Naples office elections are almost here

A subject that many individuals on both sides of the debate agree upon. The Naples Airport has been in its current location since the 1940s; the question is whether or not to move it.

“You can’t go west because the Gulf is there; you can’t go south because the Gulf; north is where Fort Myers is; to the east are protected wetlands,” said Stephen Myers, Executive VP Elite Jets. “Where do you think that they could move it to? I think that there’s a few people who are vocal minorities, and I would venture to guess that every one of them was here before they moved here.”

It has become a contentious issue among candidates for public office. Many people at the forum on Wednesday night cited the economic benefit as their main justification for keeping the airport open, according to a recent article by Bella Line of Fox4.

According to F-DOT, the extensive influence of the Naples Airport creates thousands of jobs in the region even in the absence of significant commercial aircraft activity.

The Naples Airport witnessed an average of 260 landings and takeoffs each day in the year before Hurricane Ian, or almost one every few minutes. neighboring homeowners’ major grievance.

“If you’d looked up when you were looking at your house, you’d have realized that there is going to be airplane traffic,” said Tony Perez-Benitoa, Council candidate. “To either redirect the traffic or move it now, I think is inappropriate because it impacts other people’s property rights.”

All three candidates assert that the noise problem might be resolved by implementing a “higher, faster” improvement. But at this time, FAA restrictions prohibit this.

“The FAA claims safety, and don’t get me wrong, safety is important, but safety is what they’re claiming is the reason that we don’t want to do that,” saidBerne Barton, a candidate for the Council. “I’m not entirely sure that’s an accurate statement.”

Price argues it’s time for change while attempting to find a solution in the midst of a close election.

“If their audience is pro-airport, they tend to be pro-airport. If it’s anti-airport, they tend to be anti-airport,” said Gary Price, Mayoral candidate. “I’m going to be always pro-airport. I’m a tenant here. I’m a pilot. I love this airport. I love what it does for our community. I’m not changing that and I’m going to fight to make sure it stays here.”

This article originally appeared on Fox4

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