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Airport officials: Closing tower is a safety issue

The Boca Raton Airport Authority is issuing a request for experienced air traffic control tower operators and could invite those companies to submit requests for proposals.

All seven members of the authority’s board voted to take those steps at the end of a recent regular monthly meeting.

The Boca Raton Airport is one of149 airports nationally caught in the sequester, which cuts off all federal funding for control tower operations. Originally scheduled for a phased-in closure by May 5, the final date was pushed back to June 15.

And although the roughly $700,000 a year it would cost to run the towerweren’t mentioned, the board approved getting proposals to run the tower at its own expense.

Chairman Frank Feiler and other members have said in previous meetings that with Interstate 95, FloridaAtlanticUniversityand housing on their doorstep, closing the control tower is a safety issue. It also drives economic development with corporate jets coming into Boca Raton.

With that in mind, the board authorized a two-step procurement process, issuing a formal request for qualifications to prequalify contractors and a request