ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) - A group of St. Louis citizens say city voters should weigh in if Lambert Airport is privatized.

The group is known as Not For Sale STL, which opposes any effort to privatize Lambert Airport without a public vote, and they are gathering signatures for a petition that they say already has thousands of signatures.

Eight citizens along with three aldermen stood in unity inside City Hall on Monday. They brought signs and their petition.

“We have more than 3,000 signatures now, hoping to get 10,000 by August of next year,” said Talia Earl with Not For Sale STL. She added that 6,500 signatures are needed to get the measure on the ballot.

The group says it is part of a larger movement.

“In a longer term process, we are going to be opposed to any privatization of any municipal assets owned by the City of St. Louis,” said Chris Otto.

Taxpayers demonstrating at city hall told News 4 they are concerned the process isn’t transparent that the airport might be leased for less than its potential value. Another concern is that there are a lack of comparable deals in other American markets.

Whether voters get a say or not, any deal is contingent on the airlines. Southwest is the airport’s largest airline. A Southwest spokesperson told News 4 that they are in confidential negotiations with the working group that was hired by St. Louis City to study whether there would be benefits to privatization.

The spokesperson also said the airline does not have enough information to take a stance on whether privatization would be beneficial to the airline community.

News 4 has been reaching out to the spokesperson for Mayor Lyda Krewson but has yet to receive a response.