A Regional Airport?

There was a very interesting article in Sunday’s News Herald (11/4/07) about the need for the new airport to have a regional name and identity. This is definitely something we should discuss and consider.

For this airport to truly live up to its potential, it will need to serve the entire region, not just Panama City – Bay County.

And with Eglin’s training mission rapidly increasing, one has to wonder about the future of Okaloosa Regional Airport.

Will the U.S. Air Force continue to allow commercial aviation on a military base where fighter pilots are being trained? Is that a good idea?

Maybe it’s time to consider “Northwest Florida Regional Airport” – or something like that.

Hey, it worked in the Ft. Myers/Naples area with Southwest Florida Regional Airport.

Food for thought. If anyone has any thoughts to share on this subject, I'd love to hear from you.

Send an email to westbayflorida (at) gmail (dot) com

Groundbreaking Success!

Last week, I was unable to attend the airport groundbreaking ceremony – but Jason Koertge at PCBDaily had such great coverage of the event, I felt like I was there.

After talking to people who did attend and reading the mainstream media coverage, I have to say: What an event!

More than 1,000 people showed up to help celebrate the day. Organizers originally expected about 100. It had the feeling of a new beginning, which of course, it was.

The message of the day was the balance this community has found between economic development and environmental protection. It’s something of which we should all be very proud.

Governor Crist was called to Washington on official business, and was unable to attend. But he did provide taped remarks. He said:

The new Panama City-Bay County International Airport will serve as a national model for economic transformation and environmental preservation…

It will revitalize, diversify and grow the economy. It will mean better jobs for the people of Northwest Florida and a better future for the children of Northwest Florida…

Representative Marti Coley summed up the day nicely with her remarks:

Today we are here to celebrate not one, but two beginnings.

We are breaking ground on the new Panama City – Bay County International Airport, a project that will provide this region with a dynamic economic development platform and will deliver to this region improved air service.

But today also marks the beginning of an unprecedented effort to protect forever one of Florida’s most important environmental treasures. West Bay.

But the best moment of the day, according to many who were present, came when fifth-grader Victoria Whitmire took the stage. On behalf of the children of Bay County, she presented Audubon Conservation Director Eric Draper with a long-leaf pine seedling, and said: “Mr. Audubon, will you take care of this for us?” Priceless.

Not to be upstaged, Draper followed her presentation with very eloquent remarks about the environmental opportunities that grew out of the need to relocate the airport.

You can see all this and more with the coverage provided at PCBDaily.

Now we all have to work together to make the airport the success we all know it can be.

PCBDaily Coverage of Airport Groundbreaking

Jason Koertge, writer, producer, and publisher of PDBDaily.com has done a fantastic job documenting the airport groundbreaking last week. You really must see his coverage of the event. It really provides a "you are there" feeling.

You can find his coverage here.

And his summary video is below. Way to go Jason! Fabulous work!

Friday at the Beach to Highlight Audubon Nature Center

On November 9th, the Panama City Beaches Chamber’s Friday at the Beach breakfast will feature Linda Macbeth from Florida Audubon. Linda will discuss Audubon's plans to build a world class nature center in West Bay.

Here are the details from the Chamber's invitation:

Join Linda Macbeth from Audubon of Florida in an engaging presentation at The Greater Panama City Beaches Chamber’s upcoming Friday at the Beach breakfast. The event will be held Friday, November 9th at Edgewater Beach Resort, from 7:30 to 9:00 AM. Knology, Wilson-Miller and First National Bank of Northwest Florida are sponsoring the event. The Master of Ceremonies, as always, is Paris Janos of WJGH News Channel 7.

The event is open to the public at no charge. Please RSVP to Bertie@pcbeach.org or Joyce@pcbeach.org.

Governor Crist to Attend Groundbreaking?

The News Herald is reporting that Florida Governor Charlie Crist may be attending the airport's ceremonial groundbreaking on November 1.

When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Section 404 permit was issued in August, Governor Crist praised the new airport's economic development and environmental protection potential.

Date Set for Groundbreaking Ceremony!

Early this morning the Airport Authority began emailing invitations to a “Ceremonial Groundbreaking” for the new airport, to be held on Thursday, November 1, at 9:30 a.m.

If you need information about the event, send an email to: patty@pcairport.com

This community has worked nearly ten years to reach this day.

Congratulations to Airport Authority Chairman Joe Tannehill; Airport Board Members Bill Cramer, Gerry Clemons, Rick Koehnemann and Andy McKenzie; Airport Executive Director Randy Curtis; and the countless others who have contributed to the process and worked so hard to bring better air service, economic development opportunities and environmental protection to our region.

Airport Gets Grant to Help Attract Low Cost Carrier

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded a $575,000 grant to the Panama City airport to help attract a low cost carrier to the region and to help current airlines expand their service. The federal dollars will be matched with $529,500 in cash and in-kind contributions from the local business community.

It’s good news for Bay County – but the folks in Okaloosa County reacted a little differently. Here’s how The Northwest Florida Daily News covered the story:

“Okaloosa Regional Airport has been passed over for a $500,000 grant that would have been used to bring a low-cost airline to the area…

“We’re very disappointed,” said Mike Stenson, financial analyst at the Okaloosa Regional Airport.

“Neighboring Panama City was the sole winner from Florida, receiving a $575,000 Small Community Air Service grant. [emphasis added]

“Officials say there is no clear explanation why Okaloosa was shut out of the grant program.”

One explanation might be that the new Panama City airport represents the future of air service in the region. With Eglin AFB’s mission expanding, that is probably a good thing all around.

As we approach a groundbreaking for the new airport, the effort to attract better air service to the region has to begin in earnest.

New Airport to Serve as Aviation Security Test Site

Navy officials announced that the new Panama City – Bay County airport would serve as a test site for security innovations made by the Naval Surface Warfare Center – Panama City, and implemented by the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA).

TSA’s Advanced Technology Evaluation Center will begin at the current airport but will fully realize its mission at the new airport.

One early joint project will be designed to enhance perimeter security with a system that uses wireless cameras, sensors and motion detection devices to monitor the fence line of an area.

More cutting-edge security technologies will be tested at the new airport. The new airport is being designed with input from TSA to facilitate their ability to test new security procedures and technologies.

This is very exciting news for our new airport, and is an indicator of its economic development potential. If the new airport is successful as a test bed for new security technologies, it would likely attract many new technologies companies to the area.

Stay tuned for more important news on this opportunity.

Airport Authority Enters Contract to Sell Existing Airport Site

The Airport Authority approved the sale of the existing airport to a subsidiary of Leucadia National Corporation for $56.5 million in cash and significant revenues from transfer fees from the sale of future properties developed on site.

Future transfer fees have been previously valued at approximately $38 million, bringing the total value of the sale to approximately $94.5 million.

In a press release issued earlier today, the Airport Authority said:

The Panama City – Bay County Airport and Industrial District (Airport Authority) today announced it has approved a contract to sell the current airport site to a subsidiary of Leucadia National Corporation of New York (NYSE: LUK) for $56.5 million in cash and significant revenues from transfer fees from the sale of future properties developed on site.

The airport is being relocated to a site in northwestern Bay County to be donated to the Airport Authority by The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE).

The current airport site is approximately 700 acres adjacent to North Bay in Panama City.

“This is the final piece of the puzzle; our financial plan for the new airport is in place,” said Bill Cramer, Airport Authority vice chairman and lead negotiator for the property sale.

“We can now move forward aggressively to meet our goals to create a new airport with improved air service, provide an opportunity for economic development and create an environmental jewel for the entire region.”

The purchaser of the airport site is Community Airport Redevelopment, LLC (CAR), which is 90% owned by Leucadia National Corporation. Leucadia developed Rosemary Beach and Draper Lake in Florida, among numerous other properties.

The remaining 10% of CAR is owned by WMR Capital Corporation, a Delaware corporation which has developed more than 30 residential, commercial and office real estate projects including Willow Creek Plantation in Okaloosa County, Florida, and Noventa Ocho in Walton County, Florida.

Upon execution of the contract, CAR will place $56.5 million into an escrow account. Transfer fees will provide the Airport Authority with 0.05% of the sales price on most properties on the current site sold by CAR over the next 90 years.

These fees were previously estimated to total some $38 million over the first 30 years of the agreement with additional fees collected during the final 60 years.

“This is the right deal for the citizens of Bay County,” said Cramer. “It provides significant cash now and provides the opportunity for the Airport Authority to share substantially in the success of new development on the current airport site."

"The escrow account will provide security for the Airport Authority to obtain the short-term financing needed to move the new airport construction forward immediately.”

New Airport NOT Bigger Than Tampa’s!

Stop the presses. Tampa Tribune reporter Mike Salinero got some basic facts about our airport relocation project right. Congratulations to Mike – he may be the first out-of-market reporter to do so.

Sure, Salinero’s article had many of the same basic inaccuracies and tired storylines.

But for the first time in print, a paper other than the News Herald actually got the size of our new airport correct.

Salinero wrote:

“Although the total airport property will consist of 4,000 acres, the actual airport footprint will be 1,400 acres. It will have one runway, eight gates and a terminal building of about 105,000 square feet. By comparison, Tampa International has three runways, 59 gates and a terminal with more than a million square feet.”

See? Our new airport is not going to be “bigger than Tampa’s” – as so many biased reporters have written.

Salinero also got it right about safety concerns. He wrote:

“The 6,300-foot runway is considered too short for regular use by larger jets, and there is not enough room for adequate safety zones to stop jets that overshoot the runway, the FAA said. The airport is constrained by the waters of St. Andrews Bay and by residential neighborhoods.”

Salinero buried this important quote from Seth Young, a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, at the bottom of his story:

"It's not a matter of trying to fix the old airport; it's a matter of creating a facility that can handle the growth over the next 20 years in the region," said Young, whose expertise is airport planning.

"It's not about a short-term fix; it's a long-range plan," he said. "And that's actually not costing that much local money at all. It's mostly FAA and state money."