The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is again looking to make a permanent selection for executive director after failing to finalize a contract with the man hired last month, bicounty airport board Chairman Chris Belles said.
The airport board unanimously voted to hire Kim “Bill” Hopper as executive director last month and is scheduled to meet Thursday morning.
“It’s all up in the air,” Belles, a Luzerne County councilman, said after Tuesday’s council meeting. “Yeah, we couldn’t come to terms.”
Lackawanna and Luzerne counties share ownership of the airport in Pittston Twp. and Avoca. Stephen Mykulyn, the airport’s director of engineering, has been serving as interim executive director of the airport since March.
The board voted to hire Hopper to succeed Carl Beardsley Jr., who was director from January 2015 until late 2025, when he went on sabbatical leave for a non-disciplinary reason. The sabbatical became a permanent leave.
Hopper was expected to start Nov. 1 as airport executive director. Hopper served as executive director of the Pitt-Greenville Airport Authority in Greenville, North Carolina, from February 2019 through June 2026, according to LinkedIn.
“He’s an accomplished aviation executive with more than 40 years of airport leadership experience,” Belles said at the airport board meeting on Aug. 27.
Lackawanna County Commissioner Chris Chermak chaired the airport board before confirming he was a finalist for the job as airport executive director. Chermak, a Republican, was temporarily replaced on the airport board by attorney Chris Munley on July 15.
Five finalists participated in virtual interviews Aug. 13. Hopper and Chermak were the only finalists identified.
In March, the board hired ADK Consulting and Executive Search to facilitate the process of finding a new executive director. The annual salary range advertised was $135,000 to $150,000.
The application deadline was May 10. ADK Consulting reviewed 20 applications and shortlisted the top seven applicants, airport co-solicitor Donald Frederickson said at the board meeting in May.
Luzerne County’s three representatives on the airport board are Belles, County Manager Romilda Crocamo and Councilwoman Lee Ann McDermott. Lackawanna County’s three representatives on the airport board are Munley, County Commissioner Chairman Thom Welby and Commissioner Bill Gaughan.