Tempers Flare And Fur Flies At Sandpoint Airport Hearing Discussion Over Lost Lawsuits Disintegrates Into Name-Calling

A meeting to discuss the fate of the Sandpoint Airport commission turned into a hot-tempered, name-calling session Thursday with Bonner County Commissioner Bud Mueller adding an outburst of his own.

Mueller said the seven member commission has given the county bad advice about airport issues.

“We have had an awful lot of problems with the airport. We just lost another lawsuit,” Mueller said. “We need to do some real adjusting with them (the commission) if not replace them.”

Last year the county tried to stop resident Richard Glantz from building an airplane hangar. The county sued him, saying the hangar was too high and violated FAA regulations. First District Court Judge James Michaud recently tossed out the lawsuit and called it frivolous. He even called for sanctions against former Bonner County civil attorney Dave Bieter for filing the compliant. Because of the judge’s ruling, commissioners this week settled another lawsuit with Glantz, agreeing to pay him $17,000.

At Thursday’s commissioner meeting, about 45 residents showed up to debate what to do with the current airport commission. Several called for the county to abolish it, saying it was a rogue committee operating without authority from the county commissioners.

“The commission should be disbanded and sent down the road,” said Glantz. His wife, Gay, later made rude remarks to the former airport manager including calling him a “little puke” but was not told to stop by Mueller.

When airport commission chairman Ted Diehl raised his hand and stood up to speak, Mueller’s faced reddened and he screamed at Diehl.

“Sit down. I ain’t talking to you,” Mueller hollered. “Now sit down. You don’t come up and butt in.”

Another member of the audience insulted Mueller, saying he was acting like a “little king.”

“You shush up or I will put you out too,” Mueller said. Resident Ken Jackson told Mueller he was embarrassed by the commissioner’s outburst and wanted that noted on the tape recording of the session.

The debate was off track after the outbursts, but others supported the airport commission and keeping the airport running in Sandpoint.

It’s vital to businesses such as United Parcel Service, Litehouse Salad Dressing and Coldwater Creek, said businessman Chuck Bauer.

“The airport is a vital resource for our county,” he said, asking the commission remain intact.

Sandpoint Mayor David Sawyer said the problem seems to be communication between the airport commission and county officials. It’s time to put past troubles to rest, he said, and make sure the airport keeps operating.

“We need to get the issues out on the table so we can move forward,” the mayor said. Sawyer noted commissioners could not disband the airport commission anyway because two are appointed by the city and three appointed jointly by the city and county.

County commissioners made no decision on what to do with the airport commission. Mueller has requested in the past the facility become self-supporting instead of using tax dollars. The airport now receives about $31,550 of property tax revenue.

Diehl said the commission has a plan to operate on fees and the sale of fuel but commissioners must first approve the idea.

, DataTimes