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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Total economic impact from Salina
Airport, Airport Industrial Center exceeds 10,000 jobs, $323 M
Salina, Kan., (February 9, 2011)
- When Schilling Air Force Base closed in 1965, it took with it more
than 5,000 jobs and an annual payroll of what translates today to more
than $83 million in payroll. Despite this crushing blow, a
January 2011 study by the Center for Economic Development and Business
Research, W. Frank Barton School of Business, Wichita State University
finds the community thriving on the former Air Force base property,
thanks to strong partnerships and planning.
At the request of the Salina
Airport Authority, the CEDBR analyzed the economic impact of the Salina
Airport and Salina Airport Industrial Center activity. The group also
analyzed the impact of military activity at the Salina Airport and in
the Saline County region, as well as that of direct operations of Kansas
State University.
"We submit data related to
all business, military and university-related jobs and activities (for
direct impact data)," said Salina Airport Authority Executive
Director Tim Rogers, A.A.E. "Then WSU applies multipliers
(to calculate indirect impact data). Jobs in manufacturing will
lead more jobs in the community. Jobs for retail sales, real
estate transactions, automobile
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SAA photo.
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purchases, groceries are all
needed to support the other jobs."
Today, the total employment
impact of the Salina Airport and Airport Industrial Center exceeds
10,000 workers and more than $323 million in annual payroll. Net
tax impacts are estimated at nearly $16 million when combining impacts
to Salina, Saline County and Kansas. Taxes to the city of Salina
exceed $2 million while taxes to Saline County are more than $1.5
million. The state of Kansas realized more than $12.1 million in net
taxes.
The Salina Municipal Airport and
Salina Airport Industrial Center are located in central Kansas adjacent
to Interstate I-135. Business activity within the more than 3,200
acres of the airport and industrial park includes more than 70 private
and public sector entities. These entities fuel the demand for output,
employment and earnings. Increased demand creates fiscal impacts,
or tax revenues, to cities, counties and the state of Kansas.
"As a local employer, we
couldn't be happier (in the Salina Airport Industrial Center),"
explained Vortex Valves President and CEO Jeff Thompson.
"It's a fantastic location with access to the interstate, access
to the airport and of course access to the great labor pool we have
here in Salina."
The study found that nearly 8,700
jobs and more than $280 million in payroll were due to business
activity at the Airport and Airport Industrial Center. More than
70 businesses directly employ more than 3,700 workers. Direct
one-year payroll earnings amount to more than $130.4 million while
total payroll earnings amount to almost $284 million. As a result
of this business activity, Salina gained nearly $1.8 million and Saline
County gained close to $1.4 million in tax revenues in 2010.
The Salina Airport supports
military activity from the Great Plains Joint Training Center. Military
activity in the Saline County region includes contracts awarded to
companies in the region as well as payments to retired individuals and
payments to active duty, civilian, and reserve and National Guard
personnel and visitors to the Great Plains Joint Training Center.
Military contracts go to companies in the Saline County region.
These companies then create a product to fulfill that contract. It
requires employees to create products. The demand for additional
output, employment and earnings create fiscal impacts, or tax revenues,
to cities, counties and the state of Kansas.
"If you take a look at the
growth we've had here in Salina in the last five or six years, the most
important thing to note is that none of it would have been possible
without the great partnerships we have with the Salina Airport
Authority, City of Salina, Saline County and the Chamber,"
explained GPJTC Deputy Commander Col. Jeffery "JJ"
Jordan. "That's actually a key factor in determining where
the military puts assets. We are so diversified right now, there
are multiple demands that can be met here, we're very
sustainable."
Data from active duty, reserve
and National Guard, and civilian employment and wages; contracts
information for the fiscal year 2010; and retiree information for the
fiscal year 2010 was used to calculate the impact. Military
activity in the Saline County region, which includes Saline, McPherson,
Ellsworth, Dickinson and Ottawa counties, resulted in 1,555 jobs and
earnings in excess of $35 million in 2009. The impact from
military activity and contracts exceeded $5 million with employment
impacts of more than 1,200 and earnings of $27.5 million in Salina in 2009.
In 2010, the region's impact was $9 million, creating more than
1,400 jobs that earned more than $34 million in wages. The
economic impact to the state of Kansas was $10.8 million, creating more
than 1,600 jobs that earned more than $38.4 million in wages in 2010.
The total fiscal impact from military activity and contracts was more
than $294,000 to Saline County, almost $400,000 to the Saline County
region's revenues and $1.7 million to Kansas state tax revenues.
Kansas State University Salina is
located on the airport industrial center with access to the 12,300-foot
primary runway. The university has established itself as a top five
aviation school and offers a number of aviation degree programs.
The university is also part of a consortium that forms the UAV Center
of Excellence that works in research and development of unmanned
technology for disaster and emergency response.
"This airport is already
known for being the number one fuel stop," said K-State Salina
Dean Dennis Kuhlman. "It's rapidly becoming the nation's
number one place for technological advances for unique applications for
military, civilian and emergency first response organizations in
unmanned aerial systems. This is just the tip of the iceberg of
where we are going."
K-State Salina is a major
economic driver reporting capital expenditures of approximately
$580,000 creating a combined tax impact of more than $46,000. The
estimated 4,000 visitors to the campus in 2010, created a tax impact of
close to $19,000. With an average year-round student attendance of 716,
the university creates a combined fiscal impact of almost $530,000. The
total jobs impact is estimated to be close to 1000 with 174 individuals
directly employed. The total combined tax impact of university activity
was estimated to be more than $850,000.
"One
of the things this process does is verify the positive decisions made
by the citizens," Kuhlman explained. "They chose to
support a sales tax to raise $5.5 million to support the merger that
allowed K-State to become part of this community." The
numbers show that past investment was well worth it. "It's a
great verification that we're on track for the future."
"It's that continued
investment in partnerships, people and planning that has paid off for
this community for decades," explained Salina Area Chamber of
Commerce Dennis Lauver.
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