Mayor proposes $35M airport project
Proposal part of larger effort to make city facility an economic development hub
Santa Fe Municipal Airport would get a new passenger terminal under a $35 million proposal being developed by the administration of Mayor Javier Gonzales and reviewed by city councilors.
A way to fund the proposed fiveyear project, which includes roads, parking lots and aircraft parking ramps, hasn’t been finely tuned.
“We’re not to that point yet,” city spokesman Matt Ross said via text message Monday. “For now, the focus is on getting the plan and design in place, and that’s not unusual since these are still the early stages of a multi-year process.”
Ross said “eventual funding” for the project would include a mix of sources: state and federal dollars “with city bonds making up the difference.”
The multimillion-dollar proposal, which includes design costs, is part of a
larger effort by the city under Gonzales to boost air traffic, making the city-owned airport an economic development hub.
The city is part of a public-private alliance that has been promoting the airport to Santa Fe travelers as an alternative to the Albuquerque International Sunport.
The alliance has been subsidizing American Airlines flights between Santa Fe and Phoenix that began in December. A leader of the group said in May that further subsidies weren’t expected for the rest of the year because of higher passenger use.
“A larger terminal will make the airport easier to use for passengers, pilots and airlines and help the whole region access untapped economic potential,” Ross said.
The current terminal is small and cramped. Last year, the Legislature approved and Gov. Susana Martinez signed legislation to provide $85,000 for the design and construction of a second boarding gate.
On Monday, the City Council’s Public Works Committee received a briefing about plans for the airport, the second busiest airport in New Mexico after the Albuquerque International Sunport.
City Councilor Ron Trujillo said airport officials presented three options: renovate the existing terminal, expand the existing terminal or build a terminal.
“We definitely want to see something that works,” he said. “The way the terminal is right now, there’s a lot of things that don’t work.”
Trujillo said he recently traveled from Santa Fe to Los Angeles for a family vacation, the first time he had flown out of Santa Fe. He said the existing terminal could barely handle the number of passengers waiting for flights.
“It was crowded because one of the planes had broken down,” he said.
Trujillo also said the Transportation Security Administration wanted to install a full-body scanner but couldn’t because of a lack of room for the machine.
He said his primary concern about the proposed terminal is, “How do we get the people who live here in Santa Fe to use the airport?”
Trujillo said most people who live in Santa Fe fly out of Albuquerque because the Duke City airport has more direct flights and offers cheaper fares.
“I want to see more incentives if the airlines are willing to do that,” such as discounted fares for locals or more directdestination flights from Santa Fe, he said.
The committee took no action on the proposal. The purpose of the meeting was to brief city councilors on a site-selection study for the terminal.
The 20-year Santa Fe Airport Master Plan, a capital improvement road map, identified the “critical need for a substantially larger passenger terminal to meet current and future demand.”
The master plan also identified two possible locations, resulting in airport officials commissioning a study to help pick the best spot.
“We commissioned this study to look at all the angles of what we need in a terminal, from safety to operations and future growth,” Cam Humphres, the airport director, said after Monday’s meeting.
“Our airport creates hundreds of jobs and millions in economic impact, but we know we’re leaving more on the table and that’s what we are determined to pursue,” he added.
The study determined the best location for the proposed terminal is a site on the east end of the airfield, according to a memo from Humphres to the Public Works Committee.
“The primary factors that led to this conclusion were [Federal Aviation Administration] safety requirements, cost of construction, operational implications, impacts to airfield tenants and businesses, future expansion potential, the historic importance of the current facility, and the relative distance from NM State Road 599 and Interstate 25,” Humphres wrote.
The study also recommended restoration of the existing terminal facility, possibly for administrative offices, a conference room and an aircraft viewing area.
In his memo to the Public Works Committee, Humphres called the airport “a critical transportation hub and vital economic engine for the city and region.”
“Annually, the airport accommodates 154,000 commercial passengers and 68,300 aircraft flight operations while supporting 181 based aircraft, 20 businesses and [more than] 400 tenants, including state and federal agencies,” the memo said.
“This activity produces $78 million in economic impact and supports 680 fulltime jobs,” it said.