Business
Council Defers $100K For F-35 PR Deal
March 21, 2017 
Boise’s City Council deferred action on funding a PR campaign toy get the F-35 fighter jet based in Boise.
Prior to the 6 p.m. Tuesday meeting the GUARDIAN learned the proposed resolution to spend up to $100,000 with a Washington, D.C. firm to attract the F-35 fighter to Boise had been put off until April 4.
We talked to a City Councilor who told the GUARDIAN, “We needed to get more information.” Kudos to the council for deferring the request and seeking more details.
In the interest of citizen assistance, we offer the following information from the MANTA website:
“Kiley & Associates, LLC is a privately held company in Washington, DC and is a Single Location business. Categorized under Business Management Consultants. Our records show it was established in 2009 and incorporated in District of Columbia. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of $260,000 and employs a staff of approximately 1.” The same info appears on multiple websites.
The councilor was evasive when we asked about spending $100K for an ad agency. The councilor said it was not an ad agency. We said, “OK, a PR firm.” The councilor said it wasn’t a PR firm (and they needed to get more information before approving the Mayor’s request to make a $100,000 payment to Gregory Kiley who appears –at least on internet sites– to be a one man band with no “associates”).
We applaud the council for NOT approving the expenditure of $100,000 to attract the F-35. It crossed our mind that there is a major problem in one or both of the following rhetorical questions:
–Would the United States Air Force actually decide to base the F-35 in Boise using information provided by a one man ad agent-PR guy-lobbyist-consult?
–If the answer is NO, then wouldn’t it be foolish or at least suspect for the City to spend $100,000 hoping to use public relations to influence the defense of our nation?
See the Attachment-12336.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Mar 21, 2017, 6:41 pm
Guardian,
I really appreciate the knowledge shared on this subject. My mother lived on Diamond Street off of Victory Road for three decades. At that time, calling Mom usually involved pauses as airliners passed overhead. I can only imagine today’s decibel and frequency of flights.
Has any group come together to organize letters and calls to the appropriate deciders in our Capitol? It might be well advised to communicate the opinion of the Silent Majority instead of the uncaring and misdirected politician(s).
EDITOR NOTE–There is a group, “Citizens For A Livable Boise,” but the state and city have all the inside tracks and money to deal with the politicians.
Mar 21, 2017, 8:00 pm
The whole affair is very fishy. A “Full Force and Effect” No Bid $100,000 contract …???
Mar 22, 2017, 8:49 am
Does the Dept. of Commerce plan to spend their (our) $100K with this 1-man band?
Mar 22, 2017, 9:41 am
Brad, I wouldn’t be surprised if the airport is quieter now, than when your mom was on Diamond Street. The turbofan engines on passenger and cargo aircraft (and the A-10 flown by the Guard) are much quieter than the old jet engines. I bet it was noisier when 727s and DC-9s (and RF-4Cs) were routinely taking off.
Of course, that could change in a heartbeat, if the power brokers decide Boise should host a squadron of F-35s.
We live a couple miles from the airport. The routine operations are hardly noticeable… but I can ALWAYS tell when a military jet is leaving our fair community.
I sent an email to the Boise City Council yesterday, expressing my reservations. (A spokeswoman replied, telling me they wouldn’t be voting on the $100K after all, but she’d pass my letter on.) They can probably ignore 1 or a dozen letters, but if 1000 citizens expressed doubts, perhaps it could make a difference. (Or not. Beiter seems bound and determined on his Pet Trolley, despite repeated thumbs-down from many many citizens.)
Please contact the Council, and make your feelings known, and remind them that you vote!
Mar 22, 2017, 12:37 pm
Bieter was out of town and does not want to miss the ‘yes’ vote on the lobby money? So his friends delayed until his return? Possibly they wanted to meet this person before giving him $100K up front?
Unfortunately F-35 noise and air pollution is going to be the best fastest way to get rid of Bieter and his public money grubbing friends. Recommend those in the current designated overflight areas make demands on the FAA at this time so that all of Boise becomes an overflight area. In this way all of Boise can share in the F-35 joy.
Yes, Bike-Buddy is correct. All civil aircraft have been forced to be very quiet by law. The majority of military activity at Boise is A-10 and whirlybirds. A-10 uses a CF-34 type engine. Same as used on smaller civilian jets. Only reason you can hear A-10 at all is because its aerodynamic engineers work for John Deere and its drag is therefore similar to a farm implement. The whirlybirds are also much improved from the Vietnam era, so now they can actually sneak up on someone with one.
(Did you see the cool DOT noise map someone posted on the prior thread, wow.)
Mar 22, 2017, 3:53 pm
If our elected officials won’t listen maybe the Air Force will. How about a letter writing campaign/petition drive to request the Air Force to follow their own judgement and station the F35s at Mtn Home.
Mar 22, 2017, 7:39 pm
Wow. Spending the tax payers money doing the wrong thing over and over. WRONG THING meaning, knowingly increasing airport noise levels and the resulting number of homes classified Not Suitable For Residential Use (NSFRU) from 40 homes, to 105 homes currently, to 419 projected in 2020, and an estimated 900+ should F35’s use existing runways. At $236,000 per home (airport’s estimate) to buy, demolish and relocate owners, this will cost over $200 million. In addition, there will be sizable permanent tax base reductions in thousands of neighboring homes.
REALLY WRONG THING when the City, State, Department of Defense can prevent the majority of the negative impact by spending an estimated one-time $80 million to extend the existing south, 3rd Runway, that reduces the noise impact 90 percent. The 3rd runway is 5,000 feet to the south. Doing this everyone WINS: IDANG, BOI, Boise, Idaho, AF and the Citizens of Boise.
If you want our public officials to get this RIGHT, join Citizens for a Livable Boise by e-mailing [email protected]
Mar 23, 2017, 2:01 pm
John Glerum makes a very compelling point.
thanks!
Mar 27, 2017, 11:53 am
Idaholc and anyone else who wants to contact USAF regarding placing F-35s in Mountain Home instead of Boise.
Here is USAF Secretary’s email: [email protected]