Everglades City To Take Over
Amidst the slew of proposed airport closings across the US, it's
nice to see a local government actually welcome ownership of its
airport.
Initial steps are taking place to transfer ownership of the
Everglades Airpark (FL) from Collier County government to city
officials of Everglades City.
In a meeting Monday at Everglades City Hall, Mayor Sammy
Hamilton, County Manager Jim Mudd and airport authority officials
agreed to schedule several meetings in the coming weeks to discuss
details of a possible transfer plan. The city controlled the
airport until 1968, when the government transferred ownership to
county government through a warranty deed.
Hamilton said the city wants control of the airport again. He
doesn't anticipate opposition.
In December, Collier County commissioners told Everglades City
residents who were concerned that the airport might close not to
worry. Commissioners promised the residents that the 32-acre site
wouldn't be sold to a developer, even though one had expressed an
interest in it. County officials also floated the idea of
transforming the site into a park with boat launches.
But residents have argued that the airport is vital to that
city's economy and for emergency evacuations.
"The airport is extremely important to Everglades City," Claudia
Davenport said. "People fly in and buy stone crabs. They fly in and
stay two or three days. The community would suffer greatly without
it."
A joint workshop between the Everglades City Council and Collier
County Commission to discuss a transfer plan has been scheduled for
9 a.m. Feb. 25 in the Collier County Commission chambers. The
meeting likely will have officials on the same page: County
commissioners have expressed support for a transfer, and the
Everglades City Council recently passed a resolution of support for
the transfer of the airport back to the city.
This coming Thursday, Airport Authority Executive Director Gene
Schmidt plans to meet with Hamilton again to talk more about what
would have to happen for the transfer to occur.
County officials said
if the airport were to be owned and operated by the city again, the
city could form its own airport authority to handle operational
decisions, or it might be able to contract with the Collier County
Airport Authority to continue to handle this task. That authority
has a member that represents Everglades City. If the city decides
to form its own airport authority, the county may have to revise
its current ordinance to eliminate the Everglades City member on
the Collier County Airport Authority.
The agreement to deed the ownership of the airport back to the
city likely would include language that states that the property
ownership would revert back to Collier County if the airport ever
shuts down.
Hamilton said the airport should stay open for several reasons,
including the fact that it helps tourism.
"Once you lose one (airport), you never get another one," he
said. "The airport means a lot to our city. We've had a lot of
things taken away from us. We don't need any more taken away."