| The Tacoma Narrows Airport, located on the Gig Harbor Peninsula, has undergone a great deal of uncertainty after the manager of the city of Tacoma, which owns the facility, said the city may need to shut it down due to ongoing operating losses. Although closing the airport would need to be approved by the FAA, which usually opposes such moves, Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson had argued that the FAA cannot force a taxpayer-funded entity to keep the airport open at a loss.
Tacoma had approached the city of Gig Harbor about a year ago regarding a potential takeover. “They came out here to talk about it,” Gig Harbor City Administrator Mark Hoppen said. He said when city officials learned if was losing hundreds of thousands of dollars per year and had an additional $3 million loan debt, “we didn’t pursue it for another minute.”
Pierce County Councilman Terry Lee, whose area includes Gig Harbor, thinks the county could turn the 43-year-old airport around, however. The property is located in unincorporated Pierce County, with a small portion of it being in Gig Harbor’s Urban Growth Area.
“I would very much like to see it (the purchase) happen,” Lee said. “Having a general aviation airport is a benefit to the community and I don’t want to see it closed.”
The county has approached Tacoma with its interest, and is undergoing due diligence. Lee said that the airport is close to making money, and Pierce County should be able to operate it more efficiently. The county owns Thun Field on South Hill in Puyallup, and runs the operation though its Public Works department. The city of Tacoma pays $140,000 per year to a contractor to operate the facility, and Lee said the county would save money by doing it internally. The airport, which reportedly employs more than 100 people, also generates taxes for the county.
“I believe I have enough county council support to make it happen,” Lee said.
One of the problems Tacoma has encountered with the Tacoma Narrows Airport is opposition to expansion. The city had proposed to expand the runway as part of making the airport more profitable several years ago, and neighbors became concerned about the impact of increased air traffic. Hoppen, who as a private citizen is a member of the Tacoma Narrows Airport Advisory Commission, said the residents’ major concerns were addressed by requiring things like buffers. A runway safety zone project is expected to cost up to $18 million, with the FAA covering most of the cost.
Lee said he would be opposed to an expansion, at least initially, and he would be concerned that if someone else takes over, an expansion would be imminent. His main goal is preservation, he said, but the airport could also be an economic development opportunity as well as a source for recreational possibilities due to its large undeveloped tracts. The 650-acre area could provide for trails, an off-leash dog part, and other possibilities. The airport is also critical for the new Chambers Creek golf course the county is developing on the other side of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, he said. Although some speculate the land, with its picturesque setting, could be used for residential development, he has said that possibility was not likely.
“It’s an important part of the infrastructure here on the Peninsula, and how it’s managed and used is a significant issue,” Hoppen said.
He said “It’s a facility that everyone needs to consider with an eye toward the future” so it becomes an asset to the community, not a burden. |
