city officials and leaders at Washington and Lee University and Virginia Military Institute.
The Federal Aviation Agency had extended a deadline to March 1 for the county to make up its mind.
The airport study came to a halt in September when the supervisors voted 3-2 against the Fancy Hill site. Only Neale and Supervisor Daniel Snider voted in favor, as they did Monday night.
Federal funds would have paid for 90 percent of the airport's construction and the state 5 percent. The county, Lexington and Buena Vista would have paid the other 5 percent.
The general aviation airport would have cost about $27 million. That price did not include hangars, fuel facilities and such operating expenses as clearing snow and moving grass.
Cubbins said the state would pay for most of the maintenance, such as keeping up the runways, lights and radio facilities.
"Even if it costs the county $10,000 a year to run an airport, what the county gets back is far in excess," Cubbins said, referring to new industries he believed an airport would bring.
But Stu Litvin, president of the Rockbridge Area Economic Development Commission, said he knows of only one industry that decided against moving to Lexington because there was no airport.
Manchester Tanks Inc., manufacturers of underground storage tanks, located instead in Dinwiddie.
Litvin said, however, that there's no way to know how many industries do not consider Lexington when looking for a new home; they typically contact the state Department of Economic Development, and if they say they need a nearby airport, Lexington is not even suggested.
Joseph Vita, a Realtor and vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber's 210 members supported continuing the study and believed an airport is needed.
But personally, Vita is a bit skeptical. He wonders whether the benefits of an airport would outweigh damage to neighboring property values.
An airport likely would stimulate commercial development in the surrounding area, and the folks who live there might not appreciate it, he said.
Cubbins believes county officials did not give the airport a chance. "We never had an opportunity to explain to people what the airport's all about.
"Consequently, people were relying on superstition and a lot of gross misinformation," he said.
by CNB