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City lacks access to Whitted records
By BRYAN GILMER, Times Staff Writer ST. PETERSBURG -- City officials don't have access to key records for Albert Whitted Municipal Airport, even as they grapple with whether to upgrade it or close it. City staff members in charge of the airport say they don't have critical information -- such as names and addresses -- about people and companies who base their planes there. City Council members and Mayor Rick Baker were surprised to hear that. "We absolutely must know every detail of the business that goes on at the airport or we can't make an informed judgment," Council member Virginia Littrell said. Bay Air Flying Service has the records the city wants. The company leases hangars and open-air parking spaces and covered spaces from the city, then leases those spaces. Bay Air president Ron Methot won't say to whom his company leases the spaces. "We don't see that transaction and are not a party to it," said Joe Zeoli, the city executive who oversees the city's port, airport and marina. The city does collect other records on the airport, including information on the number of takeoffs and landings. The mayor and council have been discussing whether the airport is the best long-term use of the 110 acres of downtown waterfront land it occupies. Economic development director Ron Barton has suggested replacing the airport with new public parks and an urban neighborhood. "I didn't know we didn't have that information," said Baker, who remains undecided about whether the airport should remain. "It would be helpful to know what kind of businesses are in there. If you're trying to decide what kind of economic impact (the airport has), I don't know why he wouldn't release it." Bay Air refused a public records request by the St. Petersburg Times to view documents showing who leases the hangars. Methot gave this explanation: "It's just a professional courtesy not to release your customer's name to anybody who asks for it, at least not without their consent. We've talked to our lawyer, and as far as we've been able to determine, there is nothing that would require us to." The newspaper maintains that the identities of the people and corporations who use taxpayer-owned property are a matter of public interest and are public record under Florida law. "The city government leased the airport to Bay Air for the purpose of having the airport operated for the public good," Times attorney Penelope Bryan said Thursday. "It says that in the lease. The horrible events of last (September) and the subsequent crash of that student pilot have heightened the public's need to know what's going on at the public's airport." The city's lease with Bay Air requires the city's "endorsement" of subleases. If the city did receive copies of subleases to endorse, they would be public records. Zeoli only recently took charge of the airport. Soon afterward the airport's manager quit to take another job. Zeoli says he has no copies of hangar leases. Zeoli says city attorneys told him that the parking spot transactions are "rentals," not "subleases" subject to review. Council member Bill Foster said he has no need to know who bases planes at Whitted. "I would be more interested in the number of tenants," Foster said, adding that whoever is based there is "actively engaged in commerce in St. Pete" and helping to fulfill the airport's role as an economic engine. But member Richard Kriseman agreed with Littrell. The lack of information hampers his ability to decide whether upgrading the airport would be better than bulldozing it, he said. "I still don't have a whole lot of information about what the usage is now and what it could be," he said.
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