Is $2,760,00 Too Great A Gift To Loose?
St. Charles County recently passed up the opportunity to add 600 feet to the existing runway at Smartt Field Airport bringing it up to 4400 feet in length.
Of the $800,000 to purchase the land, $760,000 would have been a federal grant with the county paying only $40,000.
Of the $2 million to be spent for expansion, $1,900,000 would also be a federal grant with the county paying only $100,000.
The Great Rivers Habitat Alliance compromised of Adolphus Busch, Charles Hager and other wealthy duck hunters, convinced the majority of the County Council members that “Ducks” would be sucked into jet engines.
Obviously, the County Council and County executive Joe Ortwerth did not do their homework. The FAA website clearly states that the minimum runway requirement for a business jet is 5000 to 5500 feet. The proposed 4400-foot runway at Smartt Field is incompatible to even business jets, let alone anything larger. There will be NO jet engines to suck ducks in.
Doug Funderburk, Chairman of the County Council, voted against the runway expansion. Funderburk received $5,000 for his last campaign via a fundraiser hosted by Great Rivers Habitat Alliance. The Alliance has also contributed to other county council members.
As previously reported, Carl Maus and Raymond Stone of Citizens For Responsible Community receive huge monetary contributions from Great Rivers Habitat Alliance and serve as a distribution center of funds to campaigns supporting their agenda.
County Executive Joe Ortwerth, a proponent for the runway expansion donated more than $7,000 to Citizens for Responsible Community, which means Ortwerth’s money could have been spent to oppose the runway expansion.
Ortwerth, along with Busch and Hager opposes the St. Peters 370 Development. The money apparently goes into the same pot. Ortwerth’s anti-Tom Brown (former Mayor of St. Peters) anti-St. Peters and anti-TIF (Tax Increment Financing District) stances have apparently blinded him into aligning himself with individuals whose goals are detrimental to St. Charles County and its economy.
The three Council members voting for the runway expansion are Don Foust, Sally Faith (now a state representative) and Bob Schnur. Voting against the expansion are Doug Funderburk, Jeff Morrison and Joe Brazil. John White, the most timid and least proactive of the Council, again teetered on the edge and broke the tie voting against the runway expansion.
White was originally appointed to the Council by a few members of the Republican Central Committee to fill a vacancy. He was supported and mentored by Penny Bennett. He since ran as an incumbent and was reelected. Both Foust and Faith advocated the need for a regional county airport.
The Missouri Department of Transportation will not withdraw the available funds for several months. There is still time to for residents to convince the Council that $140,000 could be well spent for our regional airport.
Some County residents have indicated they consider a regional airport that provides revenue and keeps us progressive to be a greater asset than the wealthy duck hunters playing in their multi-million dollar clubhouse.
J. Williams told the First Capitol News, “The County Council should accept their fiduciary responsibility to the residents instead of bowing to the Duck Hunters; $2,760,000 is too great a gift to ignore or lose.
