Kenner council urges overhaul of airport board, seeks regional talks after Francine flooding

The Kenner City Council on April 2025 unanimously approved two resolutions calling for changes to the New Orleans Aviation Board’s membership and seeking a joint regional meeting to address airport-related flooding and other impacts on surrounding communities.

Council members framed the actions as a response to flooding during Hurricane Francine and to longstanding concerns that Kenner and Jefferson Parish lack adequate representation on the board that governs Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

Councilwoman Christie McKinney, who introduced both measures, said the steps were meant to “encourage a dialogue” between Kenner, Jefferson Parish and New Orleans and to give Kenner residents “a louder voice” about airport decisions that affect noise, traffic and flooding. Councilman George Brannigan said he supported the resolutions because the airport’s failures during Francine “affected our residents” and called the lack of pump operation at airport facilities “totally unacceptable.”

The council adopted an amendment proposed by Council Member Wilmot to add language requiring that three appointees to any reconstituted board be Kenner residents — one appointed by Jefferson Parish District 3, one by Jefferson Parish District 4, and one by the Kenner mayor. The amendment passed 7-0 and the amended resolution also passed 7-0.

Council discussion and public comments cited a 1984 Louisiana Supreme Court decision (Francis v. Morial) and the state statute the court reviewed; council members and the mayor noted those legal and charter constraints will affect how much the state or New Orleans must change the current governance structure. The mayor summarized that earlier litigation and the New Orleans Home Rule Charter limit how the aviation authority is organized, and said any statutory change will require action in Baton Rouge.

Council members said the resolutions are primarily expressions of support and intended to start a process — possibly including state-level legislation — to reexamine board membership and to pursue a regional committee so local officials can jointly assess pump operations, drainage and other infrastructure issues tied to airport operations.

The motions to amend and to adopt the resolutions were both seconded and carried unanimously, 7-0. Council members said they will also seek to add the mayor and police chief as endorsers of the resolutions where appropriate.

The council did not enact binding changes to state law; the resolutions ask the Jefferson Parish legislative delegation, New Orleans City Council committees and the New Orleans Aviation Board to consider steps to increase regional participation and to hold a joint meeting on airport impacts.