During a meeting Monday, the Kleberg County Commissioners Court appointed the first two members to the newly created Kingsville- Kleberg County Airport Zoning Board.

The commissioners appointed Will Bledsoe, a licensed pilot and accountant for King Ranch, and community leader Anse Windham, also a licensed pilot. The city will appoint two members and is taking applications from those interested in serving on the board.

The primary purpose of the airport zoning board is to monitor development around Naval Air Station Kingsville and to insure compatible uses of land that do not encroach on the Navy base’s mission of training jet pilots.

Once the city appoints its two board members, the four will then chose a fifth board member who will serve as chairman.

Creating the board was one of the recommendations of the Joint Land Use Study between NAS and the city.

The Navy will not have representatives on the board but would serve in an advisory capacity only. Navy officials urged the city and county to appoint members that reflected the ownership of the land around the base and an interest and knowledge of the aviation mission of the base. Much of the land surrounding NAS Kingsville is part of King Ranch.

In other action, Kleberg County insurance administrator Tina Trejo will be moving to a basement office after all where several county offices are already located.

District offices for State Senator Eddie Lucio and U.S. Rep. Solomone Ortiz are also proposed for the courthouse basement.

Trejo’s move to the basement had been proposed the previous week as a way of making room for a new assistant district attorney, however the idea with passionate criticism by Pct. 4 Commissioner Romeo Lomas, who cited health concerns about having an office in the basement, which housed the Kleberg County Sheriff’s Department before its move to the Kleberg County Law Enforcement Center 20 years ago.