47°Bader says no thanks, again, to airport
10:00 PM
Feb 03
2012
Feb 03
2012
Bill Bader Jr., president of Summit Motorsports Park, had that to say Thursday when talking about a letter he'd received from Huron County Airport Authority president Dennis Sokol.
The letter stated "if circumstances change and you do wish to use the airport for egress in 2012, the temporary closure plan will then be submitted to the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration).
"I am asking you (Bader) to confirm your decision in writing to not use the Huron County Airport for egress this year so we will have formal documentation of this," Sokol's letter added.
The letter had earlier stated the airport board is holding off submitting the temporary closure plan, which was due Feb. 1.
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02:50 PM
Windy says
Good for you, Dennis. Knowing how the racetrack has worked in the past, saying that they want to use the airport to exit their cars on a particular day and then changing their mind at the last minute, after the airport has jumped through hoops to make all of the arrangements for nothing, what's to stop the racetrack from whining this summer that they wanted to use the airport for egress, but nobody would let them? If it is in writing, then everybody is on the same page.11:39 PM
Thumper says
Yeah, Lets get a signed document stating the racetrack does not need the exit...LOL..Way to waste more time on something that needed to be sent by Feb. 1 or needed approval by FAA or better yet no payment coming in for use of this exit anyways.Oh Yeah, wait, let’s get the airport also to send a signed statement saying they are not going to allow an exit at this time. Better send this out to all citizens of the county that the airport is open for business as usual too, except ten grand less than before.
I am now asking for you to send a signed statement that you do not want to send me a million dollars too. Otherwise....See, it could go on and on.
Time to GET OVER IT and move on.
10:49 PM
propman says
So then THUMPER are you going to guarantee that he'll not come back and claim that "I tried to work with the airport board but they wouldn't talk to me". Because that is exactly what will happen when the complaints come in over traffic.02:32 PM
Thumper says
Dennis Sokol...What part of NO do you not understand? He is not requesting to spend his 10 grand for the county airport, so you do NOT need to send a closure request to FAA.Now quit worrying what everybody else is thinking and run the damm airport. Never seen or heard more crybabies from both sides of this airport / commissioners fight in my life. Either do your job or get out....ALL of you, including the commissioners...
02:33 PM
Windy says
If ODOT is doing work for the racetrack, who is going to end up paying for it? Sounds to me like the three stooges have just cost the county even more money. Had the Commissioners and the Norwalk Reflector allowed the proper procedures to be followed, I'm sure an acceptable agreement could have been worked out without all this drama.07:21 PM
propman says
I'm not absolutely sure but I think ODOT requires more then 5% local share of the cost on road maitenance/improvments. Seems to me it is more like 20%.12:52 PM
dchar says
More of the same. Poor Bill Jr. Billy's way or the highway. Take your toys with you and go home. You've stated you won't use the airport this year. Fine. I hope everything with ODOT works out and you have a great summer. The airport will generate more business during your race weekends now that they don't have to cater to your whims. If the summer doesn't work out for you and traffic backs up, all you have is your own ego to blame. Just another spoiled kid whose daaddy never said NO to him. Reflector - Move on. Find another story to print. Start focusing on the 3 stooges (Larry, Gary, and Moe, I mean Joe). Two of them are running for re-election. Their motto - we can certainly get it done as long as we work behind the public's back, under the table. Transparent government - what is that. Doesn't fit into King Larry's plans.11:45 AM
GOOD DAY says
I raced at that park over 30 years ago and never even noticed an airport, and now when I go by I still don't. I do know that the raceway creates a lot jobs, how many jobs are there at the airport? I thought so. Keep up the good work Bill! Good Day!11:30 AM
johngalt57 says
Explain this question to me: How can Mr. Bader be reacting so negatively to a contract proposal that was NEVER presented to him? The county attorney attended the airport board meeting on January 26 and advised the board to make several changes to the draft contract. Right after that, Bader stood up and announced that he would not use the airport to exit traffic. How can he complain about a contract that was never presented to him for his review?05:22 PM
Ralph Wiggum says
If the airport NEVER formally presented a contract or Mr. Sokol NEVER informally made a prior agreement with Mr. Bader over the phone, why do they now need a written and signed decline to use the airport if a contract was NEVER offered or agreed upon, formally or informally? It absolutely makes no sense! Can you explain that?07:15 PM
propman says
The airport board wants his statment on paper so that WHEN the story gets changed later this spring there is a paper trail that reflects the truth. Something the Commissioners and Bader will not stand for on this issue. In my OPINION the Commissioners would face jail time if some of the things they have been doing had a paper trail. Just so you know Ralph the definition of opinion is- belief or statement bassed on one's own judgment rather then certain knowledge.10:48 PM
Thumper says
Can't change a story when there isn’t one. END of REPORT.... Now they can quite their crying and move on, same as Bader, he's done with it.And you are throwing out jail time? Nice try, from all reports, everything said and done should be on record since it is a public board running this airport. If you have something that was done illegally then you should report it...
06:53 PM
propman says
DID I NOT SAY "OPINION"?09:27 PM
Ralph Wiggum says
Hey, it's the Lorain County resident sharing it's wisdom on how we should spend our money or who we should elect once again! If there NEVER was a offer as johngalt57 said then Mr. Bader could've never signed it, plain and simple. Therefore asking him to sign a piece of paper about a contract that doesn't exist makes no sense. I think Sokol and his toadies screwed something up and now they need to cover their butts. If there wasn't a contract offer nor a signed document from Bader, why did they need to hold paperwork that was due back to the FAA by Feb. 1st? If they could've sent the paperwork to the FAA and put the blame on Bader as the bad person and said it's his fault, you know they would've. Maybe you need to worry about what's happening in your county first. I was south of Vermilion Sunday afternoon on a county road and stopped to help a lady change her tire after she bent the rim and cut the sidewall driving through a pothole the size of a bathtub. Why don't you worry about solving the problems with your roads before you worry about our problems.10:22 PM
propman says
There was no contract since Bader refused at the meeting where said contract was going to be worked out. Here you are already trying to change the facts to place blame on the airport board. That is why they want his refusal in writing. The FAA wanted the request for closers of the runway at this time to post notices for pilots operating in the area so that SAFETY IS MAINTAINED for the public, flying and driving. The people who use aircraft (those I work on and others) are the ones who've provided the funding the FAA gives out in grants in order to maintain and improve the airports used throughout the nation. Just because Huron county Airport is next to a small(minded?) community doesn't mean it is useless. From January, 2008 through March 2011 the FAA had over 520 IFR flight plans posted with Huron county as the final destination. IFR means Instrument Flight Rules,so those flights are in poor weather or aircraft operating at higher altitudes and speeds (bussiness JETS) it doesn't include local operations and VFR (Visual Flight Rules) operations in good weather.12:02 AM
Ralph Wiggum says
Sorry to tell you but you're wrong once again. Why don't you read and do some research before you flap your gums using your fingers. Private aircraft ARE NOT where the majority of FAA money comes from! Taxes on people flying commercially through ticket taxes, segment taxes and baggage taxes is where most money comes from. People flying to Hawaii or Alaska pay a extra $8.40 tax on top of everything else for some reason. The 99% of people who never step foot in a place like county airports pay the tax bill. Send a package through UPS or FedEx overnight...another tax. My gosh, why don't you pick up a book sometime! Oh yeah and it's "closures" not "closers".07:11 PM
propman says
Ok Ralph where does the MAJORITY of the grant funds go? AIRPORTS SUCH AS LAX, DETROIT CLEVELAND AND O"HARE. They use those funds for work on big airports too. Since the tax is on ALL aviation fuel doesn't those who pay their share operating out of small airports get to have those airports maintained and improved too? As to the extra tax in Alaska would that be due to a strate tax or the extra costs in maintaining such spread out locations with limited access and extreme weather? Have you looked up the taxes in Hawaii on everything? They make California look conservative and that doesn't include shipping costs there either. You bitch about what you pay flying on the airlines being used for Huron county Airport, just how much you'd howl if we down here had to pay the extra expenses for airfields in Alaska.01:01 AM
Ralph Wiggum says
100% of the tax revenue generated by a airport should be returned to that same airport. Those are the airports bringing in the commercial passengers paying the taxes and the passengers should benefit directly through nicer facilities. Private Pilots do not pay any of the associated taxes levied against the commercial air traveler. All they pay is the tax on fuel. They don't even pay a user fee of $3.40 every time they land like commercial travelers do. If they don't buy fuel here, the airport doesn't get one thin dime from them. Why is that? I have absolutely no problem with the Huron County Airport receiving the tax money it generates through fuel sales back to help run the facility but that's all it should get! Can't run the airport on what tax money it generates from use, too frickin' bad! The Huron County Country Club shouldn't get a windfall of tax payer money simply because it "exists". If you have a plane here at the airport and use the facility then pay your own dang fair share! Quit standing with your hand outstretched expecting a commercial airline passenger to pay for your hobby or Huron County taxpayers to subsidize as well! All of the pilots that post on here claim to be big boys and saved their money to afford a expensive toy, so "pay to play". I know of many other expensive hobbies people participate in and yet I haven't seen one of those other groups cry, whine and stomp their feet because the taxpayer hasn't built and maintained a facility for them. Should they start crying now? It seems to be working for the plane owners quite nicely.07:28 PM
propman says
If you would apply that aurgument to roads then trucks and cars couldn't get from Chicago to Cleveland since large areas in between would be nothing but rutted dirt trails for them to drive on. So lets make ALL roads toll roads then. You pay for only what you use and every other driver does the same and then lets see the mess the national road system would be in! The Grant funds is how those who use the airport without buying fuel there give the facilities their "thin dime" to improve it. Privately owned planes have more then fuel tax levied against them. Licenses, seat tax(Ohio taxes according to the number of seats on aircraft), registration renewal fees and landing fees(if someone is there to record n-numbers).10:57 PM
Ralph Wiggum says
No, 80% or more of those grant funds are coming from commercial fliers that will never step foot on or use the county airport. The airport system is nothing like the road system....not even close! If we applied the air transportation tax method to public roads you would find hobbyists with $100,000 sports cars only paying tax on fuel while a large family going on vacation with 8 people in the van paying a 7.5% tax on the value of their trip, tax on every piece of luggage in the van and charge them $3.40 per person every time the van got off the highway and stopped. Let's not forget the fuel tax (tax the airlines pay and pass on to their customers) they paid when they filled up the tank to begin with. Does that sound fair to you? You seem to think it is. You would need the same traffic control system (traffic lights, stop signs, etc.) whether it was all sports cars or vans. Why are the people traveling by van expected to pay the bulk of road maintenance through taxes? As for the extra taxes you say private pilots pay on their plane, commercial airlines don't pay them? They don't pay the FAA for a plane license and are given free tail numbers for every craft in their fleet? I highly doubt it. Every tax the FAA levies against the airlines is automatically passed on to the customer. We all know that and once again it is shouldered by the commercial passenger. It's the commercial flying public's responsibility to make sure a person playing with their plane on the weekend doesn't need to taxi through some mud?08:13 PM
propman says
for 2011 LAX got 32.9 milion,LA GUARDIA over 24 million, RONALD REAGON 10.4, O"HARE 120 million, DETROIT 18 million, CLEVELAND HOPKINS over 26 million, CINCINNATI 17.44 million, PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL 33.97 million, TOLEDO EXPRESS 4.5 million, SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL 17.68, DENVER INTERNATIONAL 29.9 million (denver was moved what 10 years ago, that would still be darned new) and BOEING FIELD(Boeing Aircrtaft corp. home field) got 8 million from the grant funds. How then does the large airports not get their share.09:46 AM
yea right says
I say let them move to Mansfield..SCREW SNORWALK..let them suffer with out all that money the dragstrip brings in..after all the airport generates how much per yr..$5.00 haha..07:32 PM
propman says
Yeh let Bader move to the track at Mansfield. They wanted to put in a drag strip there a few years ago and were denied the permits do to wetlands. I'd like to see what would happen when Bader tried to take over Mansfield Airport. Maybe the Air Guard would BOMB the track! LMAO10:07 AM
rogerthat says
Less09:03 AM
Fibber Mcgee says
I hope it works out with ODOT, this battle has gone on long enough......08:57 AM
matt882 says
Most cities/counties would bend over backwards to take care of a revenue generating facility like the raceway.06:20 AM
nobodycares says
he should just sell the raceway .....then we dont have to listen to him whine....wah wah wah blah blah blah02:22 AM
Ralph Wiggum says
If Mr. Bader wrote a letter to Mr. Sokol and his airport toadies that said, "Go perform intercourse on yourself" (I'm paraphrasing) and signed it, would that count as a letter confirming his intent to not use the airport? He could also send a copy to Mr. LeClair and the FAA to prove it's the final draft and not just a "template". Although, that letter could confuse the issue if those three fail to read the signature and just assume it to be a standard letter from a friend or family member. Mr. Bader must make sure to use company letterhead.12:42 AM
citizenof hc says
I think the reflector has beat this into the ground. Find something newsworthy. We know the story and I'm getting tired of looking at Billy. As usualy, these guys blame everyone except those responsilbe. Hey Bill. Have the courtesy to send a letter confiming your intent to not use the airport. Step up, start acting like an adult, not a 5 year old.