Follow Up

As we notified you last week, Dept. of Aviation is seeking retroactive approval to apply for $37M in FAA funds (yes, it is now $37M!)

The Joint Emergency Board Interim Subcommittee on General Government, chaired by Sen. Betsy Johnson & Rep. Greg Smith, met this morning (9/24/18) with the ODA application as an agenda item.

In response to the public outcry (your calls and emails!) and pressure from Clackamas County and City of Wilsonville, a special consideration was made to allow testimony on the matter. This is highly unusual, and was reinforced by a recommendation from the Legislative Fiscal Office following analysis of the proposal that it should be deferred for consideration until the December Legislative Days. They specifically said “the agency should coordinate with local government stakeholders and seek public input on the runway extension project.”

Following testimony, a motion was approved to refer the $37 million FAA grant request to extend the runway at the Aurora State Airport to Oregon Solutions, a dispute resolutions process run by Portland State University. Following an evenly split vote, the subcommittee tabled the request until the December Emergency Board meeting.

Testimony given was as follows:

• Clackamas County Commission Chair Jim Bernard and Wilsonville Mayor Tim Knapp testified against the retroactive permission to seek the federal grant
• Marion County Commissioner Kevin Cameron and State Aviation Board Chair Martha Meeker testified for the application.
• Salem Mayor Chuck Bennett testified that Salem wants a seat at the table but was neutral on the grant proposal.

The Committee comments were equally divided in discussions, with Committee Chair Betsy Johnson suggesting a motion to delay the approval so that Oregon Solutions could conduct a mediation process and report back to the General Government subcommittee at the December Legislative days meeting.

You can download the Analysis document that was presented for the hearing  by clicking here.

See original post, click here.

Source:  Friends of French Prairie. 9.24.18