Public Power - May 2008 - (Page 39)

be a turning point in the War of 1812. It also features public access to Lake Champlain for boaters. One of the largest attributes of the former Air Force base is an airfield comprising nearly 12,000 feet of paved runway, with 1,000 feet of paved overrun at each end, adjoined by 242 acres of ramp space. The runway is large enough to land NASA’s shuttle. The complex is now home to Plattsburgh International Airport, operated by Clinton County. A $20 million airport terminal opened at the north end of the runway in June 2007. “We are positioning it as Montreal’s U.S. airport,” said Michele Powers, North Country Chamber’s vice president of marketing. “Every major air- port in North America has a backup airport. This keeps prices competitive and offers more airline options. “We offer free parking at our airport, which sets us apart in the marketplace,” Powers said. “We have people from Montreal who fly in and out of our airport for this reason.” The commitment of Plattsburgh’s leaders to redeveloping the base, rather than padlocking the facility, has had long-term benefits. The city and town of Plattsburgh have gained $73 million in the assessed value of former federal property placed on their tax rolls over a 10-year period. None of the property of the 5,000-acre federal complex had ever been on the local tax rolls prior to the base closing in 1995. Also, PARC invested and managed more than $24 million in airport maintenance and capital improvements from 1996 until 2005, when Clinton County assumed responsibility for airfield operations. The funds invested by PARC came from grants from the federal Economic Development Administration, New York’s Empire State Development Corp. and from tenant income. A study shows that by the end of 2006, through PARC’s economic development efforts, the city of Plattsburgh and town of Plattsburgh, together, gained $73 million in the assessed value of former federal property placed on their tax rolls over a 10-year period. Plattsburgh is better off financially now than when the base was still in operation, Matton said. “Our tax base has increased substantially because all this property was made available after the base closure for companies wanting to relocate,” she said. “The base closing was more of an emotional loss than financial. We were proud to have a Strategic Air Command base located here. The community was able to move forward emotionally, though, once they saw the new companies locating here and the preservation of the historical buildings on the base.” Matton offered advice for other communities facing the loss of a large employer. “Figure out who you are as a community and what your strength is. Then develop to that,” Matton said. ❚ Many AMI networks can never work as promised. Only a smart network can scale at will, manage itself, and provide comprehensive security over the lifetime of the system. Eka Systems builds the industry’s smartest, most cohesive energy data communications networks that truly enable smart meters, smart AMI and the Smart Grid to fulﬁll their potential and expectations. Contact us today to ﬁnd out how we do it. 1-877-eka-knows AMI . AMR . Fixed . Mobile . Metering . Submetering . www.ekasystems.com Intuitively Smart. Energy Networks.™ www.APPAnet.org MAY 2008 39 http://www.ekasystems.com http://www.APPAnet.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - May 2008

Public Power - May 2008 Contents Perspective LEEDing the Way Ontario Moves to Mandatory Time-of-Use Pricing Journey to the Smart Grid Right-Sizing Transformers Energy Audits for Large Industries Economic Development Community Broadband Reliability Hometown Connections Parting Shot

Public Power - May 2008

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