Published December 2003

Tower adds luster
to county’s ‘crown jewel’

Snohomish County Business Journal/ JOHN WOLCOTT The dedication of Paine Field’s new $8 million FAA control tower included a unique ribbon cutting 90 feet off the ground, the height of the old tower. County and FAA officials rode to the snipping ceremony in two aerial ladder buckets provided by the Everett and Mukilteo fire departments.

More than 150 people gathered at Paine Field on Oct. 31 for the dedication of the airport’s new $8 million FAA air traffic control tower, an event that has symbolic as well as practical significance for our local economy.

Practically speaking, the taller tower — 162 feet high compared to the old tower’s 90-foot height — allows controllers to see all of the airport’s taxiways for the first time in many years. Building growth at the airfield over the past two decades had created a sight problem that needed to be fixed.

But symbolically, the tower’s opening is important, too. The tower represents a clear sign of the airport’s importance, a clear sign that new construction continues to expand capabilities and opportunities at the multimillion-dollar transportation facility that Airport Manager Dave Waggoner likes to call “the airport of choice” and the “crown jewel” in Snohomish County’s treasury of economic gems.

It was a bright, crisp fall day for the event, set for a date that had great significance for the tower’s manager, Sheri Kasen, because it was 30 years to the day from the time the old tower was dedicated to service. Along with FAA officials and airport staff, she planned a ribbon-cutting ceremony that was head-and-shoulders above the average snipping-of-the-cloth event — 90 feet above, to be exact.

The ribbon was tied around the new tower at the 90-foot level (no simple feat itself), as high as the old tower. Kasen; Thomas Busker, the FAA’s acting regional administrator for the Northwest Mountain Region; Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel; and Waggoner were lifted up to the ribbon in aerial ladder buckets provided by the Everett and Mukilteo fire departments. At the cutting of the ribbon, two Paine Field fire department trucks faced each other and spewed an arch of foam in observance of the celebration.

As a gift from the airport and the county to the FAA, renowned Pacific Northwest artist Bernie Webber painted a montage depicting the airfield, military aircraft once based there, general aviation planes and related aviation images to commemorate this year’s centennial celebration of the Wright brothers’ first powered flight and the important military and civil roles Paine Field has played in the county’s history. It will be hung in the new tower.

The tower, finished ahead of schedule and under budget, attracted attention that day from county officials, representatives of state and federal legislators and scores of FAA and airport personnel who celebrated more than just the new facility. Kasen praised the work of engineers on the project who creatively reduced costs significantly during construction and honored FAA controller James Haugen for his work on the project and his training programs for other controllers who take over the operation of the tower.

She also noted that the professionalism of the tower’s crew is reflected in statistics showing that, as of Oct. 30, the controllers had completed 863,883 flight operations error-free at the airfield, flights involving private and corporate aircraft as well as the Boeing Co.’s flight testing of its 747, 767 and 777 aircraft assembled at the Everett plant adjacent to the airport.

Drewel also noted the importance of the airfield to the economy as well as to aviation, telling the crowd that the airfield “now has the most general aviation aircraft” based at any airfield in the state. Also, he added, the FAA’s Airports Division has invested more than $25 million in federal grants in recent years for safety, paving and other projects. Busker then presented FAA awards to the airport, commemorating the tower dedication, and to Kasen.

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