Commission chair and members at odds over rewrite of airport commission bylaws

A heated discussion over a proposed rewrite of the Rangeley Airport Commission bylaws ended with a motion to abandon the new draft and retain the commission’s existing bylaws.

A commission member who chaired the bylaws subcommittee said the revised document was not what the commission had intended and criticized outside participation in the drafting process. The member said the current bylaws (adopted in 1997) remain functional and argued it was the commission’s right to perform revisions line by line rather than accept the latest draft. “They neuter it,” the member said of the proposed revisions, arguing the new document reduced the commission’s authority.

The commission’s bylaws committee chairman moved to abandon pursuit of the new bylaws and continue operating under the existing 1997 bylaws until a product acceptable to the commission can be drafted. A second was recorded and commissioners discussed the earlier strikeouts that some members favored. Several members expressed frustration with the lengthy revision process; one member said they would neither vote for the new draft nor vote to return to the old bylaws, describing the situation as unsatisfactory but undecided.

Why it matters: Bylaws determine meeting procedures, authority and the commission’s relationship with other town entities. Commissioners said they want the bylaws written and approved by sitting members of the commission rather than produced or heavily edited by non‑members.

Next steps and limits: The motion to abandon the new draft was made and seconded and the chair called for a vote; the transcript does not record a roll‑call tally. No further bylaws action was recorded in the meeting minutes excerpt. Any formal change to the bylaws will require future motion, second and a recorded vote; the commission will continue to operate under its existing bylaws until such action occurs.