Navy Should Sell El Toro at Fair-Market Value

Re “‘For Sale’: A Base’s Future,” Editorial, May 5:

Your editorial said the U.S. Navy plans to sell the base property to recoup costs associated with moving troops and equipment to other locations. According to my recollection, the Navy was going to give El Toro to Orange County for use as an airport. Then, when the airport proposal started to fade, we started reading the Navy was going to sell El Toro.

Currently, the military is being given a nearly blank check to spend money because of 9/11. It’s absurd to think there is really a Navy department in Washington making base property decisions according to civilian-type cost-benefit analyses.

If the Navy wanted to maximize revenue from selling the base, it would list it for sale with a fair-market price. We all know what’s likely to happen in an auction. Either the price won’t reflect the value, or it will be compromised because of the cleanup needed.

Mark Davidson

Costa Mesa