Yesterday’s County Airports Commission Meeting
About 20 pilots attended yesterday’s County Airports Commission meeting and were treated with the opportunity to a frank and candid discussion with Supervisor Pete McHugh. Not only did he present his reasons for wanting to close Reid-Hillview Airport (RHV) to the commission, but he also agreed to answer questions directly from the members of the public. It was a very good meeting and the questions (and Pete’s answers) were honest and to the point. The aviation community helped its cause quite a bit by being respectful and thoughtful.
The short summary of Pete’s position is that the County has a $200M deficit and, while he has always been an airport supporter, he is not sure that the airport is the best use of the County’s land asset. He does not appear to have any other hidden agenda other than doing what he thinks is best for the County.
This is good. All we have to do is convince him that the airport is an important, irreplaceable asset, not just a convenient place for pilots to park their airplanes. I believe that the aviation community can easily make that case by working together and with other key organizations such as the City of San Jose, San Jose International Airport, the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the Santa Clara Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
When the referral on legal options comes back to the Board on June 3, Pete said that he will ask that it go to the Airports Commission for their comments before the Board takes further action.
Regards.
John Blair
Vice President
Coalition for Responsible Airport Management & Policy
(CRAMP)