Craig accuses city of improperly selecting group for key airport operator lease
Cameron Montemayor
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — A prominent local businessman raised concerns to city officials on Monday about a lack of transparency that he believes played a role in one company being improperly picked for a high-level airport service agreement.
During Monday’s City Council meeting, well-known local businessman Steven Craig accused city officials of selecting Excelsior Springs aviation group Apex Aero Center as the new Fixed Base Operator (FBO) at Rosecrans Memorial Airport despite the company’s proposal reportedly being ranked lower than competing proposals from local groups, including his.
FBO’s are organizations granted the right to operate at an airport and provide a broad range of general aviation services for private and recreational flying, including refueling and maintenance services.
“I think this decision by the City Council is a mistake,” he said. “We followed the process as presented by the city and requested.”
Monday’s agenda included a bill for first reading to authorize the lease and operating agreement with AAC, a leading FBO network with locations in Kansas City, Dallas and Oklahoma.
Craig’s group was one of four companies — two from St. Joseph — who reportedly submitted applications last year for the lease and operating agreement.
He claims he was informed by those closely involved in the decision-making process that his proposal scored higher on not only one but two different rounds of voting.
“For whatever reason (that) didn’t sit well with the powers to be. So they decided they needed to go a different route. They opened it back up. We all re-submitted, but three of the groups never had the opportunity to present to the people evaluating. Only one group did,” he claimed.
Craig called for greater transparency and asked councilmembers to table the measure and form an independent commission composed of three aviation board members, councilmembers and business leaders to re-examine all four of the proposals.
Councilmember Kenton Randolph was the lone member to support a motion for the move.
“Let all four groups present and let’s see what the community thinks in terms of an opportunity. Let them score it,” he said.
According to city documents, Apex was selected as the awardee after receiving the highest overall score in the evaluation process, consistently ranking at or near the top in qualifications, operational ability and preparedness.
The document indicates that the city’s Purchasing Department utilized a panel of outside aviation professionals to conduct an independent evaluation of the proposals. The panel included Melissa Cooper, A.A.E., Aviation Director for the City of Kansas City, Missouri; Dave Schaumburg, A.A.E., Springfield-Branson National Airport; and Joe Peska, Aviation Consultant, Woolpert.
“Collectively, these evaluators brought decades of leadership in airport management, commercial development, and aviation infrastructure, ensuring an impartial and industry-informed selection process,” the document reads.
Evaluators highlighted Apex’s proven success operating multiple FBOs in the Midwest, its readiness to begin operations at Rosecrans Memorial Airport without delay and its well-defined operational plan.
In addition to operational enhancements, Apex has committed to significant financialinvestments at Rosecrans Memorial Airport.