— by Katie Wilkins for Orcas Issues —
The Port of Orcas held a special meeting on Thursday, February 7 to address several major recent changes in personnel. These changes may result in significant impacts to the Airport Master Plan, which is due for completion in March 2019. More on that in another article. The port’s next regular scheduled meeting is Thursday, February 14. Unlike special meetings, it will include a public access period.
The port meeting February 7 was held in the airport conference room with port commissioners Dwight Guss, Steve Hopkins, and Greg Sawyer present. Also present were newly appointed commissioner Clyde Duke, airport manager Tony Simpson, and five members of the public.
One of the main purposes of the meeting was to fill two vacancies on the port commission created by the resignations of Brian Ehrmantraut and Shawn Simpson. Both resignations were publicly announced at the previous port meeting on January 10. No reason was mentioned for either resignation. Clyde Duke was appointed by unanimous vote of the remaining commissioners on January 10 to fill Shawn Simpson’s seat, and he was sworn in at the end of the February 7 meeting.
With one seat remaining to be filled, the first item of business at the February 7 meeting was nominating another commissioner. Greg Ayers, Robert Hamilton, and Bea vonTobel were all suggested. It was quickly decided by unanimous vote to nominate Bea vonTobel, who preceded Tony Simpson as the airport manager. If she accepts the appointment, vonTobel, like Duke, will serve as interim commissioner until the next general election in November 2019. At that time, both seats may be contested. Greg Sawyer’s chair will also be up for re-election in November; his current term expires at the end of 2019.
The meeting’s attention then turned to hiring an airport manager to replace Tony Simpson, who previously indicated that he would be leaving his post by February 24. The commissioners lacked consensus as to how long it would take to hire a replacement from among 100 applicants. Suggestions ranged from a couple of weeks to several months. Commissioner Dwight Guss is one of the applicants, which makes for a slight complication. It was agreed that he would need to vacate his chair during the hiring process. There are enough remaining commissioners to vote for a manager, since three make a quorum.
Significant meeting time was also devoted to the idea of adding a second airport manager. Currently there is one airport manager and a grounds keeper/maintenance person. Tony Simpson suggested the option of a part-time executive director-type position paired with a full-time daily manager. Clyde Duke asked Simpson if it interested him to stay on as a manager under this scenario, and Simpson indicated that if the work load wasn’t too much, he would be interested.
Clyde Duke also offered a motion to hire Dwight Guss as interim manager for six months, with the caveat that Simpson stay on to help train him. There was no second to the motion, so it was tabled until the next meeting. Tony Simpson emphasized that he “can afford flexibility,” and would stay on “as long as required to ensure a smooth transition.” The way this transition plays out remains to be seen. If you are curious about what happens next, and how it will affect the island community, now is a great time to engage. March, and the projected finish time of the Airport Master Plan, are right around the corner.
Katie, thanks so much for this informative article, and for being an Orcas Issues reporter.
Thanks, Katie, for this coverage. I just checked the Port website; 4 our of 5 commissioner seats expire this year and are up for election in November. There are two staggered terms of 4 years. Steve Hopkins is the only one whose seat expires in 2021.
Herein lies the main conflict surrounding this Master Plan: The Port Manager and Commissioners keep saying this is “20 years out” and most of these projects “probably will never happen.” Why then, does the job description for Port Manager say the job’s purpose is to implement and oversee the projects of the Master Plan? And why are the monies to implement already being asked for from the FAA, and granted? Environmentals got downgraded from an EIS to an EA and the money to cover them will be greatly reduced; all the more money for moving the terminal and Mt. Baker Rd.
IF we got the 10,000 enplanements in 2018, (still can’t get a straight answer about that – did we or didn’t we?) the Port’s annual monies from the FAA jump from $150K to $1 million dollars a year, starting this year – besides all the grants from FAA, State, and DOT. Anyone can see how this is going to go if we keep taking AIP monies.
Thank you Katie for reporting this for our public viewers. The Port has an opportunity for communication. Which is defined by two way conversation.
Correction: Looks like Dwight Guss’s seat expires also in 2021 – sorry Katie; you’re right. Only 3 seats up for election this year.
at Port meeting last night I found out that the port did make over 10,000 enplanements which means they will get $1 million a year instead of $150,000 – this certainly seems to insure that all the projects for the Master Plan will proceed. I wonder if I’m the only one who had a sleepless night thinking about this.
Has Mr. Simpson resigned? How did he “indicate” that he would be leaving on February 24th?
Peg, to my understanding, Tony gave notice to the port commissioners with Feb 24th as his last work date. I don’t have a date for when he made that submission. There was also an article in the Sounder on Jan 26th announcing that he would be leaving the port.