The Board of Commissioners for the St. Louis Regional Airport has selected three final candidates in its process to hire new counsel on an hourly basis.
The candidates are expected to be present at the Sept. 17 board meeting for a question and answer session.
Out of a collection of 13 candidates, the board narrowed the list down to Todd Sivia and Jack Humes Jr. of the Sivia Law Firm in Edwardsville, David Livingstone of Stobbs, Sinclair & Livingstone LTD in Alton, and Matt Kelly of Schrempf, Kelly & Napp LTD in Alton.
Final candidates were selected by receiving two nominations from board members during the Aug. 20 meeting. The board is made up of Chairman Wendell Ross and Commissioners Shirley Kleeman, Robert LaMarsh, Larry Franklin, Christopher Herzog, Steve Futrell and Brian Keister.
Sivia and Humes had originally been considered separately, but interim counsel Andy Carruthers of HeplerBroom advised that because they are from the same firm, they should be considered together.
“If you get one, you get both,” he said.
Sivia and Humes were recommended by Futrell and Herzog. They practice in estate planning, business law, elder law, real estate and personal injury.
Livingstone was recommended by Ross and Herzog. He practices in general law, wills, trusts, probate, local and municipal government representation, fire protection district representation, business planning and formation, nonprofit organizations, real estate transactions, development and zoning.
Kelly was recommended by Kleeman and Franklin. He focuses his practice in workers’ compensation.
The selection of a new attorney had been tabled during the July 16 meeting until every board member had a copy of the resumes and an opportunity to review them.
During the July meeting, one of the board members pointed out that they are seeking to employ counsel based on an hourly rate rather than paying a retainer fee each month. However, he said he was surprised by the number of candidates who referenced a retainer fee.
LaMarsh said the billable hour approach was proposed due to economics.
“Faced under the environment we had at that time, also looking ahead as to what impact the airport might have in terms of economics, that was proposed to go to a billable hour,” LaMarsh said.
Futrell said that in his tenure on the board, he has “not seen the body of work” to “merit a retainer fee” for the airport.
“I think we owe it to the taxpayers to select a lawyer … who would do it on a billable hour. If nothing else, just for one year to compare what we had over the last 10 years with what we get this year,” he added.
Dave Miller, Director of Aviation at St. Louis Regional Airport, noted that when selecting professional services, “you can base your decision on factors other than price.”
“This is not a bidding war, so to speak, whoever will work the cheapest,” he said.
LaMarsh agreed, saying he does not suggest selecting the lowest rate, but does suggest they “choose a billable hour basis” rather than a retainer fee.