Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan opposes temporarily replacing fellow Commissioner Chris Chermak on the bicounty board that oversees the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton International Airport amid Chermak\u2019s candidacy for the airport\u2019s executive director job.<\/p>\n
Chermak \u2014 the chairman of the airport board composed of Lackawanna County\u2019s commissioners, two Luzerne County council members and the Luzerne County manager \u2014 acknowledged last week that he\u2019s among seven remaining applicants<\/a> for the executive director position. He\u2019s taking a leave of absence from the airport board that will eventually hire the next director as the interview and hiring processes play out.<\/p>\n Unless he\u2019s replaced, Chermak\u2019s absence would leave Lackawanna County with two representatives on the airport board where any motion or resolution requires the majority support of both partner counties to pass. Chermak is not stepping away from his commissioner role.<\/p>\n Gaughan said both Chermak and Commissioner Thom Welby approached him last week about replacing Chermak with a temporary airport board member, something Gaughan is \u201cnot comfortable with at all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think that that is a huge mistake,\u201d Gaughan said. \u201cJust because he\u2019s recusing himself does not mean that there\u2019s a vacancy on the board, and the answer to a clear conflict of interest is not creating a temporary board member in the middle of a really important hiring decision that needs to be made.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been told by Commissioner Welby and Commissioner Chermak that this is probably going to occur at the next commissioners meeting,\u201d Gaughan continued. \u201cBut what really puzzles me is that when Commissioner (Matt) McGloin resigned from the commissioners office in 2025 and effectively left the airport board, the board operated for months without a replacement. I don\u2019t remember anybody claiming then that the board couldn\u2019t function or demanding an immediate appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n Welby, who maintains Chermak should be replaced during his absence, confirmed Monday that officials discussed a potential airport board appointment. He didn\u2019t know if any action would be taken Wednesday, when commissioners next meet.<\/p>\n \u201cI still feel very strongly that we have to have equal representation to Luzerne County\u2019s representation,\u201d Welby said. \u201cAnd I understand that what the conversation is about right now is his submitting a desire to be the director, but we don\u2019t know how long that process is going to play out, and in that period of time anything could happen at the airport.\u201d<\/p>\n Without naming anyone in particular, Welby said a potential Chermak replacement should be independent-minded and suggested a former commissioner with airport board experience would make sense.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s more than one,\u201d he said. \u201cDefinitely more than one that\u2019s being considered.\u201d<\/p>\n Efforts to reach Chermak were not immediately successful.<\/p>\n Reached last week, airport Co-solicitor Donald Frederickson said the decision of whether to replace Chermak on the airport board is the commissioners\u2019 to make.<\/p>\n \u201cThe (airport) board has no authority to appoint or remove members,\u201d Frederickson said. \u201cIt\u2019s up to the counties to do that. Do I think it\u2019s allowed under the operating agreement? Yes I do.\u201d<\/p>\n