At one point in Wednesday’s meeting, Ehlmann asked Reed whether there’s a chance Reed would at some point consider an East-West Gateway study with a narrower scope. Reed said, “I am not one to ever have … a closed mind.”

Among those joining Krewson and Reed in voting to table the study idea were Page and St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern. Both cited the lack of support from St. Louis officials.

Page said “this is a consensus-driven organization” and that he doesn’t think East-West Gateway should embark on ventures that don’t have consensus.

However, he said St. Louis County intends “somehow” to be part of discussions about Lambert’s future because the airport “affects us tremendously” and its relationship with North County municipalities “is not working.”

“I don’t accept that St. Louis County doesn’t have a role to play in that conversation,” Page said.

Kern pointed out that St. Louis hadn’t asked East-West Gateway to study Lambert and that “I would hate to see dollars being spent for something that’s just going to sit on the shelf and that isn’t being embraced by the whole board.”