City to man airport for summer
BY PHIL REYNOLDS SOUTH JETTY REPORTER

With little discussion, city council members on Thursday, June 14, approved between $2,500 and $3,000 to hire two part-time people to man Mustang Beach Airport over the summer.

The workers are expected to be on the job before an anticipated influx of fly-in visitors over the Independence Day holiday, City Manager Michael Kovacs said. They'll probably work through the Labor Day holiday, he said.

Kovacs said the city has made enough money from fuel sales at the airport to pay for the two.

Councilman Keith Donley, who resigned his position as Airport Board chairman to accept a seat on the council, has long pushed for manning at the airport, saying visitors who fly in to the city deserve more on arrival than a deserted airstrip.

"These aren't people who come in to town and camp on the beach," he said last year. "They're people who rent condos, who eat at restaurants, and who rent transportation."

Thursday, Donley said, "I'd like to make that motion, if you don't mind." Mayor Claude Brown seconded it, and it passed unanimously.

Last summer, an anonymous donor kicked in $5,000 to hire two part-time people to man the airport through Labor Day. They provided directions and information about the city to people who flew in to visit and were well-received, city officials said.