Naples Airport benefits entire community (not just the affluent)

Corporate executives, successful entrepreneurs and wealthy retirees frequently use Naples Airport when traveling to and from Southwest Florida. It is convenient, easy to navigate and accommodates a range of small- and mid-sized jets.

As community leaders continue exploring solutions to resolve noise concerns from residents living near the airport, it is easy to blame those who book private jets to enjoy long weekends at their beachfront mansions.

Naples Airport is not just for the wealthy, though. It’s for us – ALL of us.

The airport is a critical piece of our infrastructure puzzle. Along with roadways, parks, schools, libraries and public utilities, Naples Airport helps make our community one of America’s best places to live.

Who uses Naples Airport? Yes, jet-setting executives and wealthy retirees are arriving and departing daily, but the airport’s value extends far beyond serving as the landing strip for affluent business and leisure travelers.

Naples Airport is home to the Collier Mosquito Control District, a government agency that relies on a fleet of trucks, drones, helicopters and airplanes to control our sizable mosquito population. Without their help, venturing outdoors, especially in the summer, would be unbearable.

The airport also is a base for the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, which has an aviation unit that conducts search and rescue operations, surveillance, patrol flights, searches for illegal marijuana grows and aerial photography.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has a presence at Naples Airport, as do flight schools that help aspiring pilots hone their skills.

Additionally, Humane Society Naples partnered with Elite Jets to create a staging area for animals that allowed charter companies to help dogs and cats find their forever homes elsewhere.

She went on, “I know everybody’s really anxious about how the next few months are going to be. And honestly, I am too. I’ve been saying for a while it’s going to be a rough summer, because we know that summer is when we primarily get people coming for a beach vacation. That’s what you do with your family in the summer. So let me share with you how many rooms we actually have available on our beaches.”

She stated the current local hotel availability. On Sanibel and Captiva, 180 rooms are available, while 1,850 are not. Fort Myers Beach has 348 rooms available, and 1,748 not yet online. Pine Island has 63 rooms, so it’s about 41% open. Bonita Springs has most of its rooms open.

That means, Pigott stated, that for many of the re-opened local restaurants to remain in business, locals

BY STEPHEN MYERS Guest Columnist

Collier County MedFlight has a pair of helicopters at Naples Airport that transport residents and visitors in need of immediate medical attention. Because Collier does not have a trauma center, an air ambulance service is critical when every second matters.

On the nonprofit side, Angel Flight uses Naples Airport to fly charitable missions with organ transplant candidates, veterans, cancer patients, victims of abuse and others. Humane Society Naples and America’s Military & First Responders Museum both have a presence at Naples Airport.

Naples Airport also plays a role in the region’s hurricane response and recovery. Although much of the airport grounds flooded during Hurricane Ian, crews worked expeditiously to clear runways and fix damage so U.S. Coast Guard and military helicopters could begin search and rescue operations.

need to support them, especially this summer, because we simply will not see our normal number of summer visitors.

“Again, I’m not preaching to the choir,” she continued. “I know you guys know this better than I do. We need our local residents to come out. So we haven’t done very many local campaigns with tourist tax dollars, but we’re going to spend about $100,000 this summer targeted to our local community.”

Pigott observed that this summer will probably be the hardest on our local hospitality industry, and then it will get better every year. In three to five years, she predicts, the makeup of the local hospitality industry will be completely different than today.

She said to the audience, “You’re asking yourself, ‘How soon can we get back? How soon can we rebuild this community?’ And here’s the truth. It’s going to take years, folks. I mean, nobody wants to hear that. I want it to be fixed tomorrow. If I had a magic wand, I’d have some really beautiful hotels with meeting space, but it can’t happen quickly. It’s going to take time and we’ll get there, we absolutely will get there. And what we’ll have at the end of this will be better than anything we had before. That’s the truth.”

A 2022 economic impact study determined Naples Airport supports 5,454 jobs in the community and generates a total economic impact of $781 million annually. Each time a jet or helicopter flies overhead, it doesn’t just mean another affluent individual is coming or going. It means revenue is filtering into the local economy.

It might mean mosquitoes are being sprayed, law enforcement is tracking down a criminal or one of our neighbors, friends, family members or coworkers is being rushed to the hospital for a lifesaving medical procedure.

Naples Airport has a long history of service to this community that dates all the way back to its origins in 1943, when it was used as a military airfield. Today, the airport is still providing vital benefits to this community as a transportation hub essential to our safety, health, wellbeing and economy.

Stephen Myers is president of Friends of the Naples Municipal Airport, an organization created in 1999 to advance public understanding and interest in the beneficial use and utilization of aviation. He is an FAA-certified pilot, certified aviation manager and executive vice president at Elite Jets. Visit www. friendsofkapf.org or contact (239) 261-1111.

Pigott continued, “It can’t be like it was. I mean, let’s be realistic, in fairness to all of us. You can’t build your house on the ground the way you built it before, right? Do you want to build your house again, and then have this potentially happen again in a few years? I don’t think anybody wants to go through that. So guess what, it’s going to cost more to rebuild stronger. It’s going to take longer to permit it, and the cost of goods and services are going up as the timeframe is extended. So these are going to be some of our challenges.”

She indicated one potential

For more business news, visit www.swfloridabusinesstoday.com change that would impact the very foundation of the local economy. “If hotels get replaced with single family homes, and that’s a very real possibility, it’s going to be a different economy than if those are hotels, and again it’s a very delicate line.” Pigott then told the audience, “We want this to be a special place. We are all here because it’s magical here. But we also have to understand that some business activity has to occur for us all to stay employed and have an economy that’s thriving. We want our kids to be able to grow up here and our grandkids to be able to grow up here. But I think we as citizens need to be very, very conscientious when we think about what we want. Understand that there’s an economy that goes with all of those things.”

An owner’s approach to property management

My interest in the business of Property Management began around the same time I acquired my first investment property. Shortly thereafter, Mayhugh Commercial Management was born.

At present, the firm manages assets from Jacksonville to Naples, with a heavy focus on Southwest Florida.

The owner’s approach to property management is treating every single property like it is my own and instilling those same beliefs in my staff. This is a simple idea but an important one, and I fully believe my experience as an owner has increased my skillset as a property manager.

Not all property owners are created equal, and I am fortunate to work with many different types of individuals from different walks of life. Some own one asset. Others own entire shopping centers or have properties all over the country. It is not always easy or stress-free, and there is usually a lot at stake. I feel that, since becoming an owner myself, my relationships with clients have only improved and my empathy toward their perspective is heightened.

When I look at a property now, it is through the lens of an owner. I always took pride in properties and their appearance and upkeep, but even more so now that I have experienced ownership myself. I enjoy the challenge of maximizing value for landlords while also keeping the tenants happy. I contemplate every decision with that balance on my mind. I embrace the responsibility of taking care of what could possibly be my client’s largest asset and give it the same care and attention as my own. There are constant questions or decisions to be made such as: How and where can I cut expenses to increase net operating income? Are there ways we can extend the life of the capital improve- ments without stressing the tenants? Does this improvement add value to the property?