Navy grants Whiting runway use

Navy grants Whiting runway use

From staff reports
June 4, 2009

Santa Rosa County has received permission from the Navy to share use of a runway at NAS Whiting Field, according to a County release.

“This approval comes after six years of negotiations and partnering by the county, NAS Whiting Field, Naval Southeast Command in Jacksonville and ultimately the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations,” a County release said.

Officials predict the agreement will help efforts to recruit aviation-related industry to the area.

Santa Rosa County owns 269 acres adjacent to Whiting. The property is intended as an aviation industrial park.

“Limited access to and use of the runways and taxiways will permit tenants in the proposed Whiting Aviation Park to use a 6,000 foot runway to bring aircraft requiring maintenance to and from the park,” according to the release.

“With this announcement, the county can begin work to finalize an agreement with NAS Whiting Field that will make the Whiting Aviation Park a reality and help bring new, well paying jobs to the residents of Santa Rosa County. As we move forward with finalizing the agreement and eventual construction of the park, the protection of the base’s mission will continue to be our number one priority,” Santa Rosa County Commission Chair and District 3 Commissioner Don Salter remarked in the release.

The proposed Whiting Aviation Park has the same [job development] potential as the Bob Sikes Industrial Air Park located in Crestview, where a similar joint use agreement is in place with the U.S. Air Force, officials said.

“The Crestview air park employs hundreds of residents in the fields of aviation maintenance and the retrofitting of military aircraft.

“Since the inception of the proposed Whiting Aviation Park, numerous aviation companies have expressed a strong desire to relocate or expand their facilities to the park,” according to the County release.

Once negotiations with NAS Whiting Field are finalized and the limited use agreement contract is signed, the next step in the proposed aviation park will be to meet with potential lessees to discuss possible lease agreements and their infrastructure needs including utilities, tarmac, taxiway and hangers, officials said.

At that time, the county will then be able to further explore funding opportunities such as State of Florida Economic Develop Infrastructure Grants, public/private partnerships and economic development bonds, according to the release.

“This announcement marks a major milestone in the relationship that has been developed over the years between NAS Whiting Field and Santa Rosa County,” it adds.

“Crucial to that relationship is the Joint Land Use Study which was developed jointly by the Navy and the county and adopted in 2004. As a result, thousands of acres around the base and six Navy Outlying Landing Fields in the county have been acquired or otherwise protected from encroachment which could have adversely impacted the NAS Whiting Field flight training mission.

“These efforts are known throughout the Navy as the “Santa Rosa Model” and have been recommended to other Navy installations around the country as to how to prevent base encroachment.”

On June 1, Naval Air Station Whiting Field and Santa Rosa County received the approval authority from the Office of the Assistant Under Secretary of the Navy to negotiate a limited use agreement to allow the county to use taxiways and runways located at South Field, NASWF, County officials said.