by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
City Council President Ronnie Fussell may be stepping down July 1, but one of the City’s agencies will need help from one of the tools he created to help Jacksonville.
The Seaport-Airport Special Committee was created by Fussell at the beginning of his term as president to help the Jacksonville Port Authority and Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA) secure resources needed to accommodate the city’s growing seaport and airport businesses. It was also charged to act as a liaison between the agencies and local, state and federal officials to help prioritize infrastructure projects and find funding to help spur economic development. Michael Stewart, director of external affairs for JAA, represented the agency at the committee’s meeting on Tuesday to request some of those services.
“With Alenia, we have been successful in getting language in the (U.S.) House side on the Defense Department’s budget and support for this current year for funding for the Alenia project for Cecil Field,” said Stewart. “We are now moving to the (U.S.) Senate side. If any of you know those in Senator Martinez’s office or Senator Nelson’s office, this week would be the time to make that call.”
In Dec. 2006 Alenia North America announced Jacksonville would be the site of a final assembly and production facility for the C-27J Spartan tactical transport aircraft if it was selected by the U.S. Army and Air Force for the Joint Cargo and Aircraft (JCA) program. The operation was expected to employee about 200 people but Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was forced to review his budget and proposed cutbacks to the initial order of 78 aircraft due by 2013. JAA has been working with legislators to be supportive of the project and recently received an encouraging sign.
“We got some real positive support from the adjutant generals with a letter to the Defense Department,” said Stewart. “All 53 of them signed a letter requesting the C-27J. We are at about 3-4 months before we have enough information for Alenia to make a decision, but we are moving in the right direction.”
More negotiation news from Cecil Field includes the impending lease with Flightstar for a coatings facility in a three-bay hangar and a ground lease between JAA and FCCJ.
From negotiation to celebration, Stewart also announced that the JAA will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Cecil Field being placed under its umbrella on Sept. 28. The event will include a JAA Board of Directors meeting, ground breaking for the FCCJ facility, anniversary for LSI (the first tenant at Cecil Commerce Center) and a ribbon cutting for the renovated hangar 825.
The good news stopped when Stewart discussed the effects of the latest budget.
“We just found out that because of the sweep of $120 million out of the Florida Department of Transportation Trust Fund $1 million has been eliminated from one of our runway projects at Cecil Field,” said Stewart, “And about $1.9 million from Herlong and JAX projects, so we are now starting to recognize the negative impacts of the transportation trust fund being hit because of the State’s budget. It’s not pretty in terms of the impacts it’s having on us.”
One aircraft topic that has been on the minds of citizens recently was the trip representatives of Jacksonville took to the Paris Air Show and committee member Art Graham was curious about the results from the trip.
“Are you able to give us any highlights from the Paris trip?” asked Graham.
JAA Interim Executive Director Ernestine Moody-Robinson was not in attendance at the meeting, so Stewart informed the Committee he would prepare a report for the next meeting.
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