North Adams Airport Commission Sets 3-Week Manager Search
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — There was confusion at the most recent Airport Commission meeting about whether the current airport manager will be interim or permanent.
The commission reviewed the job description for the role at its meeting on Tuesday, ultimately voting 3-0 to do a three-week search to fill the position. The current manager, Bruce Goff, was appointed at the commission's previous meeting.
Commissioner William Diamond said it was his understanding the commission would make Goff the permanent manager at the start of the new year. The other members clarified they voted just to make him interim manager.
"It was my understanding that by the first of the year, he would take over, and we were going to make him the permanent manager," Diamond said. Diamond, who attended the meeting virtually, was unable to vote on the search, as his internet disconnected.
Mary Katherine Eade, the city's administrative officer and former airport manager, said she also thought this was the case. The commission continued to discuss the position, despite her suggestion to table the discussion until the next meeting.
"The city's position was exactly as Bill diamond expressed his position. I believe [Commissioner] Marc Morandi stated that, until he was convinced, that a search was necessary. I'm not going to pay for a search. I'm not going to pay the advertising for a search," Eade said. "... I think we have a serious misunderstanding about what was voted at the last meeting. And there's sufficient confusion among a number of people at this meeting that I think we should not spend any additional time on it tonight."
Chair Dan Caplinger said the group should do a new candidate search, noting they have until Feb. 20 to name a permanent manager.
"I, personally, think that we should do a search because by announcing a search, we give the search the best possible chance to get the broadest possible number of candidates, so we can be certain that we're going to get top candidates to select," he said. "It's not necessarily going to change the final outcome."
Resident Sue Mead said many who use the airport were unaware the manager job had even been posted.
"I don't know anyone in the Greylock Flying Club or in the airport community that I typically interact with that knew that this job was posted," she said.
In other business:
- Renovation of the airport's North East Hangar is still ongoing despite some issues with damage to the facility. Stantec engineer Peter Enzien said demolition work started the week of Thanksgiving, as planned.
There is some damage, he said, caused by vandalism and corrosion from water. He said Stantec plans to do a summary report to survey the damage and determine the cost of additional work.
"We don't have a number yet to work with. So that's the first step in all of this is," he said. "So once the inventory is complete, we complete our assessment, determine what needs to be replaced, we'll be able to get a price from the contractor to do the additional work."
Additionally, some insulation, Enzien said, was blown into a nearby property by a windstorm soon after the demolition. He said the city removed additional insulation to avoid further issues.
- Eade said the committee overseeing the selection process for airport engineering and related services expects to make a recommendation to the mayor in the coming days. Eade also updated the commission on the restaurant space.
"Every now and then, someone calls and says that they're interested in the restaurant or word of mouth and you have somebody that you think might want to take a look," she said. "What I've just basically been doing is showing anybody the space who wants to see the space and telling them that we are going to be developing a request for proposals in, hopefully, January."
Caplinger asked if the group has to follow a request for proposals process for the restaurant. Enzien clarified that this was necessary.
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