By: Diane Benjamin
The Central Illinois Regional Airport has their new website: CIRA.com
Meeting dates, agenda’s, minutes etc can be found under “About the Airport” and then “Airport Authority”.
Since I haven’t had time to follow them lately, I clicked on the November minutes and found this under Public Comments:
The address is Bloomington. It’s increases like this that allow the Council to pretend they aren’t raising property taxes.
I had an email exchange with Fran Strebing, Deputy Director of Marketing for CIRA about the soccer fields. I wondered if the FAA might change their mind about kicking them off the property under the new administration. Here’s Fran’s response: (click to enlarge)
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The soccer organizers had FIVE years to secure land,
build new fields,
and
be ready to leave the airport property.
Instead, they spent FIVE years waiting for government to raise taxes and build fields for them.
This makes voting in a few months easy.
Who is going to raise taxes before the election?
Who is planning on raising them after the election to fund “Community Fields” because these people did nothing to raise the money themselves?
I have nothing against soccer, but it isn’t government’s job to force everybody to pay for what your kids may participate in for a few years.
You had FIVE years!
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Please continue to push for an exception from elected officials. How can this not be one of the safest uses for this land. When weather conditions are bad (most likely for crashes), nobody is there and the land is nice and runway like with well kept grass. This is probably setting up for the airport to sell the land to developers for more cash in the coffers to spend, spend, spend. More pressure on elected leaders. This is an easy solution. If democrats and republicans leaders come together to fight the fed regulation, we can win this issue together.
They have lots of other land not close to runways.
The building of a soccer field for a specific group(s) is another example of inappropriate use of tax dollars by government. There are areas in the existing, tax payer supported, city parks for playing soccer. A soccer complex does not provide for government functioning, therefore should not be built with tax dollars. City owned property does not generate tax revenue. The “economic impact” would not justify the expense.
What really irritates me is that Gibson City soccer has purchased land and maintains several fields all at their own expense. They also do not prevent anyone from playing because the parents can’t afford it. If a small town like Gibson City can pull off private soccer fields, then BN definitely can.
Pony League paid for their fields too. Why would soccer want to be under government’s thumb?
the issue with the soccer fields comes down to they are taking up valuable farm land. the airport can convert it to tillable land and make more money! that is all the management cares about is generating more ‘non flight’ revenue streams. I’m sure the FAA doesn’t like the soccer fields, just like they dont like all the farm acreage inside the fence, but the airport won’t fight for the fields bc they dont produce revenue! once the soccer fields are gone within a couple years there will be crops there or will be sold and a business will be there….