Town removes Airport Advisory Board member days before Master Plan discussion

Council split on vote, mayor breaks tie

The Town of Taos Council voted Tuesday night (Sept. 12) to remove Airport Advisory Board member Daniel Weeks from his position, citing a conflict of interest between his role on the board and as a private airplane enthusiast interested in the future of leased hangars for the local aviation community.

The council was split in its decision, with Marietta Fambro and Nathaniel Evans voting to remove Weeks, and Darien Fernandez and Corilia Ortega voting to keep him on the board. Mayor Pascual Maestas broke the tied vote, and Weeks was effectively removed.

The decision comes two days before the Airport Advisory Board is scheduled to meet on Sept. 15 to discuss the comments, questions and concerns gathered during the Airport Master Plan public comment period, of which there are over 300, according to advisory board chairman Al Rapp.

Maestas explained that Weeks’ removal was due to continued conversation Weeks had with members of the public regarding the leasing of hangars for private use, and noted Weeks was on the hangar waitlist as well. “That could be perceived as a conflict of interest,” Maestas said. “Being on the hangar list and advocating for hangar leases creates a perception of a conflict of interest.”

Maestas said he told Weeks on several occasions to discontinue speaking with the community about hangar leases while serving in his capacity as an advisory board member, but that Weeks continued to discuss the issue.

“We received another email just a couple of weeks ago from some members out at the airport that Mr. Weeks and another pilot member have stated that they are negotiating hangar leases with the Town of Taos which, to me, was unfortunately the last straw,” Maestas added.

Town of Taos attorney Chris Stachura explained that hangar leases do not fall under the purview of the advisory board, because the leases are negotiated with the town management. “The ordinance itself is very straightforward. The Advisory Board is asked to comment only on rules and regulations. The leases themselves are contractual agreements. Those are not rules and regulations,” Stachura explained.

Weeks pushed back: “Today’s consideration of my removal from the airport advisory board is not about a claim of conflict of interest. It’s a struggle about the function of the Airport Advisory Board and an attempt at censorship, plain and simple,” he told the council.

“I have become crosswise with the mayor because I believe we can discuss the airport operations and management with those for whom I advocate, and in meetings related to the Airport Master Plan,” Weeks continued. “I speak openly about resuming board discussions of the hangar issue before final advice to your council. I believe it’s necessary — they are related. There’s no way around it. So if you vote me out, I think that would be a really bad precedent to set.”

Multiple members of the public also spoke on Weeks’ behalf, advocating that he stay in his position as the only currently registered pilot serving on the advisory board. Fellow pilot Lee Harris said he was “puzzled” after seeing the agenda item requesting Weeks’ removal. “I can’t understand why this would be actually happening. I heard because there’s a conflict of interest, but I know him personally and he has no financial benefit from the airport whatsoever,” said Harris.

He said the part that doesn’t make sense to him “is that hangars would seem to be an integral part of the master plan. I can’t for the life of me understand why an interest in pursuing information about the hangar leases is not, at least, a part of the agenda of the master plan.”

Airport Advisory Board Chairman

Al Rapp said he hoped not to get involved in the issue, but said he felt “it would be a disservice to the town and a disservice to the community if I didn’t speak on behalf of a fellow member of the Airport Advisory Board.”

“I looked at the perceived conflict of interest. I don’t see any evidence of a conflict of interest,” he continued. “In [Weeks’] letter of interest he did disclose he was a flight instructor; that he worked for the flight school; he had an interest in the general aviation community. So the town knew when he was appointed that those items that are somehow being looked at now as a conflict were already there.”

Rapp said prior to the vote that should the council decide to remove Weeks, “it would be detrimental to our small board to lose one member with the task at hand. It would discourage future community members from offering their services to the town.”

Former mayoral candidate and current planning and zoning commissioner Genevieve Oswald said during her campaign, the issue of hangar leases were brought up by constituents.

“It is your job to serve your constituents and to provide them with the infrastructure they need. To have a whole happy, healthy, safe life. The Airport Master Plan needs to have a concrete plan on hangers and it’s the job of the board to assess what that will look like,” Oswald said.

She warned that a decision to remove Weeks may discourage community members to volunteer to serve on town boards. “If we, as community members who serve in this volunteer capacity for you, do not have the right to speak publicly our own opinions about what we are doing it does not build confidence for me that my service is valued, or that you are listening to constituents who are also commissioners and board members,” she said.

Ultimately, the decision came down to a split vote. Fambro made a motion to remove Weeks from the board, which was seconded by Evans. Council members Fernandez and Ortega both expressed their interest in helping explain possible conflicts of interest to future board and committee members, and voted not to remove Weeks.

“I’d ask that regardless of how this vote goes tonight, we do make a commitment in the coming months to really clarify the language — make it consistent so that someone coming in as a volunteer comes in with a very clear understanding of what they’re being tasked to do,” said Fernandez.

Maestas broke the tie, and Weeks was removed.