A Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport board member raised questions Thursday about the process for hiring a new executive director because of another board member’s recent statements about wanting the job.
During an airport board meeting, Bill Gaughan questioned if an airport head-hunting firm concluded on its own that board member Chris Chermak deserved inclusion on a list of five finalists or if another board member asked for Chermak’s inclusion or the inclusion or exclusion of other candidates.
“The public deserves complete confidence that its next executive director is being selected through a process that is fair, transparent, and beyond reproach,” Gaughan said.
Board member Chris Belles cut Gaughan off during the meeting, saying his questions would be more appropriate for a public hearing if the board decides to hold one.
There was no further board discussion during the meeting.
Reached after the meeting, fellow board members Chris Belles and Romilda Crocamo said they did not ask ADK Consulting & Executive Search to include Chermak as a finalist.
Crocamo: 'Merit hiring means merit hiring'
"I did not speak to or direct ADK to advance any candidate," Crocamo told WVIA News in a text. "That is not the way I do business or we do business in Luzerne County. Merit hiring means merit hiring. It means every applicant gets a genuine look. It means the process is not a formality designed to validate a decision that was already made. When we shortcut that process, when we rush to a conclusion before all the information is on the table, we are not just bending a procedural rule. We are telling qualified candidates that the process they trusted was never real to begin with."
Crocamo said Gaughan never spoke to her and faulted him for an "approach that does not lend itself to the kind of genuine intergovernmental collaboration this decision requires."
She called for the letting the process "play out."
"Every candidate deserves nothing less," she said. "And when this decision is ultimately made, it should be one that both counties can stand behind with confidence, knowing it was reached the right way, for the right reasons, and with the full integrity that the people of this region deserve."
Board member LeeAnn McDermott echoed Crocamo.
"I did not speak to or direct ADK to advance any candidate," she said in a text.
Chermak declined to comment on Gaughan's remarks. Efforts to reach board member Thom Welby and and an ADK official after the meeting were unsuccessful.
The airport's newest board member, attorney Chris Munley, appointed last week, did not attend the meeting.
What Chermak said that set off Gaughan
Gaughan said he raised questions because of Chermak’s remarks in a WVIA News story published last week. In the story, Chermak, who wanted to publicly defend his qualifications for the job, said he did not confirm his candidacy for two months “because I wanted to make sure that ADK was going to put me through to the next round.”
He also said: “I have the support of the staff and the administration at the airport. I have the support from most of the other board members, most everybody except for one.”
Gaughan has said he does not think Chermak is qualified to run the airport.
In the same story, Belles, Crocamo, Welby and McDermott all said they remained undecided on who should next lead the airport. Crocamo preached patience and allowing the selection process to proceed fairly.
“Don’t say something is a done deal when it’s not,” McDermott said.
In the story, Chermak also said he stepped in to help run the airport “the last couple years” after former executive director Carl Beardsley Jr. developed “health problems” that curbed his availability.
“I stepped in,” Chermak said.
Gaughan questioned that, too.
“If that statement is accurate, I have several questions,” Gaughan said. “First, for how many years was the former executive director allegedly unable to perform the duties of the position? I only became aware of this in the last few months.”
He asked who authorized Chermak to fill in for Beardsley; what duties he performed; and whether he was “involved in personnel decisions, contract negotiations, financial decisions, or operational management.”
“I don't remember ever voting on that, or anyone ever telling me that because the former executive director allegedly had issues with his health and was unable to perform,” Gaughan said. “If the former executive director had been unable to fully perform the job for an extended period, why did this board not begin succession planning or initiate a search sooner?”
Belles: Not time for a hearing
Gaughan tried to question interim executive director Stephen Mykulyn, but Belles cut him off.
“It's not necessary. This isn't a hearing, but let's go through the agenda, and we can certainly discuss possibly having a hearing if that's what the board chooses to have,” he said. “But we can't do a fact-finding during the course of this right now. It's okay to ask the questions, obviously, but I don't want to get us down the road of conducting a hearing without public being aware that there was going to be a hearing.”
Belles chaired the meeting because Chermak, voted chairperson earlier this year, temporarily gave up his board seat last month because he’s under consideration for the director post. Chermak was not present Thursday.
During the board meeting, Welby said it’s inappropriate to discuss “the hiring process until the hiring process is over.”
“It should remain confidential until the process is over. When the process is over, those questions can be asked and hopefully answered,” Welby said.
Airport co-solicitor Don Frederickson said some of the issues Gaughan raised involve private medical records.
Gaughan said he understood the privacy concerns and only asked because Chermak raised the point.
“Commissioner Chermak is no longer a member of this board. We can't stop people in the public from doing what they do, but we can't respond to this one,” Frederickson responded.
After the board meeting, Frederickson acknowledged the airport board, its search committee and an ADK representative met privately Monday in an executive session to discuss the five finalists and what’s next in the selection process. He said the board and search committee plan to formally interview all five finalists.
'A great cheerleader'
In a gaggle with reporters, Belles repeated his desire to find the most qualified replacement for Beardsley.
The successful candidate should be “a great cheerleader” for the airport and “supremely qualified.”
“And they need to show that they're interested in the area and understand how important this airport is to our region,” Belles said.
