Peachtree City Airport Authority Chairman Mike Brady resigned during a special called meeting Tuesday night, minutes before the other four members of the authority board could remove him from the chairman position.
They had called the meeting to vote in a new chairman, relegating Brady to a regular board member position, which was a demotion Brady refused to accept.
“It was our strong preference that Mike stay on board,” said Richard Whiteley, who was elected by his peers to replace Brady.
“[Brady’s] done a lot of great work for the airport. We wanted to reshuffle the positions on the Authority board, but we did not want him to completely resign as he has done.”
Brady began the special meeting going over procedural protocol. He then delivered an impassioned 10- minute speech, which was interrupted several times by unsuccessful calls for closure.
“My tenure on the board has been marked by change and progress,” he said.
“I tried to spearhead changes from prior ways of doing business at the Peachtree City Airport that would promote a better and more financially secure future for the Authority; change for how airport leadership conducts themselves in fulfilling their professional, public and ethical obligations to the customers, employees and citizens of the community.
“However, change is not always easy and, in fact, can be very difficult, especially for the establishment that is experiencing the change.”
Brady went on to explain that when he joined the board in December of last year, he was brought in to address two specific problems.
“First, was the perceived lack of competitiveness of the airport product,” Brady remarked.
“There were concerns about the manner in which business was done, the airport’s deteriorating financial position, and the lack of a defined vision for the airport’s future business development. The second area was the perception of a lack of professionalism in airport management. I was vaguely aware of these concerns from my 13 years as a tenant at this airport.”
As Brady continued, it became clear that disagreements with other board members over the future of current airport management is what opened the rift that led to Brady’s resignation.
The former chairman brought up a significant airport billing error that he felt was not properly addressed by Airport Authority leadership, including director John Crosby.
“My second major concern with airport leadership is the discovery of significant salary increases for airport management that were made during a period when other airport employees had their salaries frozen due to difficult economic conditions,” Brady stated.
“For example, the airport director’s salary doubled over a five year period from 2004-2008... My third concern involved the total impact of these combined actions and what appears to be a conflict of interest involving the Airport Director and the board members who voted for raises during a time of financial distress.”
Brady also called out an unnamed board member for “conduct contrary to the collective view of the board that could have endangered an important business relation.”
He finished his speech with his formal resignation.
“I am ashamed of the continuing and what I perceive as uncontrollable negative people dynamics within this present airport leadership group that I have not been able to positively influence,” Brady said.
“For these reasons, I feel I can no longer be associated with this airport leadership group and I resign my position on the Airport Authority Board effective this moment.”
Remaining Airport Authority members Whiteley, Bill Flynn, Jerry R. Cobb and Zaheer Faruqi were tight-lipped after Brady’s speech, but Whiteley did acknowledge that the board had a turbulent four hour executive session during the last called meeting for “personnel matters.”
Brady, a successful businessman in the airline industry and a former West Point Cadet, took over the chairman position a month after joining the board and quickly became the face of Falcon Field. He cultivated positive working relationships with local governments and led a restructuring effort that lowered Falcon Field’s fuel prices and raised the level of customer service. He told the Fayette County Commission earlier this year “Falcon Field is undergoing a renaissance.”
The main symbol of that rebirth is the Falcon Field Veterans Memorial, which features an F-16 Fighting Falcon centerpiece mounted 15 feet in the air. Brady and a group of volunteers secured over $300,000 in private donations to construct the memorial, which took a mere six months to design, build and install.
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