The end of the airport land purchase issue?

County commissioners have ended a months long stalemate over purchasing land adjoining the Apalachicola airport when the board agreed Tuesday to pay the landowner 9000 dollars an acre. The county has found itself divided for most of the year on purchasing the undeveloped land at the end of the airport’s main runway which will now act as a buffer zone to keep homes and other structures away from the end of the runway. Commissioners have voted on the purchase at least three times this year but always found themselves in a 2-2 deadlock with commissioners Pinki Jackel and Cheryl Sanders arguing that the asking price was too high. Commission chairman Smokey Parrish was unable to vote on the issue until this week because of a potential conflict of interest, but this week he cast the deciding vote to buy the land after the Florida ethics commission ruled that he could vote. Commissioners Sanders and Jackal voted against the purchase again this week – but said they would be willing to buy the land at 7500 dollars an acre which they feel better represents the real value of the land. The money to purchase the land is being provided by the Federal Aviation Administration – the FAA has already awarded money to purchase 21 acres, the county is now applying for the funding for the rest of the land.