Get everyone up to speed on airport     

Sunday, 04 February 2007 

Almost 10 years ago, then-mayor of Hazleton Michael Marsicano pitched an ambitious project – a cargo airport where Carbon, Luzerne and Schuylkill counties meet.

But for much of the last decade, the proposal seemed more off than on. U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski reminded area folks about the potential airport from time to time. A study found that such a facility would be feasible, but many were turned off by the billion-dollar price tag and few seemed to be willing to take it to the next step.

Then last week, seemingly out of the blue, there it was: The airport idea – a project that if realized could transform the Hazleton area even moreso than King Coal itself – went from a pipe dream to a near certainty.

There was certainly much work done behind the scenes, because before invitations went out for Wednesday’s big announcement, the airport wasn’t even on the radar screen.

The mayor of Hazleton, the closest city to the airport location, wasn’t consulted or even informed. State Rep. Todd Eachus was a main speaker at Wednesday’s announcement; maybe he and Louis Barletta haven’t completely buried the hatchet.

Hazle Township Supervisor Chairman Bill Gallagher said he found out in Tuesday’s Standard-Speaker that the airport idea might fly.

Maybe most importantly, some Schuylkill County officials were in the dark. That’s alarming, considering that about half of the airport’s 13,000-foot runway, as conceived now, would be in Schuylkill County.

“We haven’t heard anything for at least four years,” said Gerald L. Heffner, vice president of the Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation, adding that he was not aware of Wednesday’s announcement beforehand.

Give credit to Marsicano for sticking with the idea and to his Gladstone partners Robert Powell and Greg Zappala, as well as Luzerne County officials, for having the courage and the foresight to undertake such a huge venture.

However, the cargo airport plan is simply too ambitious to benefit a small circle of friends or to affect a small corner of the Coal Region. That’s one reason, Marsicano and Powell said, that they decided to turn over the facility to a county authority.

Maybe the men behind the project felt it was best to keep it under wraps until they had all of the facts and, as they say, all of their ducks in a row.

Now that the proposal is out in the open, Gladstone Partners and the county’s soon-to-be airport authority should reach out to the leaders of the counties and communities that will feel the impact of the airport, whether it be for advice or simply to keep everyone up to date.

Marsicano and Powell got off to a good start by sitting down with Standard-Speaker editorial staff members for almost two hours on Thursday. We look forward to more cooperation – not only with us but with other officials – in the future.