Chances to soar don't come around very often

Opportunities like this don't land in your lap, or in this case at the airport, as often as we would like.

Development and growth are coming. National slowdowns and housing woes aren't going to change that. Private development is soaring at the Sandpoint Airport — approval by the Federal Aviation Administration of Quest's Kodiak plane and a new housing development combining the best of homes and hangers for pilots who want to bring their plane home with them are just a few of the examples.

For too long, bickering over who is responsible for the airport and who has to pay for what has hurt the facility's ability to grow. Private business interests are taking a leadership role on city land, improvements that many would like to see happen at the county-owned airport as well. Without cooperation, those needed improvements aren't going to happen.

There are a lot of dedicated people in both city and county governments as well as in the private sector. The time has come to set aside past distrust and unwillingness to cooperate and move forward to make the airport a centerpiece for economic development.

Infrastructure, after all, is infrastructure. We'd be complaining at all hours if our elected officials ignored the roads and water systems because businesses or people with their own cars use them, too.

Let's end the squabbling and help the airport truly soar.

Caroline Lobsinger is the managing editor of the Daily Bee.