Tuesday, May 6, 2003 | 8:55 a.m.
Scotty Wetzel's plans to build a magnetic-levitated people-mover from downtown Las Vegas to McCarran International Airport were dashed in December 1988 when the Public Service Commission denied the application for the airport leg.
But the dream to develop a showcase for futuristic transportation for Las Vegas did not die. The Transit Systems Management Strip monorail is expected to one day traverse the routes that visionary Wetzel had proposed.
Emery "Scotty" Wetzel Jr., past chairman of the Nevada Federal Credit Union and a charter member of the Nellis Support Team that raises funds for programs to help families at Nellis Air Force Base, died April 26 at University Medical Center. He was 71.
A memorial service for the retired Air Force colonel and Las Vegas resident of 20 years will be held 3 p.m. May 16 at the Nellis Air Force Base Chapel.
In 1984 the city of Las Vegas ran an ad in the Wall Street Journal to find a company to build an elevated people mover, with the first leg running from Cashman Field to the Downtown Transportation Center.
Wetzel's firm, The Las Vegas People Mover Corp., got the contract for the $60 million privately funded project.
By December 1998 the private company had invested $10.5 million to build several support pillars near the Reed Whipple Cultural Center on Las Vegas Boulevard North. It became apparent that the firm would have to build the people mover to the airport if it were to be a financial success.
However, a competing firm, HSST-Nevada Corp., also had plans to build a maglev structure on the airport route and presented a strong challenge. Coupled with the defeat before the utilities commission, it was a telling blow. By 1990 the people mover project was dead and the support pillars were taken down.
Born May 28, 1931, in Coronado, Calif., Wetzel was a West Point graduate and a Vietnam War veteran. He moved to Las Vegas in 1984 and was long involved in local and national aeronautics.
In addition to his fund-raising work with the Nellis Support Team, Wetzel also was a member of the national board of directors of the Air Force Association, for which he served as past local, state and regional president, and was a member of the National Congress on Aviation and Space Education.
He was a member of the Rotary Club, Daedelians, Quiet Birdmen, Retired Officers Association and Airplane Owners and Pilots Association.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia Wetzel, of Las Vegas; three daughters, Holly Jones of Stafford, Va., and Merry Judd and Carol Wetzel, both of Las Vegas; a brother, Tony Wetzel of Coronado, Calif; and three grandchildren.
The family said donations can be made in Wetzel's memory to the Aerospace Education Foundation, 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington VA 22209-1198.
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