Dear Editor,

This letter was emailed to all members of the county council.

I am writing to all of you because I will not be able to attend the public meeting regarding the airport authority moving under the county and the proposed airport expansion project.

This project has been discussed for nearly 10 years. As I recall, Warsaw was to receive federal funds for the project if they could support matching dollars.

At the time this seemed like a “pork barrel” project. Much of the proposed need was related to orthopedic companies. However, as mentioned in a recent InkFreeNews letter to the editor, following the corporate integrity agreements that each company had to abide by, they no longer fly surgeons on corporate planes.

Thus the orthopedic companies’ need for airport expansion would be very minimal.

Around this time the pilots for these companies were also asked how often the length of the existing runways created a problem for them landing. I saw the responses in print but do not recall if it was in a local paper or an internal company document.

The summary from the pilots was that there were only a few times a year where due to weather they would have to divert to South Bend or Fort Wayne. It is important to note that this was at a time when each company hosted multiple surgeon plant tours a week, which is no longer the case.

I was told by a council member that the company executives still fly in/out of Warsaw. This is very rarely the case.

A few critical questions that should be asked before considering taking on the additional tax burden of this project and the ensuing increase in maintenance costs include:

• What specific companies currently in the Warsaw area utilize corporate jets?
• What type of jets do they use and what are the recommended runway lengths required for those aircraft? Keep in mind that the orthopedic company jets landed in Warsaw with few issues for many years.
• How many flights per year are logged at the airport by plane type? We need to specifically look at the number for jet flights that truly need longer runways.
• It was stated by a council member that some companies were considering moving to the Warsaw area but declined specifically due to the airport facilities and length of runway. Who are these specific companies?
• What jets would they use?
• What length of runway do they require?
• How many annual flights?

These are but a few questions that must be fully understood before considering increasing tax burdens to our community. Finally, considering the tax implications for all county residents and businesses, perhaps this should be proposed as a countywide referendum.

Mike Coon
Warsaw