Bennington Select Board supports donation of air hangar to the state

Neal Goswami

Oct. 29, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- BENNINGTON -- The Select Board will draft a letter supporting an air freight company's effort to donate its hangar to the state.

David Corey, president of Business Air, the parent company of Air Now, which manages the William H. Morse state airport in Bennington for the state, asked the board Monday to draft a support letter. Corey said the state asked for a letter detailing the town's position so state officials can determine whether the hangar will be accepted.

Business Air brought in about $8 million in revenue in 2008, Corey said, but expects to bring in just $4 million this year.

Corey said Business Air is looking to jettison the hangar, valued at $1.1 million, to reduce expenses like the $25,000 local property tax bill it owes the town.

"We've been in a cost-cutting mode for a number of years. One of the things we'd like to do is donate the hangar to the state of Vermont. The down side to the town, obviously, is that it would come off the tax rolls," he said.

According to Corey, the $25,000 property tax payment would be replaced with a $5,000 payment from the state through the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program.

Corey said the town could lose local management of the airport if Business Air goes out of business. The airport would remain open for "transient" aircraft, he said, but there would be very few services available.

The board's decision was not "do-or-die," Corey said, but shedding the hangar

would help it continue to be a viable business, he said.

"If you don't support this, it doesn't mean that we're going to go out of business," he said.

Two board members chose not to support it. Board member Jason Morrissey said other businesses are also struggling. Distributing the lost tax revenue to them is unfair, he said.

"If I'm walking up Main Street tonight, I'm going to see a lot of people who own businesses that going to have a hard time paying their taxes in the next two weeks," Morrissey said. "I just won't endorse a shift of costs to other taxpayers like that."

Board member Matthew Maroney said he was concerned other businesses might try to unload property to the state to avoid taxes. "Is this something that could come at us from every direction?" he said.

The hangar is unique, however, because it sits on state land and its use is heavily restricted, Corey said.

The majority of board members said helping the business survive and saving jobs, as well as keeping the airport vibrant was more important. "At the moment, it feels uncomfortable to give up anything on our grand list, but we should not just be thinking in the moment, we should be thinking 20 years from now, 30 years from now," said Chairwoman Lodie Colvin. "That airport, in my opinion, is very critical to this area, and I would hate to see it unmanned."

Board member Joseph L. Krawczyk Jr. said the town must help Business Air preserve the 20 local jobs. "These are not just jobs; these are well-paying jobs," he said. "I don't want to lose the tax revenue, but at the same time, in my opinion, we cannot afford to lose this viable business."

Contact Neal P. Goswami at ngoswami@benningtonbanner.com

Newstex ID: KRTB-0480-39257063