Flying Low
When the Worcester Regional Research Bureau brought some of the top state transportation officials to Worcester recently for a panel discussion, moderator Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray seemed surprised to hear an opening salvo in the negotiations for the sale of the Worcester Airport to Massport.
But that’s what he and everyone else in attendance, including City Manager Michael O’Brien, seated in the front row, got from Ed Freni, Massport’s director of aviation.
Profit Plan
Freni said the city, which owns the airport, should not expect to pocket any cash on the sale. Any proceeds, he said, should be put right back into the money-losing facility’s operating budget. If the city wants to see money, Massport would be open to a profit sharing arrangement in the future, Freni said.
Following the discussion, O’Brien said the city should receive “fair market value” for the airport and Murray said he would make sure the city gets “a good and fair deal.”
This is troubling talk, and it portends a protracted and potentially divisive negotiation process, especially when combined with talk in political and government circles about what the city could spend its airport windfall on.
The city should be treated fairly, but it should not expect a windfall.
The city’s first priority and primary objective should be to get that property transferred to Massport.The city should get out of the airport business and any other money losing operations that are not essential to its government mission. It shouldn’t own any commercial property it doesn’t have to seize for back taxes. It should feel fortunate that its contributions all these years have kept the airport on life support long enough to get its negative operating cost off the books.
The airport is perhaps the single most underutilized economic development tool in Central Massachusetts. Selling the airport to Massport, an agency that runs transportation facilities, and putting the proceeds back into the airport’s operating budget takes an annual $1.2 million cash drain off the city’s books and gives the city time to make right the mistakes of the past.
Looking Ahead
The real opportunity is for local leaders including Murray and O’Brien to put the city and the airport’s long-term success above any short-term cash gains and play a role in making the airport viable and profitable.
A viable access road to the airport would allow for its use as a distribution hub and allow for it to take overflow cargo from Logan Airport in Boston. Better airport access would also make the region’s leading businesses, as well as its colleges and universities, more accessible and competitive nationally.
Increased traffic to the airport would allow for investment in an instrument landing system that enables planes to land at the foggy airport in zero visibility. The absence of such a system is a serious hindrance to the current facility.
If the city is going to be able to use the airport as an economic development asset, businesses are going to want to know that they can depend on Worcester Airport’s long term viability, and the sale to Massport under realistic terms is an important first step.
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