Debating El Toro Airport’s Cost to the Public

* Re “Opposed to an El Toro Airport as a Public Expense? But It Isn’t,” Orange County Voices, Feb. 7:

Alas, even the otherwise forthright Orange County Taxpayers Assn. is not above distorting the truth to sway an unsuspecting reader into supporting the great white elephant--El Toro international airport.

The association’s president, Reed Royalty, fails to disclose in his article the full truth in the details he presents on financing the airport.

For one, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Aviation Trust Fund is already far oversubscribed. El Toro would have to wait its turn, which could be some time, and even then not receive all that is requested or needed to build the airport.

Though revenue bonds theoretically could be floated, only the foolish would invest in El Toro international.

Because of the high risks, the interest rate paid would have to be extremely high to attract even the most adventuresome risk capital.

Any comparisons to other airports without a similar risk are not legitimate. Denver International has no competing international airports in the vicinity such as Los Angeles International and Ontario, or even domestic competition, such as Burbank and Long Beach. Denver does not have two airports supposedly working together as proposed for John Wayne and El Toro.

Was the data extracted from the report for other airports and operations comparable? Was the topography the same? Were there mountains to clear and inclined runways?

To clear Lomas Ridge, aircraft will have to remain at probably full throttle--well beyond the mentioned 2.3 miles. Were the residences at the 2.3-mile distance directly under the flight path or off to the side of the flight path at the end of the runway?

Since Royalty makes comparisons between two very different situations, one can only be suspicious of the balance of the data he volunteers.

DAVID MELVOLD

Irvine

* Derek Quinn openly criticizes Reed Royalty’s article on financing airport costs and improvements (Letters, Feb. 14).

Quinn is totally clueless about how municipal bonds work. I sold many John Wayne Airport bonds over the years to wealthy taxpayers who accepted the risk of the project. These were not county tax-supported bonds but paid for by landing fees, parking and other revenue sources. Quinn thought mom and pop taxpayer were at risk; not so.

At El Toro, an agency will issue municipal project bonds; we in the securities industry will evaluate the risks, price the bonds and sell them to qualified buyers for up to a 20-year or 30-year holding period. No taxpayers will be at risk.

Quinn also fails to understand our property tax bill and county general revenue bonds. It’s the project, not the taxpayer. Royalty is totally correct in his analysis.

THOMAS E. BURNS

Lake Forest

* Without going into the pro-airport bias of this article, it presented certain opinions supposedly from a “taxpayers” standpoint.

In fairness, Times readers should have been informed that the signatory organization, the Orange County Taxpayers Assn., was formed in 1986 by, among others, an executive of the Irvine Co., John Flanigan, and a longtime advocate of higher taxes, Dana Reed.

OC Tax, as they call themselves, is supported by corporate subscriptions of $1,000 per year, and to my knowledge they do not represent any taxpayer as defined by common parlance.

OC Tax has been an avid proponent of every tax measure placed on the ballot in Orange County since its inception, and in fact has signed pro-tax arguments listed in the voters’ pamphlet.

THOMAS ROGERS

San Juan Capistrano