Council adds Nelson name to airport, pending FAA approval

At the regular meeting Monday night, Councilman Aaron Kircher cast the lone vote against the name change while Mayor Dennis Berry and council members Colleen Grant and Lonnie Anderson voted in favor of it. Councilman Jack Rogers was absent.

After approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, the airport will be renamed from McCook Regional Airport to McCook Ben Nelson Regional Airport.

The council meeting was moved from City Council Chambers to Memorial Auditorium to accommodate an individual in a wheelchair and the crowd of about 30.

Sen. Nelson, born and raised in McCook, was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000 and re-elected in 2006. Before that, he served as Nebraska's governor from 1991 to 1999.

Councilman Aaron Kircher said he was concerned that an airport named after Nelson could be a liability for the senator, used as a possible political tool against him in Washington. Although he agreed that Nelson had done good things for McCook, Councilman Kircher said there were legitimate risks and that he could not "consciously risk our funding" or make it harder for Sen. Nelson to support the airport.

"I have to put McCook's interest before recognizing a senator," he said. Kircher also questioned city funding for the name change, such as signs, and why the council was taking up the issue when there was no recommendation from the Airport Advisory Board.

Mayor Berry said he understood Kircher's reasoning, but noted that renaming the airport has become a community issue and as such the council needed to address it.

The council received about 50 letters of support from individuals, business owners and community leaders who supported naming the airport after Nelson, including those from the McCook Economic Development Corp., Pete Graff of McCook National Bank, Van Korell of AmFirst Bank, Jim Ulrich of Community Hospital, former Nebraska Sen. Tom Baker and publisher Shary Skiles of the McCook Daily Gazette.

The issue to rename McCook Regional Airport after Nelson was initially taken up by the Airport Advisory Board in 2007, by a request from Mayor Dennis Berry.

The issue failed to get any traction and no recommendation was given. This year, a committee of McCook citizens again brought the idea to the Airport Advisory Board but the issue was tabled at the first meeting and the committee pulled the proposal from consideration at the second meeting, due to some on the board who opposed it.

Kircher also asked if the senator was aware of the proposal. Steve Batty, a member of the citizen committee that recommended renaming the airport, said Nelson was informed of it.

Council member Colleen Grant conceded that the city could name a street or building after the senator, as suggested by several who addressed the council before the vote. But she added, "It's the least we could do, but why do the least?"

Several spoke against the proposal, but the majority of those present Monday night spoke in favor of recognizing Nelson.

Those against the proposal included former councilman and commissioner Dick Trail, who questioned why the airport should be named for Nelson and not other structures or streets. Ken Allen, a member of the Airport Advisory Board, inquired as to the point of having an advisory board if it wasn't taken into consideration in matters relating to the airport. Mike Nielsen, another Airport Advisory Board member, said he supported the concept but the name change would confuse pilots and that most people would refer to it as the McCook Airport anyway.

Chairman of the Airport Advisory Board Doug Vap also spoke up and said most airfields and not airports are named in recognition and asked that the item be referred back to the board for consideration.

Committee members who advocated the name change also spoke and emphasized the contributions Nelson has made for Nebraska in general and McCook in particular.

This included Nelson's commitment to essential air service funding to keep small rural airports open, including McCook's airport, the Work Ethic Camp, Valmont, 21st Century and other projects Nelson was instrumental in obtaining for the city.

"He's a hometown boy who has done right by us," said committee member Steve Batty. "He has been good for McCook and McCook has been good for him."

He added that the airport would still be identified by "MCK" and Linda Taylor noted that although the council has access to advisory boards, it can still act independently of them.

Jerda Garey said aviation leaders in McCook should be recognized in some way, be it a Wall of Fame or renaming a street in honor of them. But Nelson is a U.S. Senator and a former governor and deserves special recognition, she said.

"It's not about politics, it's not about future decisions of Ben Nelson, it's saying thank you while he is still alive and being appreciated," Garey told the council.

Also speaking in favor of the name change was Jim Phinney, McCook Public Power District general manager. Phinney recalled that after a severe ice storm in 1994, then-Gov. Nelson had provided a helicopter so the system could be surveyed and obtained federal funding for McCook and two other public power districts.

Phinney said he wanted to mention this as an example of the good things Nelson has done that are not known to many Nebraskans.

"I owe him a debt of gratitude," Phinney said.