Two major ventures at Bradford Regional Airport – commercial air
service to Washington and the installation of a proposed
Pennsylvania Army National Guard armory – are moving forward,
according to airport officials.

During a meeting of the Bradford Regional Airport Authority on
Tuesday, airport officials said its commercial air carrier Colgan
Air Inc., is currently “crunching figures” to decide on the
feasibility of changing hub cities from Pittsburgh to Washington’s
Dulles International Airport.

Officials said also in the cards could be a change in parent
carriers from US Airways to United.

Colgan was recently named to continue service at the airport
through an order with the U.S. Department of Transportation, which
had originally named competitor RegionsAir to fly into Bradford at
a low subsidy rate through the federal Essential Air Service
program.

RegionsAir was ultimately denied the station due to the airline
balking at starting service three separate times. Colgan is
currently flying into Pittsburgh but has the option of switching
over to Dulles, if economically viable.

“It’s been a long journey,” Airport Director Tom Frungillo said.
“The end result is we got what we wanted (to fly into Washington).
We feel this is in the best interest of the community. We need to
make this work.”

Airport officials have sought using Washington as a hub, in
part, because of an increased availability of international
flights. The airport has realized a decline in its enplanements
recently, also helping to prompt the proposed move.

“There are definitely more opportunities at Dulles,” Authority
Chairman and McKean County Commissioner Clifford Lane said.

According to Frungillo, airport officials are hoping to meet
with Colgan representatives sometime in the next couple of weeks to
discuss what course will be taken in the future.

“Hopefully, we should see something in a short period of time,”
Frungillo said, noting there was no time frame set for when a
change in hub cities or airlines could occur. “There are some
positive items if they decide to go with United.”

Authority member Ron Dankesreiter said travelers leaving
Bradford wouldn’t notice a difference in service until arriving at
Dulles.

“Things would be pretty transparent here,” Dankesreiter
said.

Last fall, Colgan announced it was looking to renegotiate its
two-year contract with the DOT due to a decline in passenger levels
and a hike in fuel costs. RegionsAir had proposed changing hub
cities from Pittsburgh to Cleveland and carriers from US Airways to
Continental.

In other news, authority members talked with National Guard
officials before the meeting to receive an update on the proposed
armory, which is slated to be built near the access road into the
airport.

National Guard officials were not available to talk to the media
afterward.

“It’s moving forward,” Lane said.

According to Frungillo, officials on both sides are still
waiting on the closing for the property, which will be turned over
to the National Guard. An agreement of sale between the parties has
already been signed.

“Hopefully, we can close on it by January,” Frungillo said.

Officials said the funding for the armory will be officially
released when the federal budget is signed into law by President
Bush, likely before the end of the year.

According to U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa.’s, Communications
Director Chris Tucker, the funds for the armory are covered in the
military construction section of the Military Quality of
Life/Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, which has already passed
the House. The Senate still needs to act on the measure.

The construction of the $5.7 million facility will ultimately
lead to the closure of barracks in Bradford, Ridgway and Kane. It
is part of the 56th Brigade’s transformation to a Stryker Brigade
as part of an overhaul of the country’s armed services.

Officials said construction could begin sometime in the
spring.

Meanwhile, for the third time in as many months, airport
officials discussed whether deicing fluid would be allowed to enter
the sewer system from a depository located in the airport’s deicing
pad.

Officials had first broached the subject during an August
authority meeting, during which they hoped to work out a deal with
the Bradford Sanitary Authority to allow “trickles” of deicing
fluid to enter the sewer system.

On Tuesday, engineer A.J. Coval told the board he spoke with
Bert Clark of the sanitary authority about what could be let into
the system. Clark indicated the state Department of Environmental
Protection told the authority its sewage treatment plant was
“organically loaded” and the agency didn’t want the authority to
take in any more industrial waste at this time.

However, Clark told Coval the authority wasn’t opposed to taking
in the fluid at some point in the future.