The Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission granted airport manager Sean
Flynn a leave of absence to address personal issues, following more
than two hours of discussion behind closed doors on Wednesday, June 18.
Mr. Flynn made the request, according to a commission statement.
Airport commission chairman Norman Perry declined to talk about the
terms or the time frame. Mr. Flynn will be paid his regular salary
during the leave, by using accumulated vacation and personal time,
according to Mr. Perry
The commission met at noon Wednesday in executive session, and they issued a short statement following the meeting.
“The Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission met in executive session at
length this afternoon to discuss certain personal information regarding
the airport manager, Sean Flynn. Mr. Flynn has requested a leave to
address these personal matters which was approved.”
The commission designated assistant airport manager Deborah Potter to run airport operations during Mr. Flynn’s leave.
“The Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission has tremendous confidence
in Ms. Potter and the entire airport staff in their ability to run the
airport,” the statement said.
Mr. Perry called the unusual noon meeting following the arrest by
Edgartown police on Friday, June 6, of Mr. Flynn’s wife, Rebecca
Donnelly, on a charge of domestic assault at their Edgartown home. The
police report detailed an argument over Mr. Flynn’s use of prescription
drugs, and allegations by Ms. Donnelly that Mr. Flynn is abusing pain
medications.
Mr. Flynn was not arrested. Mr. Flynn denied to police that he has a prescription drug problem.
Occasionally, raised voices could be heard outside the meeting room,
but the mood was cordial when the executive session broke up. Mr. Flynn
smiled, bantered with a reporter, and shook hands with some of the
airport commissioners. He declined to comment.
Present for the meeting were airport commissioners Norman Perry,
Christine Todd, Richard Michelson, Denys Wortman, Constance Teixiera,
and James Coyne (by conference call). Commissioner Peter Bettencourt was
absent.
Mr. Flynn was represented by Edgartown attorney Rosemary Haigazian.
Kim Elias, assistant to the airport management, and Ms. Potter also
attended the meeting.
Airport commission lawyers Susan Whalen and David Mackey of the
Boston law firm Anderson & Kreiger flew from Boston Wednesday
morning to attend the meeting.
In the vote to go into executive session, airport commission members
cited an exception to the open meeting law which includes discussion of,
“The reputation, character, physical condition or mental health” of an
employee as the reason for conducting business behind closed doors in
executive session.
Chairman Perry confirmed to The Times in a telephone conversation
Tuesday evening that the police report detailing the domestic
disturbance was included in the information he sent to commission
members prior to the closed door session.
“I felt everybody should have a copy of it,” Mr. Perry said. “It was
important, all the details that were in it, like it or not. The police
report is available: it’s now public.”
Following the airport commission meeting, the Dukes County
commissioners, the airport commission’s appointing authority, also met.
In an unprecedented action, county commissioner Lenny Jason called on
the entire airport commission to resign. That call was later modified
(See related story, “Dukes County Commission thrashes airport
commissioners”) to a request that the airport commission reexamine how
it conducts business.
Abuse denied
On Friday, June 6, Mr. Flynn called Edgartown police and reported
that he had just had a domestic situation with his wife, Rebecca
Donnelly, according to the police report. He told police that during an
argument sparked by his use of prescription medications, she threw a can
of fruit punch which struck him in the face.
A few minutes after Mr. Flynn’s call, Ms. Donnelly arrived at the
Edgartown police station, where she turned over numerous pill bottles to
police.
“Rebecca explained that Sean has been abusing his prescription
medications for a long time now and she has had enough,” Det. Sgt. Chris
Dolby wrote in his police report. “She said he is taking all kinds of
pain medications and is clearly addicted to them. She said that he can
no longer function normally and can’t even drive a car today, which is
why he didn’t go to work this morning.”
According to the report, she told police she dumped the soft drink on
him in the heat of an argument but did not throw the can at him.
Edgartown police officer William Bishop later interviewed Mr. Flynn
at his Edgartown home. In his police report, he said he observed minor
swelling and redness on Mr. Flynn’s face.
“I noticed that Flynn had slurred speech, was not balanced, and his
motor skills seemed to be less than favorable,” Officer Bishop wrote. “I
discussed with Flynn the possibility of evaluating his prescription
intake, and consider that he may in fact have a problem. Flynn then
began a long explanation of how he has been evaluated by his doctor,
therapist, and the pain clinic. Flynn truly believes he does not have a
problem.”
Based on the interview with Mr. Flynn and evidence observed at his
home, police arrested Ms. Donnelly and charged her with domestic
assault. When she was released after booking at the Dukes County Jail,
she returned to the police station, and asked to apply for an emergency
restraining order. A short time later, Mr. Flynn arrived at the station.
He was directed to a separate area, where he also applied for an
emergency restraining order.
A judge granted both emergency restraining orders Friday evening,
instructing both not to abuse each other, not to contact each other, and
to stay 100 yards away from each other. The judge also ordered Mr.
Flynn to leave his home, and to surrender any firearms and ammunition in
his possession.
Both Mr. Flynn and Ms. Donnelly later appeared in Edgartown District
Court on Monday to extend the emergency restraining orders, and the
court approved both, according to police.
Det. Sgt. Dolby told Ms. Donnelly that he had no authority to hold
Mr. Flynn’s prescription medications, and that he would return them to
him, according to the police report.
Police also spoke to Mr. Flynn’s physician, Dr. Gerald Yukevich, to
make him aware of the situation and let him know that police would be
returning all the pills to Mr. Flynn.
Airport turbulence
Wednesday’s meeting was the latest turbulence for the members of the
airport commission, which is statutorily charged with the care and
custody of the airport.
Beth Tessmer, a nine-year employee who was promoted, suspended, and then fired in less than one year, filed a civil complaint on May 6 against the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission,
asking a judge to order the Airport Commission to give her job back to
her. Members of the county commission and Ms. Tessmer’s supporters were
highly critical of the airport commission for its handling of several
public disciplinary hearings. Prior to her termination, Ms. Tessmer
filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against
Discrimination against Mr. Flynn.
In April, citing the handling of the disciplinary hearings, county commissioners voted not to re-appoint two members of the airport commission. In
a sharply divided vote and disputed procedure, the county commission
rejected the applications of Benjamin Hall Jr. and John Alley to
three-year terms on the seven-member airport commission. Mr. Alley, a
Dukes County commissioner, has served on both the county commission and
the airport commission for more than three decades. Mr. Hall, an
Edgartown businessman, was finishing his first term.
Instead, the county commissioners appointed Christine Todd of Oak
Bluffs, a county commissioner, to the airport commission. They also
appointed Richard Michelson, a former airport employee now on disability
retirement, who helped organize airport employees to form a union and
served as shop steward. He has been a frequent and vocal critic of
airport management.
The county commissioners also instructed county manager Martina
Thornton to sit in on airport commission meetings as an ex-officio
member. However, grant assurances signed by the airport and county
commission at the insistence of the Mass Aeronautics Commission, which
provided funding for the construction of a new airport, specifically bar
the county commissioners from interfering in airport affairs.
In May, the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission filed a lawsuit in Dukes County Superior Court, asking
a judge to prohibit the Dukes County Commission, the county treasurer,
and the county manager from interfering with the airport commission’s
statutory authority to manage and run the Martha’s Vineyard Airport.
The 13-page civil complaint dated
May 1 was filed in Dukes County Superior court by lawyers from the
Cambridge law firm of Anderson & Kreiger, against the county
commission, county manager Martina Thornton, and county treasurer Noreen
Mavro Flanders. It asks the court to prohibit the county officials from
seeking to “unlawfully interfere with, and obstruct the functioning,”
of the Airport Commission.
The complaint is the latest chapter in the lengthy history of county efforts to exercise control over the county-owned airport.
Source: http://www.mvtimes.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment