The St. Louis airport commission decided Wednesday to hold off on any vote to raise parking rates at Lambert-owned lots and garages after a commissioner clipped the director's wings over a downgrade in transparency.
The Post-Dispatch first reported that, in a break from routine, airport administration refused to publicly release supporting details of the commission meeting agenda ahead of time. Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge told the paper that the airport would now only release the legal minimum.
At Wednesday's meeting, commissioner Kathy Osborn said she was "very concerned" with "the idea that we'd make a decision today without at least alerting the public." She said commissioners are often tasked with making difficult but necessary decisions, like raising rates, but can't disregard the input of those in the public, however dissatisfied they may be.
"This commission has consistently asked for more transparency, not less. More information, not less," Osborn said. She is also Executive Director of the Regional Business Council.
Hamm-Niebreugge explained: "We felt that we needed to be able to have discussions with the commissioners before the public has a discussion."
Osborn called for -- and the board agreed to -- delaying a vote on the proposed parking increases. She also suggested establishing committees so commissioners can be more informed and involved in details earlier on. The board also discussed potentially splitting the currently combined roles of Director and Commission Chair.
The proposed parking increases range from $1 to $3 a day. The least-expensive option, Lot D, would bump up from $7 to $9 a day. There's also a plan to build a new parking lot, which would add hundreds of additional spaces, near Southwest's extremely busy Terminal 2.
Parking has proven a chokepoint in recent years, as Terminal 2, which was originally built to accommodate a small, discount carrier in the shadow of a TWA hub, has since grown to become the airport's busiest concourse.
In the aftermath of TWA successor American's pull-back from St. Louis, Hamm-Niebreugge lured a Southwest connection point to Lambert, something similarly-sized de-hubbed cities wish they could replicate.
Hamm-Niebreugge told the commission about two other parking items which are not in the immediate future but are being explored: dynamic pricing, which would adjust the price at different times based on demand, and offering app-based reservation of parking spots, with convenience fee.
