The session was planned to explain an airport golf course conversion, but an angry crowd demands answers to other issues as well.
By MICHAEL SANDLER
Published August 14, 2003
CLEARWATER - They tried an informal approach Wednesday night, with booths, consultants and large zoning maps. They got Pandemonium.
The task was to explain complicated plans for turning a golf course beside St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport into an industrial park. Pinellas County officials organized it like a job fair.
But when about 200 people crammed into a small room and didn't get the answers they wanted, they shouted, chanted, whistled and catcalled their frustration over Pinellas County's plans to expand the airport.
County officials hurried to find a microphone. They tried to improvise with an impromptu presentation on the plans. But by night's end, they admitted they failed to anticipate the number of people concerned about the airport, the noise from more planes and related issues.
So they will hold another meeting.
"They tried to stonewall us, but the people wouldn't let it happen," said Deborah Van Brunt, a Feather Sound resident opposed to the airport changes. "I think they know they have to listen to us now."
County Commission Chairwoman Karen Seel said another public meeting would be scheduled, this time with a formal presentation on the entire plan for the airport. If need be, the rezoning for the golf course - scheduled for Sept. 23 - would be postponed a second time, she said.
The meeting Wednesday at the Holiday Inn Select, in the shadow of the airport, dissolved into chaos early, as people began shouting at Commissioner John Morroni, who lives in Feather Sound and organized the meeting.
"What's the plan, John! What's the plan, John!" they shouted.
Morroni told them this meeting was for them to learn and for commissioners to get input from them. He invited them to write down their concerns and assured them the airport plans were not a "done deal."
But the crowd took over.
Van Brunt said people wanted something more informative.
David Meade, a resident of Oldsmar, then stood on a chair and began to read a speech.
He said quality of life issues "had been suppressed and glossed over as if they were a nonentity."
The crowd applauded.
Richard Gehring bristled.
Gehring, a consultant hired by the county to market the golf course, grabbed a microphone, stood on a chair and asked Meade to pipe down.
"We are holding a meeting for everyone's benefit," Gehring told him. "You've explained your viewpoint. Let us set the stage for what we are doing."
Gehring tried to improvise. Standing on his chair, he gathered the crowd and offered to explain the rezoning of the Airco Golf Course.
But the crowd kept asking him about the runway, environmental studies and noise pollution created by new international charter flights. At first, he brushed off their questions. They persisted, so he summoned airport and county officials, who took turns standing on the chair and offering answers. The people were not satisfied.
Seel and County Administrator Steve Spratt quietly talked about underestimating the crowd and decided a second meeting would be the best option.
"They didn't anticipate this kind of turnout," Seel said. "This was designed for one-on-one contact. That's why we need another meeting, in a bigger room, and let people talk about every element of this plan."
