ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Delta County Airport is widening its search for a new manager.
The Airport Advisory Board has been looking for a replacement since former manager Andrea Nummilien resigned in June. In July, the board narrowed its search to the top seven candidates.
Since then, Board Chair Brian Herioux says several candidates have withdrawn for what he calls “vague” reasons. He says the $60,000 – $70,000 salary being offered was a reason for one top candidate.
“We’re looking to hire someone in that range, but we are beginning to question if that’s going to be enough,” said Herioux. “We interviewed one that would be willing to help us on an interim basis, and that was definitely an issue for him to come permanently.”
The board had hoped to select a new manager this month. Now, Herioux says the job posting will be re-opened.
“We’re looking for a candidate that’s going to have and share a vision to drive the airport into the future,” he said. “We underestimated how hard it was going to be to find that right person. Even the last time we posted, back in 2018, we had a lot more applicants put in than we did this time.”
The board also has two applications on hand to interview.
“A new application came in last week,” Herioux said. “The other one is one that re-activated his application after having to withdraw for personal reasons.”
In the meantime, Herioux says the airport is in good hands, with Assistant Manager Robyn Morrison recently receiving a manager’s certification.
“That will meet the FAA requirement for us to have a manager on staff,” said Herioux. “That is a certification we’ve always expected our assistant managers to get, so we didn’t really ask Robyn to do something we weren’t going to ask her to do in the first place.”
At its next meeting, the Airport Advisory Board will consider the previous candidate’s offer to assist the airport as an interim manager for three months. The board will also discuss the possibility of naming Morrison as an interim administrator.
