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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
Senate Resolution 2
Sponsored by Senator GIROD
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced.The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: Notes role of Aurora State Airport in disasters.(Flesch Readability Score: 61.2).
Recognizes the important role of Aurora State Airport in the State of Oregon’s emergency
preparedness and response efforts.
SENATE RESOLUTION
Whereas during World War II, Aurora Flight Strip was built in northern Marion County,
Oregon, by the United States Army Air Forces; and
Whereas the new facility was completed in 1943 and was used as a base for patrolling the coast
for enemy ships and aircraft, for pilot training and as a supporting airfield to Portland Army Air
Base;and
Whereas following the war, the airfield was eventually turned over to the control of the State
of Oregon by the federal government; and
Whereas Aurora State Airport is today a general aviation airport owned and operated by the
Oregon Department of Aviation, and it is one of the busiest airports in the state; and
Whereas Aurora State Airport covers an area of 144 acres, making it the largest of Oregon’s
state-owned airports; and
Whereas in 2009, the Legislative Assembly passed a resolution naming the airstrip Wes Lematta
Field at Aurora State Airport in honor of the late founder of Columbia Helicopters, Inc., which is
based at the airport; and
Whereas Aurora State Airport is uniquely positioned to provide enormous assets to the
Willamette Valley, the State of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest region following a major seismic
event or other cataclysmic natural disaster; and
Whereas soil studies at the airport predict a negligible soil settlement following a major seismic
event, which indicates that the runway, taxiways and parking aprons will likely remain fully oper-
ational with very little needed repair; and
Whereas the airport is a major headquarters and base of operations for two of the largest
heavy-lift helicopter companies in the United States, Columbia Helicopters, Inc., and Helicopter
Transport Services, which will provide essential supply transportation services following a major
disaster;and
Whereas the airport is the regional headquarters for Life Flight Network, the principal emer-
gency air medical service for the northwestern United States, and whose services will be critical to
the people of the region following a disaster; and
Whereas the airport is the base of operations for two companies that specialize in repair and
adjustment of major electrical grid power lines: Wilson Construction Company and Winco Powerline
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 4698 SR2
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Services;and
Whereas these resiliency-critical businesses all have major aircraft maintenance facilities at the
airport for their specialized aircraft, with ready-to-use test equipment, rebuild machines, spare parts
inventory, tools, skilled aircraft maintenance workforce, specialty aviation accessories and aero-
medical equipment in fully functional condition for use during an emergency; and
Whereas the airport is a base for the Oregon Disaster Airlift Response Team, which is an all-
volunteer airlift resource whose mission is to help communities and emergency responders cope with
a local disaster; and
Whereas the airport is home to the Aurora Composite Squadron, Oregon Wing, of the United
States Air Force Auxiliary’s Civil Air Patrol, which provides essential search and rescue and
emergency response operations; and
Whereas the airport is surrounded by agricultural lands that during an emergency can be re-
purposed as staging areas for use in emergency management operations; and
Whereas the airport was constructed as a military airport and its runway was designed to be
capable of landing heavy military-type aircraft; and
Whereas the airport has more than 1 million square feet of aviation hangar, office and shop
space that can be quickly transitioned for emergency management operations; and
Whereas numerous federal, state and local emergency management plans document the impor-
tance of the airport as an essential resiliency facility; and
Whereas the Aurora Airport Improvement Association continues to further develop plans and
infrastructure so that Aurora State Airport can better serve its vital role as a resiliency facility to
resupply and support the people of the State of Oregon following a major seismic event or other
cataclysmic natural disaster; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Oregon:
That we, the members of the Senate of the Eighty-third Legislative Assembly, recognize the
important role of Aurora State Airport in the State of Oregon’s emergency preparedness and re-
sponse efforts, and we salute the work of the Aurora Airport Improvement Association in ensuring
that the airport fulfills its vital role.
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