ST. LOUIS • It’s been nearly four months since a committee – a team that includes financial and legal advisers, as well as a nonprofit funded by retired financier Rex Sinquefield.
The chose the Sinquefield-affiliated Grow Missouri Inc., and two other firms – McKenna & Associates LLC and Moelis & Co. LLC – to seek and evaluate proposals from companies that want to lease the airport, which the city would continue to own. Discussions over a contract for the consultants’ services have continued behind closed doors ever since.
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On Wednesday, the same committee formally recommended the contract to top officials on the Board of Estimate and Apportionment: Mayor Lyda Krewson, Aldermanic President Lewis Reed and Comptroller Darlene Green.
A vote was expected at the board’s meeting on Wednesday, but Reed said he had misgivings about a proposed amendment.
That came as a surprise to Krewson, who expressed frustration.
“We had the commitment of the president that he had gotten what he needed. We’ve added a number of consultants in this document at his request, and I think those consultants have made it a better contract, but today we had some surprises.
“We’ve only been working on this, oh let’s see, six months? So today he had some more demands,†Krewson said.
At issue is a disagreement over a proposed group that would work alongside the consulting firms and make recommendations. Under the current contract, that would include the city counselor, the airport director, the budget director and representatives of Krewson, Reed and Green.
The contract itself, including any proposed changes, aren’t available to the public until the Board of Estimate and Apportionment approves it. Reed says he wants to take additional time to iron out the language and make sure the working group is transparent.
Reed has said he won’t support a privatization deal that doesn’t bring in the funds to adequately allow the city to address issues like blight, debt and job creation.
“If those things can’t happen, then it’s not something we should do. So it’s going to take a lot of work,†he said on Wednesday.
A slow process
Former Mayor Francis Slay initiated the privatization effort just weeks before leaving office in early 2017, with the help of Sinquefield’s nonprofit, Grow Missouri Inc., which paid for the city’s application to the FAA.
The question of whether to lease the city’s airport to a private operator is a complex one, and while such arrangements are commonplace in Europe, there are few examples for St. Louis to look to in the United States.
Supporters of the idea say that means St. Louis has a chance to be an innovator. They also point to a potential influx of cash, either paid up front or in installments under a lease, to a cash-strapped city, which could prompt boosts to
Sinquefield’s continued involvement has sparked concern among members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, one of several entities that would have to approve a potential lease agreement down the line.
Sinquefield is paying the fees charged by the consultants for their services. If the city moves forward with privatization, he’ll be reimbursed for both those fees and for the application.
That taints the entire process, say to throw out the contracts and start over, this time allowing more input from the Board of Aldermen, the public and airport officials.
Krewson, who inherited the effort when she became mayor last year, Failing to at least explore privatization would be irresponsible, she said.
“I don’t know if there’s going to be anything good for us to consider at the end of this thing or not,†the mayor said.
“Today, had we been able to engage this advisory team, we would have begun the process,†she said.
As slow as that process has been, a future lease agreement is still a long way off. Krewson said she isn’t sure if there could be a special meeting schedule to reconsider the contract, or if officials will wait until next month to take another vote.
After that, it could take months to find qualified bidders, sort through their proposals and negotiate an agreement to present to city legislators. Beyond elected officials, the airlines operating at Lambert and the Federal Aviation Administration would also need to approve it.
In February, the Board of Aldermen passed a resolution requiring the privatization advisory team to provide updates every 60 days at public hearings.
Krewson has said if the consulting contract can’t pass the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, the privatization effort is likely dead.
“One of the things that in my experience you have to do, you have to just start. Get started. Go down the road a little ways. Course correct. Make a decision. Course correct the other way.
“None of these things come together instantly. But the one thing you have to actually do is start. Today we failed to do that,†Krewson said.