Short-term service contract approved for Cleveland Regional Jetport

Cleveland Regional Jetport Director of Operations Mark Fidler, left, and Cleveland Municipal Airport Authority member Steve Wright review jetport construction projects that include a new hangar and facilities for LifeForce helicopters and personnel.
Cleveland Regional Jetport Director of Operations Mark Fidler, left, and Cleveland Municipal Airport Authority member Steve Wright review jetport construction projects that include a new hangar and facilities for LifeForce helicopters and personnel.

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Crystal Air will continue to provide operational services for the Cleveland Regional Jetport until June 30, giving airport officials time to establish new minimal standards in conjunction with a proposed service provider search.

The agreement was reached weeks after Lou Patten, the panel's chairman, made a call to dissolve the Cleveland Municipal Airport Authority - the jetport's governing body. Such a move would place jetport operations directly under city governance and remove an unnecessary level of "bureaucratic oversight," according to a Jan. 4 letter Patten sent to Cleveland leaders.

On Friday, the Cleveland Municipal Airport Authority voted 3-1 in favor of a six-month agreement that extends the fixed-base operator's relationship with the jetport until the beginning of the city's next fiscal year. Authority Vice Chairman Verrill Norwood and board members Steve Wright and Mike McCoy voted in favor of the measure, and Patten cast the sole opposing vote. Returning panel member Lynn DeVault was absent.

After the meeting, Patten discussed his concerns with the new agreement with Crystal Air, which has served as the jetport's FBO since the facility opened three years ago.

"I just feel like there's been a significant reduction in the duties of the FBO," said Patten, citing the transition of billing duties - a contractual obligation of Crystal Air - to Mark Fidler, the jetport's director of operations.

Billing was taken over by Fidler some months ago due to "customer service issues," Patten said.

The new agreement, which pays Crystal Air $13,695 per month and includes incentives for fuel sales, has eliminated the requirement that the FBO maintain all facility grounds, Patten said. Instead, Crystal Air is responsible only for groundskeeping and upkeep of the terminal building and common hangar.

In other business, DeVault was appointed to serve as the panel's secretary/treasurer in a 4-0 vote.

DeVault, who served 10 years on the Cleveland Municipal Airport Authority, was reappointed to the board by the Cleveland City Council earlier this month. She fills a vacancy created by former panel secretary-treasurer LeRoy Rymer, who resigned in December. Rymer was only a few months into a term set to expire in September 2020.

Rymer, who joined Patten in opposing a proposal to negotiate a new short-term contract with Crystal Air during the airport authority's Dec. 4 meeting, gave no reason for leaving in his Dec. 17 resignation letter and has not commented publicly on the matter.

DeVault recently told city leaders that dissolving the airport authority and handing the jetport's reins entirely over the city was "nonsense," citing all the obligations and responsibilities that Cleveland would have to assume.

Ultimately, the call for dissolution amounted to an extreme response to an inability to agree on the jetport's management structure, she said.

On Jan. 25, the Cleveland City Council plans to discuss options for both increasing the numbers of members on the panel and for dissolving the airport authority.

Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.

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