Last month, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) Board considered a 20-year extension of a $2.50 Customer Facility Charge applied to rental cars at the airport to pay for a new terminal expansion, an idea which does not have the support of major airlines. However, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs was able to hold off the move as she pushed for funding for public and mass transportation, like SunRail and Lynx.
The reason Mayor Jacobs succeeded in fending off the 20-year extension? Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, also on the GOAA board, was the only member not there to cast a vote on the matter. GOAA Chairman Frank Kruppenbacher said Dyer had “significant business” and was sorry not to be there.
But that’s where the story gets interesting. A public records request for Mayor Dyer’s schedule from February 20, 2013 exposed no “significant business,” at least not public business. The only item listed during the GOAA board meeting is “BDO” between 1:30pm and 2:30pm, which according to the City Clerk means “Buddy Dyer Out of Office.”
So what was so pressing that Dyer had to neglect his duty to serve on the Airport Board and to miss a conversation on funding mass transportation, an issue he claims to champion? City Hall would not say, only claiming that this was a “personal meeting.”
Funny that the City of Orlando even includes Dyer’s 5-minute walk in the office building, listed between 2:55pm and 3pm, but no details on what pulled him out of the office.
Because the majority of the board fell one vote short for funding the new terminal and a train station to connect to All Aboard Florida, the issue will come back up at this month’s meeting on March 20th. So will Dyer show up this time and more importantly, how will he vote?
