I am a resident who lives north of the airport. When I initially read of the possible closing of CR 100E, it depressed me to think of the huge inconvenience this would create for so many of us who use this road on a daily basis.
My perception of the article, however, was that this issue was pretty much already decided. It sounded as though the six businesses listed (Zimmer, Biomet, DePuy, Image Air Charter, LLC, Explorer Van, and ML Motorsports) were banning together to make this expansion and closing happen. The article went on to say Warsaw's Board of Aviation Commissioners had received letters from pilots stating their reasons for expansion, there would be no negative effect on fire protection, power lines would need to be lowered, and the Federal Aviation Administration supported the proposed expansion. It seemed all necessary research and planning had been completed, and any attempt by the general public to alter this decision would prove futile.
Upon reading Gary Gerard's News Views in Saturday morning's Times-Union, I am not totally convinced this is the case. It seems Explorer Van does not want to be included in the list of business supporters. DePuy's pilot does not believe the number of times the expansion is really needed is worth the inconvenience to the thousands of people that closing the road would cause. Biomet is neutral on the issue.
I am respectfully requesting that each and every person involved in this decision-making process, give very careful consideration as to what impact the proposed airport expansion and road closing will have on this community. Will it be of great benefit to the citizens of Warsaw and the surrounding area? Does the number of times an airplane would be inconvenienced by diverting to a larger airport for safety reasons compare to the number of times many, many citizens would be inconvenienced on a daily basis? I trust you will make the right decision for all concerned.
