Kiwanis Briefed on new Bay County International Airport - Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Contributed by Rick Davis, Kiwanis Club Publicity Committee

Guests at the Chipley Kiwanis club meeting were Will Blank, the Administrator of the Washington Rehabilitation and Nursing Center; and Peter Herbert, County Manager.

State Representative Jimmy Patronis (R – District 6) addressed the Kiwanians.  District 6 encompasses Franklin County, Gulf County, and the southern part of Bay County.

Jimmy Patronis is a lifelong resident of Bay County and is a partner in Captain Anderson’s Restaurant and Market.  He works alongside his father, uncle, and brothers in the day-to-day operations of the successful and well-known family business.  He has been recognized by the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association as one of Florida’s Most Influential People.  He has also served on numerous local and state boards; including the Florida Elections Commission, as a member of the Gulf coast Community College Foundation Board, as Chairman and Director of the Greater Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce, and as Past Chairman and Board Member of the Bay County-Panama City International Airport and Industrial District.

Representative Patronis graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Political Science.  He worked as an intern in the Florida Senate and as a research assistant in British Parliament.  He was elected to the House of Representatives in November, 2006, where he serves on the Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee; the Agricultural and Natural Resources Policy Committee; the Roads, Bridges, and Ports Policy Committee; and the Florida Legislative Committee on Intergovernmental Relations.

Representative Patronis began his remarks by discussing the fiscal challenges facing the state of Florida.  He noted that the recent economic recession has caused many Floridians to change their lifestyles and budgets.  He stated that the Florida government was faced with the same challenges as many of its citizens.  Acknowledging that hurricanes and other disasters are bad, he also pointed out that the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 brought enormous amounts of insurance money into the state.  As homeowners paid for repairs, the state collected unusually large amounts of sales taxes.  The hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 also coincided with the run-up in real estate prices.  The combined result of these two phenomena was an unprecedented amount of state revenue in 2005 and 2006.

Fast forward to today, Rep. Patronis continued, and we find the federal government owning General Motors and bailing out many banks.  Within the state of Florida, we thankfully haven’t had any hurricanes, but the depressed economy and real estate markets have greatly reduced revenues available to the state.  He acknowledged that the state government would face difficult choices this year, and would need to reduce the state budget by at least $1 billion over last year’s austere budget.  One of the key challenges facing the legislature in crafting the next budget is to be sure that the “small folks who don’t have a seat at the table” are represented equitably and fairly when competing with the big entities who have influence and paid lobbyist.

Questioned about the new Panama City airport, Representative Patronis gave a detailed chronological narrative of Bay County’s (and the surrounding areas’) first efforts to improve the existing airport; and then to build the new international airport.  These efforts began in 1998 and should culminate in the opening of the new airport in May, 2010.  Of the recent news that Southwest Airlines has chosen the new Northwest Florida – Panama City Airport to initiate airline service to Northwest Florida, Patronis said talks with Southwest Airlines began as far back as the year 2000.  He explained to the club the Southwest Airlines’ service plan and added that Panama City would provide another key piece to Southwest Airlines’ route structure.  He emphasized the importance of the St. Joe Company’s efforts in bringing Southwest Airlines to the area.  Of the likely destinations for air service by Southwest Airlines from the new airport, Patronis stated that he believed Baltimore/Washington D.C. and Nashville would be likely choices.  He also speculated that other likely destinations would be Tampa, Houston, or Chicago.

Representative Patronis ended his remarks by observing that Washington County is served by two wonderful state legislators.  He remarked that he very much enjoyed working with Representatives Marti Coley and Brad Drake and admired both very much.