Mar. 19—STRATFORD — Mayor Laura Hoydick sent a letter this week to state and Bridgeport officials asking them to hold off on selling Sikorsky Memorial Airport to the Connecticut Airport Authority to give Stratford a chance to buy it.
The letter was sent to Gov. Ned Lamont, Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, Bridgeport City Council President Aidee Nieves and the Sikorsky Airport Commission. Though owned by Bridgeport, Sikorsky is located over the border in Stratford's Lordship neighborhood. Hoydick is the only non- Bridgeport representative on the commission.
"We strongly object to a state takeover of our local, independently operated airport; moreover, any change in ownership and management should occur following a fair and transparent competitive bidding process," the mayor said in her letter. " Stratford has a proud history in the aviation industry, and we firmly believe Sikorsky Memorial Airport is a regional asset that should remain under local control and not be managed by bureaucrats 70 miles away in Windsor Locks."
The town has been interested in the airport for four years and the situation has come to a head, said Hoydick, a Republican. Hoydick also issued a press release about her interest in acquiring the airport just hours before a Sikorsky Airport Commission meeting Friday evening.
At that meeting the panel discussed the terms of a sale of the airport to the Connecticut Airport Authority. Any sale of the airport would need backing from the commission and the Bridgeport City Council.
The commission went into an hour-plus long closed executive session before tabling a vote on the CAA "term sheet" or framework for a potential sale contract. Hoydick's letter was not discussed since it was not named as a reason to enter executive session, according to Nieves.
"I read the letter," Nieves said. "I haven't had a moment to really have the conversation with Mayor Ganim about it."
Nieves has previously stated that she is in favor of leasing the airport to CAA, but not selling it to them.
Sikorsky will need major upgrades to get back to servicing commercial airlines and is currently operating solely private, business and charter planes. The airport does not currently have an operational passenger terminal.
The authority has said it is willing to spend up to $10 million for the airport. Hoydick said Stratford plans to pay for the acquisition through bonding, which will be paid for through collected tax revenue.
"If the City of Bridgeport is interested in selling the airport, then it is the time for the Town of Stratford to take ownership of the Sikorsky Memorial Airport. We will ensure capable management commensurate with the concerns of the region and surrounding community, and the sensitive environmental assets located there," Hoydick said in a release Friday. "The future of Stratford and the future of the airport are intertwined, and Stratford would like the fair and proper opportunity to direct this shared destiny."
The intention of the town is to purchase the airport and lease it out to a professional operator, Hoydick said.
Daniel Roach is an aide to Ganim, a Democrat, who has for the past few years been assigned to work on expanding passenger service at Sikorsky and has been negotiating the takeover by the state authority.
Roach said Hoydick's interest will be discussed at the airport commission meeting. But, he noted, Bridgeport is not legally obligated to consider it.
"There's no obligation to bid this out," Roach said, noting the state authority's "massive" investment would go well beyond the potential $10 million purchase price and involve tens of millions in additional future investment at the site.
Roach recalled Hoydick broaching Stratford purchasing Sikorsky "four to five years ago, briefly, but then nothing since."
"We weren't expecting this," he said.
Hoydick's chief of staff Michael Downes rebuffed that statement. He said the town has been in "constant contact" with Roach and has held "a number of meetings" with him on this topic. He also said the mayor has spoken to Bridgeport City Council members about this "all the way along" the process.
Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, said he was surprised to see Hoydick's letter on Friday.
"It is quite late in the game," he said.
Dillon said the CAA wants to see the property developed, no matter who the owner of it is — whether that's CAA, Bridgeport or Stratford. He noted in addition to the sale price it would take "tens of millions of dollars to bring that airport up to standards for air service operations."
He also said that CAA has an opportunity to work with an airline carrier that has expressed interest in the property should CAA become the operator there. Should this opportunity disappear due to delays in process, CAA will no longer be interested in the airport, he said.
While Dillon declined to identify this carrier, Hearst Connecticut Media has previously reported that Breeze Airways is interested in doing so. Breeze is a Utah-based airline company focused on "new nonstop flights and lower fairs at smaller cities such as Bridgeport (and) routes ignored by other larger airlines," Eric Fletcher, Breeze's director of legal and community affairs said in May 2021.
"Put your offer on the table, demonstrate how you have the expertise to run it and let's get on with the development of the airport," Dillon said. "Our interest is to make sure we have a viable airport system here in the state. We have an asset that has wallowed for years. It's time to get on with the development of that facility. Either Bridgeport needs to do it, Stratford needs to do it or the CAA needs to do it."
Should the town buy Sikorsky, it intends to model itself after how Tweed Airport's revitalization has been run in New Haven.
"When I first came into office in 2017, Stratford having the opportunity to own the airport has been important to us and paramount, and so we have been doing our due diligence and becoming educated about this process," Hoydick said. "Which is why we met with the FAA in Washington, we went to Boston and met with them as well, so we would understand exactly what the responsibilities would be if the town owned the airport. So, I'm saying, this was not done lightly and it was not done quickly."
Currently the town receives property taxes on the hangars from Sikorsky, but it is unknown if that would continue should the town acquire it.
" Stratford must have a fair opportunity to acquire the airport in a transparent and open process," State Sen. Kevin Kelly, R- Stratford, said in the town's release. "The airport must not fall subject to a no bid state takeover. Local control is vital to ensure proper management of the airport with respect for the local community and environmental protection concerns.
The Stratford Town Council would have final say over whether the town enters into a purchase agreement, Hoydick said. State Rep. Joe Gresko, D- Stratford, suggested the town should put it up to a referendum should they enter into an agreement. Hoydick said this would not be necessary.
"If the Town of Stratford is interested in purchasing the airport I think it would merit getting a feeling from its residents as to whether or not they want to be owners of an airport," Gresko said.
Gresko, a part-time Ganim environmental sustainability staffer, declined to comment on whether he supports Stratford buying the airport.
State Rep. Phil Young, D- Stratford, also said he would support putting this purchase to a referendum.
"I would be in favor of it but I would like to see how this is actually going to work, where the money is going to come from," Young said. "And what the upside of this is other than just saying that we're going to buy an airport."
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