TRAVERSE CITY — Rob Hentschel, Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners chairman, said the question of whether Cherry Capital Airport should be governed by a commission or authority comes down to cheaper flights.
The Northwestern Regional Airport Commission currently runs the airport, owned by Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties.
But an authority would be better positioned for economic development that in turn provides revenues, keeping air carrier costs low and making for a better facility, Hentschel said. That could include more deals like Costco building on airport land — he was skeptical at first but sees it’s working.
“At the end of the day I think the authority model gets us in the direction of cheaper flights, and I don’t see any huge downsides to it,” he said.
He and a majority of other commissioners said they support moving to an authority Tuesday at a joint study session between both county boards and airport commission members. It took place virtually months after the COVID-19 pandemic prompted its cancellation in March and continued a months-long debate over future airport governance.
Admitted skeptics of the idea, like Tony Ansorge and Debra Rushton, both Leelanau County commissioners, agreed — Ansorge said it could resolve some issues like zoning, while Rushton agreed with arguments that an authority could operate more efficiently.
Karrie Zeits, an attorney for the airport commission, first presented draft articles of incorporation that included items for an airport authority, a commission with a renewed operating agreement or both.
That could come as soon as December if both county boards formally agree to form an airport authority before then, according to a possible timeline airport Director Kevin Klein laid out.
An authority would have more autonomy, although leaders from both counties that own the airport would still appoint its board members, Zeits said — an authority would have a larger board with one member from outside Grand Traverse or Leelanau counties, according to the draft articles.
Such an authority would be responsible for its own debt — a major plus for several county commissioners — unless a county board agrees to back the authority debt, Zeits said.
Both counties would have to approve the airport authority’s using eminent domain, Zeits said — a legal maneuver that allows governments to take private land for public use, so long as the owners are compensated, according to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute.
That condition came after hearing concerns from the public, Zeits said.
So too did requiring that the airport authority’s zoning board include one member each from Traverse City, East Bay and Garfield townships, each of which neighbor the airport, Zeits said.
“I think that is something we’ve heard through the process, that there should be a broader representation on those issues,” she said.
The authority would appoint the remaining four, and the zoning board would have complete jurisdiction on airport property — Traverse City currently controls zoning for non-airport uses.
That wouldn’t include townships with height restrictions that don’t border the airport, Ansorge said.
Draft articles need to better address dissolution of the authority, Ansorge said. They should also include language dictating what happens should the airport cease operations, or privatize.
Very few airports go that route, Klein said, and Doug DeYoung, airport commission chairman, agreed it’s a complicated process that cuts off successful applicants from lots of federal funding.
Ansorge was also skeptical of arguments that changing to an authority could result in considerable savings when resolving issues with a slew of airport easements, he said, adding the assertion seemed to be skewing the argument toward an authority.
Those issues need to be resolved either way, Klein agreed. But the Federal Aviation Administration gives an authority more leeway to accept easements as written, whereas a commission may have to seek an appraisal of and compensation for a drainage easement the Grand Traverse County Road Commission holds, as one example.
Betsy Coffia and Bryce Hundley, both Grand Traverse County commissioners, said they’re on the fence but are open to an authority. Hundley said Traverse City already faces height restrictions citywide because of the airport, and he was concerned how an authority would balance its interest with the city’s.
Coffia agreed, and said she’d like to know if an authority board could be directly elected instead of appointed — Zeits said the laws didn’t seem to support that but she’d check.
Leelanau County Commissioner Melinda Lautner opposed the change, saying she had too many reservations and instead favored addressing some of the issues identified with the current setup, or exploring a hybrid option.
Addison “Sonny” Wheelock, Jr., a Grand Traverse County commissioner, didn’t attend Tuesday.
Commissioners had plenty other questions and suggested changes, and most agreed there’s likely more to come.
“I think each board may have a little more housekeeping to do on small details, but I think we can resolve those in our own committee meetings or commission meetings and be ready for a decision,” Rushton said.
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