Airport funding study approved
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MAYVILLE -- Chautauqua County officials are giving it one last try to see if commercial air service should return to the Jamestown area.
During last week's county Legislature meeting, lawmakers approved a resolution to spend $50,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay for the Air Service Development Project, which will examine whether the Jamestown airport can sustain commercial air service. The money originated from the federal government in its response to help communities recover from COVID-19.
Before the vote, Legislator David Wilfong, R-Jamestown, encouraged everyone to support the proposal. "We believe (air service) is a vital economic tool to bring back the city of Jamestown, and it's also very, very important to Chautauqua County," he said.
The county Industrial Development Agency has also agreed to spend $25,000 for the market study.
The county Legislature had rejected a similar proposal back in October 2021 before Wilfong was elected as a legislator.
One person who was a legislator in October 2021 and voted against the funding was Bob Bankoski, D-Dunkirk. This time he decided to support the proposal.
"Since we've had some ARPA money returned to us -- and I feel that (airports manager) Shannon (Barnhart) has done an outstanding job of running the airport -- I think we need to vote in favor of this, so that she will have the proper tools on how to determine which way to run our airport," he said.
But not everyone was convinced.
"I think it's tough to establish air service for smaller airlines," said Legislator Terry Niebel, R-Sheridan. He noted how United Airlines is ending flights at the Erie International Airport in June. Also, he said, Delta Air Lines cut ties in Erie back in 2020.
When the time came to vote, Niebel, Legislator Bob Scudder, R-Fredonia, and Legislator Dan Pavlock, R-Sinclairville, all voted against the resolution.
Barnhart said previously she expects the study will take less than a year to complete. The market study is designed to determine if the Jamestown market can support commercial air service.
She said the study is needed for any carrier to consider returning to the Jamestown airport.
Jamestown lost commercial service when the federal Transportation Department terminated Essential Air Service eligibility for Jamestown on Jan. 16, 2018. That decision was made because the local airport wasn't meeting the federal standard of 10 passengers a day nor the federal government's $200 per rider subsidy cap.