AIRPORT TO RETURN FAA'S $46 MILLION.Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer BURBANK - The Burbank Glendale Pasadena Airport Authority will comply with a federal demand that it return $46 million it received to buy land for a passenger terminal that has never been built, officials said. Airport officials plan to release a proposal for returning the money on April 21 - just five days before a deadline imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), component of the U.S. Department of Transportation that sets standards for the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft, inspects and licenses them, and regulates civilian and military air traffic through its air traffic control . ``The FAA told us they really need the money,'' said Airport Authority Commissioner Charles Lombardo. ``The question is, how serious are they going to be about that deadline? Is the FAA going to be hard and fast about what they want? What we do know is, they want their money.'' During a meeting in February with FAA Administrator Marion Blakey Marion Clifton Blakey (born March 26, 1948) was the 15th Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. She was the second woman to hold the position, serving as a successor to Jane Garvey, the first woman to hold the Administrator title. , delegates from the cities of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena - which operate the airport - were given until April 26 to approve plans for a terminal or return the money. Burbank officials - who for years have battled public opposition to a larger terminal - now say that an economic downturn Downturn The transition point between a rising, expanding economy to a falling, contracting one. downturn A decline in security prices or economic activity following a period of rising or stable prices or activity. in the airline industry makes it unlikely that a new terminal would be needed for at least two years. Council members also have agreed to wait for federal approval of a noise study - to be completed in two years - before taking any action on plans for a terminal. FAA officials have since said they remain firm about the agency's ultimatum ultimatum (ŭl'tĭmā`təm), in international law, final, definitive terms submitted by one disputant nation to the other for immediate acceptance or rejection. deadline, but don't view the April 26 deadline as being set in stone. ``The authority is not concerned about meeting the deadline in an absolute time,'' said Airport Authority spokesman Victor Gill gill, in weights and measures gill, in weights and measures: see English units of measurement. . ``The authority continues to mull Mull, island, 351 sq mi (909 sq km), Argyll and Bute, NW Scotland, largest island of the Inner Hebrides, separated from the mainland by the Sound of Mull and the Firth of Lorn. its options, but there's nothing that has resulted in correspondence. I think the authority anticipates having significant deliberations.'' City Council members have said they would work with the authority to rent out portions of the land to help offset the costs. ``The city has said to the authority, if the authority would like to hold on to the property, they would be supportive,'' said attorney Peter Kirsch kirsch n. A colorless brandy made from the fermented juice of cherries. [French, short for German Kirschwasser; see kirschwasser. , who advises the city on airport issues. ``The authority has not provided us with specifics on what it would like to do. I do expect the authority will sometime soon.'' |
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