North Adams Airport Hires New Manager
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Airport Commission unanimously voted this week to hire Skyler Friedman as the new airport manager.
The vote came after a brief interview Tuesday. Although two candidates were scheduled to be interviewed, only Friedman was in attendance.
In total, there were four resumes that a subcommittee knocked down to two finalists.
"All were qualified," Commissioner William Hooper said. "One was less qualified, two were equally qualified, and one was a step above. The two you have this evening were the two determined to be the most qualified."
The commission planned on interviewing both candidates, but only interviewed Friedman. Although the second candidate indicated she would be present remotely for the interview, she never called in.
Friedman was the manager from June until September through the city's contract with Hewison Aviation, a New York-based flight school operating in North Adams. The company provided management services to the city but decided to end this arrangement in the fall.
The commission faced losing Friedman as manager and urged him to apply when they advertised the position.
Friedman spoke about communication, noting he suspected it would be easier as an employee of the city. He also spoke about larger projects at the airport he would like to follow through on, including the creation of a flying club. He said he wants more people at the airport and interested in aviation.
He was asked if he planned to leave the position in the near future for other opportunities.
"I would not be here now if that were my goal," he answered.
He added that the area does not have a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI), a position he hopes to fill. He said he hopes to "merge his interests" as the manager and a CFI, eventually relocating permanently to North Adams instead of commuting from Albany.
Otherwise, he said there will be no disruptions, as he has already done the job. Instead of learning a new position, he said he is ready to tackle projects he had to step away from when the contract ran out.
"The past five months have been that process, and I will pick up where I left off," he said. "I stumbled upon things in the interim, and there will be no transition."
In other business, the Airport Commission saw another response to the proposed restaurant RFP. Only one organization responded: East Fork Bread.
Although there was some back-and-forth between the RFP subcommittee and the bread makers, the subcommittee ultimately could not recommend their proposal as it did not fit their requirements.
"After looking [at] the info, their financials and everything they felt they would be able to do for us, we felt it did not meet the criteria of the restaurant definition," said Commissioner Rita Sporbert.
The city has released multiple RFPs for the space in the Administrative Building over the last five or so years. This version of the RFP was designed to be flexible for an incoming restaurant, with few restrictions. Additionally, the space now includes kitchen equipment donated to the city by Williams College. The lack of equipment was previously believed to be a major stumbling block for potential businesses.
East Fork Bread, based in Williamstown, planned to use the space as a hub for the bread that it supplies wholesale to retailers. The owners suggested starting retail in the space in two years.
"They really had no plans to open a restaurant. They would sell their goods to us, but they would not be serving meals or supply any kind of service, so that made us decide not to recommend that," Sporbert said.
Commissioner Robert Grandchamp asked if there was some sort of misunderstanding, noting that the RFP is clear that whoever takes over the space would have to provide some sort of service. He said bread simply on its own "won't fly."
Commissioner James Haskins said the bread makers were nice people, but it just was not a good fit. He wished them well.
During past RFP processes, the commission has suggested abandoning the restaurant idea and shifting to a new business model. Commissioners suggested a shift to a more temporary pop-up restaurant space or a move away from food service altogether.
But on Tuesday, Hooper suggested they have a "cooling-down" period before they shift gears or release another RFP.
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