“Going against the will of the board – it did bother me – it did concern me.”
That’s how Pinellas County Commission Chair Dave Eggers summed up the tension during a meeting Tuesday, where Commissioner Vince Nowicki was accused of circumventing a unanimous board decision involving a new parking garage at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.
If the allegations hold, Nowicki could face consequences for violating the county charter.
For context: In December, the commission unanimously approved a new four-story parking garage at the airport to accommodate Allegiant Airlines’ growth. The issue resurfaced after County Administrator Barry Burton sent an email Monday night, addressed to Nowicki copied to the other commissioners, alleging that Nowicki, while in Las Vegas, encouraged Allegiant to oppose and renegotiate the approved garage location.
In the email obtained by Poliverse, Burton stated that the “action was at the very least unprofessional” and “raised serious concerns for [Allegiant] during the discussion [in Las Vegas].”
Burton bullet-pointed how Nowicki’s actions erode the commission by “creating confusion among airline partners … undermining staff-led planning, negotiations, and Board approved action … exposing the county to reputational, contractual, and strategic risk … and giving the appearance that individual commissioners may be advancing initiatives or operational models outside of Board authorization.”
“We as a commission make those decisions,” said Commission Chair Dave Eggers. “The activities that a [single] commissioner is doing should not go against the actions of the commission.”
For the December vote on the parking garage, Nowicki voted in favor with his colleagues, but he voiced concerns.
Burton’s email – sent Monday night – outlines how Nowicki’s actions directly subvert charter rules, though no commissioner stated exactly which rules were broken during the meeting.
According to Burton, the airline called him following Nowicki’s visit: “We would not have known about these issues until [Allegiant] raised them to us,” Burton said during the meeting.
Nowicki pushed back hard.
“A lot of the facts in the letter were wrong,” he claimed. Instead, he described the trip as a “personal fact-finding mission to shape policy,” adding that he did not negotiate on behalf of or bind the County to anything.
Nowicki insisted that Allegiant had previously invited him to meet them in Las Vegas, and that meeting them there aligned with a prescheduled concert he was attending.
Commissioner Chris Latvala struck a more cautious tone. He noted that he has been “friends with the Allegiant lobbyist in question for years” and has also been “invited to go out with them in Las Vegas.” But he added that he does not want any commissioner speaking on behalf of the board outside formal action.
“No offense to Nowicki,” Latvala said, “but I don’t think he has the power to stop the building of a parking garage, if that was his intent.” He also acknowledged that he simply does not know exactly what transpired in Las Vegas.
But the ability to reverse the decision wasn’t quite the issue, and Nowicki’s behavior isn’t an isolated incident. He was also accused last year of attempting to pull triple duty as a local municipality’s city manager as well as his own aide, potentially collecting pay from each role – the latter of which he downplayed as a joke.
“I think it’s not the first time, not the second time,” added Commissioner Kathleen Peters. “If it’s a third time, there’s a pattern of not adhering to the charter.” Still, she emphasized that the allegations should be investigated by a third party and, if unsubstantiated, “Nowicki should have his name cleared.”
Burton, for his part, stated this is not the first time a lobbyist or someone advocating a private-public partnership to manage the airport has been ushered in by Nowicki. According to the email, such a lobbyist accompanied Nowicki to the meeting with Allegiant, further undermining the commission.
“We have a competitive process for a reason,” Burton said. “That’s the reason I put this in writing. This has to end.”
This article has been updated from a previous version.