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Ocala
Star-Banner - July 30, 2001
By HARRIET DANIELS
Staff Writer
Despite
an ongoing local effort to attract commercial air service to Ocala
International Airport, a newly formed organization envisions a regional
airport in Marion County, which they believe is the key to the eventual
formation of a regional commerce corridor.
Founder Christopher Thurow and Harald Kegelmann, who head the North
Central Florida Commerce Corridor — NCFCC — are hoping to convince
Ocala officials buy into their project. The project, which has been
their focus for the past six months, involves transforming Ocala's
airport into a regional hub and converting Gainesville's existing
airport into a general aviation facility .
The counties they plan to bring aboard the NCFCC are: Marion, Alachua,
Bradford, Dixie, Gilchrist, Citrus, Levy, Putnam, Sumter, Lake,
and Union.
"We are an organization of business organizations and government
agencies to promote high-quality growth to this part of the state,''
Thurow said. "Without an airport we will have a second-class economy
here."
Thurow, who lives in Morriston and is director of information technology
for Bradford County, founded the group. Kegelmann, of Gainesville,
is the owner of the Florida Digital Turnpike, an Internet service
provider. He was one of the first members of Gainesville's business
community to join Thurow's effort.
Kegelmann and Thurow said a regional approach toward commerce will
help companies compete on a global level and encourage others to
locate in the area.
The two hope to align private enterprise, government, to some degree,
and higher education to make the corridor a reality.
By the beginning of 2002, the group hopes to begin making headway.
However, Ocala business leaders and organizations have been working
independently for several years to lure commercial air service to
the area.
Ocala Mayor E.L. Foster, heads the local group spearheaded by the
Ocala Marion County Chamber of Commerce and the Ocala./Marion County
Economic Development Council to address the issue of air service
for Marion County. He is fearful that the North Florida Commerce
Corridor group will have a negative impact on the foundation already
in place.
While Foster said he has talked with Thurow about the efforts of
the North Central Florida Commerce Corridor, he said the local effort
to gain air service will continue.
"We've been working on this deal for many years, and it's been a
long process. We have come so far and are so close now," Foster
said. "I've told them that if we get something worked out, we will
involve other groups and we are willing to listen to other efforts
to have an airport in Ocala/Marion County either regionally or individually."
However, Foster has stated that he does not want a regional airport
in Gainesville.
In an interview with the Gainesville Sun, Marilyn Tubb, chairwoman
of the Gainesville Regional Airport Authority, said she has been
approached by Thurow regarding the airport issue, but he has not
requested to speak formally to authority members at a meeting.
Tubb said she and other members of Gainesville's business community
have had informal discussions about improving air service in that
market, and the consensus of those discussions has been that Gainesville
Regional Airport should concentrate on attracting commercial carriers.
"We're certainly willing to discuss an upgrading of one of the airports,"
Tubb said. "Based on our discussions, we feel that we have a good
airport here in Gainesville right now, but what we don't have is
commercial air service. But we definitely want to include commissioners
and business people from Marion County because we would like to
encourage a regional approach to economic development."
Terry Crawford, president of Conimar, has worked on local efforts
to gain air service for almost 20 years. While he has only heard
a little about the plans for the North Central Florida Commerce
Corridor, Crawford said the region faces a problem of geography
in relation to major airports in the state, along with territorial
and political issues surrounding a regional airport.
Crawford, who flies regularly on business, said the concept of a
regional airport will not become viable unless the entire region
set to benefit unties to promote the initiative and the right individual
or group from the region comes to the forefront to bring people
together for the common goal.
"You won't get everyone to buy in, but if the majority of the region
promotes this, it could work,'' he said. "It takes the business
community to drive the effort, and if the business community gets
behind it , government and political leaders will get behind it
and put the 'my community' issues aside."
In terms of a long-term picture, Crawford said Ocala and Gainesville
may have to give something up to make a regionally airport a reality.
"If it's North Central Florida as one large region, not just Alachua
or Marion or the others,'' Crawford said. "I would cooperate."
That is the type of support Thurow and Kegelmann are hoping to gain
from Ocala's business community.
Pete Tesch, president and CEO of the Ocala/Marion County Economic
Development Council, believes that while the NCFCC plan seems to
be of good intent, he is critical of the way they have approached
the airport issue despite on-going efforts locally.
"Their approach is not conducive to what is already being done to
address the need for air service,'' he said. "I don't believe we
need yet another organization coordinating activities on a regional
basis."
Tesch suggests that the NCFCC group have a regional feasibility
study of the proposed target area completed in order to maximize
the region as a unit.
The plan for the NCFCC is modeled after other regional efforts like
those along the I-4 corridor, California's Silicon Valley or North
Carolina's Research Triangle.
"We need the involvement of the business community. Private enterprise
has to drive this initiative, and government will follow,'' Thurow
said.
The strategy to gain support involves getting state legislators
representing the various regions back the project. Thurow said once
that is accomplished, the next step would be to create an interim
regional airport authority.
Thurow and Kegelmann have scheduled to meet with state Reps. Dennis
Baxley, R-Ocala, and Ed Jennings, D-Gainesville, on Aug. 8 to discuss
the airport. Thurow said the airport is not the only issue they
plan to discuss with two state representatives, "however until that
is put to bed, a lot of other things in this area will be at a disadvantage."
Creating partnerships with higher education institutions such as
Central Florida Community College and the University of Florida
are also high on the priority list as a way to establish the corridor.
"Higher education is important because we want to set up the corridor
to focus on education and technology issues,'' Thurow said. "And
we want to also partner with EDCs (economic development groups)
and chambers (of commerce) to brand the area and truly make it a
destination for businesses . . . to be competitive."
Kegelmann said the group needs to have a strategic plan for the
region in place looking at the next 10 to 12 years in order to establish
what is needed to attract high-tech firms, information technology
companies or medical suppliers for the long term.
"Improving the quality of the region also depends on the education
level of residents in the region," Kegelmann said. "That is why
education has to be involved in the corridor."
A Web site explaining the plans for the North Central Florida Commerce
Corridor goes on line Aug. 1. The Web site, at www.ncfcc.org, has
a section for each county where those interested can learn more
about the project and get involved.
"I don't see them (Ocala) not buying into the airport . . . they've
been doing this for a long time,'' Thurow said. "As for the commerce
corridor, if we don't get an immediate buy-in from government, (in
Ocala) we can address that over the long term . . . it becomes about
us educating them about the value of the project. It's not an issue
that is going to get up and go away."
Harriet Daniels covers business for the Star-Banner. She can be
reached at harriet.daniels@starbanner.com or 867-4125. Joe Coombs,
a staff writer for the Gainesville Sun, contributed to this report.
See
July 30, 2001, issue of Ocala Star-Banner for original article.
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