Town set to hire lobbyist for aircraft issues
The Fort Myers Beach Town Council recently reaffirmed the Town’s objective to retain services of a man who is possibly the best shot at decreasing aircraft flyovers over Fort Myers Beach.
Patton Boggs lobbyist Rodney Slater, the former United States Secretary of Transportation under U.S. President Bill Clinton, is expected to send a proposed agreement to Town Hall soon. The conditions of the agreement could be accepted as early as Monday. If accepted, Slater will work out of Washington D.C. on this task. The budget and approved amount for Slater’s services are not to exceed $25,000.
The reassertion comes after Council gave Town Manager Don Stilwell the authority to negotiate a contract with the federal aviation expert during an October 2014 meeting.
Slater flew down to Southwest Florida Tuesday on an invite by Town officials. He first visited with members of FMB Airline Intrusion Relief group, then attended a Council workshop in the late afternoon.
Mayor Anita Cereceda asked Slater to rate a success level for shifting aircraft noise off the island.
“He spoke for a while, then said, ‘if I am the kind of guy that can get a one, I am going to take it. Because a one gets you a voice and gets you heard.’ I thought, gosh, what a different way to think about this,” she said. “One is hopeful.”
Slater possesses a strong background to influence decision makers. Back in October, Beach resident Dr. Steven Bailey -an AIR member- stated that the chief of the FAA is Slater’s former chief of staff and a personal friend of his.
Since the mid-1990s, many Beach residents have complained about aircraft noise and pollution. Recommendations have included keeping aircraft at or above 3,000 feet over Estero Island, maximizing routing of aircraft over uninhabited Estero Bay rather than the island, establishing Runway 24 as the preferred runway from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. to route aircraft away from the island, increasing altitude for early morning arrivals and promoting use of RNAV optimized descent approach to Runway 6 to reduce noise and improve aircraft efficiency.
Voluntary measures have been taken by local airport officials to reduce the impact, and certain airline companies have reportedly applied consultant recommendations on a voluntary basis to keep incoming aircraft at or above 3,000 feet over Estero Island and try different flight patterns over the Back Bay instead of incorporating arrival procedures over the island.
In April 2014, the FAA declined 11 of the 16 program measures proposed in the Federal Aviation Regulation Part 150 Noise Study at Southwest International Airport. The synopsis of the ruling stated, “federal agencies do not consider the aircraft noise levels for surrounding communities associated with RSW operations as ‘significant’ according to noise standards.”