Fence Vanishing, Airport Strives for Partnerships

RIO GRANDE – Scott Green, Delaware River and Bay Authority executive director, doesn’t believe “Good fences make good neighbors.” He believes no fence makes better neighbors, especially at Cape May County Airport in Erma.
For that reason, the authority’s recent action may not be dramatic, but it was in the spirit of President Ronald Reagan who, in Berlin, Germany, June 12, 1987 chided the Russian General Secretary “Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!'”
Green addressed Cape May County Chamber of Commerce Feb. 20 at Rio Station restaurant about the authority and its part in local economic development.
“One of the things we are trying to do is take the fence down,” said Green. He said the center section of the fence had been removed at Hornet Road and “slowly but surely we will remove the fence. We will try to open up the property to the rest of the community,” he said. Not all airport fencing can be removed for security reasons, but as much as possible will eventually vanish.
Part of the reason to spruce up the industrial park entrance, Green said, is to make the airport more attractive to businesses that can, like some of the small businesses there, employ an increasing number of local people.
More important to Green is that the five airports DRBA oversees “are all based completely on the concept of partnership.” Of the local airport, Green termed Naval Air Station Wildwood, “the single greatest partnership.” In December a portion of the airport encompassing the former naval air station was designated a state historic district. “I view the museum as the heart and soul of the airport,” Green said.
Green said as he traveled the globe, learning airport administration and building facilities, “The one thing that you learn quickly is that airports don’t make communities, communities made airports,” he said.
Of DRBA’s Director of Airports Steve Williams, Green said, “I call it Williams’ Rule No. One, Airports reflect the community.”
Reminding the businesspeople “you work with what you’re given,” Green said “If we started over maybe we wouldn’t put the airport where it is.” That aside, he noted there are “incredible strengths” at the local airport. He cited the individual endeavors of the museum and Cape May Brewery that prove “the kind of energy” such a community partnership is built on, and show what the DRBA is trying to build on into the future.
Lower Township Mayor Michael Beck said Cape May Brewery, located within the industrial park at the airport, employs about 12, which aids those people and takes them off rolls of the unemployed.
“We are working with local (Lower Township) government leaders and the county. We have great relations with the mayor (Beck) and manager (Michael Voll). We cannot do this by ourselves, it has to be a partnership,” said Green.
He noted of DRBA oversight of New Castle, (Dela.), Millville, Cape May, and Delaware Air Park airports and Civil Air Terminal facility at Dover Air Force Base, and said, “We have the ability to bring relationships we have from other airports.”
“It’s no surprise, of the five airports, only one makes money. It is the largest at New Castle. Frontier Airlines is flying out of New Castle, but we call it Wilmington-Philadelphia Airport,” he continued.
That facility has been “incredibly successful,” he said, and noted that the “low-cost carrier is providing commercial service to Wilmington, which did not have commercial service for a long time.”
Green estimated 30 percent of passengers flying from New Castle on that carrier are from the South Jersey area. They find flying from Wilmington easier to access than traveling to Philadelphia. Because of that influx, Green said other commercial carriers are eying passenger numbers from that airport.
He said they have been contacted by other commercial carriers inquiring about serving the Cape May County Airport. At one time, Allegheny Commuter flew from the Cape May County Airport to Atlantic City and Philadelphia.
Green said DRBA “doesn’t think it’s productive to pay to bring in” a carrier that will not find it financially rewarding, only to have the service terminate.
“When the (flight) service is justified and demand is there that is the strategy we employed at Wilmington and that we will employ at Cape May County,” Green said.
“When the time is right,” Green said, charter or regularly-scheduled flights could use the local airport. “We think the opportunity is there,” he said.
For that reason, infrastructure improvements are being made. Because such improvements are largely out of sight, the public passing by the airport may not think any changes have taken place, but they have, he said.
Green also noted that many of the buildings, such as the county-owned former Everlon Building and others are not under DRBA control, and thus out of their reach.
“In the last two years, since I have been executive director, the authority has spent just under $6 million at the airport. But you don’t see a lot of it, we are doing infrastructure so we are ready,” said Green.
Revamp of Hornet Road in excess of $100,000 made the entrance more attractive, and splits the entrance into municipal service and industrial park.
“We’re going to take small, justified steps. The future is bright. With partnership and development, we hope we will do it with many of you at my side,” said Green.
“As mayor of Lower Township, I meet regularly with DRBA. It is a true partnership,” said Beck. “I never met your predecessor. I would not know what he looked like if he came into this room. The past couple of years have been a complete turnaround. I attribute that to Scott (Green) and those who made efforts. We had no concert series years ago. Now we have a partnership with the ferry. We have a triathlon. A lot of good things are happening,” Beck continued.
“We tried nothing, and that didn’t work,” Beck said.
Green replied, “I owe it to my dad. I have a long relationship with Cape May County. My first legal drink as an adult was a Zaberized cocktail (at Ed Zaberer’s Anglesea Inn, North Wildwood). So I’ve been coming here a long time. The prior executive didn’t have the same love for Cape May County.”