Regional Airport Eyed
By John Tuohy, The Indianapolis Star
May 16–After squabbling with Noblesville about relocating Metropolitan Airport, Fishers officials have found a municipality that actually wants it.
Anderson.
The Fishers Town Council will spend $150,000 on a study to determine if a new airport in southern Madison County could replace its airfield and Anderson Municipal Airport.
Fishers wants to close its airport because it isn’t big enough to make much money and because it sits on prime real estate that could haul in millions in annual taxes for the town.
Conversely, Anderson officials said a large regional airport could pump money into the local economy by attracting businesses.
“We found through talking to them that Anderson would benefit from a location there,” said Fishers Town Manager Gary Huff.
“The potential for economic development for the city of Anderson would be greatly enhanced by a state-of-the-art airport facility,” Anderson Mayor Kevin S. Smith said in a written statement.
“A site that provides easy access to I-69 would make the airport highly desirable to businesses and industries.”
Aerofinity, an Indianapolis firm, should complete the study by September, said Sue Schalk, company president.
“We will be looking at both airports to determine what type of corporate business users there are there and what type of demand there is now and in the future” Schalk said. But she cautioned that the construction of a new airport would be several years down the line.
“This is just the first small step in a much longer process,” she said. That includes creating an airport master plan and a host of environmental impact studies.
The Indianapolis Airport Authority runs the Fishers airport, along with four other small airports, to relieve stress on Indianapolis International Airport on the Southwestside. Madison County is outside the authority’s jurisdiction, so it’s possible a new local authority would oversee the Anderson Airport.
The Indianapolis Airport Authority would have to approve the move, however. Authority President Lacy Johnson said last year it would consider a move only after all local governments agreed on a site.
Johnson said Monday the agency’s position hasn’t changed, but he added that the Fishers airport “is a good airport that handles well small aircraft and small jets.”
“We have no intention of relocating at this time,” he said.
Last year, the Noblesville City Council voted against relocating the airport to 1,000 acres in Wayne Township.
Fishers is eager to develop the 445 acres on which the airport sits — north of 96th Street and east of Allisonville Road — in part because the tax-free land doesn’t provide the city and county much revenue.
Huff said the airport’s runways are too short for bigger jets to land, and it can’t be expanded because it is surrounded by a mix of residential and commercial development. Without the bigger jets, fuel sales — a moneymaker for airports — are sluggish.
“We’re landlocked,” Huff said. “Jet fuel sales are a huge revenue generator.”
The Anderson airport, alongside Ind. 32 on the city’s eastside, serves mostly corporate jets but also does about 1.6 million in freight business.
It also has no room to grow. Moving it near I-69 would seem to be the best location to attract businesses, Anderson spokeswoman Connie Smith said.
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