Commissioners Ricky Jones, Lucius Wright, and Robert Martin formed a quorum. CEO Paul Brown resigned in May but agreed to remain for 90 days. However, he did not appear at the Board meeting.
The Board meeting began on time at 4:30 PM. Upon completion of the opening prayer, the Commissioners - all three of them - went into executive session to "discuss litigation" for every bit of two hours.
Once the executive session ended, Chairman Paul Martin read out the agenda and moved on to the claims docket. Commissioner Jones asked if the Board could vote on the claims docket even though a quorum was present. The commissioners debated the matter for a few minutes and decided they could indeed vote as only two votes were required to approve the claims docket. Mr. Jones said he had not had enough time to review the claims docket so a vote on the matter was postponed.
The Chairman directed a JMAA employee (Name unknown) to provide a summary of the capital projects. After a few minutes, Commissioner Jones got up and walked out of the meeting, thus depriving the Board of a quorum. (18:00) Commissioner Martin said the meeting was adjourned although he did not make a motion to adjourn. JMAA attorney Regina Quinn recommended declaring a recess, which Commissioner Wright did although yet again he failed to make a motion. The non-executive portion of the meeting lasted less than twenty minutes.
Some observations and notes from the meeting.
* An employee told me no cameras were allowed in the board room. I politely said bring the attorney because the Ethics Commission said cameras are allowed at public meetings.
*. It's no surprise the Board moved the executive session and forced me and WLBT's C.J. LeMasters to wait two hours. It's not the first time that stunt has been pulled at a government meeting and it won't be the last. Thankfully I have an iPad and can watch Netflix if worst comes to worst.
However, a group of employees were forced to sit there for two hours doing absolutely nothing after the end of the workday. Someone needs to teach the Commissioners how to treat their employees. Mr. Wright was once a Lieutenant Colonel in the military and should know something about taking care of the troops unless he was an officer of the REMF variety.
* The Board packet. There were quite a few things missing from the board packet that were on the agenda:
June claims docket
Minutes to be approved
Contract for Yolanda McElroy
Contract for Trey Daniels
Income statement & balance sheet.
It was quite clear the Commissioners had these items in front of them even though they were not in the packet provided to me and Mr. LeMasters.
* About those two contracts. Mr. Martin did not refer to the vendors by name but instead said they had to approve a personal services contract (Mrs. McElroy) and a lobbying contract (Mr. Daniels.). Why was he so vague? Why were the contracts not included in the board packet (posted below).
* This was the most poorly run board meeting this correspondent has witnessed, including Pelahatchie.
40 comments:
Them Robert Rules say we gotta have minutes for the meeting, right?
I'd expect nothing less.
Clowns. Running a major Mississippi "asset".
Probably took off to get a selfie by the newest sinkhole.
Circus full of clowns.
Jones and Chaney had to catch a flight to Paris (in first class of course), right?
When they intentionally make you wait, use that time to write lots of nasty stuff about them, and publish it.
And that's all she wrote (Dear John)
I've sent your saddle home!
Every single one of these people are morons
All loved to be referred to as Mr and Mrs or DR… it’s too funny and telling they lack qualifications to run a lemonade stand
No one can take these people serious!!! I would be so embarrassed to associate with any of them. My goodness. Talk about mindless idiots. I live in NE Jackson and I hope the state or metro area can take over the airport soon. These people are the bottom of the barrel of qualified to do a thing
I doubt a single one of you mediocre seething white males earns even a fraction of what these people earn.
Isn’t this airport worthy of the state trying to take it over? WTF
Sadly, there appears to be no consequence for incompetence or even for blatant obstruction.
Did they announce in public meeting what the topics were in executive session?
and 11:49, are you being facetious about what they "earn"?
My flying days are less and less and coming to a close...grateful for that with these incompetents in charge!
Lets all agree not to feed 11:49 please.
A branch of the Jackson city council no doubt!
I flew last week from “The Jackson Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport”. I got so tired of his honor the mayor Blaring out a “Welcome to the bold new city”, every 20 minutes.
@ 11:49
White male here… I live in NE Jackson and I make pretty good money I lease cell towers on my land. I make in a month more than the average surgeon earns in a yr. just curious what you think these incompetent morons earn on our taxes. We do pay there salary after all. Honestly none of them could make it anyplace but this airport. All are dumb. They obtain a higher education degree from places that hand them out like candy. It’s the equivalent of a worker at Burger King claiming to be a trained chef. Then they want to be called Dr or mr and Mrs. Hell, I find it all too comical
The commissioners are not paid.
Does the Jackson airport have a coffee shop yet?
Incompetence knows no race, color, or sex. There are plenty in each group.
@12:32
Please go visit the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and correct your bigotry.
Nobody is impressed by your inherited passive income likely derived from the wealth that was likely generated by exploitation.
"The commissioners are not paid." and that is still too much.
12:37, they had nothing but an off brand Hudson News, open during limited hours, as of late May.
"The commissioners are not paid." Sure, they are very civic minded folks who volunteer their time without any direct or indirect compensation, and trips to Paris flying "first class" and 5* hotels don't count. Well, at least they don't receive insider-trading tips, right? No palm greasing, right?
Yeah hearing choke over and over at the airport is annoying.
11:35 AND 11:53 are spot on.. anything associated with Chockalok is a failure.
@ 11:49, I don’t think you realize this but, the remaining “white” people that you don’t think earn what those 3 morons earn actually carry the city of Jackson on their shoulders. And I’m speaking of N E Jackson, Or have you not been told? Without those people your city, the one that you have taken an oath to destroy would be bankrupt and full of garbage on the curbs, sewer in the streets and..oooops. Well, let me say this. What is left of the once great city is what they financially carry the burden of while your little boy mayor enjoys his frequent flier miles. Inform yourself before you troll for your brethren a blog that informs much better than your local media.
12:47...you can get coffee in the small convenient store but that is it...no restaurants are open in the place...the airport is run just like Jackson and hinds county and 11:49 would not have any clue as he has already proven!
How many times do they meet per month, and what is the amount of their per meeting stipend?
Dr. Chaney is a good person. If anything, she's guilty of being too busy, not incompetent.
Some crop duster air strips in the Delta have nicer facilities than
"Jackson International".
Hell, even some of the saddest/poorest third world countries in Africa have nicer airports.
It's long past time for State intervention.
A new airport would be the best option, but the most pragmatic solution would be a State takeover along with a complete renovation of that embarrassing "international" airport off Lakeland Drive.
I don't know Cheney, so she may well indeed be a good hearted person.
She also clearly has no time management skills, because over extending one's self to the detriment of one's responsibilities is not indicative of a successful professional.
Maybe they are meeting in Paris and no everyone got the word.
I flew to Dallas last month. I slipped into the bathroom by the gate just before the ticket attendant was about to shut the doors to the hallway. Apparently the janitor had thought everyone had already boarded because he was in the bathroom smoking weed out of a pipe. He was very startled when I walked in and quickly shoved it in his cart. I told him that I would be high like he was as soon as the plane hit cruising altitude.
So get this, arrive 1.5 hours late from Houston on Southwest…. There’s another plane at gate 19, so we sit for 10 minutes while they push the gated plane out of the way so we can pull in…. Like a plane probably comes every day and with 19 gates we can’t use another one? I dunno maybe 16, oh wait there’s no gate 16 or 5-14, so there’s actually only 8… but 15 & 18 didn’t have a plane. I’m sure the working folks are doing the best they can but with the shit show running the airport there’s only so much they can do. Oh and I nearly vomited in my mouth when Mayor Choke-a-chicken came on the PA lying about all the great stuff you can do in Jackson.
It's crazy to get to the airport and have NOWHERE to get a cup of coffee or a basic meal. We have to arrive so early before flights now, that it would be nice to at least have a grab-n-go meal to take on the flight.
@12:55
This is 12:32
I can to this country from a place called Slovenia… I came on scholarship to private university called the university of Miami… in Florida
I had no money. My family at home worked multiple jobs as it was a communist country and we had no car. People in the USA in the poorest neighborhoods have it way better than I did growing up so screw off and enlighten your own self you self assuming bigot. Piss off and yes I make loads of money but I worked for it and my wife is from Korea and worked her tail off when she came here also.
And.... travelled from a southern airport in a city smaller than Jackson. Very nice & clean open and sunny. Many gates & planes, lots of people, several restaurants, bar in the middle of the concourse with friendly bartender serving strong drinks. Get to Jackson, dark, dirty, no amenities, ceiling leaking with tiles removed.... Few people around, going and coming back. What a shit hole.
Flew out of Memphis last month. They have rebuilt their airport, very nice facility, including coffee shops. Inconvenient to drive that far, but.....
More comments (and some answers) on this are in the airport tries to hold a board meeting post.
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