Spurned in his attempt to donate land for an airport near Fairfield to replace Hailey's Friedman Memorial, actor Bruce Willis now is sending signals he might build an airport on his own in Camas County.
Willis and Mary Ann Mix, former chair of the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority and former Blaine County commissioner, met on July 12 with FAA Northwest Region officials near Seattle to discuss the process of obtaining approval for a new field. A third person was reportedly at the meeting, but the FAA said it would not volunteer identification, only confirm who attended if asked by name.
Mix is a business consultant and apparently working with Willis, who has a ski operation on Soldier Mountain north of Fairfield.
Efforts several times this week to reach Willis and Mix for comment were unsuccessful.
Except for the FAA's confirmation of the meeting, a potential Willis airport project was a surprise to officials in Camas County.
Camas County Commission Chairman Ron Chapman said Wednesday, "This is the first I've heard of it."
Likewise for Fairfield Mayor David Hanks, who was a member of a citizens committee reviewing potential airport sites.
An FAA spokesman said that Willis, who owns a Gulfstream II twin-engine jet, was briefed on the process required for building an airport. That includes completing extensive paperwork. The FAA has the final word on whether a field could be built.
But even with FAA approval, a new airport would require a change in land use by the Camas County Commission. Based on opposition last year to Willis' offer of land for an airport and a nearby area being designated as a possible airport site, Camas public sentiment ran against an airport there.
An airport site selection process concluded with designation of so-called site No. 10 in southern Blaine County as the best location for a new airport to replace Friedman.
The locale designated as site No. 13 in Camas County, for which Willis offered free land, also was strenuously opposed by Blaine County business and resort interests as too far from the heart of the Wood River Valley's tourism industry.
Willis' company is completing a comprehensive plan for his Soldier Mountain ski area to be submitted to the U.S. Forest Service in September, according to staff at the Fairfield Ranger Station.
Willis could attempt to get his property considered as an alternative site for a large airport in the upcoming environmental and economic impact study required by the FAA. Another possibility is he might be considering a less ambitious facility than a full-service commercial airport, such as a smaller strip catering to general aviation aircraft, not intercity commercial travelers.
The facility planned as Friedman's replacement tentatively includes an 8,500-foot runway, improved all-weather landing navigational aids, fire and medical personnel, control tower, terminal, and terrain-free landing and takeoff corridors extending for miles. Most of the $80 million to $100 million cost would be shouldered by the FAA and would open in 2016.
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