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Home My WebLink About07 07 1989 Oberbeck makes statementSebastian Sun Week of July 7,1989 Pg. 7-A Oberbeck makes statement Councilman. calls airport 'financial disaster' By George Ricker On June 28, the Sebastian City Council heard Councilman Frank Oberbeck's motion to dismiss Cutler & Stanfield in silence. When the time came for someone to second the motion, it died the same way. Disturbed over the increasing size of the Washington, D.C., law firm's bill, Oberbeck had said he would make the motion at the council meet- ing. Reading a prepared statement, Oberbeck said he was proud of much that had been accomplished in the 3 lit months he had sat on the City Council. Exceptforone issue, he said the council was moving in the best interests of the city. Frank Oberbeck "The airport has -become a finan- cial disaster. I have adamantly op- posed the (airport) referendum from the first time I read it. I still feel it is a blatant violation of our deed with the FAA (Federal Aviation Admini- stration). .0 ed ou of impose a major financial burden and cause undue division of our city and government officials," he said. Oberbeck noted that Elio[ Cutler, a principal in the law firm hired by the city on April 20 to draft ordinances implementing the provisions of the referendum, had prepared the referen- dum. Oberbeck said he was sure the refer- endum had been prepared at much less cost than the attorney's charges to the city since his law firm had been hired by the other members of the council. "This attorney started out saying the referendum would be `hard for the FAA to stop,"' Oberbeck noted, "then changed to `It should hold up in court,' then changed once again .to `Let's negotiate while applying for grants to We have a11ow a gr p The lone exception was the airport people from outside the city and issue, he said. misinformed, misguided citizens to See Airport Page 10-A Sebastian Sun Week of July 7,1989 Pg.10-A Airport (from 7-A) -- support studies which the referen- dum stopped."' Oberbeck reminded the City Coun- cil it had voted to disband the airport advisory board and then voted to take the advisory board's recommenda- tion to adopt voluntary noise -abate- ment procedures at the airport. He stated it also had voted to slurry seal and remove runway lights at the ;airport and then changed its mind. Members of the council, Oberbeck noted, had supported the airport refer- endum and "...then voted against its enforcement." Oberbeck suggested the City Council should sit as a cooperative group of elected officials, negotiate with the FAA and do what is best for the city. He said, "I would also like to see a policy set whereby residents of ad- joining communities wishing to ad- dress this city body do so through their elected officials, the County Commission. We should not sit at a meeting and listen to boos and ap- plause when each side feels it is ap- propriate. "If we are going to be influenced by groups who use scare tactics and scan- dal to make a point, we should all resign, for we would not be working in the best interests of our city." Prior to Oberbeck's presentation, Roseland Attorney John Evans, rep- resenting Citizens Airport Watch (CAW), spoke in opposition to the proposal. Evans presented a letter, one of three letters presenting various posi- tions of the CAW, to the City Council. The letter stated the CAW's opposi- tion to the move to terminate Cutler & Stanfield and was signed by the CAW's president, Robert A. Quick. "To date, the city has invested sub- stantially in Cutler's preparations and representation of the city. The propasal to discharge him is, at best penny wise and pound foolish. The city's investment should not be wasted in a thinly disguised attempt by Councilman Oberbeck to throw in the towel," the letter stated. Evans noted Oberbeck's opposi- tion to the airport referendum and suggested the city needs the services of an "aviation specialist:" He said the implication that Cut- ler's services were being paid out of tax revenues was mistaken as Cutler's fees have been paid out of the airport enterprise fund. "The airport is a long-term prob- lem," the letter stated. "The cost of and the need for Eliot Cutler's exper- tise must be amortized over the life of the problem, not judged with the nar- row, shortsighted perspective of those advancing this proposal." After Oberbeck had made his mo- tion and it had died because no one would second it, Mayor Richard Votapka said he agreed with the coun- cilman. As chairman of the City Council, the mayor is precluded from making motions or seconding them. Councilman Lloyd Rondeau, whc had called the Sebastian Sun on Jun( 15 and volunteered information thai he would support a motion to dismiss Cutler, apparently changed his mind. Early last week, he reportedly said he had been kidding when he made those remarks and regretted making them. Rondeau did not comment on Oberbeck's proposal on June 28.