Lewiston and Auburn's city councils are split on whether the local airport's governing board needs restructuring. Underneath that decision is a history of financial problems at the airport.
The airport is operating at a deficit, according to a report from Auburn's transportation director Jason LaBonte. The Lewiston Sun-Journal reported that deficit is around $1 million.
It's faced a string of problems, including most recently when the airport had to evict Elite Airways in March due to nonpayment, depriving the cities of revenue. Financial mismanagement of some leases has caused the airport to miss out on $100,000 dollars in revenue each year. And an account meant to be used for capital projects was never established — instead, that money was used to pay for general expenses, LaBonte said.
Auburn's leadership has said the airport needs more direct city management and that having pilots on the board is a conflict of interest. The original proposal would have reduced the board's membership from 9 to 5. It ultimately approved a change to the board's makeup that kept two spots for airport users, but took away their ability to vote on board decisions.
But Lewiston's city council felt differently, and unanimously voted against a similar change. Councilor Lee Clement said he doubted the change would fix the problems at the airport.
"I think this is going to make even bigger problems at the airport," he said.
The Lewiston vote came after several pilots spoke in opposition to the amendment. And the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association sent a letter to both cities' mayors, saying the airport needs people with aviation experience on the board to succeed.
Mark Blais, a current member of the airport's advisory board, told Auburn councilors Monday night that taking pilots off would send the wrong message about the cities' willingness to address their concerns. The problems go much further back than the airport's recent struggles, he said.
"Unless you get on the ground and see what's going on [at the airport], it's very hard," Blais said. "The pilots just have not been listened to for the last 12 years."
