A new year, a new Port Commission

— by Minor Lile, Orcas Issues reporter —

The Port of Orcas Commissioners held their first meeting of the new year on January 9. With the arrival of the new year, this was the initial meeting of the newly configured commission following last November’s election, in which three new commissioners were elected to the five member commission.

Given that this group of Commissioners were working together for the first time, it was perhaps not surprising that there were moments when the proceedings seemed a little bit disorderly. The discussion was often meandering and at times felt fragmented. Despite these initial hiccups, by the time the meeting was over, an hour and 45 minutes after it began, quite a bit of business had been conducted.

Here’s a summary of actions that were taken:

• Mia Kartiganer was elected to chair the Commission and Steve Hopkins was elected to continue serving as Secretary.
• Future meeting times were moved to 5 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month and an additional meeting was scheduled for January 23 at 5 p.m.
• A phone conversation regarding the status of the Airport Master Plan will take place with DOWL (the consulting firm responsible for preparing the plan) during the February 13 Commission meeting.
• A Bylaws review committee was formed. Commissioner Pierrette Guimond and interim airport manager Dwight Guss agreed to be on the committee and others may be added.
• The Commission approved completion of an agreement transferring management of the fueling operation at the airport from Aeronautical Services to the Port.
• A motion by Commissioner Michael Triplett to require a second signature on all checks was voted down.
• The commission approved resolutions authorizing Dwight Guss to continue as interim airport manager on a part time basis until a new airport manager is hired. A resolution was also approved authorizing a personal services contract with former airport manager Tony Simpson to provide support and training during the managerial transition period.
• A motion from Commissioner Triplett to adopt the same fee structure as Friday Harbor airport for automobile parking, aircraft tie-downs, camping, and other items was tabled for further discussion at a future meeting.

In addition to these decisions, there was also discussion about the future governance structure for the airport. Commissioner Bea vonTobel began the discussion by defining governance structure as “how the Commission works with whomever is responsible for daily management of the airport.” VonTobel also noted that because of issues that have arisen in the past, there are rules in place requiring that all communications between the Commission and the airport manager are to go through the Commission chair.

The current governance structure provides that airport operations are overseen by an airport manager who reports directly to the Commission. Another alternative that has been discussed (and is reflected in last year’s airport manager job announcement) is to have an Executive Director who would be the intermediary between the commission and the airport manager. A third option was suggested by Pierrette Guimond. This option would be to have a part-time airport manager and create a new position for a clerk who would be responsibile for completing much of the paperwork and correspondence that currently takes a lot of the airport manager’s time.

Following this discussion, Commissioner Triplett made a motion to keep the governance structure as it is and appoint a committee of two commissioners to advertise for a new manager as soon as possible. He added that he does not want to feel as if he can’t talk to the airport manager because of the requirement that all communications go through the Chair. Commissioner Kartiganer responded that there are two issues being discussed – one is the airport manager search, the other is the protocols for communications between the Commission and airport manager.

Eventually, the Commissioners, with Triplett dissenting, agreed that further work needed to be done to establish a consensus on the future governance structure before reissuing a new job announcement for the airport manager position. Further discussion is planned for the January 23 meeting.

The meeting was well-attended and included two public comment periods, which were focused mainly on concerns about or support for the Airport Master Plan, and the search for the next airport manager. County Councilman Rick Hughes also attended and expressed his appreciation to all the Commissioners for their willingness to step forward and serve.

After the meeting, Commission Chair Mia Kartiganer thanked the public for attending and expressed her hope that the Commission “will make the time to have an all-day retreat to learn who we are as a team; understand where we diverge and find our common ground.”

The next regular meeting of the Port Commission will be at 5 p.m. on February 13. An additional meeting has been scheduled for January 23, also at 5 p.m. Both meetings will be held at the airport conference room.