A private plane receives fuel at the Chautauqua County Airport in Jamestown. Photo by Gregory Bacon

Chautauqua County has once again accepted federal funds for one of its two airports, even though one county lawmaker continues to object.

The county Legislature in August voted 16-1 to accept funds so it could purchase a front end loader at a cost of $345,810. The loader will be used to remove snow at the Jamestown airport.

Of the cost, $311,228 will come from the federal government, $17,290 from the state and the county must pay for the remaining $17,290.

Before the vote, Legislator David Wilfong, R-Jamestown, urged everyone to support the resolution.

But fellow Legislator Bob Scudder, R-Fredonia, said he was against it. “I will be voting against this to stay consistent with my not desiring to not accept federal funding for the airports, which keep us in the airport business,” he said.

However Legislator Lisa Vanstrom, R-Jamestown, expressed her disappointment with Scudder’s words. “I support transportation, and especially air transportation. Past studies have been done that we’ve paid for in the past few years. … If you take away an airport, you take away businesses and economics. It’s like a bomb exploding of economic prosperity,” she said.

Scudder responded that he’s not against the airports. “I am as much in favor of the airports as anyone else in this room. I would like to see them succeed. I just don’t feel we have a plan in place to move forward and accept these federal funds which keeps us in the airport business, even though we are in the airport business. I want them to be as successful as possible. It’s not against the airports. It’s against accepting federal funds that commits us to the airports,” he said.

Scudder has a long history of voting against any resolution that accepts Federal Aviation Administration funding because it requires the county to continue to operate the airports.

Both the Jamestown and Dunkirk airports are for private use only.

The Jamestown airport has been without a commercial air carrier since December 2017, when the federal Transportation Department terminated Essential Air Service eligibility for Jamestown because the local airport wasn’t meeting the federal standard of 10 passengers a day nor the federal government’s $200 per rider subsidy cap.

Since then, the county has used the airports to rent out hangers for private planes. There’s also businesses that operate out of the airports including one that does smaller airplane repairs and another that brokers aircraft sales and manages business aircraft for business owners.

The airport is also a hub of activity for various businesses to receive supplies and a location where some Chautauqua Institution speakers fly in and out of.

Earlier this year, the county’s Planing Department was doing an internal study on the two airports to see what the best uses of the airports are.

Last year the legislature rejected an opportunity to have a study done to see if commercial air service should ever come back to the Jamestown airport.

In a statement in early August, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, announced the county was to receive the money for the front end loader, as well as around $1 million to install a perimeter fence at the Jamestown airport. The fence money was accepted by county lawmakers last month.

“This federal investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act, which I championed in the Senate, will help Western New York’s airports and local economies take off,” Schumer said.

Gillibrand also championed the funding. “Western New York’s airports are critical aspects of the region’s economy. They need to be safe, modern, and efficient in order to facilitate tourism and spur local economic growth, and that requires continued upgrades. That’s why I fought to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is providing billions in funds for projects like these. It’s time to rebuild our state’s crumbling infrastructure and this is a critical step in the right direction. I’m proud to be delivering these funds and I’ll keep fighting for resources to revitalize our airports, roads, and bridges,” she said.