VERO BEACH — Details surrounding Elite Airways Airport Use Agreement – signed by Elite on Monday – were expected to be discussed Thursday during the Vero Beach Airport Commission Meeting, records show.
The commission was scheduled to speak about the agreement along with the transition of Elite from general aviation to a commercial service airport. The public meeting was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday at council chambers at Vero Beach City Hall.
The agreement still has to be approved by city council. Under the three-year agreement, Elite’s annual fees would jump from $8,400 to $38,625, according to a Nov. 22 memorandum from Vero Beach Airport Director Eric Menger to City Manager Monte Falls.
Menger previously said the increase was “not unreasonable” and should not be considered a “big cost” for a commercial airline.
Elite has had more than 18,000 passengers within the past two years, officials said. Any additional costs to passengers from the agreement would be less than $2 per ticket.
Further updates on the agreement were not immediately available.
The previous lease agreement for Elite expired Nov. 30, 2019, airport officials said. The city currently considers Elite a holdover tenant at the airport with a month-to-month lease agreement.
In the previous Dec. 6 commission meeting, member Barbara Drndak was unanimously appointed as chairman of the Airport Commission, records show. Member Louis Vocelle Jr. was unanimously appointed as vice-chairman.
The commission discussed a variety of issues in the last meeting, including pavement management conditions at the airport, adding three new hangars, airport funding and revenue and the possibility of adding a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility.
