Hardin County’s three chambers of commerce — in their first joint endorsement since embracing a more regionalist outlook — on Thursday expressed support of a push to re-establish commuter service at the local airport.
Article originally posted by The (Elizabethtown) News-Enterprise directed to: http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/content/commuter-flight-effort-endorsed
Commuter flight effort endorsed
Hardin County’s three chambers of commerce give thumbs up
By John Friedlein
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 7:00 pm
By JOHN FRIEDLEIN
jfriedlein@thenewsenterprise.com
ELIZABETHTOWN – Hardin County’s three chambers of commerce — in their first joint endorsement since embracing a more regionalist outlook — on Thursday expressed support of a push to re-establish commuter service at the local airport.
“The reason Hardin County is as prosperous as it is, is because of transportation,” said Tim Asher, president of the Elizabethtown-Hardin County Chamber of Commerce. He mentioned the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, U.S. 31W and Interstate 65.
Jerry Howard, who serves on the Radcliff-Hardin County Chamber board of directors, said to grow, the area must grow its transportation.
Regional Chambers United — which also includes the Vine Grove Chamber — has scheduled a forum for 11 a.m. June 29 at the airport. During the event, the public can talk to Airport Board members and see the facility and an architect’s rendering of a proposed terminal, said Radcliff Chamber President Mary Jo King.
The three chambers coming together behind the project speaks volumes about what this community wants to do, Airport Board consultant Luke B. Schmidt said.
Mark Haynes, chairman of the Elizabethtown chamber’s board, said, “We want to speak as one voice.” His group has asked members to write letters in support of the effort.
Three major carriers have identified this as an expansion market, Schmidt said.
“Central Kentucky is on a roll,” he said, mentioning the realignment of Fort Knox and a potential electric vehicle battery factory project in Glendale.
“There is no other part of the state that is going to have this kind of growth over the next five to 10 years,” he said.
From Elizabethtown Regional Airport, daily flights could go to connecting hubs such as Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit and Charlotte, N.C.
There was a commuter service here in the ’80s.
To help get one back, Schmidt for the past few weeks has been touting an initiative called the Partnership for Central Kentucky Airline Service Travel Bank. It would provide a pool of perhaps $2 million, which will be guaranteed income for an airline. The way it works is donors put up money in advance and get their contributions back through ticket purchase reimbursements.
The response so far has been very positive, Schmidt said.
John Friedlein can be reached at (270) 505-1746
BRANDENBURG — Residents of Meade County may soon have a more feasible option for air travel as the Elizabethtown Regional Airport (EKX) prepares for the final stages of a major renovation.
Click here to read the article from The (Meade County) News Standard
If there is any reward for creative thinking, the Elizabethtown Airport Board’s efforts to bring commuter air service to this growing community and its 23 neighboring counties surely will succeed.
Article originally posted by The (Elizabethtown) News-Enterprise directed to: http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/content/may-17-editorial-innovative-airline-incentive
May 17 editorial: Innovative airline incentive
By The Staff
Monday, May 18, 2009 at 7:00 pm
If there is any reward for creative thinking, the Elizabethtown Airport Board’s efforts to bring commuter air service to this growing community and its 23 neighboring counties surely will succeed.
Faced with the grim prospect of depending on government, corporate or individual altruism — at a time of declining revenues and profits — to come up with financial incentives to persuade a commuter airline to do business here, the board and consultant Luke B. Schmidt developed what seems to be a win-win-win solution. Win for the community, win for an airline, win for local businesses, organizations and individuals who depend on air travel.
Setting up service to provide the hoped-for minimum of three outbound, three inbound flights daily would be a costly proposition for an airline. Of course they, too, are suffering financially these days. To help offset those start-up costs for one of the three airlines considering connecting Elizabethtown with larger hubs, the airport board is asking air travel users to pledge money to the Partnership for Central Kentucky Airline Service Bank.
The first airline to offer service would use those contributions, possibly as much as $2 million, to take the necessary steps to begin restoring commuter air service to this area. Contributors would get their money back through ticket reimbursements as they use the service.
Time is short to complete negotiations to land a regional airline that is a dependable operation affiliated with a major carrier. The campaign to finance the Travel Bank is designed to last three months. By then, it should be known whether the lithium-ion battery research and manufacturing campus backed by a coalition of at least 50 companies will be locating here. Pressure already is building on the community from anticipated growth to be completed at Fort Knox by 2012, especially the Human Resources Command.
The Army was the single largest user of commercial air line service in this region, even before the expected 7,600 new positions were assigned to Fort Knox. The battery facility will add significantly to that. A potential for 350,214 passenger trips was estimated before the NATTbatt potential was revealed. Location of the multi-use facility here will be a huge enticement to a commuter airline, just as the airline will be a big attraction to any business considering locating here.
The Travel Bank is the kind of innovative thinking that should be rewarded, but its success really will depend upon the ability of local businesses and organizations to see beyond their immediate circumstances to visualize the investment opportunities and take advantage of them. They will not have to put up the money right away.
Just think: No more 4 a.m. alarms to make an early morning flight in Louisville. No more anxious, pre-dawn races against the clock up Interstate 65. And no more dreading the parking lot exit booth.
– This editorial represents a consensus of The News-Enterprise editorial board.
ELIZABETHTOWN — The Elizabethtown Airport Board on Monday announced a new initiative in an ongoing effort to entice a commuter air service to town.
Click here to read the article from the Elizabethtown News-Enterprise
ELIZABETHTOWN — Those pushing for commuter flights at the local airport have received another carrot to help lure an airline here. Gov. Steve Beshear last week announced that a hybrid and electric vehicle battery plant may locate in nearby Glendale.
Article originally posted by The (Elizabethtown) News-Enterprise directed to: http://www.thenewsenterprise.com/content/battery-factory-charges-airline-push
Battery factory charges airline push
By John Friedlein
Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 7:00 pm
By JOHN FRIEDLEIN
jfriedlein@thenewsenterprise.com
ELIZABETHTOWN — Those pushing for commuter flights at the local airport have received another carrot to help lure an airline here.
Gov. Steve Beshear last week announced that a hybrid and electric vehicle battery plant may locate in nearby Glendale.
“It’s a huge, huge project,” Airport Board consultant Luke B. Schmidt said. “It just lends itself to air travel.”
Anytime there is a major economic development of that type, it strengthens the case that this is a viable market, he said.
Elizabethtown Regional Airport already could tout the Base Realignment and Closure initiative, which will grow Fort Knox over the next couple of years.
Both BRAC and the lithium-ion battery plant are expected to create thousands of new jobs and spur development of other businesses in the area.
Commuter flight proponents already have marketed the Glendale announcement to the three airlines considering service to the area. Schmidt said he has received positive feedback.
The battery factory — which may be dependent on federal economic stimulus funds — is a consortium of 51 companies called NAATBatt.
Because so many businesses are involved, a lot of employees would travel here, Schmidt said. Suppliers and customers may also use the airport.
A local industrial development official said a member of the consortium already has flown into Elizabethtown.
Also, a survey showed the most popular destination for commuter passengers would be Detroit. This area has strong ties to the auto industry because of its many parts manufacturers.
Back in the ’80s, Piedmont Airlines and Delta served the airport. But the market at that time didn’t deliver enough revenue.
If airport officials can restart such as service, they plan to move forward on a multi-million-dollar passenger terminal.
The chances of this happening are likely better because airlines, Schmidt said, are expanding. He said he was happy to see an announcement about service coming to a small market in Kansas, next to the Fort Riley Army post.
While the cost of fuel is not sky-high anymore, the recession has been a challenge for getting an airline here.
“We’d like to see a little stronger economy,” Schmidt said.
John Friedlein can be
reached at 505-1746.
L.B. Schmidt & Associates, LLC has completed an assignment for an Ohio-based client. The client is a division of a global broad-based health care company.
L.B. Schmidt & Associates, LLC has completed an assignment for an Ohio-based client. The client is a division of a global broad-based health care company.
The assignment included a review of packaging regulations in the states of California, Hawaii and Maine, along with recommendations related to the introduction of new packaging for the company. Company President Luke Schmidt conducted negotiations with officials in each state to assure that the client’s new packaging would be fully compliant with existing statutes. The assignment included a review of the client’s domestic sales and distribution system in order to ensure alignment between the company’s systems and the individual state’s statutory requirements.
Video news story about the missed opportunity to pass legislation to allow grocery stores to sell wine in Kentucky.
Louisville, Kentucky (February 25, 2009) – The Food with Wine Coalition announced today that a bill to allow grocery stores to sell wine in counties which allow the sale of alcoholic beverages was not filed in this Session of the General Assembly.
Opportunity Missed
Failure to File Bill Leaves $86 Million on the Table in New Tax Revenue That Kentuckians Will Now Have to Make-up Elsewhere; Thousands of Kentuckians Demand Action
Louisville, Kentucky (February 25, 2009) – The Food with Wine Coalition announced today that a bill to allow grocery stores to sell wine in counties which allow the sale of alcoholic beverages was not filed in this Session of the General Assembly.
At present, Kentucky is one of only 16 states that do not allow consumers to purchase wine in grocery stores. Six of seven of Kentucky’s border states (with the exception ofTennessee) already allow consumers this fundamental choice.
The Food with Wine Coalition, which represents Kentucky’s grocery industry on this issue has been responding to strong consumer demand to allow customers to purchase wine to consume with their meals at the place where they do their food shopping – grocery stores. More and more retailers have to turn down their customers’ request for wine because current state laws prohibit grocery stores from selling wine.
Luke B. Schmidt, a Louisville-based consultant which represents the Food with Wine Coalition noted that changing existing state law to allow grocery stores to sell wine is “pro-consumer, pro-agriculture and pro-Kentucky,” and that there are three significant reasons as to why the law should be changed, including:
- Changing the law will increase competition in the state’s wine market by providing between 300 and 400 new sales outlets for consumers to purchase wine, thereby ending the near monopoly currently enjoyed by liquor stores, and providing consumers with more competitive pricing
- With the addition of these new sales outlets, the sale of wine is expected to grow significantly which should increase the amount of tax revenue collected by the Commonwealth by $86 million over the first five years, without raising any existing tax rates
- The addition of these new sales outlets will also substantially increase the sale of Kentucky-produced wine, thereby increasing the demand for Kentucky-grown grapes – a real benefit for Kentucky’s farm families
According to Schmidt, although the Coalition intended to file a bill during this Session, due to the shortness of the Session and the legislature’s need to focus on the immediate budget shortfall, not enough time was left to address other important issues including this one.
Schmidt stated, “This is truly a missed opportunity for all Kentuckians. At a time when the Commonwealth is struggling to make ends meet, the passage of this legislation would have started the flow of money into the pipeline before the General Assembly meets in 2010 to consider what many are now saying could be a $1 billion budget shortfall. Just think of how $86 million could have been used to improve schools, roads, healthcare and issues related to families and children!”
Schmidt also noted the widespread support for changing existing law to allow grocery stores to sell wine. “In addition to the significant revenue implications, nearly 56,000 Kentuckians signed petitions in grocery stores across Kentucky a few weeks ago, demanding that the law be changed. Media online polling consistently indicates that 90%+ of those polled want this law changed. Groups such as the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce have endorsed this legislation.” The Kentucky Enquirer and the Bowling Green Daily News have endorsed the concept of grocery store wine sales.
Between now and the next Session of the General Assembly, the Food with Wine Coalition will step-up its efforts to bring this issue to the attention of all Kentuckians and encourage the legislature to change the law so that everyone benefits – most especially the taxpayers and farmers.
The Food with Wine Coalition is a not for profit organization that was established in 2007 by Kentucky’s grocery store industry and is supported by Kentucky’s wine industry. The Coalition’s purpose is to educate and inform the citizens of Kentucky about the advantages of allowing grocery stores to sell wine in wet and moist counties. Interested parties are invited to learn more about the issue by visiting the Coalition’s Web site (www.foodwithwine.org).
Video news story about efforts now underway to revise existing law in Kentucky to allow grocery stores to sell wine.