"County endorses Florida Keys airport panel"

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

County endorses airport panel
The Marathon (FL) Keys Keynoter


The plan to get commercial air service back at Florida Keys Marathon Airport
now has its own task force.

Meeting Feb. 16 in Key Largo, the Monroe County Commission blessed the
creation of the Florida Keys Airport Task Force, which will comprise "local
government representatives and community shareholders to study and make
recommendations as necessary ... of the issues regarding recruitment of
airline services to the Marathon airport facility."

The task force will include 22 members -- two each from the city of Key
West, city of Marathon, Key Colony Beach, city of Layton and village of
Islamorada; one from each of the five chambers of commerce; five members
appointed "at large" by the County Commission; and one member each from the
Lodging Association of the Florida Keys and Key West and the Marathon
Hospitality Association.

Letters outlining the duties of the task force are being distributed to the
groups.

"I think it's fairly representative all down the Keys, and that was the
purpose," said Commissioner David Rice, who has been working with airport
officials and county consultants to obtain a federal grant to restart jet
service in Marathon.

County officials are trying, for the third consecutive year, for a $750,000
Federal Aviation Administration grant that would subsidize commercial
service. The past two years, the grant has been denied.

Rice and airport officials said Marathon is more likely to receive the grant
if the community shows support by raising an additional $250,000.

So far, Rice looks to have accumulated $55,000 from mostly Middle Keys
contributors, although June Helbling, who is managing the airport account at
Marine Bank, could not be reached for current totals.

Rice said the absolute deadline for contributions would be April 1, when the
grant application is due.

He expects more contributions to come at a Rotary meeting today in Marathon
and, in the end, expects donations to come from interested parties from Key
Largo to Key West.

At least one Marathon official said he hopes that's the case.

"I would think that only people who contributed money to the airport should
be on that [task force]," said Marathon City Manager Mike Puto, who had
concerns about officials with no financial stake in Marathon making
decisions about the airport.

Puto planned to find available money in the city budget to donate and to
bring the information to the City Council meeting Tuesday night, but said a
definite paper trail should be created.

"We need to get a contract for where the money is going and for what," Puto
said. "We have to make sure we do it correctly, especially if we are using
taxpayers' dollars."


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