After an interesting conversation with upcoming Talbot council candidate Owen Wormser today, we discussed many issues that could be addressed in the future, should he be successful in his current campaign .
I went on further to say, “not enough people are of the clear understanding of our potential online”, everyday behavior, and wireless connectivity. I could go on for hours , discussing and coaching folks on the value of a basic education to being online and using the internet as a resource and a tool. What the future holds for the internet is overwhelming enough, lets hope our county continues to invest in the state of the art technology for the future.
Here is a piece by Mr. Wormser I agreed to post, appearing soon in the Star Democrat:
The Easton Airport/Newnam Field is a business and economic model to be proud of and one we should emulate to help fuel the prosperity of our county.
Since I’ve filed to run for Talbot County Council. I’ve spent a lot of time meeting with people, listening and learning about the issues of greatest concern to our citizens. I’ve been asked by numerous people what can be done in Talbot County about well-paying jobs, affordable housing, 21st Century education of the highest order, while at the same time managing growth by focusing future growth in our municipalities. There is no easy or obvious single solution. However, an important part of the solution is to retain commercial and industrial revenues in Talbot. Some claim we need to expand retail small businesses, but we need to think carefully and move cautiously. What is our objective in attracting business to our county? I believe a key component of which businesses we should work to attract, is how much revenue it will bring to the county. Large chains such as Wal Mart, Target, Lowes, CVS, Bob Evans and others, return very little in bottom line revenue to the county. Exactly the reverse is true for the Easton Airport.
Martin Associates, an economic consulting firm with over 20 years experience assessing economic impacts created by the world’s transportation systems, recently concluded an economic impact study assessing our airport’s direct, spent-in-county, economic impact. In addition to airport taxes in excess of $2,000,000 paid to our State, County and Easton coffers, airport revenues remaining within our county exceed $50,000,000. In addition, our airport has not drawn on county revenues since 1994 and operates today 100% on revenues generated by annual aircraft operations. More than 160,000 aircraft operations during the current 12 month period – the second largest number of operations by an airport in Maryland!
It’s also about creating jobs in Talbot, and good ones at that. There are 362 folks working at the airport, most requiring advanced technical and/or management skills. The airport’s 20-year strategic plan provides for managed growth accommodating 21st Century aviation activities. There is a very high probability that a permanent Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) will be imposed soon around the Washington metro area, encompassing Baltimore Washington International (BWI) Airport. The potential exists, due to limitations imposed by an ADIZ on general aviation flight operations, our airport will become very attractive to a number of flight service and aircraft related enterprises currently located at facilities within the proposed ADIZ. Executing our airport’s strategic plan will position to become one of our county’s major economic contributors. Our students at every level will have career opportunities, various county-based small businesses will have a broader consumer base, and a host of other service-level jobs will be required.
What we need are more “airports” – or businesses that are revenue-positive to the county, like our airport. Talbot needs industry employers that are environmentally sound and sensitive, offering long-term, high paying jobs across a widely diverse set of technical and mechanical skills. Will our students be interested? If so, will they be equipped by our school’s curriculum with the tools and knowledge needed to compete for jobs that are demanding and challenging in our Nation’s advanced technology sector? Can we encourage businesses with similar attributes to come to the Mid Shore Region and perhaps Talbot that do not create unconstrained growth and urban sprawl, yet add to our tax base and provide challenging career opportunities? I believe we can. These issues need to be debated in open forums prior to our November elections. Our young people should be afforded every opportunity to finish their educations and return here to compete for good jobs and salaries commensurate with the cost of housing and the cost of living. By learning from and leveraging what has worked, like the Easton Airport example, by integrating our economic planning fully with our educational objectives, housing availability, our traditions and culture; and, by managing our growth carefully, we will be laying a firm foundation for long-term solutions to the questions on the minds of all citizens in Talbot County.
Posted on May 18th, 2006 by Tilghman Guy
Filed under: General
Easton / Newman Field, MD