Read our Opinion Piece that got this startedRedevelop air base to expand Mitchell, panel says
Officials urge runway, space for businesses
By TOM DAYKIN
tdaykin@journalsentinel.com
The 440th Air Force
Reserve facility should be redeveloped into a runway for Mitchell International Airport and to house aviation-related businesses, including a Midwest Connect maintenance building, after the military base closes in February, city
officials said Tuesday. The Common Council's Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee recommended for approval a plan for the 102-acre parcel, which Milwaukee County would control. The full council is to consider that
recommendation at its meeting Tuesday. Allowing the airport to expand onto the base property eventually, perhaps in 2016, would benefit the Milwaukee area, said David Misky of the Department of City Development. The runway would
use up to 46 acres. Until the runway is added, airlines and other businesses that provide aviation services should use the former base buildings, said Misky, who leads the city Redevelopment Authority. One business that city
officials hope will move to the parcel is a maintenance building for Skyway Airlines Inc., which operates Midwest Connect regional airline. Skyway is a subsidiary of Oak Creek-based Midwest Air Group Inc., which also operates
Midwest Airlines. Skyway's maintenance facility, 401 E. Layton Ave., has drawn complaints from nearby residents about noise and jet-fuel fumes, said Ald. Terry Witkowski, whose district includes the airport. Those problems
started in 2002, when Midwest Connect began using jets more heavily than turboprop aircraft, he said. Witkowski wants Skyway to move its maintenance building to the former base, where it would be farther from homes. He also
wants Signature Flight Support, 923 E. Layton Ave., to move to the parcel. Signature provides fueling and other services for corporate aircraft. The committee approved a resolution seeking the relocation of both companies.
Signature's general manager didn't return a telephone call seeking comment. Midwest Air spokesman Michael Brophy said Skyway has no intention of moving its maintenance facility, and he said the company has worked with airport
officials on noise issues.
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Air Traffic Controllers Get Greater Burden
Mitchell base airspace responsibility doubled
By ANNYSA JOHNSON
From the Feb. 13, 2008 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Beginning Thursday, air traffic controllers who guide planes into and out of Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport will be responsible for monitoring double
the airspace as part of a move by the Federal Aviation Administration to accommodate growing traffic at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. But Milwaukee controllers on Tuesday accused the FAA of compromising passenger
safety by failing to provide adequate staffing and equipment in advance of the shift, and said the effects could be seen in delays in Milwaukee and elsewhere in Wisconsin during peak summer travel times. "It's highly
unlikely that we'll have enough people to staff (the Milwaukee tower) safely," said Paul Charapata, local president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, whose members will assume responsibility for an
additional 8,400 cubic miles of airspace stretching to Green Bay beginning at 3 a.m. Thursday. An FAA spokeswoman confirmed the shift but called the union's allegations misleading and untrue, saying they are part of a national
campaign to put pressure on Congress to reopen the controllers' 2006 contract, which among other things altered staffing and compensation levels. "We are stunned by this move to needlessly put fear in the minds of the flying
public," Elizabeth Isham Cory said. "The airspace surrounding Milwaukee is safe and will remain safe," she said. The allegations by the Milwaukee chapter come a month after the national union issued a statement
saying that retirements are thinning the ranks of experienced controllers, and that those left can no longer safely handle peak volumes at airports in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and southern California. Retirements take toll
Charapata said retirements also have taken a toll in Milwaukee, where staffing has fallen to 41certified controllers - one of whom is scheduled to retire March 1 - from 51 in September 2006.
The FAA lists Milwaukee's current acceptable staffing range as 37 to 45 controllers. Several Wisconsin lawmakers, all Democrats, jumped into the fray Tuesday, calling on acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell to address the air
traffic controllers' concerns in Milwaukee and nationally. "While we support efforts to reduce congestion and better manage the national airspace system, we are gravely concerned about serious gaps in the way the FAA is
moving to implement the changes," said Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee) in a letter co-signed by U.S. Reps. Steve Kagen of Appleton and Tammy Baldwin of Madison. Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold also jointly sent a letter. A
spokesman for U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Tuesday that Ryan had met with the union and was planning on writing a letter to the FAA. Beginning Thursday, the FAA is shifting control of the airspace surrounding airports in
Oshkosh, Fond du Lac and Sheboygan from the Chicago Center in Aurora, Ill., so Chicago can better handle the increase in traffic expected as part of an expansion at O'Hare. The change affects only that airspace up to 13,000 feet.
Those facts appear to be the only things on which the FAA and air traffic controllers agree. Charapata said the FAA has reneged on an agreement to increase staffing in Milwaukee to 56 certified controllers to accommodate the
additional airspace, and to install a new state-of-the-art radar antenna in Green Bay that would improve their efficiency. In addition, he said, the FAA refused the union's request for live training at the Chicago Center before the
launch, and as a result only seven people will be certified to work the new airspace when it comes online Thursday. "They will be working that airspace with zero live experience in it," Charapata said. "The people
flying through that airspace will have more time there than the controllers supervising it." Enough controllers Isham Cory said that the FAA will have 53 certified controllers in place in Milwaukee over the next few
months, eight more than what the FAA considers adequate for Milwaukee's current coverage, and that the agency is still trying to acquire the land for the new radar antenna. Isham Cory called the new airspace a low-traffic sector,
saying it would result in no more than 5.4 additional landings and takeoffs an hour. "Milwaukee can handle it," she said. Charapata said it will strain a staff already working six-day weeks to accommodate the
additional training. "At what point do you have fatigue? Six months? A year?" he asked.
RE-USE OF 440th AREA
What should we do with the 440 th 's land and buildings now that the base will be closed? Would-be
tenants of all kinds, both public and private, are lining up to taking a look at the facilities to see if it might fit their needs. But those of us on the northwest side of the airport believe we have the best plan for the reuse of
the old 440th's property: move the fixed base operator and aircraft maintenance facilities out of our back yards and over to a place that was actually designed to handle aircraft. Consider it a land swap that would
improve the quality of life for a lot of people. I am confident that those who are expressing interest in locating on or near the airport would find the northwest area much more convenient with
access to I-794, Layton Avenue, Howell Avenue, and I-94. The northwest area of the airport has become a growing problem for neighbors as Mitchell becomes more popular. It will continue to be a problem as the
airport continues to grow. Positive steps must be taken to reduce the environmental burden being placed on adjacent homeowners. City of Milwaukee noise and obnoxious fumes ordinances are being violated on a regular basis with
seeming impunity. What would be some of the more compelling reasons for moving the FBO and maintenance operations to a more compatible area like the old 440th
base -- other than the ubiquitous ordinance violations? It is a more secure area; the pavement is already strengthened for larger planes; it is a safer area for fueling and is easily accessed by the airport fire department; it is closer to the deicing area where the toxic fluids can be recovered rather than escaping into adjacent waterways; and, most importantly, noise and fumes would remain on airport property.
Airport consultants have admitted there is a problem in the northwest area of the airport, but rather than suggest a proactive solution, they recommend spending several millions of dollars to erect noise
barriers; millions more to strengthen the pavement so more and larger planes can come in and out of the area; and even more millions to install electrical outlets for the planes that will be parked there. For a
perspective, the FBO is approximately 200 feet away from the nearest residence; maintenance hangars –- which also operate 24/7 – 800 feet away. People around here usually aren't complainers, but this is nothing more than poorly
planned insanity. By the way, most of the homes in this area were built in the 40's and 50's when "Mitchell Field" was our friendly little regional airport. So don't say we should have know better than to move here – it
wasn't always like it is today. Sure, we have the option to move away (run and hide instead of trying to improve), but who will take our place? Admittedly things do change, but there must also be some sort of balance to it all.
Milwaukee County must come to the realization that its airport does not operate in a vacuum. Finally, I like to say that the 440th
Air Lift Wing is a sad loss to our community. The personnel were the finest. Their commitment to the community was outstanding. We were very fortunate to have them here as long as we did. Now it's time to move ahead and reuse the base in a manner that will benefit the community – just as the 440
th did.
Jim Baker
[This letter was sent as a "letter to the editor" of all local newspapers. Only one published it – The Bay View Compass -- the greatest little newspaper on the south side. That was all we needed]