"Embattled San Diego airports director leaves post"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Embattled airports director leaves post
No-bid contract awards are under investigation
By David Hasemyer and Jeff McDonald
The San Diego (CA) Union-Tribune


Tracy Means, who has been under fire for months over her management of San
Diego's two municipal airports, has left her job. She cleaned out her desk
at Montgomery Field late Monday. 

Tracy Means recently formed her own consulting company without notifying her
bosses.  
It was unclear whether Means was fired or resigned under pressure, although
comments by Councilman Jim Madaffer indicate she did not leave without being
pushed. 

"I strongly support the city manager's decision," Madaffer said. "I'm just
sorry it took this long." 

City Manager Lamont Ewell released a two-sentence statement yesterday
confirming that Means was "no longer a member of the city organization." He
did not elaborate and Means did not return phone messages seeking comment. 

Means' departure came one week after The San Diego Union-Tribune reported
that she was the subject of an internal City Hall investigation into
contracting practices within the Airports Division. 

Investigators were examining 16 no-bid consulting contracts worth $225,000
that Means awarded to Airport Business Solutions, a Florida company whose
executive vice president, Roberta Thompson, served on a trade association
panel with Means. For the past five years, the Airports Division hasn't
hired any other consultants, although there are scores of firms - many of
them local - that do the same work. 

Neither Ewell nor Means' supervisor, General Services Department Director
Mario Sierra, would discuss the investigation or its findings yesterday. 

The airports director said in earlier interviews with the Union-Tribune that
she did nothing wrong. She said her superiors knew about and approved the
contracts. 

Both Sierra and William Griffith, Means' previous supervisor, disagreed with
Means' contention that approval was given. 

The newspaper report also revealed that Means, 40, recently formed her own
consulting company without notifying her bosses at City Hall, an apparent
violation of city policy. 

She said the home-based business, TM Consulting of Chula Vista, offered
expertise in real estate rentals. She said she didn't need to notify her
bosses about the business because it was unrelated to her work managing
Montgomery Field in Kearny Mesa and Brown Field in Otay Mesa. 

Means' Montgomery Field office was closed yesterday while the Airports
Division staff was told about her departure. 

Sierra declined to say who might be named to replace Means or to confirm
that the position would be filled. 

"We have to determine how critical that position is to the operation of the
city," he said. "There will be a number of factors considered before making
any decisions." 

Whether Means is replaced or not, airport business owners and pilots said
her departure will help repair frayed relationships between the city and the
flying community. 

"With the departure of Tracy Means, a lot of the ill feelings and animosity
toward the airports will be put behind us," said Alan "Buzz" Fink, chairman
of the Airports Advisory Committee. "Users of both airports can work with a
new director for the betterment of the airports." 

Attorney Ronald Cozad of Carlsbad, who represents a number of airport
tenants, praised the management change as a big step toward solving
persistent problems. 

Means "just didn't have the best interests of the airport and the community
at heart," he said. "Now there's a new team, a new spirit of cooperation and
the city is doing the hard work it takes to revitalize the airports." 

A reorganization effective July 1 placed the Airports Division under the
General Services Department, now managed by Sierra, whom many tenants
consider to be more receptive to the challenges of operating an
airport-related business. 

Councilman Madaffer, who is chairman of the council's Public Safety &
Neighborhood Services Committee, which will meet today, called for a public
review of airport operations earlier this year, after Means tried to evict
longtime tenant Gibbs Flying Service from Montgomery Field. 

Yesterday, Madaffer said he will ask both the city Ethics Commission and the
district attorney to look into Means' business practices. "There are a lot
of questions that need to be answered," he said. 

Means' departure follows a series of setbacks for the Airports Division
beyond the widely unpopular effort to evict the Gibbs family, a move that
was later reversed by the council committee headed by Madaffer. 

Under her leadership, Brown Field lost a $1.8 million grant early this year
when Means withdrew the application, the Federal Aviation Administration
said. 

The Otay Mesa airport also had its eligibility for federal grants withdrawn
in August because of its continued failure to comply with FAA rules
governing airport operations. 

Once Means began acting on FAA orders to evict the nonconforming tenants,
the city began getting sued for breach of contract. So far, the city has
paid at least $6.5 million to settle lawsuits related to Brown Field leases.


The airport's grant eligibility was reinstated last month, although federal
regulators still want the city to get rid of nonaviation businesses at Brown
Field, such as auto-wrecking yards, a Border Patrol detention center and a
customs broker. 

In the meantime, the city has retained a Bay Area company to conduct a
management audit of the Airports Division. 

That report is not expected until the first of the year, about the time
Mayor-elect Jerry Sanders assumes the new strong-mayor role established by
voters in November 2004.

Attached Photo:

Tracy Means recently formed her own consulting company without notifying her
bosses.

means140.jpg