The search for a new Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport executive director is down to seven people, but their names remain a secret.
During an airport board meeting Thursday, airport co-solicitor Don Frederickson said 20 people applied and a search agency has narrowed the list to seven finalists.
Airport board vice chairman Chris Belles said he’s seen the applications but declined to name the seven or say if Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak is among them. As a commissioner, Chermak is also a board member.
"I cannot comment," Belles said. "It's confidential. We're sworn to secrecy."
Chermak, who has a license to pilot single-engine planes, did not attend the meeting for personal reasons. In an interview Wednesday, he again refused to say if he applied and disputed he’s acting less than transparently.
“I’m being transparent,” he said, promising to address the matter when it’s appropriate.
The next steps
A board committee plans to meet Monday to discuss how and when to proceed with interviews of the finalists, Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan said. Belles said the board will likely conduct the interviews via the Internet but will probably want to speak with the successful candidate in person before hiring.
The interview committee includes Frederickson, Belles and Lackawanna County Commissioner Thom Welby.
“I want a copy of the resumes, the letters of interest, and who applied. Twenty people applied. They whittled it down to seven, so we have to know who the seven are, because we're going to have to interview whoever these people are,” Gaughan said.
Why a new leader
Carl Beardsley Jr., who led the airport to record passenger departures in his 11 years as executive director, took sabbatical leave in November for undisclosed reasons. At the time, officials wouldn’t discuss why Beardsley left. Frederickson would only say he couldn’t discuss “personnel and health issues.”
The board appointed engineering director Stephen Mykulyn as interim director in March. At the same time, the board hired ADK Consulting & Executive Search to help find Beardsley’s replacement at a cost of $47,574. An ADK official said the airport could be named by July.
Check back for updates.
