Q.C. hopes boosting Gateway will raise clout

Queen Creek officials want to increase the amount of money they pool with other Valley cities to help bolster Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.

And it's not necessarily for altruistic reasons. Queen Creek, a growing town of about 24,000, is the most junior of partners between Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert, and the Gila River Indian Community - meaning it gives the least money.

Growth of Gateway airport benefits all

However, town officials approved a strategic plan that would increase in the future the $120,000 Queen Creek kicks in for the airport each year.

While funding is planned to remain the same this fiscal year, town officials said more money in the future could increase the town's stature with the airport authority.

"If we get a bigger slice of the pie, we get a bigger stake in things," said Craig Barnes, a Queen Creek councilman.

The weight that communities receive on the airport authority board is determined by how much they contribute. Mesa is the dominant partner.

The airport is beginning to show signs of getting larger.

Embraer, one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world, is building a facility at the airport. And Allegiant Air has a toehold on passenger service. The town's contribution to the airport is an investment, Barnes said.

Queen Creek sees some of its economic future tied to the airport. The town wants to have a "seat at the table" when businesses are looking to locate near the airport, town officials say.

"When Embraer opens we want people to come down here and buy stuff," Barnes said. "And then they move to Queen Creek to live and we get (the contribution) back tenfold."

It's not just economic development that town officials are interested in, but a bigger say in planning issues surrounding the airport. The town is trying to steer a Salt River Project power line north of the city and away from its downtown. That's also closer to the airport, which could take issue with closer power lines impeding flight paths.

But because Queen Creek has a stake in the airport, it's easier to work out those kinds of concerns, Barnes said.

With Mesa in the midst of a financial crisis, more money from the airport could be necessary soon.

Brian Sexton, spokesman for the airport, said that the cost for police personnel is going up and that member groups could be asked to pay for the rising costs.

Sexton said that the negotiations are just beginning, and it would have to be worked out with the different members.

"At this point we're not anywhere near that point," Sexton said. We don't know what our operating budget is going to look like."