MAYVILLE – As lawmakers in Chautauqua County continue to debate whether or not to sell the County Home in Dunkirk, another piece of Chautauqua County-owned property could soon be up for sale within a year. As first mentioned Thursday morning, Chautauqua County executive Greg Edwards used his State of the County Address on Wednesday night to announce his intention to privatize the Chautauqua County Airport in Dunkirk at some point this year.
Edwards also said that the sale would be to a private entity, which would eliminate the county’s cost for operating the airport in Dunkirk and enabling the county to focus on operating the Chautauqua County Airport in Jamestown. He said that by selling the airport in Dunkirk, it would encourage the development of that area by private investors and as a result, increasing the local property tax base.
Edwards did not disclose which entities are interested in buying the four-runway airport in Dunkirk, nor did he mention the value of the property. It is expected that more details will be presented in the coming months.
Based on the most recent statistics, the Dunkirk airport was in operation for a total of 87 days from July 2011 to July 2012. Sixty-six percent of the traffic is local, private aviation, while 27 percent is for transient aviation.
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