Sun Valley Mayor Jon Thorson's appeal for a seat on the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority as a full member, or an ex-officio one, will be considered when a member's term expires late next year.
Blaine County Commission Chair Sarah Michael said Tuesday she made that promise to Thorson when the two met to discuss his proposal for Sun Valley representation.
"We shouldn't kick anyone off" the board to make room for a Sun Valley representative, Michael said after their meeting.
Thorson, who recently began attending Airport Authority meetings, wrote in a letter to the board that because of air transportation's impact on the Sun Valley resort community, the city should have representation.
Thorson's letter, approved by the Sun Valley City Council, came after months of intense criticism of the airport governing body by Sun Valley Co. General Manager Wally Huffman. Huffman repeatedly criticized the process by which a citizens' committee studied whether or not a new airport should be built to replace the Hailey airport and where the new facility might be located.
Huffman on several occasions accused the airport board of playing "politics" in selecting a new airport site and questioned the reliability of airport consultants' work.
Thorson's letter to the authority was misdirected. It should have been sent to the city of Hailey and Blaine County, which have a joint powers agreement to operate the airport and appoint members of the Airport Authority to manage the facility. The authority has no power over member appointments.
Michael mused about the authority's predecessor, the Blaine County Airport Commission with 11 members—with one each from Ketchum, Sun Valley and Bellevue; four from Hailey; three from Blaine County; and one from the state of Idaho aeronautics division.
Former Blaine County Commissioner Len Harlig, who was a member of that former commission and is on the present Airport Authority, said the old governing body "was not just unwieldy but dysfunctional."
Harlig said the commission was disbanded by Hailey and the county in 1994 and replaced by a five-member airport authority: two each appointed by Hailey and Blaine County, and one independent member that traditionally is a pilot or involved in aviation.
Harlig said any plan to enlarge the authority would require a detailed proposal and public hearings. Since the airport is in the city of Hailey, he suggested Hailey might be "unwilling for anyone of special interest" to be added to the board.
"Where do you stop?" Harlig wondered if Sun Valley is given a seat.
