By Katie Northcott, News Director
At the Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Alderman (BOMA) meeting on Monday, April 27, six Tullahoma residents vied for three open seats on the Tullahoma Airport Authority (TAA).
During the meeting’s citizen comment period, Brandon Champion, John Manis, R. Steve McKamey, and Sam Crimm presented their reasons for applying for a spot on the TAA. Brad Holt and Skip Farr were seeking reappointment to positions they were currently serving in on the TAA. Neither spoke at the April 27 meeting, but both men had appeared before the BOMA at its March 23 meeting.
The reappointments appeared as a separate agenda item from the appointment to a vacancy on the TAA. Alderman Kurt Glick made a motion to combine the agenda items.
“It’s really for the same thing,” Glick said. “I say we just combine them all and have anybody be eligible for any of the three seats that are open.”
Alderman Matthew Bird, who serves as the BOMA’s liaison to the TAA, opposed Glick’s motion.
“I believe that it would be a more fair thing to allow Dr. Farr and Mr. Holt to serve their remaining open term,” Bird said. “They’ve had the experience of what the airport authority has been through in the past year and having to teach three new people how to operate the board would probably cause a little bit more disruption than it would help.”
Bird said that in recommending Farr and Holt for reappointment, he was trying to follow the precedent that the BOMA tends to favor reappointing TAA members who had served successfully.
Glick said that he felt that combining the agenda items would be most fair to all six candidates. He said that there had been “complaints” about Holt and Farr’s performance on the TAA. Additionally, he criticized Farr and Holt for failing to attend the April 27 BOMA meeting.
“Kinda shows their commitment,” Glick said.
In a discussion later in the meeting, Bird said that Holt and Farr had attended two BOMA meetings where an item concerning their reappointment appeared on the agenda.
“This is the third time now this has been added to the agenda. The first two times the gentlemen did show up to that meeting, and they did speak at those meetings,” Bird said. “The first time I believe it was requested to wait until after a study session on the airport. After the study session, I brought it a second time.”
Bird said that the second time he brought the item, the BOMA requested that Farr and Holt fill out new citizen participation forms before being considered for reappointment. Bird said Farr and Holt had filled out new forms.
Glick’s motion passed 5-2 (Bird and Alderman Busch Thoma opposed), and the agenda items concerning TAA appointments were combined.
The BOMA filled all three seats through a nomination process. Before the nominations, Mayor Lynn Sebourn noted that it may make it difficult for the TAA to vote on potential hangar lease amendments if all three appointees owned hangars at the airport. TAA members will likely need to recuse themselves from votes on hangar leases if they own a hangar due to a conflict of interest.
“We do have to be careful that we wouldn’t accidentally appoint so many hangar owners that a recusal could end up with a lack of a quorum,” Sebourn said.
With the help of TAA Chairman Karla Smith, the BOMA established that Holt, Champion, and Manis do not own hangars. One out of three current TAA member owns a hangar. The TAA requires four votes to have a quorum.
Crimm (nominated by Alderman Jerry Mathis), Manis (Glick), and Holt (Bird) were nominated for the first seat. Manis was eliminated in the first vote. Crimm was narrowly named to the seat in the second vote which had a 4-3 result (Bird, Thoma, and Alderman Sernobia McGee voted for Holt).
Manis (Glick), Farr (Bird), and McKamey (Mayor Lynn Sebourn) were nominated for the second seat. McKamey was eliminated in the initial vote. Farr won the seat in the second vote, which again ended in a 4-3 result (Glick, Mathis, and Alderman Bobbie Wilson voted for Manis).
Manis (Mathis) and McKamey (Bird) were nominated for the third seat. McKamey took the seat in a 4-3 vote (Mathis, Glick, and Wilson voted for Manis).
Crimm’s and Farr’s terms will expire on February 27, 2031. McKamey’s term will expire on February 27, 2029.
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