Airport Planning Process Directly Affected by County Fund Crisis

The privatization of John Wayne Airport (“Orange County Weighing Sale of Airport,” Dec. 28) would be nothing more than an attempted quick fix to recoup the massive losses caused by the Robert Citron disaster.

You are correct in stating that Great Britain sold its airports to the British Airports Authority, however you neglected to mention that, after the takeover by BAA, user fees of the airport jumped 25% to 30%. Ultimately, the British government had to step back in and put price controls on the authority.

The problem with private monopolies is that they are under pressure from their investor-stockholders to maximize profits as quickly as possible. Investors in stock do not like long-term capital investments, rather they demand a quick return on their money. A private monopoly operating the airport would no longer be responsive to the needs of the public but would respond to the source of its income, their private investors.

The airport, owned and operated by the County of Orange, is an enterprise fund within county government. This means that the airport is self-supporting and does not require General Fund dollars for operation.

John Wayne Airport, originally a dirt strip owned by Eddie Martin, was leased in 1942 by the U.S. government from the county and improved at taxpayers’ expense. When the county reclaimed the property from the War Assets Administration in 1948, it was stipulated by Washington that the airport be open to all of the general public. Would a private monopoly honor this agreement?

ELEANOR TODD

Newport Beach

* The establishment of a second airport in this county is not going to benefit Orange County taxpayers or their economy. We need to avoid another taxpayer boondoggle brought on by our Orange County Board of Supervisors. On Nov. 15, I asked the board to file a declaratory relief action or initiate a writ to invalidate Measure A. It ignored that request, just as it did John Moorlach’s May 31 letter to Thomas Riley on the critically sick state of our county investment pool.

Whether the supervisors’ motivation to inaction is intended to be evil I am unable at this time to determine. But this I know: They have set out a plan to establish an airport whether South County wants it or not. Because of timing, litigation is the only realistic avenue to stop this debacle.

The Nov. 8 Measure A election results mandate that within 60 days --by Jan. 9--the South County cities must file a legal action. The cities of South County should have learned long ago that Orange County government does not have their (the cities’) best interest at heart. And the cities who fail to act before Jan. 9 will have only themselves to blame if they do not seek competent, experienced base reuse litigation counsel immediately.

THOMAS A. WHALING

Irvine

* Now that Orange County is in serious financial straits, the likelihood of developing El Toro International Airport is in serious trouble. Perhaps now is the time to expand John Wayne Airport into the International Airport that many in Orange County would like to see. It is already in place, the taxpayers of Orange County have invested substantial amounts of money to make it one of the best airports around, and it is currently underutilized.

The transformation to a larger airport could be easily made. The hours of operation as well as the number of flights could be expanded immediately. It could be enlarged at a nominal cost to taxpayers in a very short period of time. It would be on-line years earlier than El Toro International Airport.

The residents of Newport Beach have long opposed the expansion of John Wayne Airport, but they certainly recognize the value of an expanded airport serving Orange County. They have been some of the strongest proponents in the county for an airport at El Toro. To expand John Wayne Airport would require modifying the agreement that the county has with the City of Newport Beach, regarding the number of flights and the hours of operation. Certainly, the new mayor of Newport Beach, an airline pilot by profession, can see the value of this plan and could sell it to the City Council.

Why spend billions of dollars to develop an airport at El Toro when the taxpayer-sponsored facilities at John Wayne Airport are currently in place and underutilized?

MIKE REARDON

Laguna Niguel