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Quite likely the most recognizable member of the Niagara County Legislature, Renae Kimble has been serving her constituents in the Second District since 1994.
She isn't shy. And she's not afraid to speak up when something doesn't seem quite right to her. The proposed deal between the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority and the multinational corporation Cintra SA is one of those things.
If you ran into her in the street, she'd talk to you about it. We are poised to give the most valuable property in Niagara County away to a foreign company, she'd tell you, and we're even paying them to take it off our hands.
On the eve of her Monday testimony before the Federal Aviation Administration, Kimble shared a few thoughts about the issue with the Reporter.
Q. How could the Niagara County Legislature and the Niagara Falls City Council even consider endorsing the proposed contract between Cintra and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority when they obviously haven't read it?
A. That's the whole thing. I cannot see any elected official worth a grain of salt saying they support this deal without some sort of independent analysis being done.
Q. You are going to give testimony during the FAA hearings on the matter. Can average citizens get involved in the process?
A. Yes. I'm trying to find out exactly--they say this is going to be under FAA regulations and guidelines, and I think the general public needs to know what those regulations and guidelines are. During this period of public comment, the 60 days we've been given, it's my understanding from (NFTA Chairman) Luis Kahl that we have to do everything in quadruplicate, four copies. That's any written statement that's going to the FAA.
Q. Looking at it objectively, this whole deal seems pretty screwy. What do you think is going on here?
A. Obviously, the NFTA wants to dump the airport. They're tired of us complaining about it, and they want to get it off of their hands so they can say, "We did something about the airport. We satisfied your complaints." And now if we have any issues, we have to take them up with Cintra, who nobody even knows. I don't think the NFTA wants our airport to be successful. They talk about charter flights and they talk about cargo, but the commercialization of it is non-existent because that would put us in competition with the Buffalo airport.
There needs to be an audit done of the books because a lot of the losses attributed to the airport are really NFTA losses. There are a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of digging that needs to be done regarding this entire operation.
I believe the airport is very key in the revitalization of Niagara Falls and the Niagara County region, and I think that as an elected official, I need to make sure we have the best lease possible. Is privatization what we need to be doing? The concept of a public-private partnership has worked well with the high school here, why couldn't it work at the airport?
It's as if we're taking the first thing that comes along. During the process, there were only two bids, Cintra and the (Niagara County) Industrial Development Authority. Quite frankly, at the county, when we bid on anything, we're required to have three qualified bidders.
Q. Have you learned anything about Cintra, the company itself?
A. We're dealing, apparently, with Cintra USA, which is not Cintra the multi-billion dollar conglomerate. There are about four or five different parent companies the money goes through before it gets to our Cintra. And I think there's a red flag raised over the fact that the Air Force base is there insofar as our peace-keeping efforts across the world.
Why aren't people questioning these types of issues? These are major concerns, and I think there's a job being done on the people to say, "This is the best thing that's happening, this is the only deal that's out there, so let's just go with it."
We ought to be taking our time and reviewing the facts. It won't cost anybody a whole lot of money to have an independent analysis of the lease. What can it hurt?
A lot of this is being politicized, and it should not be. By doing this, you would take it out of the political purview. This way, it would have nothing to do with any agenda anyone would have, and it would give the general public a sense of security.
Q. Specifically, what would you want to be reviewed?
A. Right now, there are no performance standards in the lease, no marketing plan in the lease, and the questions that have been asked were given very vague and generic answers. "We cannot share this information with you because, of course, it's top secret. We don't want other people coming in and using our plan."
I mean, that's ridiculous. We know the competition is steep out there but, when you're trying to sell something, you have got to have something to sell. I don't think they have sold a thing. Cintra is talking about spending less than a million dollars a year, and we're giving them $2.5 million. Who's really making out here? Definitely, we're not.
Q. Cintra officials have said they're not in business to lose money.
A. We're right here on an international border. It is so sad, because there is so much that could be done here. They don't even have a time frame in which the airport is supposed to be up and running. According to Luis Kahl, this airport is losing money. Is Cintra looking at this as a major tax write-off?
Q. You mentioned the international border. Are you suspicious at all that, somehow, this is "hooked up?"
A. Of course, that has been mentioned by numerous individuals. I don't know. You have to think about these things, and it is suspicious. No one is trying to label these people as involved with any type of illegal activity, but we have to be concerned about all of this. I find, for the most part, that no one even wants to talk about it.