Port authority to comply with ’09 lease probe
Andres Visna-puu
Board split on disclosure of attorney emails
By Ed Runyan
YOUNGSTOWN
Western Reserve Port Authority members vowed Wednesday to cooperate with state investigators looking into a 2009 land lease at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.
The board, however, was split on whether emails to and from the port authority’s attorney should be turned over.
Board member Andres Visna-puu made a motion at Wednesday’s authority meeting asking that the board waive attorney-client privilege and release communications related to the lease. These emails were sent to and from Atty. Dan Keating, board counsel.
Four members — Visnapuu, Don Hanni III, Richard Musick and Pat Pellin — voted to release the communications. Four others — Scott Lewis, Atty. James Floyd, Rick Schiraldi and chairman Scott Lynn — voted against the release.
Because the vote was a tie, the motion failed.
Hanni said he believed the board owed it to the public to reveal everything.
“I believe as a public body, we should be above reproach,” Hanni said. “The integrity of this board is at stake.”
“I believe the truth must come out,” Visnapuu said while making his motion, adding that he hoped the step would help the Ohio Ethics Commission complete its investigation into the lease “expeditiously.”
The ethics commission wrote to the port authority May 2, saying it had begun an investigation to determine whether any member of the authority had violated Ohio ethics law for involvement in the lease of land to the Millwood Corp. on the western edge of the airport.
The letter asks for all documents and communications related to the lease, which was approved by the port authority in November 2009. The port authority runs the airport.
The letter says the investigation stems from complaints that the ethics commission received, and Hanni has said he was the person who filed the complaint, which he said focuses on Lewis.
Lewis is vice president of the real-estate company Edward J. Lewis, which was the listing agent for the building that Millwood purchased as a result of securing the lease from the airport.
Keating said Wednesday the ethics commission did not ask for emails covered by attorney-client privilege, and that such emails make up a fairly small part of the information to be turned over.
“I see no reason why we would waive attorney-client privilege,” Keating said. “I am not hiding anything. I want to cooperate with the ethics commission and move on.”
Lynn agreed.
“I don’t believe we are trying to hide anything,” he said.
After the board voted against the records release, Hanni said, “It’s giving us a black eye to say that there are parts of the investigation we’re going to keep out.”