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KENNEWICK The future of Vista Field was assured Monday night when Port of Kennewick commissioners unanimously voted to keep the airport open.
The decision came after nearly two hours of public comment at a special commission meeting at the Benton PUD Auditorium in Kennewick.
About 130 people attended and 38 of them shared their views. All but six urged the commissioners to keep the airport open and not close it.
The unanimous vote brought the auditorium to its feet, applauding, cheering and whistling.
The motion by Commissioner Skip Novakovich to approve a resolution that "continued airport operations" mentioned that improvement to the airport would be authorized "when such can be funded primarily by private investment or grants."
Commission Chairman Gene Wagner said that means Vista Field will remain a private airport for public use, and the port has no immediate plans to improve it.
The airport has no fixed-based operator but that could change, he said.
A fixed-based operator provides ground support, such as fuel and parts, for aircraft using the airport.
"We are stewards of the public resources. I can't support closure of Vista Field," said Novakovich. He introduced the motion for preserving the airport, which he said should be kept "open and viable for many years to come."
Commissioner David Hanson said closure would be a hardship on the port's finances.
"This has been a difficult night," Novakovich said after the vote, but smiling in response to the grateful audience.
Prior to taking public comment, Tim Arntzen, port executive director, said an appraiser put the airport value at $7.7 million, while the cost to close it and prepare the 70 acres for sale as shovel-ready parcels would be $9.2 million, leaving a $1.5 million deficit.
Most years the airport has a $20,000 deficit, in part due to not having a fixed-based operator and not having all the potential rental income from hangars.
But maximizing those revenues could turn $40,000 a year profit, Arntzen said.
John Sibold, director of aviation for the state Department of Transportation, said private airports are important to the economy.
"When they are closed, they are closed forever, and all the economic activity associated with them," he said.
Chep Gauntt, a pilot who lives in Kennewick, urged the commissioners to keep the airport and invest in its future.
Gauntt referred to the city of Kennewick as being behind the call for closing Vista Field.
He urged commissioners to made a decision "contrary to the wishes of some (city) staff and elected officials who haven't been voted out of office yet."
Several people spoke about the convenience for pilots who want to fly to Vista Field and be close to shopping, dining and special events, including sports activities.
Others said Vista Field is an important alternative for emergency landings, pilot training and for being above the fog that can hamper the airports in Richland and Pasco.
Dean Maldonado, a developer in the Southridge area, which lies east and west of Highway 395 and generally south of 27th Avenue, recommended keeping the airport as is because there is no need for more commercial and retail properties. He said more time is needed to absorb projects already queued up.
Carl Cadwell, who uses the airport for his businesses, said he's ready to expand and bring up to 50 new jobs if the airport continues.
Petitions with signatures from nearly 300 people, many private pilots, from the Seattle area and Moses Lake were referred to during the meeting.
"Airports create wealth. Big boxes (retail) transfer wealth," said John Dobson, a pilot from Seattle who brought petitions urging the port to keep Vista Field an airport.
Daryl Jackson, a commercial pilot and former mayor of Moses Lake who trains pilots at Prosser, Moses Lake and Colfax, called Vista Field an important airstrip.
"Training of pilots is essential. We don't get them out of thin air," he said.
Ed Frost, a Kennewick resident and member of the city planning commission, said Vista Field needs a business plan to make it self-sufficient. He also suggested port staff keep track of how the airport performs and, if kept open, see if it meets the expectations people claim.
Kennewick developer Jose Chavallo said the airport should be closed and Kennewick would be better off without it.
Bob Ogata of Kennewick pointed out that Vista Field has no place to grow and that its runway is too short to be recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration.
In comparison, Richland's airport is FAA approved and eligible to received $1 million a year from the agency for airport maintenance.
Vic Epperly of Kennewick said Vista Field's use is far less than at Richland Airport, that its hangars are too close to the runway and that it was the port that chose to close the fixed-base operator and close a runway.
Paul Christensen of Oasis Development in Pasco said the airport land should be turned into developable property and the port should consider putting a new airport outside the city on land south of Interstate 82.
w John Trumbo: 582-1529; jtrumbo@tricityherald.com
