Airport board’s contracting and records practices questioned at Tioga City Commission meeting

Jeffery Moe Jr. told the City Commission on Aug. 4 that the Tioga Airport Authority (TAA) had attempted to respond to an open-records request and that the authority had not fully complied with open-meeting requirements in the past, a matter he said the TAA will correct.

Moe acknowledged that TAA board members perform maintenance work and are paid at a rate of $30.00 per hour, and said his company, Basin Pipeline, does not have a contract with the TAA and that any compensation he received was paid to him personally. Attorney Pendlay told the commission there is public concern that a longtime contractor was terminated and that some work has gone to board members or companies associated with them without an open public offering. Pendlay requested a record of invoices and payments from the TAA to Jeffery Moe Jr. and/or Basin Pipeline "from the time the work started to present."

Commission President Brett Rieniets cautioned Moe that content posted on social media is public and cannot be erased. The discussion included a request that open-records requests be routed directly to the Tioga Airport Authority board.

The commission did not take formal action during the meeting on the TAA matters; Attorney Pendlay asked staff to obtain the records she requested so the allegations can be reviewed. No contracts or payments beyond the $30.00/hour compensation rate referenced at the meeting were established in the record.