Airport Expansion Approved

Last week, Sonoma County's Board of Supervisors unanimously endorsed an $84 million project to expand Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport to enable more daily commercial flights. The Advocacy Council, and in particular the Transportation Task Force, worked hard at gaining support for the approval and encouraging supporters to attend the public meeting:

• 37 Chamber leaders attended the meeting
• 11 other supporters attended from other organizations
• 8 other business organizations attended in collaboration with our recruitment efforts (Operating Engineers, CVB, Sonoma County Tourism Bureau, Northbay Leadership Council, Sonoma County BEST, Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce, Construction Coalition, and SCA)
• 27 proponent testimonies shared, a majority of which were from our Chamber

Chamber President Jonathan Coe called the approval an "economic homerun" for Sonoma County. Most of $84 million project will be financed with federal aviation grants, and will help the airport expand from 5 to 21 daily flights. According to county officials, each additional regularly scheduled daily flight will create 70 new jobs and add $23 ­million to the local economy.