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Public commenter accuses MTAA leadership of lack of transparency, raises financial concerns
Summary
During public comment a resident alleged the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority (MTAA) was served with a $1.8 million judgment, questioned the airport manager’s pay and benefits, and raised concerns about recent bond and grant actions; commissioners did not provide an on-the-record response during the meeting.
Carol Marple, a member of the public, used the meeting’s public‑comment period to criticize transparency at the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority (MTAA) and to list financial concerns she said would be paid by taxpayers.
Marple told the commission she had tracked recent MTAA board actions and alleged that, in October 2025, the MTAA manager (identified by Marple as "Mr. Johnson") asked the MTAA board for approval of a $1,000,000 line of credit and the board approved beginning a process to issue $10,000,000 in revenue bonds to fund airport improvements. She said the MTAA approved roughly $1,840,000 (the transcript records this as "$1,840,000 and $102") for HVAC work at the regional terminal and that the MTAA had been served with a $1,800,000 judgment on Dec. 12, 2025. Marple also alleged the manager’s salary is about $187,000 with a $7,200 vehicle allowance and criticized what she described as lavish spending at an MTAA holiday event (she read a bill of $998.74 and said about $518 appeared to be for food and the remainder for alcoholic drinks).
Marple framed these points as taxpayer concerns and closed by saying, "The MTAA is nothing but a money pit. The taxpayers deserve better," and urged board-level action or replacement of MTAA board members if the authority would not act on the concerns.
The commission acknowledged the comment but there was no on‑the‑record response from MTAA or a county official in the meeting transcript to substantiate or dispute the allegations; the issues raised remain unresolved in this hearing.
Context and next steps: Marple provided a copy of an article from the Manhattan Mercury to illustrate regional airport outcomes; commissioners did not announce any immediate follow-up during the meeting. Any verification of Marple’s financial claims (judgment amount, bond actions, manager compensation and HVAC contracting) would require review of MTAA meeting minutes, contract records and court filings beyond this meeting’s transcript.
