I just read the article about Robert Riley and the Kingman Airport Authority in the Daily Miner’s Monday Memorial Day issue.
I would like to comment on why it takes five years to spend money allocated from the government on the airport.
In order to get grants from the government, the KAA needs to file the proper paperwork and itemize what the money is going to be used for. So, after receiving the money from the government, why does the KAA hang on to the money for so long?
This business of spending the money on maintaining roads, grooming the industrial park, etc., is something I’m not buying.
For example, if the KAA receives money for a particular improvement or necessity, then by waiting five years to do the improvement would pretty much be money down the drain so to speak, wouldn’t it?
Waiting five years is defeating the purpose and in the interim, the KAA is accumulating all this money.
You can’t tell me it’s because it’s drawing interest from the bank, as everyone knows, the interest banks pay on savings is insignificant. To say that is the reason KAA puts the money in the bank instead of spending it on the reasons it told the government it needed the money doesn’t compute. I’m sure the KAA didn’t use the reason it needed the money in the bank to draw interest wasn’t used.
So far I haven’t heard one word, from either Dave French or Bob Riley about the Kingman Airport being for general aviation and general aviation business.
It has all been about the Kingman Industrial Park, chip sealing and cheapening out on the real issues that confront the airport.
When is the new pilots’ lounge scheduled to be built? When is the other fixed-base operator coming to Kingman Airport? When are the “other shade parking areas” coming to Kingman Airport? How soon is the hanger rent going to be reduced to a fair amount along with the removal of the yearly percentage increase amount that Mr. French has so graciously added?
These are just a few of the items that come to mind. When are we going to have a pilots’ store at the airport?
The bottom line is when is Kingman going to have an airport that all the City of Kingman can be proud of? This airport, folks, is for the people of Kingman and for the public to share and enjoy, not for the sake of any one or two persons regardless of how they maintain the industrial park and hoard money in the bank for who knows what “real reason.”
This is our airport and we will continue this flight plan until the end, no ifs, ands or buts.
People of Kingman please stand up and be counted. We need your help and commitment in returning this beautiful airport to the people of Kingman and the people of general aviation so we can have airshows, public displays of aircraft, etc.,and especially more events like the B-17 visit.
It very much seems that the present KAA is wanting nothing more than getting rid of general aviation at this airport and for no other reason do they conduct general aviation in the manner that they do.
https://kdminer.com/news/2017/jun/01/airport-all-people-kingman-enjoy/