Does City Have Fair Representation on Airport Board?

Cherry Capital Airport occupies over 1,000 acres of land within the City of Traverse City – nearly 19 percent of the city’s land mass. However, the Northwest Regional Airport Authority (NRAA), which oversees airport operations, has no designated seat for city representatives on its board. City leaders are pushing for that to change but have encountered resistance from other municipalities who claim they’re equally impacted by TVC.

When the NRAA was established in 2021, an appointment process was adopted for its nine board seats. Six seats are appointed by Grand Traverse County commissioners – one of whom must be a non-elected resident living outside Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties – with the remaining three seats appointed by Leelanau County commissioners. Up to four seats can be held by elected officials, including no more than two commissioners each from Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties. Board members are encouraged to have experience in aviation, business, finance, marketing, engineering, real estate, or other services that are “of value to the operation of the authority.”

In May, city commissioners passed a resolution requesting that two NRAA board spots be designated as city seats. Commissioners initially considered requesting a board expansion to 11 members to add those seats, but doing so would require a change in state law. Instead, they sought to replace one county commissioner with a city commissioner and to have another appointment filled by a city resident.

The resolution acknowledges that the city withdrew from airport operations in 1988 and has “not held a formal governance role” since. However, in the ensuing decades, “Cherry Capital Airport has grown substantially” and now affects the city’s “municipal infrastructure, land use planning, zoning, neighborhood character, and economic development,” the resolution states. City residents “regularly raise concerns about airport noise, traffic generation, tree removal, easements…and those concerns have no formal channel of representation at the NRAA board level.”

Leelanau County commissioners voted unanimously in June to oppose the city’s request. Grand Traverse County commissioners debated the issue at their September 9 meeting when two candidates – Rachel Johnson of Garfield Township and Bill Twietmeyer of Traverse City – were up for appointment to the NRAA board. An ad hoc committee of commissioners who interviewed the candidates recommended Johnson by a 2-1 vote, with Vice Chair TJ Andrews opposed.

Both candidates were equally qualified for the appointment, commissioners agreed. Andrews said she didn’t know why then commissioners would ignore the city’s request for more representation on the board. If Pugsley were to be redeveloped, or an issue arose with Traverse City Horse Shows, commissioners would include representatives from those townships in discussions, she said. Given the “substantial” impact of TVC on the city, Andrews said she didn’t know why commissioners wouldn’t “respect” the city’s request to have a stronger voice.

Commissioner Fern Spence agreed, saying commissioners “owe it to the city to be a good partner.” However, other commissioners noted appointees are asked to represent the entire county on the NRAA board, not just one jurisdiction, and that other municipalities could make the same argument for deserving a guaranteed spot at the table. Commissioners ultimately voted 5-4 to confirm Johnson’s appointment, with Commissioners Darryl Nelson, Penny Morris, Brian McCallister, Rob Hentschel, and Scott Sieffert in support and Commissioners Andrews, Spence, Ashlea Walter, and Lauren Flynn opposed.

The issue of who deserves seats on the NRAA board soon came up elsewhere. Garfield Township trustees voted unanimously at their September 22 meeting to approve a resolution stating that if the NRAA board makeup were to be altered, a seat should be designated for Garfield Township. Township Supervisor Joe McManus said that given “the impact of the airport on our community, I felt it was appropriate to basically throw our hat in the ring.”

Airport CEO Kevin Klein says that because Leelanau County commissioners have already rejected changing the board’s articles of incorporation, the issue is essentially dead in the water. However, he acknowledges that even without a formal legal change to the board’s governance structure, county commissioners could accommodate the city’s request – or Garfield Township’s – as a matter of policy in whom they appoint to the NRAA. “Those requests are to be honored by Grand Traverse County,” he said. “They make all the appointments. What’s the best use of that position? That’s up to the county. We’re just looking for the best appointees.”

The NRAA board currently has two Garfield Township reps (Johnson and Rob Donnell), one East Bay Township rep (Hentschel), one Acme Township rep (Nelson), and one City of TC rep (Dan Jonkhoff). One representative – as required – is from an outside jurisdiction (Chair Paul Beachnau of Otsego County), while three representatives are from Leelanau County (Will Bunek, Steve Plamondon, and Rick Robbins). Robbins’s district in Leelanau County covers the small part of Traverse City located within the county. However, only two percent of city residents live in that area.

City Manager Benjamin Marentette says he hasn’t had a chance to speak with city commissioners since Garfield Township passed its resolution. However, the NRAA representation discussion comes at a key time for city-airport relations. Commissioners are set to go into closed session Monday to discuss a $1 million offer from TVC for a licensing agreement for tree maintenance at Oakwood Cemetery. Marentette says he’s “eager” to discuss the issue with the board and assess how the city should best move forward. “We’re looking at our options for advocating for representation with the airport,” he says. “It’s something we’ll continue to navigate.”