It is said that "no good deed goes unpunished" and that "hindsight is always 20/20 vision." With these thoughts in mind, I want to share my comments on Howard Troxler's Aug. 15 column Arrogant, insolent - and being paid by us and your Aug. 17 editorial Poor planning bites back. I appreciated seeing Troxler's column Big picture meaningless if the people aren't heard fill in the discussion with the larger issues in the Aug. 18 St. Petersburg Times.
The subject meeting was convened as an extraordinary measure on the county's part to inform the public about the proposed rezoning of the Airco Golf and Moog properties. A rezoning application has been submitted by Pinellas County through the same process that any rezoning request travels. The routine procedure would be to have a publicly noticed examiner hearing in which public participation is encouraged and then a second public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners.
In this case, because of the concerns expressed by neighboring property owners about the rezoning, we scheduled a third special community information meeting to provide additional information on an informal, one-on-one basis. This is the first time this type of extra effort has been made on a zoning case since I arrived 20 months ago. It was not advertised or formatted as a public hearing (since there would be two others) but rather as a "desktop" format which would allow for more personal interaction. This was a sincere attempt to address zoning-related concerns brought to our attention at the June 5 public hearing.
Unfortunately, many more citizens arrived at the meeting than expected, with concerns about airport expansion in general rather than the rezoning application in particular (for which the meeting was designed). Did it then turn into a bad meeting? Absolutely. Should the county have anticipated the large agitated crowd about a variety of airport issues? In retrospect, maybe - but there were sound reasons why it did not.
Prior to this meeting, there were two public meetings to discuss the Airport Master Plan and four public meetings to present plans for a runway extension - all including outlined plans for accommodating additional air service. The maximum attendance at these meetings was 66. There were six people appearing at the June 5 public hearing on this issue, following individual notices mailed to neighboring properties. In addition to these, special presentations had been made at publicly noticed meetings to the cities of Oldsmar and Safety Harbor, Tourist Development Council and Board of County Commissioners.
The runway extension project has been under way for more than three years. This was a zoning meeting tied to specific property that would not generate additional commercial air traffic. There had been no experience of large public turnouts at previous community meetings in this area regarding the airport development program. This level of prior community meeting activity does not support the notion that the public has been ignored or that the county has not attempted to engage with citizens.
Troxler's column did not mention that in response to chants of "What's the plan, John?" Commissioner John Morroni addressed the group and offered to have someone explain the rezoning plan. Troxler also did not mention that when a microphone became available after a citizen began a speech while standing on a chair, I personally addressed the attendees on behalf of the county. I politely allowed the gentleman to conclude his comments, explained why the meeting was arranged as it was, introduced all the principal county staff to answer questions and introduced Richard Gehring to outline the development plan.
Given the strategic position of this property next to the airport and in the Gateway area, we want to make sure the future use of this property relates well to a countywide economic development strategy.
Gehring has been under contract with the county and Pinellas Planning Council to provide related services in connection with the countywide redevelopment plan since last year. His firm, Prime Interests, prepared the conceptual development plan for the property and was specifically tasked in his engagement to present concepts to stakeholders. This is why he was introduced to present the plan.
The county regrets any misreadings of public views by our staff, misunderstandings as to the meeting purpose and that the arrangements did not meet the expectations of some participants. I appreciate the Aug. 17 editorial acknowledging my personal announcement to those in attendance (after consultation with Commissioners Morroni and Seel) that the county would hold an additional meeting to more fully address all airport-related concerns in an appropriately structured setting. In hindsight, I could have taken control of Richard Gehring's presentation and for not doing so, I apologize to those in attendance.
This meeting has clearly indicated that the county needs to increase efforts to communicate plans for airport-related improvements and to pursue all feasible measures to address impacts to communities. We are committed to doing that. The St. Petersburg/Clearwater International Airport is our gateway to the rest of the world by air. It complements Tampa International Airport in providing aviation service capacity in the Tampa Bay region. It is home to the nation's busiest Coast Guard air station. It supports important military and general aviation needs.
Decisions about how this airport develops its property and adapts to meet future air service requirements and opportunities have significant implications for the economic strength of our entire county, and these decisions must be balanced with environmental sensitivity to affected communities. This is not an easy task. I look forward to helping to develop a better public understanding of the importance of this facility to the citizens of Pinellas County and in balancing these interests in the best way possible.
-- Stephen M. Spratt, county administrator, Board of County Commissioners, Clearwater
Official apologizes for chaotic meeting
I want to publicly apologize for the chaotic situation at the Airport/Airco workshop of Aug. 13.
Our intentions are honorable and there is no conspiracy to avoid public comments. As a former Dunedin city manager and mayor, I will always strive to serve the citizens of Pinellas County.
The Airport/Airco workshop was intended as an information session, not a public hearing. The room was set up with three information stations for small group discussions. We did not intend to give or hear speeches to a large group.
The room was overcrowded and several angry individuals refused to participate within the planned structure. We attempted to explain the purpose of this meeting but the crowd could not hear or, in some cases, individuals did not want to hear. As the project leader, I tried to maintain order in the meeting and to address individuals who called out, interrupted and were generally disruptive. I am sorry if my tone, attitude or the mood of the discussion was offensive.
In spite of the turmoil, we did accomplish some things. We understand clearly the deep concerns and questions. We are listening. Many people were able to gain information and scores of citizens filled out comment sheets. The Airport/Airco workshop was only one stop in a process. There will be additional public meetings where everyone will have an opportunity to exchange ideas and express opinions.
I will, as always, continue to work for the good of Pinellas County.
-- Richard E. Gehring, Dunedin
[Last modified August 24, 2003, 01:47:21]
