Fly Youngstown Blog

By George Nelson
VIENNA, Ohio — The new chairman of the Western Reserve Port Authority says he wants to create a new board — split off from the existing one — that would pursue economic development.

The new board, which would use development tools such as the existing port authority’s ability to issue industrial revenue bonds, would be modeled on the Summit County Port Authority, said John Masternick, elected Tuesday as the port authority’s new chairman. Masternick, president of Windsor House Inc. in Girard, succeeds local attorney and pilot Joseph Maxin, who has served as chairman since September 2005.

Scott Lynn and Michael Harshman were re-elected to their positions as vice chairman and secretary, respectively.

Lynn, who chaired the board reorganization committee, noted that Maxin recently accepted a job out of town, limiting his availability.

Masternick has spearheaded efforts to develop Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport, which the port authority operates, as an educational center for aviation-related fields. That effort resulted in the 2006 opening of a branch campus of the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, which graduated its first local class last December.

“That’s been a personal project of mine,” he said, although he added that the major objectives of the port authority, as he sees it, are to keep the adjacent Vienna air base open, attract a major airline, and pursue economic development in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

Achieving the third of those goals, he said, is why he wants to promote the creation of a separate entity. The existing port authority would continue to oversee airport operations.In the past, the Western Reserve Port Authority has used its ability to issue industrial revenue bonds to assist local development projects, such as TransLoad America’s acquisition and reactivation of the Smith Township Landfill. “That’s something we’ve got the power to do but we don’t have the expertise nor the structure,” he said, adding that he would model such a body on the Summit County Port Authority.

“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” he remarked. “We’re going to model it after something that’s been successful already.”

During the meeting, the airport’s aviation director, Steve Bowser, informed the board that he has received notification from the U.S. Department of Transportation that the airport was awarded a $575,000 Small Community Air Service Development grant. The money, which the airport applied for last year, will be used to attract and subsidize operations for a carrier targeted to serve the daily business traveler.

The airport had applied for a $900,000 grant, but DOT officials never explained why they approved the lower amount, Bowser said.

Enplanement numbers for both the regional airport’s sole regularly scheduled carrier, Allegiant Air, and charters showed improved performance for 2007, according to information provided to board members.

In 2007, 10,503 Allegiant passengers enplaned on 78 flights from the regional airport, up from 6,681 passengers on 56 flights in 2006, an increase of 3,822. Last year, 7,471 charter passengers enplaned at the airport on 122 flights, compared to 6,005 passengers on 58 flights the prior year.

“We’re hopeful this will spawn some new activity or increased activity with Allegiant,” Bowser said. He added he would be having additional discussions with the carrier next month “so we’ll see how that goes.”

Copyright 2008 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.