Airport tower flies in the face of facts

Airport tower flies in the face of facts

Read Thursday's remarks from the "airport official" defending the need for an airport control tower. Rob Mills is quoted as saying no taxpayer money will be needed to construct the $3 million control tower. Mr. Mills must have been misquoted as all $3 million in public money comes from the taxpayer in either federal or state tax revenues or the airport tenant and business activities.

Yes, the airport share of construction costs does not require funding from the county's general revenue (at this time), but the costs are paid by taxing the airport lease holders and tenants.

Surely Mr. Mills understands we are all taxpayers.

Every hangar at the airport is leased out and there has been a waiting list for years. There is nothing in the public record to show a single case where an airport business turned down a lease option because there was no control tower.

One sure way to destroy an airport development is to tax the companies out of business by raising their rent to pay for unnecessary county facilities. The federal taxpayers (us) will also have to pay the annual costs for the half dozen new tower employees.

Although I am not from Missouri, the "show me" adage should be applied by our county commissioners. Who counted and documented the 82,000 operations at the airport last year? What business at the airport (now or in the future) requires a control tower? The facts are that of the more than 20,000 airports in the U.S., there are only 522 civil control towers (FAA '05). Many of the non-tower controlled airports have regional airline service, so why does Hernando County Airport need a control tower?

Let's not saddle the "taxpayers" with building a control tower facility that is not justified by the "facts." We all know how accurate the 2002 economical forecasts were. "Show me" in a public hearing instead of behind stacks of guesstimates!

David Lemon

Spring Hill