Pinellas County has a new director for its airport, and here's a refreshing fact: He has extensive experience running airports. The same could not be said for certain previous directors of St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport.
Ronald "Noah" Lagos' experience will come in handy at this airport, which is seeing more passengers and a spike in interest from commercial carriers but suffered a barrage of public criticism in 2003.
Pinellas County hired Lagos, 53, away from Fresno, Calif., where he had been transportation director for a little more than a year. In that job, he was responsible for both airports and the city bus system.
But Lagos is no stranger to Tampa Bay area air travel and its challenges. Until taking the job in Fresno in October 2002, he had spent 14 years at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, where, as chief operating officer, he had encountered many of the same issues that face Pinellas County's airport.
And if any closer exposure to this county's air operations were necessary, Lagos even had an inside source: In Sarasota, he worked under airport executive director Fred Piccolo, whom locals may remember as assistant director of St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport until just a few years ago.
Though he spent the past year on the other side of the country, Lagos ought to be well-informed on the ups and downs of the Pinellas County airport, and that should give him a leg up as the airport enters what likely will be a challenging year.
In 2003, controversy erupted as the public learned about county plans to extend the airport's main runway, attract more international charter flights, and develop a golf course just east of the airport property. The county bungled the dissemination of that information early on, and by the time county officials recovered, hundreds of energized airport opponents were showing up for meetings to complain about noise and the inability to get their technical questions about the airport answered. Though the debate has quieted for the moment, it is likely to rev up again as the Pinellas County Commission considers a new 20-year master plan for the airport this year.
Lagos will start work in February, and his arrival probably will come as a relief to Pinellas County Administrator Steve Spratt. Spratt had to act as the de facto airport expert during the controversies of 2003 because the airport has been without a director since David Metz resigned in July. Now, Lagos will be expected to have the answers.
Lagos already is using conciliatory tones when talking about how he wants to relate to the Pinellas community. He said he wants to reach out to those with questions and "make sure the community is well heard and getting credible answers."
In his job at Sarasota-Bradenton, Lagos oversaw a runway extension project and grappled with the challenges of keeping the airport afloat so close to world-class Tampa International Airport. He will need to do both here. He also dealt with noise complaints from surrounding neighborhoods and noise abatement procedures. One of the solutions Sarasota-Bradenton hatched to counter airport noise was a plan for tall, noise-blocking walls of concrete and dirt on two sides of that airport.
St. Petersburg-Clearwater airport is enjoying a resurgence in business after a few moribund years. Figures released by the county Wednesday showed that the number of passengers in 2003 was up 60 percent over 2002, with just under 1-million passengers passing through during the year.
With business up, Lagos should have more time to devote to improving communication with the public, finding new ways to limit noise and making sure that pilots abide by noise abatement procedures.
