Ivezic/Kalispell Municipal AirportTo the members of the Kalispell City Council,
I have been reading of an attempt to close Kalispell City Airport. I am
not a resident of your beautiful state but I fave flown in and through
Montana several times, to include stops at Kalispell City. To close
your airport would be a mistake.
I have witnessed organized attempts to close two other airports, one in
Maine and one in Illinois. Both attempts were based on the premise that
airports were dangerous to the surrounding community. Fortunately,
these attacks were recognized for what they truly were - completely
disingenuous arguments make by people who built a house or bought a
house around an existing airport then decided they didn't like
airplanes. They made the mistake and tried to make the local aviation
community pay for it. It seems as though the attacks against Kalispell
City parallel these attempts.
Please take into consideration that noise abatement procedures work very
successfully at many airports across the nation that are surrounded by
residential areas such as Friday Harbor, WA, Palwaukee, IL, Wiscasset,
ME, and the list goes on. Safety procedures were also established which
protect the local communities.
You will find that the aviation community is generally very willing to
work with the local residents and town council to develop mutually
beneficial resolutions to legitimate concerns. I ask that you mediate
between both sides of this issue and come to an acceptable compromise.
I won't go into the economic benefit of having an airport in your city.
I have no doubt that you know the numbers better than I. There are some
economic impacts that are not apparent, though. I will be retiring from
the military in about 3 years at the age of 43. Kalispell is one of our
potential communities to move into, start another profession, and raise
our family. If the airport is closed then we cannot consider Kalispell.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely
David Ivezic