St. Pete approves funding for debris removal from Albert Whitted Airport months after storms
ST. PETE, Fla. - It has been three months since Hurricane Milton and the St. Pete City Council recently approved cleanup and demolition work at Albert Whitted Airport.
According to Walt Driggers, the Executive Director of Friends of Albert Whitted Airport, Hurricanes Milton and Helene destroyed 32 hangars, 10 hangars, and two helicopters.

Hanger at Albert Whitted Airport.
Cases of water lay next to a fridge flipped on its side. Oil cans and other items that were once inside the hangars now lay where Hurricane Milton’s more than 100-mile-per-hour gusts dropped them.
Those hangars were transformed into mangled pieces of metal.
"It has looked the same way for three months," Driggers said. "We’re frustrated with that, but we also understand there were thousands of people who lost their homes, and they had flooded homes, and they've lost everything they had.
Driggers continued, "We have compassion for that and understand that they may get more attention, but we're really frustrated that it took so long to get just the cleanup done so that people can access it here."
According to Driggers, Hurricane Helene dumped six to seven inches of water in most of the hangars, and some had more than that, damaging planes inside.
One of the hangars was submerged by almost a foot of water. St. Pete Air, the flight school, had so much water that it had to move out of the building temporarily.

Storm damages at Albert Whitted Airport.
Driggers were surprised because the hangars had never had water. Then, Hurricane Milton’s winds took over.
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"It’s just amazing to me that the wind could just pick it up and throw it over a building and drop it right down here," Driggers said, walking around the damage. "It was nauseating. You drive in, and it's just this metal sculpture (and it) is just awful. I mean, when you look at it, it's just awful."
He said they believe some of the planes in the hangars are in good condition, but they can’t get them out because the hangars themselves are damaged.
"There are so many people that use them for their businesses," Driggers said. "It's taken a big toll on them; some people just can't do their business. They have to drive or whatever because their airplanes have been locked in these hangars for months."
Thursday, St. Pete City Council approved a contract worth a little more than $1 million with a company to do demolition, debris removal, and repairs at the airport.

Storm damages at Albert Whitted Airport.
Officials said they hope to get reimbursed by FEMA, insurance, and possibly the state.
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The city’s airport manager says crews have already started some minor repairs.
"We obviously started with some of the minor stuff, again, because of the size and scope of this and the funding for the demolition and stuff," Richard Lesniak, Airport Manager for the City of St. Pete at Albert Whitted Airport, said. "That's why this portion we had already started repairs, and some of the smaller buildings, for example, replaced a number of gate operators and stuff like that.
Lesniak continued, saying, "But some of the bigger items, which require heavier equipment or, you know, construction personnel, we kind of had to go through a more formal process for that."
City officials also had to differentiate the damage between Helene and Milton for FEMA.
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"I’m hoping that we can finally get going with the repairs and with getting people connected back to their property and their hangar spaces, because this is something people are very passionate about," Council Member Gina Driscoll of District 6 said.
Driscoll finished by saying, "In some cases, it's part of the transportation that they need for the work that they do. And the sooner we can get everyone back to semi-normal, the better," she said.
City officials say they’ll have things cleaned up before the Grand Prix in early March, but Driggers said they haven’t been told when crews will start.
Part of the Grand Prix’s track runs through the airport.
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