CAA: GA News, "Florida city wants fast airport changes"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thursday, February 28, 2002

City wants fast airport changes
BY SUSAN LATHAM CARR
The Ocala (FL) Star Banner


OCALA - Unhappy with its 20-year airport master plan, the Ocala City
Council said it wants a control tower put in the master plan and it
wants an airport manager - fast.

"I think we have made some major expenditures that have not succeeded,"
an angry Council President Mike Amsden said Tuesday after hearing city
staff describe the plan.

"I think the problem we have is we have not had conscientiousness and
consistency in an airport manager who has been there and experienced the
growth and growth-related issues in this community."

Amsden, who has been a council member for 12 years, said he is
frustrated with the lack of progress at the airport. Because of the
city's financial commitment to the airport, he said, the facility should
be "soaring higher than we are today."

"I think the administration has done an injustice," Amsden said. "What
are we going to do different from what we have done in the past?"

Amsden pointed to the lack of activity in the airport's foreign trade
zone, as well as employee problems, the Airport Rescue Firefighting
Facility fiasco and the failure to economically develop the property at
the airport.

Councilwoman Mary Rich agreed with Amsden.

"Well said," is all Rich said.

Airport Advisory Board member and pilot Terry Crawford commended Amsden
for speaking up.

Crawford said the ARFF, which was supposed to draw firefighters from all
over the Southeast, was a mistake sold to the city by the FAA. The
facility cost $12 million of federal, state and local money and never
attracted the students that were supposed to bring an economic boost to
the city. But Crawford said a lot of the money has not been wasted,
pointing to such amenities as an instrument landing service. He also
believes the airport is an "economic portal" that brings business to the
community.

Councilman Kyle Kay, who flies a leased airplane, said he does not
believe the airport will get commercial air service in the foreseeable
future and should be developed as a general aviation airport. He said
the airport needs a tower.

"That's the No. 1 thing I think we should do to increase the safety out
there," said Kay, who said he has had three or four near-misses when
flying. 

Assistant City Manager Paul Nugent said he was not sure the airport had
enough flights in and out to allow the city to add a tower to its plan.
PBS&J, the Tampa consultant that completed the master plan presented
Tuesday, estimated the number of landings and takeoffs at Ocala
International Airport at 46,000 a year, and projected the number would
rise to 66,000 by year 2020. According to the Federal Aviation
Administration, an airport must have at least 90,000 landings or
takeoffs to have a tower. 

"If we had the numbers that would actually support us for a tower that
were more concrete numbers, we would have a better chance with the FAA,"
Nugent said. 

Crawford said after the workshop that the numbers are there for a tower.
He said the FAA put in a temporary tower last year when the U.S.
Forestry Service was flying in and out of the airport fighting forest
fires. He said the FAA counted 83,440 landings or takeoffs, not
including the Forestry planes.

After the meeting, Kay said it did not make sense to file a 20-year
master plan without even mentioning a tower because, if it is not in the
plan, FAA will not fund one. Airport master plans are updated every five
years.

City Manager Susan Miller said the council must approve the Master Plan
for the airport to be eligible for FAA grants.

"It's overdue now," Miller said, adding that she would look into whether
there could be an amendment to add a tower.

The airport has an annual budget of about $600,000. The ARFF facility's
$500,000 annual budget is being borne by a private company that leases
the facility. The airport is still in the red, though, because of its
$1.3 million debt. Even with the debt removed, there is not enough cash
flow to do additional improvements. To make all the improvements in the
proposed master plan would cost $3.1 million.

Among a list of recommended improvements presented by staff, the plan
called for widening turning radii because the larger planes, like DC-8s,
cannot maneuver around the airport. The airport has lost considerable
horse transport and cargo business because of the inability to turn the
planes, which was another sore spot with Amsden, who said he only
learned about the problem about a month ago.

"Why are horses being taken to Gainesville?" Amsden asked at the
meeting. "Why wasn't that a priority? This is the horse capital of the
world. That should have been brought immediately to our attention."


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