The Stewart Airport Commission held its last meeting of 2011, buoyed by the increase in cargo tonnage going out of the airport, but voicing displeasure over the possibility of losing the U.S. Postal Service”™s Mid-Hudson Processing and Distribution Center.
If the USPS decision to close the Stewart distribution center stands, it means the loss of nearly 400 jobs, “and we can”™t afford to lose any more jobs,” said Jim O”™Donnell, deputy Orange County Executive. SAC agreed, unanimously passing a resolution to keep the distribution center open. “It isn”™t going to get a better deal anywhere,” said Chris White, SAC member and aide to U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey. “For $1 a year in rent, Â the Postal Service is not going to find consolidating this center with Albany and then driving mail down here will be cheaper for them in the long run.” SAC member Edward Devitt delivered a copy to USPS officials in Montgomery.
SAC also adopted a resolution to support the New York Aviation Jobs Act, which would allow private jets to use Stewart as their home base without incurring hefty taxes. “It means Connecticut might lose business,” said Fritz Kass, retired Naval captain and member of the U.S. Naval Academy,
“ but states surrounding us don”™t charge taxes for private aviation, and neither should we.”
A presentation by the Transportation Security Administration explained how new body scanners, now in place at Stewart, are far less intrusive and only identify concealed items on the person inside the scanner. Gregory Stilter, TSA director, said the airlines”™ biggest problem is the “consumption of alcohol on flights and dealing with the mentally ill. Other than those issues, flying is a benign way to travel.” The new scanners have also eliminated the increased need for pat-downs, said Stilter, “which neither the TSA workers nor the public enjoy taking part in.”
The next SAC meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 8:30 a.m.
