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Jun 16, 2023

County to discuss improvements at local airports

Reporter The Inverness Airport is located south of Inverness on U.S. 41. County

Reporter

The Inverness Airport is located south of Inverness on U.S. 41.

County commissioners Tuesday will figure out ways to improve the Crystal River and Inverness airports to make them even bigger economic drivers for the county.

"The level of importance we put behind them will determine how much economic development comes out of those airports," County Commissioner Jeff Kinnard said.

"We need to get more hangars built – bigger hangars to house larger aircraft.

The workshop begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Citrus County Courthouse at 110 North Apopka Ave., Inverness.

Commission Chairwoman Ruthie Schlabach recently said the two county-owned airports are the gateway into Citrus County for wealthy people and need sprucing up.

The fixed-base operators (FBO) from both county airports fired off to county commissioners a list of improvements at their respective facilities.

The county has some grant money available to accommodate their wish lists. Commissioners briefly discussed them at a previous board meeting but held off on a vote until they could hold a workshop.

There were too many ideas put forth and the board said they needed more time to discuss, they said.

Tom Davis Field, the main runway at Crystal River Airport, is 4,555 feet in length. The airport has a secondary, smaller runway as well.

Here are some of the FBO requests:

The Inverness Airport: Improved signage out front, more hangars, a business park, affordable apartments for the workforce and a camping area for tourists who fly into the airport.

The Crystal River Airport: A walkway cover and new restroom in the front yard; replacement of the canopy over the windows of the FBO building and an additional security camera.

The Inverness and Crystal River airports contribute $9.65 million and $8.04 million annually to the economy, according to a 2019 statewide economic impact study.

Commissioners will also discuss the current ground lease management agreements with the airports, a financial analysis and planning recommendations.

To view the workshop agenda, visit https://citrus clerk.portal.civicclerk.com/event/8264/files.

Michael D. Bates is a staff writer with the Citrus County Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected].

Reporter