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A Publication of Guidry News Service |
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A Publication of Guidry News Service |
The Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation on Tuesday approved a contribution of $20,000 to the Southeast Texas Coalition for Air Service to be used as a revenue guarantee in an effort to attract Delta Airlines to the Southeast Texas Regional Airport for airline service to Dallas-Fort Worth. The action, which will be reviewed by the Texas attorney general, follows similar votes by Jefferson County Commissioners Court and several city councils and governmental entities, as well as private businesses in the area. Delta had requested $975,000 in pledges to begin the service in May, but by Tuesday, the deadline to raise the funds, the pledges were still about $150,000 short of the goal. Jim Rich, president of the Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, said Delta is willing to wait for the remaining pledges to fall into place, but not much longer. "They really assume that we are so close that we are going to get there," Rich said, adding that he hopes to send a letter of credit to Delta next Tuesday. "The pressure is on." Each city and county in the region was asked to pledge a minimum of $0.10 per capita toward the letter of credit. If the airline service proves to be successful and the funds are not needed, the money will be returned to the entities. Rich, who along with Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce President Verna Rutherford, are managers of the air service coalition, credits community cooperation with the potential success of the project. "We have done things in our region in the last ten years, with some leadership programs to pull the region together," Rich said. "This, I think, will be really the first real evidence of the fruit of all that."
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