Wednesday, March 15, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
AIRPORT: Site is
home to owners’
engineering firm
Continued from page 1
“That is still our priority, to
have a home that is adequate
for ESI to thrive,” Benson
said.
The Bensons also seek
to deepen and broaden the
impact of the Outlaw Aviation
high school aviation program.
“I want to create a magnate
program for flight science,”
she said.
Benson reported that
opportunities to align cur-
riculum to take advantage
of a developing partnership
between the Central Oregon
Community College aviation
program and Horizon/Alaska
are presenting themselves.
“That’s where I want to
focus my energies, on mak-
ing sure the kids have those
opportunities,” she said.
She said she is also work-
ing on a plan for students to
build a hangar at the airport
as a CTE (Career Technical
Education) program.
Some of the airport’s
operations have been the
focus of conflict and contro-
versy — particularly a sky-
diving operation. Some local
residents contend that the air-
port noise and increased com-
mercial activity is negatively
impacting the quality of life
that attracted them to Sisters
in the first place — namely, a
quiet rural lifestyle. They fear
reduced property values and
difficulty selling their prop-
erty, also due to the increased
noisy activity at the airport.
Benson emphasized to The
Nugget that the skydiving
operation and the airport are
separate entities and that, as
a public-use airport, they are
obliged not to discriminate
against types of use.
“The airport is not the sky-
dive business, have no part-
nership or ownership inter-
est,” Benson told The Nugget.
“As part of our State and
Federal grant obligations, the
airport cannot discriminate
against one aircraft (Skydivers
Cessna 182), or prohibit use
from public… That’s not
really an option for us, to
say ‘Skydivers go away.’ We
could get sued for that; we’re
a public-use airport.”
Benson further notes that
those who have moved into
the airport zone have explic-
itly “waive(d) their rights
to subsequently complain
about airport impacts…. And
“have no remaining rights to
complain or protest about the
protected activities.”
Benson said that the airport
has not acted to enforce the
airport zone waiver of rights.
Both sides in the conflict
over noise have indicated a
willingness to sit down and
talk — and say that the other
side is unwilling to do so.
Members of the local
activist group Save Our Skies
(SOS) at a city hearing last
month asked that Deschutes
County and the City of Sisters
put pressure on Benny and
Julie Benson to sit down for
a face-to-face meeting with
concerned citizens impacted
by airport noise from com-
mercial operations.
Julie Benson says that they
are open to such a meeting
and notes that airport manager
David Campbell has met with
concerned residents.
“He takes notes and listens
to people who want to come
and have a one-on-one con-
versation,” she said.
She said that she is willing
to “come to the table” with
SOS, but that it’s not clear if
anyone can act to represent
the members of the group, or
whether mitigation of impact
is the goal.
“SOS is not willing to mit-
igate (noise impact) — they
just want it to stop,” Benson
said.
21
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Sisters Eagle Airport has a noise abatement protocol, but no control over
pilots’ actions after takeoff.
She said that mitigation
is possible. The airport has
a noise abatement protocol,
which is clearly stated on a
large sign affixed to one of the
airport buildings. However,
the airport cannot enforce a
particular action on the part
of a pilot once they leave the
ground.
Benson acknowledged that
there are mechanical adapta-
tions that could make a differ-
ence with propeller noise on
the skydiving aircraft — such
as installing a three-bladed
propeller or adding a muffler.
“Absolutely, I believe
there are some mechanical
modifications that would help
that plane,” she said. “They’re
expensive. Who’s going to
pay for that? That’s absolutely
something that could bring to
the table — if we can get to
the table.”
There is at least an oppor-
tunity for the impasse over
“getting to the table” to be
broken. The airport has hired
Anne George as a facilitator
“to meet with the two parties
to further communication and
cooperation,” according to
Benson.
Meanwhile, there is one
more procedural hoop to
jump through. “Because
Appendix M/Exhibit 2 is in
an administrative rule, we
have to go through the offi-
cial rule making process to
add Sisters airport to the list
of privately owned public use
airports of state significance,”
ODA Director Swecker
told The Nugget. “Nothing
changes but there will be
another public comment
period.”
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