Proposed airport plan to cost city $5 million
By Jolayne Houtz
Of ihm Emerald
Although some of the funding
for the proposed Mahlon Sweet
Airport expansion is still up in
the air. a city councilor said
construction on the $17.7
million project may be started
in spring and be completed as
early as fall 1988.
But the City Council first
must decide how to raise $4.5
million to $5.5 million to pay
for its share of the project. Roger
Rutan, head of the council's air
port subcommittee, said sub
committee members are recom
mending that the money come
from existing city funds, not
from a property tax increase or
from cutting any major city
services.
The expansion project is "the
City Council’s number one
priority," Rutan said. "1 think
we can find some money
somewhere that is not being us
ed effectively. We re not going
to be closing the library...or
the Hull Center," he said.
The expanded airport ter
minal would accommodate
more airlines with three times
the space in the existing
building. Currently, two of the
four airlines at the airport have
their offices in mobile homes
outside the terminal.
The expansion also would
provide a larger, mechanized
baggage claim area, a new
heating and air conditioning
system, enclosed passages con
necting the terminal to
airplanes and increased space
for parking and rental car
services.
The Federal Aviation Ad
ministration is expected to pay
about $5 million of the project’s
costs. Another $1.5 million is
expected to come from I.aue
County road funds, and St
million for the project will come
from state lottery funds. Fees
paid by the four airlines now
serving the airport are expected
to raise between $4 5 million
and $5 million.
That leaves the City of Fugene
with about $5 million as its
share of the project. Rutan said.
As a last resort, Rutan said the
city could opt for a 20-year
general obligation bond issue or
a 10-year serial tax levy, both of
which would require voter
approval.
But the subcommittee's
recommendation is to use
money from internal sources to
pay for the project. The City
Council will meet before Dec.
15 to discuss financing options.
Rutan said.
Some internal financing
possibilities include allocating
money from the city’s con
tingency fund, using loans from
other city funds that would be
repaid in the future or using the
city's capital reserves to pay
cash for the expansion.
With more people traveling as
competition between the
airlines drives the cost of flying
down. Rutan said the airport’s
current condition is chasing
away potential passengers
Airport officials are working
with the airlines to improve
fares and schedule* at the
Eugene airport to attract more
passengers, he said.
"A lot of people will just
drive to Portland if it’s a hassle
to leave from Eugene." he said.
With deregulation, many
airlines have decided not to fly
out of smaller airports, leaving
only Portland. Eugene and
Medford with major airline ser
vice, he said
This means more people must
travel from outlying areas to fly
out of Mahlon Sweet Airport.
Rutan said.
Some parts of the expansion
(iwrlMy ol Ih** City of Ku|tm>
The shaded area is the existing terminal at the Eugene Mahlon Sweet Airport. The rest would be
added as part of a proposed expansion project.
project already have been com
pleted, such as runway im
provements and underground
utility work A new $2 million
air traffic control tower recently
was dedicated at the airport.
The terminal was built in
1964 to serve two airlines, said
Bob Shelby, the airport's avia
tion director. But with five
airlines now at the airport, the
building is straining to hold
them.
Several airlines, including
VVeslern/Delta Airlines and
Alaska Airlines, have expressed
interest in serving the Eugene
airport when the new terminal
is completed, Rutan said.
The number of passenger
boardings at the airport has in
creased dramatically over the
last decade. In 1975, about
2R0.000 passengers used
Mahlon Sweet, compared to
about 400.000 annually now.
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