I always think about the possibilities out there. The Riverfront Development Corporation held a gathering on Harriet Island the other night and several developers spoke about possibilities on industrial land. Cities all over the place are reclaiming inner city polluted tank farm lands with ecological solutions that still allow for a working river. The airport could still stay but instead of trying to part the waters like Moses, why not work with the environment and use it as an exciting opportunity to work WITH neighborhoods.
How about this? Revenue generated from a working river park complete with barge terminals and visitor stations. It could be an extension of the science museum's focus on the working river!!
Michelle Hoffman
West Side, overlooking the only I2 heavy industrial zone in the city that has no light industrial buffer for the neighborhood.
On Mar 30, 2005, at 3:45 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
But, it doesn't change the fact that no "real" city in the country maintains an airport of this size within its city limits. Holman field has existed because it is in the flood plain and it floods! Don't you think that if it were dry that it would have been put to better use a long, long, time ago? Every other "real" city got rid of their 1920's style airports decades ago to create tax producing land. If you now can dike Holeman and take it out of the flood plain and create over 500 acres of dry land in the center of the city is the highest and best use to have a couple of hundred plains a day take off and land? Don't you think that $0 tax revenue for the city of Saint Paul is kinda low for what 500 acres of dry land should bring you? Now, $0 isn't bad for a filled in swap that you use to protect the tax producing businesses by allowing it to flood every few years, but if the Fed's are going to let us take this land of of the flood pain without raising flood insurance ra
tes, then maybe the City should discuss how long they want MAC to use the City's land as an airport? Now, I know that we are still waiting for the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce and the Ppress editorial pages to enter the 20th century, (don't tell them its the 21st they couldn't handle it) but one would hope that someone out there would recognize that if the Fed's have changed the rules since the 80's when they were still saying that we couldn't take land out of the flood plain that maybe there is something better we could do with this land that practice taking off and landing Piper Cubs.
Just My Opinion Not Those Of My Employers Past, Present Or Future
Chuck Repke
-----Original Message----- From: Mike Schoenberg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Tim Erickson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: [email protected] Sent: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 14:03:43 -0600 Subject: Re: [StPaul] Airport Dike
Tim is correct. Don't trivialize the airport. It acts as a reliever airport to MSP by diverting general aviation away from MSP. That means a smaller MSP, with fewer jets and other planes stacking up and waiting to land. It means quieter skys in the air over MSP and hopefully it means safer skies, too. However, there has been and continues to be controversy about who pays for reliever airports.
Tim Erickson wrote:
At 8:26 AM -0800 3/30/05, Dann Dobson wrote:
So in other words, the City, the Feds and the State are going to >> spend 35 million on this dike, so a corporate buddy of Kelly's can >> land his plane faster, instead of having to wait like the rest of us >> peons. Even assuming private jets have to circle.
I do not support the airport dike. However, in the interest of good > public policy discussions - I think its of value to get the real > arguments out there.
Its often said - that this is about making things convenient for Randy > Kelly's bigwig friends. Assuming that they are his friends, just > because he supports a policy that they like. I think that this is far > to cynical, but we'll let that rest.
The argument is (like it or not): that corporations very much > appreciate convenient access to an airport, where their sales folks > and executives (that are paid huge amounts of money) can get quickly > to and from out of state meetings and events.
The argument is - that keeping these very expensive executives > productive is of great value to these companies. The argument is (and > I suspect that there is some truth to it) that companies will factor > the location of an airport like Holman field into decisions about > where to locate their businesses - because it makes financial sense > for them to do so. Yes, its about convenience to companies and their > executives, which also affects the bottom line of those companies.
Its a legitimate thing for companies to look for airport access when > locating a business, even if it only affects their top level > executives (that might be traveling weekly). Its also a legitimate > thing for a community to decide how attractive we want to be to those > communities - or how many sacrifices that we are willing to make.
Whether or not you support the dike - I find it a vast > oversimplifciation to trivialize this argument into one about whether > or not Randy Kelly's buddies can land their planes faster.
Whether we like it or not, access to road, airports, or even sports > stadiums are sometimes factors in business decisions. We can decide, > that we aren't willing to support these things, because the costs or > trade-offs are to high - that is fine. BUT, to trivialize the > potential impact of these decisions by making them sound the idle > whims of spoiled brats who want to joyride with their personal jets > downtown St. Paul, is simply bad for public policy discussion in this > town.
Whatever you think about the airport, I'm certain that the arguments > are more complicated and more sophisticated than that - and I'm > somewhat offended by the need to trivialize them so.
Best wishes,
Tim Erickson Hamline Midway [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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