The Jacksonville Aviation Authority and City Council will set up a joint committee focused on bringing more job-creating development to Cecil Airport after they split recently over what to spend on the Westside airport.
City Council member Nick Howland announced the new committee on Oct. 6 as legislation began moving through council on supporting proposed state legislation making changes to the charter for the Jacksonville Aviation Authority.
Howland said he said he sees “blue skies ahead” for Cecil Airport’s place in the state’s growing aerospace industry. The aviation authority says it’s been expanding those jobs and will continue to do so.
The creation of the joint committee does not have any immediate impact on amendments City Council made to the aviation authority’s 2025-26 budget such as adding a $10 million line item for spending at Cecil Airport on a potential training center for aviation technicians.
The aviation authority board opposed those budget changes and has said it operates under tight federal regulations that restrict how it can use airport revenue.
Howland said the council’s alterations to the aviation authority’s budget “are what they are” for now. He said they could be adjusted in the future as the joint committee determines “the best path forward for growing aerospace.”
A resolution filed by Howland seeks City Council support of a local bill carried by state Rep. Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, on the aviation authority’s state charter.
The resolution originally would have asked the state Legislature to change the aviation authority’s name to the “Jacksonville Aviation and Aerospace Authority” and require at least two of the authority’s seven board members to be from the aerospace field or a related industry.
Duggan agreed to drop those two provisions as part of the compromises that lead to creating the joint committee, Howland said.
The proposed legislation still would add language saying the authority’s responsibilities for Cecil Airport will cover economic development, such as workforce development and training along with job creation, while also making Cecil Airport a national aerospace hub.
The legislation would require an annual presentation by the aviation authority to City Council detailing the plan for Cecil Airport’s economic development.
Aviation authority spokesman Michael Stewart told council members the authority is “firmly committed to expanding” aviation and aerospace jobs in its system comprised of Jacksonville International Airport, Cecil Airport, Jax Executive at Craig Airport and Herlong Recreational Airport.
He said Cecil Airport is making strides with projects such as bringing a Hermeus testing facility and planned Otto Aviation manufacturing plant. Stewart said Otto Aviation announced last week the company has 300 orders for its aircraft.
Otto’s upcoming move to Cecil Airport comes on the heels of Boeing greatly expanding its workforce at the airport.
“I wholeheartedly agree they’ve done a great job at Cecil and they agree with me that there’s so much more to be done because Cecil is such a high-potential asset for our city,” Howland said.
The Neighborhoods Committee and Rules Committee of City Council both supported the amended resolution, sending it toward final approval by the full council on Oct. 14.
City Council member Michael Boylan said he credits Howland and the aviation authority with doing “some yeoman work last week in order to get a — no pun intended — good landing on this.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: City Council gets seat at table for Cecil Airport after conflict with aviation authority
Reporting by David Bauerlein, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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