PITKIN COUNTY AIRPORT

POST ELECTION UPDATE Nov. 8, 2024: A measure on the ballot that would have ceded control of Colorado’s Aspen/Pitkin County Airport to county voters instead of county officials was rejected by voters on November 5. The measure essentially removed from the county board of commissioners the ability to authorize and use state or federal grants to expand or relocate any runway at the airport beyond the dimensions existing as of Jan. 1, 2024, unless approved by Pitkin County voters.

PRE ELECTION UPDATE Nov. 5, 2024: Voters will decide the future of the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport and the nature of its relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA):

The airport is in bad shape. No one disputes this. The terminal needs to be completely replaced. The runway is suffering after years of patchwork fixes and needs a complete rebuild. These projects will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, money the community does not have. The FAA will only fund the new runway if we present them with an plan that meets federal aviation standards. However, opposition groups say there is more to the story… see links below for both sides of the story.

SUMMARY:

One point of contention over the future of Aspen-Pitkin County Airport is to move an expanded runway 80 feet west of its current location, or risk losing FAA funding, which has totaled $119.6 million to date. The county has shared iterations with the FAA through the Airport Layout Plan process to work toward a site plan and funding for both the terminal and the runway. 

The FAA has rejected the proposal to rebuild the terminal and rebuild or replace the runway unless our valley accepts a wider runway, which would allow bigger planes, leading to more commercial flights and private planes. The FAA is clear that we will lose project and ongoing funding and could get stripped of modifications (that have worked for decades). It has been stated that without the wider runaway, the FAA could downgrade the airport classification to not allow some commercial service and may even force Pitkin County to build a 100-foot-tall control tower on the other side of Highway 82.

***OCTOBER 17, 2024*** I obtained a letter from the FAA which will be presented at the BOCC meeting on Oct 22: The letter from John P. Bauer Manager, FAA Denver Airports District Office, warns Pitkin County Manager Jon Peacock about Ballot Question 200 being passed, and if so, that the county may be in breach of contract wtih the FAA as recipients of nearly $120million to date.

TWO OPTIONS for Pitkin County VOTERS: (SEE LINKS BELOW)

1. Vote YES on 1C, N0 on 200: summed up by John Bennett, a former Aspen mayor, and part of The Community Coalition for a 21st Century Airport’s leadership group. John fought against the arrival of Boeing 737s at the airport back in the 1990s, but said this time is different because of the need for federal funding for climate initiatives at the airport and the trajectory of wider wingspans in aviation for more aerodynamic aircraft. aBetterAirport.com

2. Vote NO on 1C , yes on 200: community group Aspen Fly Right  and MAYOR TORRE are supporters/members of Citizens Against Bigger Planes, and have successfully forced an election on proposed changes to the airport runway on the Nov’24.ballot to ensure airport improvements, but not bigger planes and more people.