To the Editor,

The biblical Goliath apparently felt free to wreak havoc wherever he wished, simply because of his size. The Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are now filling the shoes of the scriptural giant.

Holding the slingshot and trying to protect his constituents stands the diminutive Mayor Frank Picozzi, the contemporary David.

Who will win this battle? The Goliath airport bureaucracy and the “we have the power to do anything” federal government’s FAA, or the little guy standing in the wilderness with no appreciable support from state and federal leaders?

The mayor is asking for a signed memorandum of agreement (MOA) stating that RIAC will build an access road to the airport connector to avoid numerous, heavy vehicles on residential streets, and that it will build a noise barrier. While the mayor has also asked that the cargo facility use only low-noise electric vehicles for cargo handling and reduce night lighting to promote dark skies, he seems negotiable on these points. The access road and the noise shield are non-negotiable.

The Airport Corporation’s response?

Call in “Big Brother” FAA for an apparently unscheduled audit to give it an excuse to stop paying Warwick $500,000 per year in PILOT payments (payments in lieu of taxes).

RIAC is using this FAA-provided cudgel to intimidate Warwick, much like Goliath used his size and strength to intimidate David.

RIAC says it has no problem signing an MOA guaranteeing it will build a proper access road to the airport connector and build a noise barrier. However, the MOA that RIAC sent to the mayor guarantees nothing. It promised to build the road and barrier only if funds are available and its board approves.

That’s not a memorandum of agreement. It’s a bag full of “we might do it,” “we’ll try,” and “maybe it will get done.” No city leader should ever sign a document full of such empty promises and no guarantees.

For the most part, TF Green Airport has been a good neighbor to Warwick for many, many years and Warwick has returned the neighborliness. And the airport is a clear asset to the state of Rhode Island. Why RIAC and its Mafia-like FAA enforcer now want to sabotage a previously good relationship through audit intimidation and other strong-arm tactics is hard to understand.

I believe most of the 70,000 voting age citizens of Warwick support David in this fight against Goliath. State leaders, especially Governor Dan McKee and House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi, but also our congressional delegation, should be using their political leverage to get the lonely mayor and his people some support.

“David” the mayor may yet sling a stone that will stop the RIAC/FAA Goliath. However, just as the Israelites supported David in his fight against Goliath and the Philistines, it would be nice to see more support for the current David from those who should be behind him loading spare slingshots with heavier stones.

Lonnie Barham

Warwick