In a Press release distributed to press and public officials
-by Roger Daniels, Campaign Manager for Mark Lampton

”The Camas Washougal Aviation Association, which is a flying club at
Grove Airport, is attempting to turn the Port commission election into
a single-issue race.  Their goal is very simple:  They want the Port to
apply for $10 million in FAA funding to enlarge Grove Airport.  They
want to increase the number of planes that can use this small
recreational facility.  This money will come with “strings-attached”
and they have recruited Liz Pike to help promote this objective.

Many people who live in Fern Prairie, North Shores, Lacamas Shores and
Prune Hill do not want to see Grove Airport expanded.  They do not want
increased airplane traffic and noise associated with low flying
aircraft disturbing their neighborhoods.  Currently, there are 79
aircraft at Grove Airport, and approximately half of these planes are
owned by people who live within the Port district.

If you support the expansion of Grove Airport, then the CWAA pilots
want you to support Alan Hargrave and Gary Perman.  If you are
satisfied with the current size of Grove Airport, then you should vote
for Bill McRae-Smith and Mark Lampton, as they want to continue the
airport at its current size while maintaining it as a safe facility.

McRae-Smith and Lampton also support keeping the marina and the
Parkersville Historic site in public ownership.  They are committed to
recruiting businesses that pay family-wage jobs to our communities and they oppose increasing taxes.  And, they want to conduct business in the open and to make decisions that reflect community values.”

Roger Daniels
34207 SE 22 Way
Washougal, WA



Response to Roger Daniels Letter to the Editor:

“It appears Mr. Daniels wants to team candidates up. For the record, I am my own person and I am not running as a team mate with Mr. Hargrave. Although we may agree that the airport is an asset worth keeping and the safety of pilots and community is important – Mr. Hargrave and I have different campaign issues important to us and are not running as a team such as the Lampton - Daniels - McRae-Smith team.

Contrary to Mr. Daniels statement; there are many people who live in Fern Prairie, Camas and Washougal, that DO want to see Grove Airport expanded. They see the Airport as an asset to our community. Our community has a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of FAA money which is not tax revenues, with a minimal “in-kind” investment of land worth $275,000 (no out of pocket tax dollars) to expand the airport runway 300 feet and meet minimum safety standards required by the state and federal government. The facts are that airplane engines have more power than they did in the 1940’s, requiring safer runways.
If the Daniels - Lampton position is to leave the airport “as is” – they will be condemning a community asset to extinction.
Once the airport meets minimum safety requirements, the Port also has an opportunity receive a grant for airport maintenence of $150,000 each year for 20 years. This will result in a return on investment far exceeding any of the Ports investment returns they have produced in decades.” Perman said

The port mission statement says: “It is the Port’s mission to strengthen and diversify the existing economic and industrial base of the district”

Yet…. The Port has been mismanaged for years:

•    $5.5m tax dollars sit in savings – not invested while they collect $2.2m in taxes each year
•    They have failed at creating jobs and enhancing the economy (core mission statement)
•    120 acres of undeveloped industrial lands have sat empty for decades
•    They undermine local economic and school revenues by leasing land vs. selling land – devastating schools and local economic income. Homeowners shoulder the burden.
•    The port proudly states that they have attracted 138 jobs to the port in the past five years. However, the industrial park remains at the 2004 employment level with less than 900 jobs. That equates to taxpayers contributing $11,000 per industrial park job.

Solutions:

•    Invest $1million from port savings to each school district to retain teaching jobs and maintain vital programs.
•    Begin a cooperative aviation program between the schools and the airport – to teach and train future pilots.
•    Demand job creation - target industries and potential businesses through aggressive business recruitment. This requires a vision, congruent mission, portfolio, and project plan.
•    End Land Lease practices which currently cheat the community out of significant tax revenues each year.
•    If the port management cannot be turned around - Dissolve the Port - It could take some time, but the City of Washougal has expressed interest in managing the marina and protecting the parks, while the City of Camas has expressed interest in the management of the Airport.

Outcomes:

•    Save teachers jobs and needed programs. Enhance more career focused programs; math, sciences, engineering, aviation and potentially increasing aviation student programs at Grove Field.
•    Aggressively recruit businesses from other parts of the country that can have tremendous advantages to our area. We can choose Green industries – Software, Nanotechnology, Call centers, Semiconductors, etc.
•    Having a realistic and current comprehensive plan including a working vision and strategy.
•    73% of land lease taxes leave the local economy. $27 comes back from the state to Camas and Washougal school systems. If property is sold, the owner pays property taxes to local schools; as an example - a $1m property sold in the industrial park will generate $3,100 per year just to the Washougal School district rather than $27 if that same property is leased by the port.
•    Immediate $2.2million taxpayer savings each year to residents of the port district.
•    A well managed marina and airport that can be self sustaining and enhanced.

- Gary Perman
142 NE Whitney St
Camas, WA. 98607
835-2205
permanforport@comcast.net