A new Aspen airport committee comes to town
A Whole Lot of People for a Better Airport will advocate for Pitkin County Commission’s November ballot question
The Aspen Times archives
The Roaring Fork Valley is filled with several groups concerned about the future of the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport.
This includes Citizens Against Bigger Planes, Aspen Fly Right, Our Airport Our Vote, and The Community Coalition for the 21st Century Airport.
Now, another group has sprung up to advocate for airport improvements and support the Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners’ November ballot question. It is called A Whole Lot of People for a Better Airport.
A Whole Lot of People for a Better Airport is an issue committee, which must be formed when a 501(c)(4) wants to campaign for a particular ballot question. Groups like The Community Coalition for the 21st Century Airport are 501(c)(4) organizations, which are legally barred from campaigning for ballot questions because they are only supposed to be used as educational tools.
“A Whole Lot of People for a Better Airport, a nonprofit, is going to start to work on a campaign to inform and educate the community of voters about the opportunities — and also the consequences — about the county being able or not being able to pursue the approved Airport Layout Plan, which has been submitted to the (Federal Aviation Administration),” former Pitkin County commissioner George Newman said.
The campaign will include opinion pieces in local newspapers, an advertising campaign, and presentations to different groups in the community in an effort to correct misinformation regarding the airport that is going around town, Newman said.
Another task that issue committees perform is accept campaign donations, which must be publicly reported to Pitkin County.
A Whole Lot of People for a Better Airport was formed from the same people that make up The Community Coalition for the 21st Century Airport, such as former Aspen City Council member Ann Mullins, former Aspen mayors John Bennett and Bill Stirling, current Aspen City Council member Ward Hauenstein, current Basalt mayor David Knight, and Newman.
“With these airport improvements funded by the FAA, airlines will be more likely to offer direct, non-stop flights, making it easier to fly in and out of Aspen-Pitkin County Airport while reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Mullins said in a press release from the issue committee. “We know that non-stop flights are better for the environment, reducing the number of take-offs between destinations. Furthermore, there is critical grant funding available until 2026.”
The last major airfield and terminal upgrades were completed more than 40 years ago at the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport, according to the release.
“The airport is out of date, and improvements are needed to meet current airport standards and the needs of residents,” the release states.
The issue committee submitted its new committee registration form to the Pitkin County Clerk and Recorder’s Office on Thursday, Aug. 8.
According to the document, the purpose of the committee is to support the county’s ballot measure.
The ballot question seeks to amend Article II of the county’s governing document, the Home Rule Charter, to reaffirm Pitkin County’s power to approve and carry out the layout plan for the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport.
Our Airport Our Vote — the opposition — seeks to amend the Home Rule Charter to restrict county officials’ decision-making power regarding the expansion or relocation of any runway at the Aspen/Pitkin County Airport beyond the dimensions and locations that existed on Jan. 1 without voter approval in their ballot question. It also clearly defines “runway.”
County commissioners cannot support A Whole Lot of People for a Better Airport at an elected official capacity but as local residents.
“We can campaign as individuals, but not as commissioners,” Commissioner Francie Jacober said. “So, as individuals, we support the issues committee.”
The committee was announced on Wednesday, Aug. 14, the same day as the first reading of the commissioners’ ballot question.
A second reading for both ballot questions is slated for Aug. 28.
Regan Mertz can be reached at 970-429-9153 or rmertz@aspentimes.com.
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