The embattled Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission met briefly this week to elect new officers and set a short-term agenda which includes a review of financial affairs at the Island’s only commercial airport.
At a special meeting marked by bitter acrimony Thursday, county commissioners recast their controversial votes from last month when they ousted two airport commissioners and appointed three new ones.
The Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission is in a state of limbo amid a dispute over authority to call a meeting and uncertainty about the recent seating of three new commissioners.
Reacting this week to a letter from a leading state aviation official questioning their recent choice of appointments to the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission, Dukes County commissioners said they stand behind the appointments.
The state agency that oversees airports is casting doubt on the official makeup of the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission, following a vote by the Dukes County Commission early this month to replace incumbents with new members.
The Dukes County commission has ousted two members of the Martha’s Vineyard Airport commission in favor of what they called “a new beginning.” Robert Rosenbaum, Clarence A. (Trip) Barnes 3rd and Myron Garfinkle are the new appointees.
Appointing members to the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission, once a routine task for the Dukes County Commission, has become steeped in controversy. With ongoing legal conflicts, three seats opened up this year on the airport commission.
The most recent dispute between the Martha’s Vineyard Airport and the Dukes County Commission may be one step closer to resolution, following the county’s decision this week to close the record on the latest complaint from the airport.
Internal debate over how business should be done at the Island’s only commercial airport continued when the airport commission met for the first time since August. The commission tended to a few business items, but much of the meeting was marked by tense exchanges.
The Dukes County Commission cannot expand the size of the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission, a superior court judge has ruled. The Hon. Richard Chin issued the decision last week.
