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Less than 24 hours after a marathon public meeting about airport operations, the Baxter County Quorum Court voted 8-3 Wednesday night to abolish the county’s airport commission, replacing it with an advisory board.
The third and final reading of ordinance 1978-48 passed despite passionate pleas from several community members who urged the court to delay the vote to allow for more public input.
County Judge Kevin Litty explained his push for the change, citing ongoing issues with the commission despite recent meetings. “The problem I’ve had last night if you were there and today is, you know, the commission is not willing to accept the terms on the lease I’ve written that brought us to this point,” Litty said. He noted that while he had met with commissioners earlier that day and “the meeting went well,” he felt it was time to “move forward with this reading” after coming this far.
Gerald Gaige, who identified himself as an airport user and tenant with 60 years of aviation experience including his time in the Vietnam War and 10 years advising other airport commissions, delivered an impassioned speech against the rapid changes.
“I come before you a saddened citizen. Not because of the structure of government changing by abolishing an individual commission to replace it with a group of advisors, and not because we are apparently applying a sledgehammer to our government structure when we have a scalpel type people problem,” Gaige said. “But I’m sad because it has been done in a rush of less than 14 days, mostly in the dark with limited citizen input, and no chance for elected representatives to learn the needs and desires of their constituents.”
Gaige continued: “There is still time to wipe away this display of government for expediency as opposed to open reasonable and careful government. Vote no tonight to provide time for your constituents to learn, evaluate the consequences of this change, and allow voters to advise you as their representatives of what they want.”
Airport Commission Chairman Stephen Vester addressed the court before the vote, striking a conciliatory tone while acknowledging the inevitable outcome.
“I feel like your votes have been decided long in advance, so I’m really not speaking here to try to continue on tonight,” Vester said. “I do want to speak publicly to the people who have supported us… We’ve made a huge amount of progress at the airport.”
Vester noted he had received over 100 emails, texts, and phone calls supporting the commission in the previous 48 hours.
“I realize that tonight is going to be probably the last time that you see us. I’m perfectly willing to accept that, and now we can begin a new chapter in the airport and hopefully this issue will be resolved behind us and move on. Frankly, I’m ready for a break,” he concluded.
During the meeting, Hap Myers questioned JP Cameron Davis about his previous service on the airport commission, suggesting it might require his recusal from the vote. “You mentioned that you were on the airport commission… What were the dates that you served?” Myers asked.
Davis indicated he had served under Judge Bodenhammer but wasn’t sure of exact dates, eventually stating he “got off in late ’17.” When pressed about the appropriateness of his participation in the vote, Davis consulted with Baxter County Prosecutor David Ethredge about whether his previous service required recusal. The prosecutor advised that Davis would need to make that determination himself, noting, “Your people elected you to make decisions.”
Laura Fresco, a local resident, warned the court about potential precedent. “You are trying to use this to set a precedent. Anytime anybody does something you don’t want, you follow suit and you appoint people that you want, and then if they don’t do what you want, you’re gonna fire them,” she said.
“You’re not listening to your constituents.”
The final vote breakdown was:
| Vote | Justices of the Peace |
|---|---|
| In favor of abolishing the commission (8) | JP Clark |
| JP Griffin | |
| JP House | |
| JP McDonald | |
| JP Walker | |
| JP Edge | |
| JP Davis | |
| JP Waldrop | |
| Against abolishing the commission (3) | JP Nault |
| JP Steiner | |
| JP Payne |
As the vote was announced with “Eight yea, three nay, motion passes,” someone in the audience called out, “Shame on you.”
The ordinance replaces the administrative county airport commission with an airport advisory board and creates new airport funds. The change comes after months of tension between the commission and county leadership, particularly regarding hangar lease arrangements at the facility.
The vote came despite Tuesday night’s three-and-a-half hour public meeting where FAA compliance officer Gary Loftus assured attendees the airport’s federal funding was secure and praised the facility as a “phenomenon of a country airport.”
In a Thursday interview following the vote, Judge Litty explained his decision to move forward with dissolving the commission, citing ongoing disputes over the Hasselwander lease.
“If they’re not willing to accept the terms of this lease and they will keep the FAA involved in our business… I cannot consider keeping them on,” Litty said.
Dr. Kyle McAlister, a now-former commissioner, offered a different perspective on the attempted reconciliation meeting before the vote. When asked about the meeting, McAlister said simply, “I met with the judge today, and he told me, I mean we didn’t really talk, there’s going to be a meeting tonight and that’s it.”
Another former commissioner described the morning meeting as a “PR stunt.”
With the vote now behind him, Litty said he’s already begun work on forming the new advisory board, having spoken with one potential member Thursday morning. He hopes to have the board assembled within “the next two or three weeks.”
“I think we can sit back and take a breath right now,” Litty said, adding that he has “eight or ten people in mind” for the advisory board. Among those under consideration is David Dover, a retired firefighter who serves on the Calico Rock airport board.
Litty also said he is open to suggestions from the public on who should sit on the five-person advisory board.
Litty assured that ongoing airport projects, including a new hangar development, would remain on track. “We’ve got approval for it… it’s on track,” he said. Litty then said he was getting ready to discuss the new hangar project with the engineer sometime Thursday afternoon.
