WESTFIELD—The Airport Commission met to discuss the next steps in replacing Brian Barnes, manager of Barnes Municipal Airport.
The Commission met with Mayor Brian Sullivan and City Solicitor Susan Phillips and discussed the desired qualifications for a new airport manager, the governmental requirements and the difficulties facing them so far.
Barnes is set to leave Sept. 1, but is willing to stay as an adviser through the process of finding his replacement. The Commission was concerned that they may need him to stay on beyond Sept. 1, due to the delay in job posting.
The open position was originally posted on July 7, but was quickly taken down after Sullivan and others realized the description may be out-of-date.
Phillips felt that the job description, which was from 1999, was not adequate and needed to be updated.
“No one can be appointed unless the person meets the minimum qualifications,” Phillips said. “But both [the old and revised] job descriptions have no qualifications in the actual description. You need to put the qualifications in the job description.”
A major concern stems from the fact that any changes that are done to the description must go in front of Westfield City Council and be approved. Their next meeting isn’t until Aug. 18, and Barnes’s resignation is Sept. 1, leaving the Airport Commission two weeks to vet candidates, go through preliminary screenings, multiple interviews and choose a new manager. Also, if City Council has any changes that they request, then the information will go back to the commission, get the suggested changes and then go back to City Council for approval again.
The Commission will also have to choose six individuals for the Preliminary Screening Committee. This group will go through applicants and select who they deem appropriate and qualified for the position. Their role is crucial because it allows the applicants to remain private. Once a candidate reaches the Airport Commission, their names and other information becomes public record. Additionally, open meeting law requires a Preliminary Screening Committee.
The commission created a list of potential members of the committee, including individuals from the school superintendent’s office, Right Flight and other nearby municipal airport managers. The commission decided that while Barnes was willing to be part of the committee, it would be best for candidates to not face who they may be replacing during the interview process.
Sullivan also refused to be on the committee.
The commission will be submitting their written changes and suggestions to Phillips via email, but will not discuss the changes until they meet again, which remains in the air. They were originally scheduled to meet Aug. 11, but are trying to move the meeting to Aug. 8, 9 or 10 due to the Babe Ruth World Series.
