In the interest of a balanced discussion regarding the airport in East Middlebury, I would like to make a few comments.
This is not just about East Middlebury; the airport serves all of Addison County and some of Rutland County, too.
The airport in East Middlebury currently hosts two separate companies providing jobs. As it happens, both companies are particularly compatible to us because neither generates significant air traffic. Their customers bring their airplanes to Middlebury and then leave them for anywhere from a month to six months for extensive work by either, or both, companies. This minimal expansion will help to keep their jobs viable into the future.
An airport is no different than a prison, landfill or even a school. It is a part of our infrastructure. Many folks do not have any use for a school, but pay for them in order that it may be there if and when they do decide to use them. My parents bought our house in large part because we children could walk to the school next door. Some, however, do not like to live next to a school and all of the youthful pranks spawned by them.
While some may not like to live near an airport, the employees of the jobs there might find it particularly appealing. It is a choice; I would wager that very , very few in East Middlebury can claim to moving there before the airport. They knew it was there. If they moved during the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, they even moved when the airport is much more active than it is now, with early morning and late evening crop dusting and midday flight school lessons. It no longer has either.
Thank you for considering another view.
Joyce Howard
Middlebury