Eighteen months ago, the manager of the Tampa Bay Executive Airport predicted the privately owned airfield could be closing in three to five years. Turns out, the departing flight is ahead of schedule.
The airport, along State Road 54 near Odessa, will shut down Oct. 1, boxed in by an expanding road network and residential neighborhoods.
In essence, the land has more valuable uses for its owner, Seven Eagles Inc., which is affiliated with the developers of Trinity Communities. Two years ago, 53 acres at nearby Little Road and SR 54 sold for an astounding $349,000 per acre for the planned Community Hospital relocation. Similar prices for the airport's 72 acres are unlikely, but the extension of Trinity Boulevard and the widened SR 54 make the land one of the choicest pieces of developable real estate in west Pasco.
Confirmation of that Oct. 1 departure date this week touched off a renewed interest in potential government ownership of an airport serving the west side of the county. Pasco commissioners should ground that idea. Though grant money could offset a portion of the start-up costs, the county shouldn't be trying to start a new, exorbitantly priced venture.
Commissioners Ann Hildebrand and Peter Altman heard the pitch before. Sitting as members of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, they listened as the state Department of Transportation asked Pasco to consider opening an airport. Acquire what is now known as the Tampa Bay Executive Airport, or start your own elsewhere, the state suggested, in order to relieve expected air traffic congestion at Tampa International Airport.
That was 17 years ago. There was little enthusiasm because of anticipated costs. The tab has gone nowhere but up since.
A state-financed study indicated more than 600 acres would be needed. If commissioners draw criticism for wanting to take environmentally sensitive land off the tax rolls, imagine the uproar over government ownership of several hundred high and dry acres for a venture that likely would run a deficit each year.
Political implications aside, this is an idea the county can not afford. Even the notion of having airport availability as an attraction for industrial recruitment is off-base. It's the most expensive carrot the county could offer.
A privately owned industrial park sits across SR 54 from the airport, but the airfield and economic development aren't closely tied together. Mary Jane Stanely of the Economic Development Council said 18 months ago that the airport closing shouldn't have a significant effect on industrial recruitment.
Besides, a publicly owned airport already exists. The city of Zephyrhills airfield is equipped with adjoining industrial land. If it takes an airport to close a deal, the county has one to offer. As a reminder, the county should consider its existing economic development strengths: easy access to Tampa and the transportation outlets there - the port and international airport, open land, an eager government, a pair of multilaned north-south highways, a nearby state university and a work force that would need training but wouldn't command wages as high as Florida's metropolitan centers. A small airport serving 100 airplanes is not a leading attribute.
The only pertinent question is the future location of a Bayflite air ambulance and a plane for the West Pasco Mosquito Control District, both of which are located at the Tampa Bay Executive Airport. Any talk of forming a county task force should focus on those tenants' needs. But neighborhood airports at Hidden Lake Estates in Moon Lake, Pilot Country Estates in Gowers Corner, the privately owned and soon to expand Tampa North Aeropark in Wesley Chapel, and the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport are available options.
Building an airport from scratch is pie in the sky. Pasco County has more pressing needs on the ground.
