For the second time in three months, the Florida Ethics Commission has tossed a complaint against Flagler County Airport Director Roy Sieger, citing legal insufficiency.
The commission in January dismissed a complaint by Darlene Shelley, a Kathleen Trail resident and a candidate for the Palm Coast City Council, for the same reason. Shelley’s complaint alleged Sieger prioritized the interests of flight schools over local residents, a reflection of the ongoing tension between some neighbors of the airport and Sieger, who has defended the airport’s history of accommodating flight schools.
The airport would lose federal and state grants if it were to close the door to flight schools, Sieger said at a County Commission meeting earlier this month, when the Commission approved a new land lease for a company’s future 52,000-square-foot hangar and office complex at the airport. The complex does not exclude flight schools, though none was named as a potential occupant for now.
The latest complaint against Sieger was filed by Anna Jones of Zaun Trail, the resident of a property just west of the airport, and therefore in the flight path of many planes. Jones, a local resident since August 2023, is the owner of a website that’s been advocating against the airport’s flight school permissiveness, and that’s gathered hundreds of petitions to that effect. The complaint was filed in January, just as Shelley’s was getting tossed.
Jones’s complaint is more ad hominem than evidence of wrongdoing, particularly the sort of wrongdoing in the Ethics Commission’s purview to investigate. The commission only investigates instances of public corruption, where a government official may have personally benefited from an inappropriate deal or relationship with a company, a government or another individual. People filing complaints with the Ethics Commission often mistake its scope as a catch-all watchdog. It is not.
Just as frequently, the complaints can be personal or argumentative without pointing to actionable wrongs. It costs nothing to file a complaint, though it can damage the recipient’s reputation and costs thousands of dollars to defend.
Jones calls or quotes others calling Sieger many names (“bully,” “controlling,” “manipulative”) Sieger has often heard before, at times in public meetings of the commission.
“I can’t base my ethics complaint on just that, as it’s hearsay, and the people that tell me this are fearful of their jobs or retribution,” Jones writes in her complaint. “I can, however, give you facts that Mr. Sieger FAVORS the flight schools and ATTACKS or PUNISHES anyone that points out that they are a problem with their noise, safety and lead pollution.” She accuses Sieger of retribution. But much of the rest is a retelling of publicly reported conflicts that, while illustrative of tensions, disagreements, posturing and, in one case, a lawsuit that Sieger lost on First Amendment grounds after he attempted to evict a tenant from an airport hangar, none of the “evidence” points to demonstrable graft or corruption. Jones repeats that Sieger wants to reward the flight schools and punish residents, and demands a public reprimand, fines, and removal from office.
The Ethics Commission met in a closed-door session last Friday to consider this and other complaints for their legal sufficiency. Even assuming that Sieger successfully evicted tenants from the airport as retributive punishment–Jones says he evicted two–the commission found no evidence that Sieger benefited personally from the evictions.
“Regarding the allegation that [Sieger] is not responsive to citizen complaints concerning alleged violations by the flight schools at the Airport, there is no indication that [Sieger], as a County-level official, has the ability to enforce federal safety regulations,” the commission found. Jones “even states in the complaint that she was told by a Sheriff’s Deputy to ‘call the FAA,’ indicating her awareness that federal violations are not within [Sieger’s] authority. For these reasons, the allegations in the complaint do not form a sufficient basis to initiate an investigation” under Florida law.
Jones also claimed that Sieger kept the waiting list for hangars private. The commission said that even assuming that were true, it did not fall under the commission’s jurisdiction, since Sieger was not personally benefiting from the secrecy. (If Sieger is keeping the list private, it’s a violation of public records, for which he would be personally liable, assuming a resident would pursue a criminal charge.)
Numerous other charges are based on “personal knowledge,” not documented evidence, the commission found.
Kelly Remington says
This is BS! Everyone who lives in the surrounding area has seen a major up swing of Flight Schools allowed! The Flagler County executive airport is no longer an existence at is strictly a flight school airport and everybody knows this!! Follow the money!!! Roy Seiger is directly responsible for the uncontrolled approvals of the Flight Schools – this has increased dramatically since 2006 when you would hear or see a couple a day! Now it’s a constant bombardment! When is enough going to enough? When there is horrible tragedy? Loss of Life? People’s pockets are getting lined!!
Ll, Z, K, U sections says
You are absolutely correct and the new building that is being built will welcome in Embry Riddle….more flight schools. The ignorance of those that say, “move!” ‘Don’t buy near an airport!’ No one assumes their house is under a flight path as there are homes 4 streets down that hear nothing. But, when your roof is bombarded with planes flying as low as 500 feet over your roof, 10 turns per hour, 5-6 planes at a time, you bet Siegers pockets are lined, now with ICI funds. All it takes is 1 person to whistleblow on his vacations he took the same time as Heidi Petito or anything else nefarious he is doing with flight school funds and he’s done. He won’t have Heidi to hide behind for long. This place is out of control from the City to the County. Hence the for sale signs. People can’t jump ship fast enough. You’re brought up to treat people how you want to be treated. This man is a domestic terrorist.
Let me show you the door... says
This is just BS. This lady, Jones, makes stuff up and lies about Sieger doing his job. There should be repercussions for these people. Sieger should file a lawsuit against her for trying to defame his reputation.
Why did Jones buy a house near the airport? She is costing us taxpayers, money for making a poor choice of where to live. Please move to the beach where you can complain about the sand….
Why is Darlene Shelley running for office? Making up stuff. These people cost us money!
Go away, you people, you make no sense of anything, especially when you speak at the Palm Coast City meetings. Just shut the heck up!
celia says
First of all Let me tell you “show you the door” that I totally agree with Kelly Remington above and that the results of our brave resident Anna Jones complaint to the FL Ethic Commission sounds like a travesty to us all with over 810 petition signatures against the abuses of the flight schools trainees over Palmcoasters! https://www.change.org/p/no-flight-schools-in-palm-coast-flagler-county-florida. By the way in the last 10 years worst. with over 500 a day touch and goes and rounds over Palmcoasters. Compensate the affected resident home owners as they should have over sold lots and homes without Avigation Easements! And get ready because Darlene Shelly will be our city council in spite of your special flight schools interest opposition and bad mouthing! Thank you Anna and we support you and no one should try any SLAPP to silence you for defending us all from the danger, contamination of lead and noise and value deterioration of our homes! Sieger is totally unreceptive to affected residents by flight schools complaints! His ombudsman position and pay is not fulfilled given his ignoring thousands of our complaints about the flight schools abuses over our community! He can’t file any SLAPP suits if he does , we will be showing up at least 816 strong defending Anna being tortured by these trainees 24-7 except on Sundays now, after at least we won that so far! We have peace on Sundays now!
James says
Funny thing, I don’t live anywhere near the airport and I hear these planes too.
Just say’n.
John K. says
Anna Jones and her peaceforpalm website is an unintelligent, ill-informed resident who recently moved her and do no due diligence on the home before they bought it. I hope the county gets our tax dollars back from her on this matter. These ridiculous filings squander our tax dollars on legal costs.
Mitch H says
I’ve watched this Jones lady for years. She moved into a neighborhood by the airport and then, is upset that the airport does things an airport does!
She has wasted thousands of tax dollars. The City Council has nothing to do with the airport. She’s been told this REPEATEDLY, yet every meeting she completely wastes the time of everyone there to speak about her being upset that an airport, she chose to live by, does things an airport does.
Same for County Commission meetings.
Finally, another bogus lawsuit that further wastes tax dollars so she can piss and moan about her being upset about living next to an airport that does things and airport does.
This woman is utterly crazy. She needs to be counter sued to recoup tax payer dollars.
celia says
Mitch Anna Jones in right and within her rights to fight for her quality of life and home value and not subject to any SLAPP suit by Sieger or anyone as 816 of us have the same issue and here you have an example of the realty endured daily by one of the affected residents:” Stan As a retired FAA Air Traffic Controller I love airplanes. BUT we have lived here for over 12 years now and close to the airport. Over the last few years it has gotten out of control with these planes flying on the down winds and local patterns. The majority of these flight school aircraft are from down at Daytona and belong to Embry Riddle. I can tell by the color snd markings that are on the Embry Riddle aircraft. I am sick and tired of hearing these student pilots and flight instructors flying at lower then authorized altitudes, extending past their flying patterns, and the ridiculous late and early morning operations. I cannot believe they are allowed to play here late at night and often after 11 pm. Something needs to be done because this airport authority and manager don’t care and haven’t done a dam thing in the 12 years I’ve lived here. Just like all the builders around here lately, they all want more revenue. Enough is enough……….SB”
Irwin M. Fletcher says
We are missing a great opportunity. Do away with the flight school airport and develop the property for real estate interests like a business park for commercial and light industrial businesses. Create a real tax base with the property rather than earning a few bucks for gas and hanger space. Or sell that enclave to Palm Coast and get the county out of the city.
Karin Augat says
You are not alone in this. You have considerate airport manager’s and then you don’t. You have considerate airport consultants and then you don’t.
FAA rules actually require airports to consider the surrounding community. Grant Assurance 6 specifically ties airport development to local plans and community needs. And Grant Assurance 21 requires airports to prevent incompatible land use and address issues that create ongoing conflicts.
So when someone is dealing with constant low‑flying training traffic over their home, it’s not as simple as ‘you chose to live there.’ Airports still have obligations, and residents still deserve fair treatment and accurate information. It’s unfortunate she didn’t have enough evidence, because these issues are real for a lot of people living near general aviation airports.
BE DELIGENT, with the upcoming Master Plan Update, Environmental Assessment, NEPA and ALP. Make sure the noise contours aren’t skewed. Make sure current operations aren’t inflated . Make sure larger aircraft then uses the airport today aren’t incuded in the current mix. Make sure the future operations aren’t deflated. Airports can make these noise contours whatever they want them to be in my opinion. Read everything twice and read it again. It is your time to voice your objections in the NEPA comments and what you don’t agree with. It is up to the community to make sure all the info is correct to the best of your knowledge during the MPU and EA projects especially if a new runway or a runway extension is being requested.
The situation can be hard and deserves acknowledgement. You handled something most people would be too intimidated to even try.
Anna Jones says
Buckle Up, Buttercups!
This party is just getting started!
Gina says
Bottom line, it’s the county that needs to be held responsible for these issues,
Sieger is an employee of the county who owns and is responsible for the airport
operations, Siegers position and authority lies UNDER THE COUNTY’S obligations
and responsibilities. https://flaglerexecairport.com/rules/
flaglerexecairport.com
http://www.flaglercounty.gov/Government/Departments/Airport
The Flagler Executive Airport is a county-owned, public use, general aviation airport that is operated and maintained under the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners.
https://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/publications/orders/compliance_5190_6/order-5190-6c-compliance-complete
http://www.faa.gov
D. Enforcement Action: “When safety issues are identified”, prompt corrective action
is expected.” According to our aiports compliance manual this county should be put on a
GRANTS WATCH LIST to disqualify ths county from getting future funding for cherry picking which
parts of the airport rules and regs they follow. They may be in non compliance with its GRANT ASSURANCES
until issues are resolved. When runway 11/29 was expanded was an easement obtained? The runway
was moved 400 or so to the south. When this runway was moved did the county make sure that it didn’t
conflict with the existing zoning to bring in more flight schools, they knew what their intentions were.
We STILL HAVE NO NOISE STUDIES as Sieger claimed at the time that the noise was contained
inside the airport, we know that isn’t so. We are the only airport in Florida without a NOISE COMPATIBILITY
PROGRAM IMPLEMENTED which comes under the grant assurances of which federal funds
have been expended. https://www.faa.gov/airports/aip/grant_assurances/assurances-airport-sponsors-2025
http://www.faa.gov
The county did not obtain AVIGATION EASEMENTS, this is a taking from residents by endangering
them with student drivers, flight school students, over homes, a highschool, hospital, businesses,
stripping citizens of our hard working rights without compensation. Once again the county turns
a blind eye KNOWING THAT THER IS NO RADAR AT OUR AIRPORT, WHERE ONE PERSON
IN A CONTRACT ATC TOWER DIRECTS ATC WITH BINOCULARS AND USES LANDMARKS
FOR GUIDANCE OF OUR AIRSPACE AS STUDENTS BUZZ ROOFTOPS. The LACK of ENFORCEMENT
and ACCOUNTABILITY violates the contract that the county made with the federal government,
the county is in breach by following only what they want to follow ignoring safety for profit which
violates everything the FAA publishes. Also the owner of this new business that is building a new
hangar can leave out flight schools in his contract if he wanted to but chose not, IDK how a
commission can vote on a agenda item without knowing 2 of the businesses that are in this
contract.
Here We Go Again says
Oh wow, another exciting episode of ‘Flagler Residents Unleash Groundbreaking Conspiracy Theories’ against our government employees and elected officials. Because nothing says ‘informed citizenry’ like filing ethics complaints that get yeeted by the Florida Ethics Commission faster than you can say ‘lack of evidence.’
Baseless corruption accusations? Check. Wild online rants that evaporate under the tiniest bit of scrutiny? Double check. Personal vendettas dressed up as ‘shocking revelations’? Chef’s kiss.
Our public servants are just sitting there trying to do their jobs while dodging this endless parade of fact-free drama. It’s almost adorable how every dismissed complaint is immediately followed by ‘Well, THIS time it’s real!’ Spoiler: It’s never real.
Maybe, just maybe, we could try facts before torches and pitchforks? Or is that too much to ask from the local witch-hunt enthusiasts? Flagler deserves better than recycled rumors and performative outrage. But hey, keep ‘em coming—it’s great entertainment if nothing else.
RobdaSlob says
“Here we go again” agree on the entertainment value.
James says
Ya know, perhaps you or someone else here can finally dismiss a rumor that I had heard long ago, when I first moved here… not really pertinent to this discussion, but anyway.
Is there any truth to the rumor that one of the 9-11 hijackers got some kind of pilot certification out here?
Just something that’s always bothered me.
FlaglerLive says
The rumors are false. CNN reported, based on an inaccurate report in a Saudi newspaper days after the 9/11 attacks, that Waleed Al Sheri, one of the 19 hijackers, graduated from Embry-Riddle in 1997. The reporting was an error, a case of false or stolen identity. Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehhi attended Huffman Aviation International in Venice, Florida. Even if the rumors were accurate, a school cannot be held liable for educating individuals without knowing what those individuals may do with the education. For example, the Wharton School cannot and should not be held liable for educating, among others, Donald Trump, whose misuses of that education have had consequences far surpassing those of the 9/11 hijackers.
James says
Thank you.
This has always bothered me.
The metal in front of the Elks, the broken clocks in the European Village, not to mention a few other things.
Thanks.
Gina says
Based on the book. Welcome To Terrorland, Mohamed Atta and the 9/11
Cover Up on Florida by Danial Hopsocker,” Mohamed Atta attended several
flight schools and his first flight school in the U.S. has never been named.
Its identity remains a mystery. After he attended Huffman Aviation in
Venice, Florida he then attended the flight school Jones Aviation in Sarasota,
Florida. Then he went back to Huffman Aviation again. After leaving Huffman
for the second time he trained with Marwan during Janurary and February
of 2001 at Professional Aviation at the Charlotte County Airport. That school
went mysteriously bankrupt at the end of February and then he returned to Huffman
Aviation for the third time. According to his girlfriend he was already a licensed
experienced pilot when he entered the U.S. His status as a “foreign flight school
student” allowed him to move freely around the U.S. while engaged in activities
not limited to coordinating and readying the 9/11 attack He stayed at the Sandpiper
Apartments across from Huffman Aviation that was a home to a transient tenant
population which included a ever changing roster of foreign pilot trainees learning
to fly at the flight schools across the street.”
Phoneman says
All you complaining about the airport can move. Problem solved let someone else enjoy the planes.Lived in the Z section for going on 14 years now.I knew the airport existed before I bought my home. Common sense you don’t like it move or don’t buy a home by an airport.Just like if you don’t like race car traffic don’t buy a home by a race track.Quit your bitching and complaining and worry about more pressing issues.
Gary Garner says
I believe the airport has been there since 1942.
Anyone with any sense knows if the buy a house close to an airport he will have noise from planes landing and taking off.
My advice would be to move away from the airport or suck it up.