Friday, September 04, 2015

Talks Begin Over Terms for Martha's Vineyard Airport (KMVY) Manager's Departure

Airport manager has been on administrative leave since August 10.
— Jeanna Shepard



Attorneys for the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission and embattled airport manager Sean Flynn met this week in Boston in an effort to negotiate the terms of Mr. Flynn’s exit.

Mr. Flynn, who is entering the third month of a new three-year contract, has been on leave since August 10, following a dispute with commission leadership over his handling of airport inspections by the Federal Aviation Administration. Commission chairman Myron Garfinkle has said that Mr. Flynn is not expected to return to work, but terms of his departure have not been finalized.

On Wednesday, the commission issued the following statement: “The parties came together and frankly exchanged their views regarding their positions and their ideas for a negotiated resolution. The parties intend to continue more conversations in good faith.”

Meanwhile, the Gazette has come up against multiple roadblocks in its efforts to gain access to government records surrounding a routine FAA inspection held in May at the Island’s only commercial airport and a follow-up inspection held in July. Mr. Garfinkle and commission vice chairman Robert Rosenbaum have described the inspection findings in some detail, but a lawyer for the airport commission said correspondence from the FAA about the inspections is exempt from disclosure under the state public records law because it relates to “an ongoing investigation.”

Further, commission attorney Susan M. Whalen said in a letter emailed Thursday to the Gazette, “We have been advised by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that the documents may not be released until such time as the FAA has concluded its investigatory process as defined by federal regulations.” Separately, the FAA responded to several requests from the Gazette for the inspection reports by referring to a brief statement it released on August 20: “The FAA and state aviation officials are working with the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission to resolve issues at the airport.”

According to Mr. Garfinkle and Mr. Rosenbaum, the May inspection turned up multiple deficiencies that were to be corrected by Oct. 15, including the lack of a wildlife management plan, inadequate runway markings, lack of progress on a new fire safety building and insufficient training of personnel. In a follow-up inspection in July, another 31 areas of concern were noted in addition to about a dozen previously identified, some dating to the previous year, according to Mr. Garfinkle. The second inspection resulted in the FAA issuing a letter of investigation, he said. Under FAA regulations, a letter of inspection is issued when an apparent violator does not agree to corrective action.

A spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said this week that although inspections are managed entirely by the FAA, a DOT representative, Andrew Mihaley, accompanied the FAA inspector for the second visit to the Vineyard.

“Drew wanted to make sure that there weren’t any safety of flight issues at the airport that might affect the flying public and he and Laurie [Dragonis, the FAA inspector] both wanted to confirm with the airport commission that the airport was working to clear the inspection discrepancies that they had been told to correct by Oct. 15,” Amanda Skahan, MassDOT deputy press secretary, said in an email. “If any immediate safety of flight issues had been found during the inspection, the airport would have been asked to provide an action plan and a mitigation plan but it appears that these discrepancies didn’t fall into that category,” she added.

With Mr. Flynn out, assistant manager Deborah Potter has been placed in charge at the airport. She was on vacation this week.

Friction between Mr. Flynn and commission officers over the first inspection surfaced at a May 28 airport commission meeting, when Mr. Rosenbaum and another commissioner, Rich Michaelson, described being rebuffed by Mr. Flynn when they attempted to join him during an exit briefing with an FAA inspector.

At that meeting, Mr. Garfinkle read a portion of what he described as a “very honest” email that he said he had sent to Mr. Flynn following the FAA incident. In the email, he told Mr. Flynn the situation involving the two commissioners “was not handled respectfully or appropriately and apologies are due and overdue. You can do better.”

Mr. Garfinkle and Mr. Rosenbaum were appointed to the airport commission in March, a month after Mr. Flynn’s contract as manager was renewed by a majority vote of the previous sitting commission.

On May 29, Gazette reporter Steve Myrick requested a copy of Mr. Garfinkle’s full email to Mr. Flynn along with any other emails that preceded it. On June 8, Ms. Whalen, the commission attorney, refused to provide the email, citing an exception to the public records law that protects personal privacy. On June 11, Gazette publisher Jane Seagrave appealed the refusal to the Public Records Division of the Secretary of State’s office. “Based on the context in which the email was discussed in public session, we have strong reason to believe its content addresses actions taken by a public official in his official capacity,” Ms. Seagrave wrote.

In an August 21 letter to Ms. Whalen, state Supervisor of Records Shawn A. Williams found the airport commission’s response was inadequate.

Mr. Williams noted that the state public records law “strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public.”

While there are exemptions, the commission failed to properly identify why it was claiming an exemption, he said. Mr. Williams ordered the commission to provide the records within 10 days or explain in writing “with specificity” why the records should be withheld.

Ms. Whalen told the Gazette on Thursday that the public records supervisor’s letter was delayed in the mail, but that she would have a response next week.

- See more at: http://vineyardgazette.com

Inspection in May turned up multiple deficiencies. 
— Jeanna Shepard

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