Everglades Airpark News

The Collier County Airport Authority has received five bids for repairs to the Hangar Building at our Everglades Airpark. The County’s Facilities Manager is in the process of reviewing the bids to determine who will be awarded the contract.

We are told the repairs will begin soon.

On Friday, May 15, a pilot from Melbourne, Florida, brought a photographer from Plane and Pilot, a nationally known industry magazine, to Everglades City. The purpose of their visit was to take photos of points of interest and restaurants here in Everglades City. I met them at our airport at 10:00 AM. Our first stop was the new Marjorie Stoneham Douglas Everglades National Park Visitor’s Center. Directly across the street, pictures were taken of The Gator Hole and the Diving Pelican restaurant. From there, we drove to HavAnnA Cafe and on to the Smallwood Store.

Our next stop was the Rod and Gun Club. We drove by the Visitor's Center and stopped in the Museum of the Everglades. I took them for a ride along the waterfront to see the new homes being built, along with our historic homes. We then stopped by Triad Seafood and introduced the photographer to their staff as they were preparing to close for the summer. Next stop was City Seafood and Camellia Street Grill. Their staff prepared three signature dishes and insisted on giving them to the three of us. We took a ride over to Grimm’s Seafood for a few more photos, including the airboat ride companies. Our goal for doing this is to promote not only the Airpark but also the businesses and places of interest in our fair communities here and around Everglades City.

On May 18, another 7,000 gallons of fuel were delivered to our airport. This delivery brings the total to 35,500 gallons since mid-July. In years past, only 1,000 planes came through our airport. Since having fuel to sell, estimates are nearing 5,000 plane activities within a ten-month period! T-shirts celebrating our airport are available upon request.