Report: Airport director spread thin By ERIC GALVAN, Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 9, 2008 11:17 PM PST
JOSELITO VILLERO PHOTO
Imperial County Airport Director Steve Birdsall talks about the Imperial County Grand Jury report Wednesday afternoon in a hangar at the airport in Imperial.
Problems with productivity, use and the function of the Imperial County airport all stem from Airport Director Steve Birdsall, according to an Imperial County Grand Jury report.
The report, released Wednesday, says the grand jury is “concerned that part of the airport’s neglect and management difficulties arise from the airport director (Birdsall) having too many roles to play and not enough delegation of authority within the agency.”
It continues, “Lines of authority and responsibility appear to be problematic.”
Birdsall, who also serves as the county’s agricultural commissioner, director of weights and measures and county air pollution control district officer, said he would have a full response to the grand jury’s findings and recommendations next week.
Birdsall said he received the report in the last week. He has 60 days to respond.
The civil grand jury is a collection of local residents assembled to investigate concerns and inquiries regarding public agencies over the course of a year. The civil grand jury investigates, compiles information, completes a report, then provides the report to the Imperial County Counsel’s Office to be checked for legalities.
The report is then given to a Superior Court judge then given to the investigated party. The grand jury makes recommendations for the party to comply with. Investigated parties are given 60 days to respond.
For the airport, the grand jury also recommends that the Board of Supervisors “consider the many jobs that the airport director is already responsible for and consider allocating airport direction responsibilities differently or elsewhere so that the airport can function more productively in the future.”
After reviewing the report Birdsall said he believes there are some “misunderstandings” and some “aged material” within the report that he will address.
Allen Earley, the grand jury’s foreman, said the investigation into the airport began in the summer and lasted about two months ending in September.
The investigation, Earley said, wasn’t sparked by concerns or complaints, but rather was routine as part of the county’s “matrix.” Every five years county offices are investigated and this year the airport was scheduled for investigation.
Imperial County Grand Jury findings and recommendations regarding the Imperial County airport are:
Physical facilities:
The second floor of the airport terminal has not been used since 1994-95 because it is not in compliance with American Disabilities Act requirements for handicapped persons. Neither access to the second floor nor access to the restrooms meet ADA standards. Consequently, while the second floor has a number of potential uses, it has remained idle for over 10 years.
The airport rents airplane hangars to the public. The hangars are being used in some cases for purposes other than airplanes. One hangar is used to store a motor home and another is used to store a vehicle. One individual rents two and uses them as a repair garage for airplanes.
Over the years the locks have been changed on the airplane hangars, but management does not have keys to all of the locks. This poses a problem for airport fire officials who need to be able to inspect each hangar to determine what is stored inside, (gas, oil, paint, etc.) and to determine whether there is proper fire safety equipment in place including flammable lockers and fire extinguishers.
Management:
There have been four airport managers in the past five years. The county recently hired a new airport manager and gave him the charge to improve the look and image of the airport, with the goal of bringing additional scheduled air service to the airport.
There is a demand for airplane hangars. There is a waiting list of 28 persons wanting to rent hangars at the airport. There has not been a review of the hangar rental agreements for years and it is not known how comparable the rental rates are with hangars at similarly situated airports.
Finances:
The airport receives some money to operate from federal grants that are based on passenger use of the facility. These monies have been declining in recent years.
The airport leases/rents several acres of land at the airport, office space, T-hangars, and outdoor hangars. There has not been a review of these leases/rental agreements for a number of years. Most are on a month-to-month basis. There is confusion in some cases as to what specific parts of the airport geography are being rented by various individuals. Rental property parcel boundary lines are not clear.
Interviews suggest that the Imperial County Board of Supervisors is not enthusiastic about investing money in the existing airport. Supervisors would prefer to see a cargo airport established in the county and think that this would be a wiser investment.
Recommendations:
A better system of communication should be developed within the Imperial County Airport chain of command.
Annual budget and monthly revenue and expenditure information should be provided to the airport manager in a timely fashion.
Consideration should be given to assigning the airport manager authority over the activities of the Imperial County maintenance crew.
The review of present lease/rental agreements, the competitive pricing of facilities and services, the survey of property boundaries, and the execution of new lease/rental agreements should be completed as quickly as possible to ensure the airport is receiving the revenue that it is capable of generating.
The alternative uses of the second floor of the airport terminal and their revenue generating capacities should be evaluated with respect to the cost of bringing this portion of the terminal up to ADA standards.
" Well...just another fox watching the hen house. The County's hens are dwindling because there are too many foxes now. I can name a few more...1)APCD and Board of Supes 2)Jurg Hueberger and ICCED and...Planning Dept...and the Environmental Evaluation Committee and.... I am sure someone can pick up where I left off....There are somewhere around ten conflicts with County Officials...I think. I could be wrong though...because there's probably more. As far as the trouble with the grants, the County got rid of the best grant writers they had a few years ago; people who brought in millions of dollars to the county every year. They retired them way too early if you ask me. Should have gotten out of the pickle they're in now first, then consider retiring them. "
ed2892 wrote on Jan 11, 2008 7:17 AM:
" Mr Galvan did not do his research I know what goes
on at the County airport and there are things that
need overhauling. the Airport is essinatial for the growth of the hole Valley. Mr Birdsall is not
Liked but trying to blame one Person for the Faults of the Board of Supervisors. why don't you
all Grow up "
mexictodabone wrote on Jan 10, 2008 11:01 PM:
" al5150 i am so sick of you crying if you don't like it here do something about it or move out of the county...i myself love it here bad or good "
danistx wrote on Jan 10, 2008 8:20 PM:
" This article is written to give us the impression that Steve Birdsall alone is responsible for the problems at the airport. It isn't until you read further that you find out that it is the Board of Supervisors that has been in charge of the airport for decades and has allowed the situation to become what it is today. (Shame on you, Mr. Galvan) Mr. Birdsall has been a loyal county servant for a long time. Sure, he's always received a big paycheck, but he has done many things behind the scenes on behalf of Valley residents. "
holtville1 wrote on Jan 10, 2008 8:16 PM:
" Part of the problem is that jobs are modified for the people who hold them or might take them at the time. This creates big problems if they decide a little ways down the road that they are overloaded. You don't want to sound like you can't handle all the responsibility - your bosses might think you can't handle any of it. I see a similar situation with the county clerk/registrar of voters/recorder. What happens if Mr. Birdsall or Mrs. Provencio decides to quit or retire, or they were to be struck by illness? Would the supervisors have to quickly reorganize their departments back to separate entities? "
al5150 wrote on Jan 10, 2008 7:18 PM:
" Ladies and gentlemen the whole county needs an overhaul.... to much corruption and favortisim "
SonOfABeach wrote on Jan 10, 2008 5:12 PM:
" You really think people want to fly into the Imperial Valley, on a consistant basis? You're fooling yourself... "
ricocafe99 wrote on Jan 10, 2008 4:44 PM:
" correction Board of Directors = Board of Supervisors...(sorry but I'm from the private sector where this wouldn't happen) "
ricocafe99 wrote on Jan 10, 2008 4:43 PM:
" It's not Steve Birdsall's fault that the Board gave him this many jobs...it's the Board of Directors fault. The only thing Birdsall did wrong was to do every job so well that the board kept giving him more responsibilities which finally spread him (as it would have anyone else) too thin. Classic case study for a management class, maybe the Board should take the class. Thank God Maruca is leaving!!! As I said before there is never an over abundance of competent people. "
sunnyday98802 wrote on Jan 10, 2008 4:13 PM:
" With all do respect for Mr Birdsall, we need a real ag commissioner to represent this county.
"
cinoreah wrote on Jan 10, 2008 12:43 PM:
" Anybody who wears as many hats as this man does can't possibly do an appropriate job on anything he does. Time to rethink some things. "
lowen0621 wrote on Jan 10, 2008 10:48 AM:
" The grand jury came to the same conclusion that the recall advocatrors did in the Sun Community Credit Union issue. Birdsall is ineffective and just takes money and other perks but cannot deliver any type of professional service or guidance to the organizations.
The Board of Supervisors need to stop the good ol' boy deal and get a real airport director.As to Sun Community, just look at their financial report for the past two years and you may want a new recall. "
creek123 wrote on Jan 10, 2008 7:54 AM:
" So much for the county wanting a major airport. "
mexictodabone wrote on Jan 10, 2008 2:50 AM:
" Its time to remove Steve Birdsall... "
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bermudezfamily wrote on Jan 13, 2008 11:30 AM: