SAINT PETERSBURG, Fla. — For more than 35 years, Jack Tunstill has been a flight instructor at Albert Whitted Airport in downtown St. Pete.
He trains future pilots at St. Pete Air and said they're something the airline industry is in desperate need of, but he’s worried about the airport’s future.
"I make a living down here and have been fighting for this airport for more than 30 years," said Tunstill.
Recently, St. Pete mayor Ken Welch suggested using the city-owned property for something that he said more people would benefit from.
Until a usage study is completed, Welch has directed city staff to stop applying for and stop accepting federal grants that would lock the city into long-term usage of the airport.
"When you accept federal grants you obligate the airport to operate as an airport for at least 20 years," said Richard Lesniak, airport manager for the city.
In a memo sent to the St. Pete City Council this week, the mayor asked that current safety projects be self-funded by the city.
But with countless other city-funded projects in the works, on Thursday, St. Pete City Council members unanimously voted to ask the mayor to reconsider accepting federal funds. Something that Tunstill agrees with.
"He wants to spend your money when the money is readily available," said Tunstill.
Tunstill said the nearly 100-year-old airport is critical to the entire Tampa Bay area as a relief sight for smaller planes to fly into instead of flying through the bigger commercial airports in the area.
"It’s not home to a bunch of playboys, it’s important to the city of St. Petersburg and for training pilots," said Tunstill.
We reached out to the mayor's office for comment late Friday afternoon but did not hear back before this story aired.
