"Florida airport seems sure to grow, but will it, in fact, prosper?"

Sunday, May 9, 2004

Airport seems sure to grow, but will it, in fact, prosper?
By HOWARD TROXLER -  Columnist
The St. Petersburg (FL) Times


On Tuesday, the Pinellas County Commission will decide whether to extend
the main runway at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport, just
one part of an overall $223-million master plan for the airport's
future. 

Unless something big happens, the commission is almost certainly going
to do it.

The commission is going to cite the sweet but somewhat amusing excuse of
competing with the Orlando-Sanford area for charter-tourism business.
The commission will cling to this hope, despite the conclusion of its
own consultant that there is no market demand.

The commission will stress that its ambitions have nothing to do with
the fact that Tampa International Airport, just nine miles away, is a
world-class airport while the Pinellas airport ... uh, is not. No civic
ego there.

The commission will decide that a bigger airport will be Good for
Business, good for the further development of Pinellas County, although
the kind of business that needs 10,000-foot runways as opposed to 8,800
feet is exactly what worries nearby residents.

Good for business! It is a miracle that the Jabils and Raymond Jameses
of the Gateway area have eked out a living with such a puny strip of
concrete as their nearest runway.

The commission also will point out on Tuesday that It's Not Our Money.
The local dollars involved are small compared with all that "federal
money." As though nobody had to pay the IRS anything last month, you
know. As though federal dollars have no strings.

Lastly, the commission will take a certain relish, sort of like spiking
the football in the end zone, in overruling all those neighboring
residents and cities that have dared to be such a pain by opposing the
expansion.

It is the nature of government to expand its empire.

There has been an odd lack of countywide attention to this matter, as
though it were just a "north Pinellas" issue or a "County Commission"
issue, something that just a few cranky neighbors are whining about. In
fact, 1-million county residents are affected, as will be the overall
future of the county.

I have heard people who live elsewhere say of the opponents: It's these
people's own fault for buying a house so close to an airport. Besides,
why don't they just move? Yes, there already was an airport there. But
there wasn't a 10,000-foot runway when they moved there, inviting future
round-the-clock landings.

That's what the opponents fear the most. Given the expansion of the
airport, and given that it probably is not going to be a tourist mecca,
the logical growth of airport traffic will be in the direction of cargo.
In its zeal, Pinellas will take what Hillsborough won't.

"They will land and depart over neighborhoods in Pinellas County," warns
Pam Corbino, mayor of Safety Harbor, the bedroom community
north-northwest from the airport, across a corner of Tampa Bay.

"Does that mean that the (county) shouldn't improve the facilities at
the airport? No. Just don't create a cargo hub which would be
detrimental to all areas of Pinellas County."

Kara Bauer of Safety Harbor, a vocal airport opponent, fears the
commission's vote will be 5-2 or 6-1 in favor of expansion.

I asked Bauer if she thought the county was empire-building. "If that's
all they want, a plaque with their name on it," she offered, "I'd be
happy to buy them one."

The one sure "no" vote is Commissioner John Morroni, who lives in the
Feather Sound area. If anybody else votes no, I am guessing it will be
Karen Seel of Clearwater.

Of the $13.1-million on Tuesday's agenda, about half is for necessary
safety improvements, and the other half is for the actual extension.
Morroni told me he'll vote for the safety measures but not the
extension.

Morroni said that in addition to the residents' concerns and the
consultant's findings, the fact that the county cannot control future
flight schedules (a string attached to federal money) "gives me further
heartburn."

His colleagues do not appear to have the same digestive problems. The
meeting will be at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the commission room on the fifth
floor of the Pinellas County Courthouse, 315 Court St., Clearwater.


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