The still-unfolding airport dispute

Mr. Baker's e-mail, which you can read on this website, accuses Scott Ball of being misinforming and that he has compromised his credibiity. Mr. Baker is entitled to his opinion, even if flawed. Scott has chosen to represent hundreds of homeowners and Mr.Baker's attempts to discredit him are proof of his lack of support for the taxpayers and voters. He has accused Scott of knowingly misrepresenting the facts. This, from a man that is pro everything about the airport and who is blind to the homeowners'concerns. Scott has always been upfront and if mistakes are made in supplying information he is the first one to acknowledge those mistakes. We as a community(ies) must show our support for Scott, who through his unselfish efforts, has fought the city and county politicians and has provided us with information regarding the airport that effects each and every one of us.
Let Mr. Baker and his sidekick Buddy Motz know that you support Scott and that you will not fall victim to their continuous "SPIN" and lack of support. You will have options come June.

STRAIGHT FACTS?
Submitted by magster47 on Sun, 2008-04-27 07:11.
It seems that Mike Fitzgerald obscures the facts also. When he writes about Shytech's $2.5 million investment at the Airport, he makes it look like a donation to the County rather than a business investment that Skytech is earning money from. He neglects to write about terms of a contract with the County that gives Skytech a MONOPLY at the Airport in return for walking away from thirty year old buildings and not having to demolish them and return the site to a condition as they found it. Mr. Fitzgerald also omits any mention of the proposed EXPANSION of the Rock Hill Airport which would certainly have an impact on the area, with more landing and take off events and many more jets. He further writes that we may not see Airline equipment landing at Rock Hill, but he dosen't write that it will never happen. And besides, what does airline equipment mean. Does it mean any jetplane that carries passengers for a profit, or parcels, or frieght. And what does BIGGER or LARGER mean? Does it mean Bigger than a 50 passenger plane or Larger than a double tandem tractor trailer driving on the interstate? Fitzgerald never proves false information or facts in Alex Haefele's letter, he just makes insinuations that the letter has inaccurate statements and is misleading. I get the same impression from Mr. Fitzgeralds letter, with his ommissions and his advising concerned citizens to get the facts from Buddy Motz, who can't answer a straight question, or our county employee Jim Baker who is pushing the Airport Expansion because his supervisors are telling him to. You shouldn't call those two leaders! Buddy Motz may be out of a County job soon, and Jim Bakers bosses may have him singing a new tune in the future. Remember, they're our employees and representatives, and there is a history of bad decisions made by the York County Council.

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Get the facts straight on changes at airport
By Michael Fitzgerald · Special to The Herald
Updated 04/26/08 - 12:55 AM | 1 Comment

Your recent article about Alex Haefele and his candidacy for the York County Council has prompted me to "get off the sideline" regarding the opposition to the Airport Overlay District, which has now turned into general opposition against the airport.
My company, Skytech, is the major provider of services at the airport, including aircraft sales, service, storage, fueling and most transient operations. We arrived in August of 2001, and have invested over $2.5 million in physical improvements, all of which, by the way, will be turned over to the city at the end of our lease. We have 30 highly skilled employees, fully two-thirds of them holding some type of technical license from the FAA ranging from pilot to airframe and powerplant, or avionics technicians. I personally have worked in general aviation for more than 30 years at several different airports. I also am a resident of and homeowner in Rock Hill, and I try to look at all perspectives regarding the airport topics.

My biggest concern is the spreading of inaccurate information about a very technical and sometimes confusing subject. I recently had the opportunity to read Mr. Haefele's letter and attached "technical analysis" of the airport that he reportedly distributed to 2,700 Rock Hill residents. Since no credit for the analysis was given to anyone else, I assume Mr. Haefele wrote it himself.

Errors and omissions

Herein lies the problem. To the uniformed, it may appear accurate. It is, in fact, riddled with errors and omissions. He leads you to believe that the reliever status we enjoy has something to do with airliners landing in Rock Hill. In fact, the opposite is true. Reliever status is term given to airports surrounding a major airport such as Charlotte's, that allows them to accept more general aviation and corporate aircraft, thereby allowing more airline traffic to use the larger airport.

It does not mean we will see airline equipment landing at the Rock Hill/York County Airport. Our runway cannot accept the larger aircraft, and we know that. Our goal is to "relieve" Charlotte of the smaller aircraft. Unfortunately, Mr. Haefele got it exactly backward.

No impact

He makes another statement that "it is undeniable that an enlarged Charlotte/Douglas airspace will impact departures from Rock Hill and landings at the Rock Hill Airport." This statement also is not true. All types of aircraft could still use our airport even if the airspace is changed. We are not denied access to any airspace; we just need to request permission to use it. That being said, it appears at this point we will not have any appreciable changes to our immediate surrounding airspace.

The point here is that our citizens deserve accurate and timely information, not fear mongering for political purposes. My suggestion is to get your information from our local city and county leaders. Buddy Motz has taken great pains to become and stay informed on these difficult subjects. Our county manager, Jim Baker, had a recent article on the subject of the airport published in The Herald, and it was both insightful and accurate. These leaders may not have all the answers, but they have the resources to get the right answers, and take great pains not to spread inaccurate information.

If you don't think you have enough data, ask for more. What we don't want to do is just believe everything that is written in the newspaper, Web sites or by private individuals. Attend the meetings and be informed.

Michael Fitzgerald, a Rock Hill resident, is executive vice president of Skytech.

This weekly column features opposing views from readers. These opinions are contrary to those expressed on this page or which otherwise take issue with something that appears in The Herald. All commentaries submitted become the property of The Herald and may be republished in any format.

Michael Fitzgerald, a Rock Hill resident, is executive vice president of Skytech.

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