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Home My WebLink About01 1989 Airport Petition ScrutinizedSebastian River Area • Grant • Micco-Little Hollywood • Barefoot Bay • Sebastian • Fellsmere • Roseland • Vero Lake Estates irport Petition Scrutinized Two Sides Trade Rhetoric As Controversy Continues By PATRICIA DiLALLA Sebastian Bureau Chief A religious "cult" has ulterior motives in spearheading a refer- endum petition that would impose restrictions on how the city raises money to operate the Sebastian Municipal Airport, claims one of the airport's fixed base operators. A spokesman for both the reli- "I believe that the Kashi Church and a local realtor and a past city engineer have a tremen- dous amount financially to gain by closing this airport." Steven Johnson Airport Businessman "This is only a guess on my part but I think it involves real estate. To what degree I don't know and I don't think we will know until it is all over with and we wake up," he said. "You have a few people living in Roseland who are dictating what the city of Sebastian is going to pay. " John Evans, attorney for Citizens Airport Watch, which circulated the petition, and a member of Kashi Church Foundation, said the church is not involved in the air- port issue. "We are a residential church community in Roseland," Evans said. "As a church, we are not par- ticularly interested in politics. But that doesn't mean that individuals who may choose to exercise their civil rights don't have the right to vote or petition the government." Johnson's comments are an "attempt to smokescreen and divert attention from what is truly involved," Evans said. Evans said Citizens Airport Watch gathered almost 900 signa- gious group and Citizens Airport Watch said that kind of talk is irre- sponsible and is a smokescreen to divert attention away from the real issue. Steven C. Johnson, co-owner of Sebastian Aero 4ervi6es, one of the fixed base operators at the airport, said the latest proposed refer- endum is an attempt to "strangle the airport financially." Johnson said there is not enough money in the airport fund to pave the runways without grant money. Under the Airport Master Plan ten- tatively adopted in October, runways 4/22 and 13/31 are to be overlayed in Phase 1, a five-year period that ends in 1992. The proposed referendum also violates leases with the four FBOs, Johnson said, because the leases do not allow landing fees, and "It is written in our leases that (the city) is not to hamper our business.. "They are supposed to keep the airport in such a manner that it will not hinder our business and I believe the leases and the deed both say it is to nurture and foster the growth of aviation." The deed Johnson referred to was one from the Federal Aviation Administration transferring the airport to the city in 1959. Johnson, an unofficial spokes- man for the other fixed base opera- tors, said they have retained an attorney. He is fully updated and pre- pared to take the necessary steps when the time comes," Johnson said, "and the loser will be the city of Sebastian financially. "It would be very difficult for small-business men such as our- selves to fight an extremely wealthy cult group with in-house attorneys on their' level. The only way for us to fight it is in court where, hopefully, everyone is on equal ground." Johnson said he blamed the Kashi Church Foundation, a reli- gious group in Roseland whose property is just west of the airport, for inciting the anti -airport senti- ment. I believe that the Kashi Church and a local realtor and a past city engineer have a tremendous amount financially to gain by clos- ing this airport," he said. Johnson declined to name the realtor or former city engineer. tures of Sebastian voters on the pe- tition. "To say those people are not ca- pable of independent thought and to say that three-quarters of the voters that went to the polls last "(Steven Johnson's comments are art) attempt to smokescreen and divert attention from what is truly involved." John Evans Citizens Airport Watch year in March are not capable of thinking for themselves and ex- pressing their feelings about the airport is a gross injustice," he said. Most of the members of the Citi- zens Airport Watch are from Se- bastian and are active and involved, he said. Evans said Kashi Church is not -working with a local realtor and has no designs on the airport prop- erty. "It has no special plans that will bring it any particular financial gain. The issue is whether this air- port is controlled through the ref- erendum or not," he said. "No one has a scrap of evidence that we have anything to gain from this be- cause there is none." The proposed referendum is not an attempt to strangle the airport, Evans said. "It is an attempt to make the air- port and the City Council be finan- cially responsible about how it manages the airport," he said. Evans said he has reviewed the existing leases with the fixed base operators and, in his opinion, the referendum does not violate the language of the leases. "I don't see any conflict with the leases at all," Evans said. "There is no prohibition of landing fees." By referring to the Kashi Church as a cult group, Evans said Johnson As Signatures City Looks At By air P ATRICI tJliAf,l.A. Sebastian arau Cltef More that 490 signatures on a petition for an airport ref- erendum proposed for ebas- tian's March election have boon verified by the supervisor of elections. The petition itself is being re- searched for legality by the ;city attorney at the request of acting City Manager Bruce Cooper. "(Assistant. City Attorney Raul Kreuzkamp) had concerns whether this would be a proper referendum legally," Cooper said, adding there was a ques- tion whether a referendum can restrict the city from spending money. "(Kreuzkamp) felt there might be some areas where it may not be a legal referendum the city could put up for a vote." In order to get on the March 14 election ballot, City Clerk Kay O'Halloran said at least 431 signatures on the petition had to be verified. In a notice to the city received Tuesday, Supervisor of Elections Ann Robinson indicated there were 870 signatures on the petition, 573 were checked and 492 were qualified voters in Sebas- tian. Under Florida law, a charter change may be brought before the voters in two ways, either by an ordinance passed by the governing body or by a petition containing the signatures of 10 percent of the registered voters. Kreuzkamp said he is re- searching the legality of specif- ic provisions of the proposed referendum, which has lan- guage to be inserted into the City Charter. "The first thing we have to address," Kreuzkamp said, "is to ensure what is being asked to be added does not conflict with state statutes or the Home Rule Powers Act." If his research indicates a conflict between the language of the proposed referendum and state statutes, Kreuzkamp said the matter might have to be decided by a judge. Verified, Legality `"The court would t terprett the proposed language of the . referendum and interpret the sections of the Florida statutes'.. that may or may not conflict,`}' he said:.. Kreuzkamp said he hopes to have a written opinion avail- able eariv next week for coun- cil members to discuss at Wednesday's workshop. Asked what would happen if provisions of the proposed ref- erendum conflict with existing. looses, Kreuzkamp said that. was an Interesting question. "I am not prepared to answer that now,." Kreuzkamp said.. Johan Evans, attorney for the Citizens Airport Watch, the group that organized the peti- tion drive, said the referendum language was prepared by the group's legal expert in Wash- ington, D.C. "I am not aware of any prob- lems that it would have." Evans said. "Of course, (the city attorney) should do his job and check it out." Over the weekend of Dec. 17-18, Citizens Airport Watch, a north county group, gathered the signatures on a petition proposing a referendum to change the Sebastian City Charter. The changes, for the most part, would limit the city's ability to raise money for maintenance and improvement of its airport. In addition to adding more restrictive language to an air- port referendum passed earlier this year, the current referen- dum petition calls for seven other charter changes. Those changes would prevent the city from applying for grant money to maintain or improve the airport, prevent the city from borrowing money or imposing a special assessment to run the airport without voter approval, require the air- port to be operated solely on revenues it generates itself and not use revenues from the golf course, impose landing fees, adopt a noise ordinance at the airport, and make the changes binding on any successor owner or operator of the air- port. is "trying to appeal to prejudice and to hysteria and I think it is im- proper on his part." Citizens Airport Watch gathered 870 signatures on a petition pro- posing a referendum on the March 14 election ballot to change the Sebastian City Charter. For the most part, the changes would limit the city's ability to raise money for maintenance and improvement of its airport. The county supervisor of election has verified that 492 of the signa- tures are those of registered Sebas- tian voters, and the city attorney is researching whether the refer- endum meets state statutes. City Council is expected to dis- cuss the proposed referendum at Wednesday's workshop. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 u