ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Delta County Airport is once again in search of a new manager.
Robert Ranstadler took on the role of Airport Manager in October of 2023, following the resignation of former manager Andrea Nummilien months earlier. That December, he informed the County Board of Commissioners of an “administrative crisis” at the airport, which resulted in extensive work by himself and Assistant Airport Manager Robyn Morrison to resolve FAA compliance issues.
On Tuesday, Ranstadler approached the podium at a regular meeting of the County Board to announce his resignation.
“Many of the resource and staffing shortages I identified since first taking over at the airport continue to present numerous challenges,” he said. “… Our Air Field Operations Department… is critically shorthanded. Moreover, we lack sufficient full-time administrative staff to keep pace with the daily operations, long-term planning, and regulatory commitments of a commercial service airport.”
Ranstadler noted that he worked “multiple 60- to 70-hour work weeks” during the FAA inspection period. He said long hours have continued to be required in the months since.
“I have spent additional uncompensated overtime hours identifying and correcting issues at the airport under the assumption that we were traversing through a demanding but transient period, at the end of which daily business would return to a more manageable tempo,” said Ranstadler. “Regrettably, the reality of the matter has proven otherwise.”
He continued, “Collectively, all the issues Assistant Manager Morrison and I have uncovered over the past year are indicative of administrative, fiduciary, and economic decay exceeding anything I could have previously imagined. There are simply too many challenges to negotiate with the limited staff the airport has available while maintaining any semblance of daily operations.”
Ranstadler told the Board of Commissioners he has “routinely” brought his concerns to the Airport Advisory Board. He said his concerns have largely not been acknowledged.
Ranstadler then announced his resignation, with the intention to continue working through February 7. He told the Board that Morrison has also submitted her resignation. Ranstadler expressed willingness to train his replacement.
Commissioner Van Ginhoven made a motion to conduct a vote of no confidence in the Airport Advisory Board, which she said would remove all members of the board.
“A majority of the people on that board have been there for almost a decade,” she said. “They have watched as managers have come and gone, they have watched as assistant managers have come and gone, and they have done nothing to try to resolve the situation. I think that in order for our airport to move forward and to have a successful future, we need to build it from the ground up.”
With only Van Ginhoven voting in favor of the motion, it did not pass.
WZMQ 19 will speak with Ranstadler on Wednesday. Tune in to WZMQ 19 News at 6 p.m. EST for more information.
