Airport panel reins in absences

Limit of 3 attendances by phone rankles one commissioner

The Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission on Tuesday voted to tighten its attendance requirements, much to the consternation of one of its members.

The seven commission members would be allowed to participate in three commission meetings by telephone or video conference, under the proposal championed by Commissioner Tom Schueck. But if they were absent for any additional meetings, they couldn't vote, wouldn't be counted as part of a quorum and would be considered absent even if they were present by telephone.

The 6-1 vote capped a discussion of an issue that dated to at least February and appeared to be precipitated, in part, by Commissioner Wesley Clark's frequent absences from meetings last year.

The commission sets policy for Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field, the state's largest airport.

Last year, Clark, a retired four-star general, former supreme allied commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and a one-time candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, was physically present at only one of the commission's 12 meetings, according to meeting minutes. He participated in 10 meetings by telephone conference. He missed the September meeting altogether.

Clark was one of five members of the seven-member commission who missed one meeting last year. The others were Virgil Miller Jr., Jim Dailey, Bob East and Kay Kelley Arnold, whose second five-year term expired in December. Former state Rep. Kathy Webb was appointed to replace Arnold.

Tuesday's vote was preceded by sometimes heated discussion, primarily between Clark and Schueck. Clark objected to additional wording suggested by Schueck that any additional participation by telephone beyond three times would be counted as an absence.

"As long as you're present for six meetings, you can do the other six by telephone," Clark said of his understanding of the agreement reached verbally at last month's commission meeting.

"You can be on the phone if you want," Schueck said.

"Why would we say that?" Clark asked. "Why?"

"Because there's got to be some type of controls, Wes," Schueck replied. "The controls are when you decided you were going to serve on this commission you decided that you were going to be an active member of the commission."

"I thought you said this wasn't about me, personally?" Clark said. "I thought you said that."

"I'm talking as an individual," Schueck responded.

At another point in the meeting, Clark said he recognized that he wouldn't be able to be physically present at every commission meeting because of his frequent travels by commercial airlines on behalf of his international consulting firm, but that commission practice allowed him to participate from afar.

"Why would we say, 'Don't bother the other three times?'" Clark asked. "You're not going to get counted. It seems to me the value of the commission is being heard and lets their opinion be counted.

"When I volunteered to serve on this commission, I didn't have a private company, I don't have a private plane and I didn't believe I could make every single meeting," he told Schueck. "But I took it upon the procedures of the commission, I thought it was possible to participate from a distance on some meetings. That's the basis for my stand here, and I don't want it to be personal, but it seems to have become personal, Tom."

"No, Wes, you're trying to make it personal, and it's not," Schueck said. "I call for a vote, Mr. Chairman."

But the discussion continued.

Webb also confirmed with Carolyn Witherspoon, the commission's attorney, that the city Board of Directors' policy is to require physical attendance of city directors to participate at city board meetings.

Separately, Witherspoon also said that under city ordinances, if a board or commission member misses more than 25 percent of the board or commission meetings in one calendar year or misses more than three consecutive meetings, the member is automatically removed. But the member can continue to serve if he writes a letter expressing a desire to continue to the city Board of Directors before its next regular meeting and the board accepts the letter by majority vote.

City ordinances also allow boards or commissions to set their own attendance policies.

Clark's disagreement stemmed from a June 3 email of the proposed attendance requirements in which Witherspoon added the line, "and would be considered absent" if a commission member participated by telephone more than three times. She said the line came at Schueck's request.

"When you put out your interpretation of this in an email two weeks ago and said that that meant the other three [meetings] you were present telephonically you wouldn't be counted as voting, I came back and said I don't agree with that interpretation," Clark said. "I never got any feedback from you, from the executive director, from the legal staff or anybody else on this.

"So I'm surprised that you're asking for this motion because we don't have an agreement on exactly what we agreed last time."

But Schueck said, "In my mind, Wes, this is exactly what we agreed to. We're doing what the city board and mayor and the bylaws for the city -- as a matter of fact, we're a lot more lenient because we're doing more than what they allow."

Miller agreed.

"At the end of the day, we can set our own policy and, at the end of the day, our policy is more lenient than what the city board has," he said after the vote. "Again, obviously, we don't have a unanimous decision on this, but we've certainly discussed this, and every voice has been heard. The majority rules on this."

Given the new policy, Clark said he will have to weigh whether to participate in commission meetings in which he doesn't have a vote.

"I will be here for the six meetings," he said. "I will certainly be on the telephone for the other three meetings. But when I have the difficulty of paying a $200 overseas phone charge to be here for the three meetings, [and] my voice doesn't count and my opinion doesn't count, I'll have to think about that."

Metro on 06/18/2014

Upcoming Events