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Bordering boards to meet Monday(The Sun (Yuma, AZ)(KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jan. 27--Yuma County may be asked to be part of a joint regional airport during a special meeting Monday between the Yuma County and the Imperial County boards of supervisors. Imperial County Supervisor Joe Maruca said his county has completed a study and is going forward with building a regional airport, but first the county wants to see if Yuma could play a role. Maruca said the idea would be a large, joint-use regional airport with international cargo capabilities. "We want to ask 'Are you interested in joining us?' and 'Is it possible to join us?' " Maruca said. "We don't know if it would work. It's about as informal as it could get." The current Imperial County Airport, in the city of Imperial, is boxed in by development and cannot expand. Maruca called it "woefully inadequate." A discussion of airports is one of five topics on the agenda for Monday's 1:30 p.m. meeting at Yuma's Board of Supervisors Auditorium, 198 S. Main St. Maruca said the discussion could be closed in five minutes or it could grow into something more. Whether Yuma is interested or not, Maruca said, Imperial County will go forward with a plan for a regional airport that can handle international cargo. He said growth in Mexicali as well as plans for a superport in Punta Colonet should make the airport viable. An airport study for Imperial County lists two locations for the new airport, both east of El Centro near the junction of Highway 111 and Interstate 8. Yuma International Airport Director Craig Williams said he had heard rumblings that a joint venture might be proposed. Williams will brief the boards about Yuma's airport, which has been working on its own expansion projects. "I don't see any reason why we should not continue to put all of our efforts into the building up of this airport," Williams said. The two county boards haven't met together in at least eight years. Yuma County Administrator David Garcia said that because the counties face similar issues, it makes sense to get together. "This is an economic region. We're trying to be more inclusive." Other issues on the agenda are the Imperial Sand Dunes, law enforcement along the Colorado River, development and Winterhaven. Each item lists possible action, but the kind of actions that can be taken are not explained in the agenda. Garcia said if the agenda does not include possible action on the items, the boards may not be able to simply direct staff or make procedural motions. He said a subsequent meeting in Imperial County is expected in the future. "It's always good to talk to your neighbors," Garcia said. Copyright (c) 2007, The Sun, Yuma, Ariz. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |