Council debates airport commission appointments and availability of appointment records; nominee’s confirmation falls short of stated threshold

A lengthy discussion at the Helena-West Helena City Council meeting focused on appointments to the Helena-West Helena Port Authority / Airport Commission and whether the city has documentary records showing prior appointments.

City Clerk communications included an email noting gaps in the minutes: two current airport commission members (identified in the packet as “the Brothers” and the treasurer, Joe Howe) had “no record” of being appointed in minutes from 2006 onward, the clerk said. That prompted council questions about whether those individuals were lawfully in office and whether the mayor’s nominees should be sworn or would require council confirmation first.

Mayor (on the record) presented a nominee, Paul Riddell, and told the council he had sworn Riddell. Riddell addressed the council and said he has longstanding ties to the airport and said he was willing to serve. The council then took a roll-call vote; the clerk read results reported in the transcript as 3 yes, 2 no and 1 listed as absent. Several council members and the city attorney noted a statutory confirmation threshold; during the meeting the city attorney read aloud Arkansas Code language (referenced in the record as a statute) indicating mayoral appointment with council confirmation and a five-year term structure; another council member and the clerk stated that a supermajority or a specific number of votes (one speaker said “it takes 5”) is required to affirm some airport appointments. The transcript records disagreement among council members over procedure and whether swearing-in should precede formal council confirmation.

Airport commission members and representatives who spoke urged continuity because an FAA-funded airport improvement project and lease renegotiations are “underway,” and they said it would be helpful to preserve the existing commission for continuity through those projects. Airport chair Eddie Shifler and treasurer Joe Howe were present (and Shifler spoke) and said financial records exist as part of the city audit, but the clerk said a working copy of some airport financial records was not in the clerk’s office and that some older records were lost in a hangar fire in 2010.

Why it matters: the council must confirm or otherwise lawfully fill airport commission seats; the commission manages airport projects and revenues that, per speakers, should remain with the airport under statute. The transcript shows the council expressed concern about missing appointment documentation for at least two sitting members and debated whether to proceed with confirmation votes without complete records. The meeting did not resolve the paperwork gaps. The transcript captures procedural disagreement: some councilmembers voted to confirm the mayor’s nominee but the recorded tally did not reach the number other speakers stated was required; the clerk and city attorney advised follow-up to locate records and ensure proper appointment procedures.

Formal action recorded in the transcript: a roll-call vote on the mayor’s nominee resulted in 3 yes, 2 no, 1 absent (transcript line: “It’s 3 yeses, 2 noes, 1 x.”). The transcript also contains the city attorney’s reading of Arkansas Code (referenced in the meeting as Arkansas Code Annotated Section 14-3-59.105) describing mayoral appointment and council confirmation for five-year terms; the council directed staff to research appointment records and return with documentation at a future meeting.