Boise Leaders Back Bond Election for Airport Parking

By Brad Hem, The Idaho Statesman, Boise

Apr. 28–Boise Airport and city leaders voiced support Thursday for holding a bond election, possibly in November, to build a $37 million parking garage at the airport.

Despite growing demand for parking at the airport, the project has been hung up in the courts for three years. Earlier this month, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled the garage does not meet Idaho Constitution’s “ordinary and necessary” expense test that would have allowed a judge — instead of voters — to approve the long-term debt.

Boise photographer David Frazier had challenged the city’s efforts in court but praised the new plan to go the bond election route Thursday.

“That’s the way it should be done,” he said. “They should be commended for their actions.”

City officials sometimes bristle at Frazier’s opposition because he has raised questions about the way the city does business.

“I hate the idea of a local photographer’s hat size going up anymore, but I think (a bond election) is the most feasible option,” Councilman Alan Shealy said.

While the project has been delayed, its cost has increased mainly because gas and concrete have gotten more expensive, airport Director John Anderson said. In 2003, the city asked a district judge for permission to sell $27 million in bonds for the then-estimated $22 million project. The extra money would pay for bond issuance and other financing costs.

Because two of the five garage floors would be used for rental cars, those companies would be responsible for 40 percent of the cost of repaying the bond debt, Anderson said.

Parking demand has increased with airport growth in the past three years. For the past year, the airport has used a remote shuttle lot to handle overflow long-term parking. Of the 580 spaces in the shuttle lot, about 200 are used each day, with a high of 450 on one busy day.

The shuttle lot has room to expand to about 1,200 spots, but travelers prefer to park within walking distance of the airport terminal, Anderson said.

The council, in a joint meeting with the Boise Airport Commission on Thursday, expressed support for putting the garage expansion to voters.

“Going to a vote is a good idea,” Mayor Dave Bieter said.

“It’s comforting to hear people talking about a bond election,” Councilman Jim Tibbs said.

But getting two-thirds of voters to approve the garage expansion will be a challenge, city officials said. The city held a bond election in February to expand library services, and it got 57 percent support, 10 percentage points shy of the required supermajority.

Passing an airport bond, which officials said might not be ready for a November vote, could be even more challenging because non-residents of Boise wouldn’t be eligible to vote.

If Boise residents are leaving town for more than just a couple of days, they can take taxis to the airport for less than it would cost them to use the long-term parking lot. But the cab fare is more expensive for people who live in Nampa, Mountain Home or farther away, so these residents are more likely to use airport parking.

“Users of the airport outside the city of Boise will not be able to vote in this election,” said airport Commissioner Richard Hagood, who lives in Nampa.

Airport Commission Chairman John Kane suggested the possibility of forming a regional port authority to let more people who use the airport have a say in its operation. Making that change would require a public vote ordered by the county, and Idaho Code limits port districts to one county.

After the April 13 Supreme Court decision, the city’s parking garage expansion options were limited:

— Expand the remote shuttle lot and squeeze more parking near the terminal. This alternative would be an $800,000 short-term fix but would not solve the long-term parking demand.

— Delay other airport projects and save the cash to pay for the garage while raising parking rates for close-in lots. This would take at least five years to accumulate enough money.

— Borrow the money from a bank and then establish a special tax levy to repay it. This could be open to legal challenges.

— Contract with a private entity to build and operate the garage. City lawyers advised against this option, which also could be open to legal challenges.

If the bond were to pass in November, the garage could be open by December 2008.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Idaho Statesman, Boise

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