Area members of the Experimental Aircraft Association either want Tampa Bay Executive to stay open or be replaced.
By MELIA BOWIE
Published May 13, 2004
TRINITY - Opponents of the planned Oct. 1 closing of Tampa Bay Executive Airport say they intend to form a committee to fight the move.
Members of the Experimental Aircraft Association, a national aviation group with an active chapter in New Port Richey, planned to meet Wednesday night at the airport to discuss strategy.
"There's a lot of us that are not really holding still for this," said Bob Langford, a pilot and a New Port Richey City Council member who has used the airport for six years.
The goal is to stop the airport's closure or to persuade Pasco County leaders to build a new one.
Earlier this week, Lew Friedland, who runs the airport, said the decision to close came as residential growth continued to crowd Tampa Bay Executive. The widening of State Road 54 at its doorstep posed liability hazards, he added.
Friedland said Tuesday that he already was talking to potential buyers about the property, noting that the closure was long anticipated.
Pilots there have said that in past years there was talk of turning the airport site into a shopping center or industrial park.
Those opposed to the demise of Tampa Bay Executive said they have contacted county commissioners about the airport closing.
Among those reached Wednesday was Peter Altman, who is proposing the creation of a citizen task force to study the impact of the airport loss and the possibility of building a new one.
In addition, the opponents plan to seek help from the national EAA, based in Wisconsin.
Langford added that many local EAA members also are affiliated with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the group that successfully fought the closing of Albert Whitted Airport in St. Petersburg last year.
"The story isn't over," Langford said. "West Pasco needs an airport not just because of Bayflite, but because of all the commerce and the private use."
