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Five local residents were introduced Tuesday night as potential members of Baxter County’s new Airport Advisory Board, marking a new chapter after January’s contentious dissolution of the airport commission.
“I’ve got five guys lined up here to introduce themselves tonight that I think will take this airport into the future and do good things for the county,” County Judge Kevin Litty told the court.
The introductions come three weeks after the Quorum Court voted 8-3 to abolish the airport commission following months of tension, legal battles, and disputes over hangar leases.
The conflict peaked when the commission filed a lawsuit against Litty, characterizing him as a “despot” and costing the airport approximately $15,000 in legal fees.
At the heart of the dispute was a 2017 lease that was drafted but never fully executed. While hangar owner Brad Hasselwander had signed the lease and commission minutes showed approval of its terms, former Baxter County Judge Mickey Pendergrass never signed the document.
Former Baxter County Airport Commission Chairman Stephen Vester suggested the unsigned lease may have fallen through the cracks following the illness and death of then-commissioner Mark Carney, who was handling the paperwork.
The situation grew more complex when a discrimination complaint was filed with the FAA by Dr. Eric Rosenberger, former Commissioner Kyle McAlister’s hangar partner, over lease rate disparities. Unlike most hangars at the airport which operate at set monthly rates, the Hasselwander and Clevenger hangars used square-footage-based ground leases.
To start the introductions, Bob Harris, a 30-year resident and pilot stepped up to the podium to speak about his love for the airport. Harris is also a CPR instructor and the drummer for The Kattie Laney Project band.
“I love the airport, I’m a pilot. I just want to work with everybody to try to see what we can do with the community and the other pilots,” Harris said.
Next up was Kevin Linck, who shared his family’s deep roots at the facility, where his father operated one of the original FBO buildings into the 1990s.
“My dad ran a business at Flippin and wouldn’t allow our rental planes to come to Mountain Home because the runway was in such bad shape,” Linck said. “Looking back now, 20 or 30 years, there’s just no comparison between the two airports. I saw what Mountain Home was years and years ago and the improvements that have been made. It’s just awesome, it’s a great airport with a lot of potential.”
Mark Bertel, CEO of Dels Corporation, emphasized the airport’s importance for regional businesses.
“My goal is to help business owners get to use this airport to their benefit and to help the community get to use it because that’s what it’s there for,” Bertel said. “I think that it’s a great asset that we have that’s not been tapped.”
Litty also introduced James Strecker and Kevin Crawford, a veteran flight instructor who previously noted he’s conducted more flight operations at the airport than “anybody else, not even close.”
The January vote to dissolve the commission came despite a three-and-a-half hour public meeting where FAA compliance officer Gary Loftus praised the facility as a “phenomenon of a country airport” and assured the county its federal funding was secure. Former Commission Chairman Stephen Vester had noted receiving over 100 messages supporting the commission in the 48 hours before its dissolution.
JP Dirk Waldrop thanked the candidates for volunteering.
“I don’t normally speak for an entire body, but I would imagine everybody on the court would really thank you all for what you’re about to do,” he said. “This is kind of a tense time at the county right now and I’m not saying we have to prove anything, but based on some of the emails, people think we’re going to fail with this. I thank you guys for stepping up and doing this for us.”
The advisory board appointments will require formal approval from the Quorum Court. The Baxter County Airport handles approximately 7,500 aircraft operations annually and generates roughly $5 million in revenue for the county per year.
