Will the real Metro Nashville Airport Authority please stand up?
The planes are taking off, travelers are buying last-minute coffees, and construction is humming along.
But a behind-the-scenes battle between state and city leaders over control of Nashville International Airport is boiling.
On Wednesday, the Metro Nashville Airport Authority met for its regularly scheduled 1 p.m. board meeting on BNA's campus. Six newly seated, state-appointed board members reviewed the airport's new leasing agreement with its airlines, construction and renovation progress, and strategic 2024 goals.
The new members are downtown Nashville high-rise developer Tony Giarratana; Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Stuart McWhorter; Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin; Masami Tyson, a global business attorney at Womble Bond Dickinson's Nashville office; reappointed board member Jimmy Granbery, chairman and CEO of Nashville-based HG Hill Realty Co.; and reappointed business owner and pilot Bobby Joslin.
A state law that took effect last month reworked the board, which was appointed by the mayor of Nashville, and gave most appointments to the state. Nashville is suing state leaders to block the law, which it calls a "ripper bill" designed to usurp local power in violation of the state constitution, according to court documents.
Meanwhile, across town at the same time in the Historic Metro Courthouse's Media Room, a second Metro Nashville Airport Authority board met. This panel consists of five Mayor John Cooper-appointed members who were ousted when the new board took office on June 30. Cooper has not made any appointments under the new law.
Four original members agreed to hire outside counsel to help fight the state law. Those members are TVV Capital executive Andrew Byrd; Bill Freeman, chairman of Freeman Webb and a local publisher; Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover; and Triad Environmental principal Nancy Sullivan. The fifth member, Tennessee attorney Joycelyn Stephenson, was out of town.
Metro Nashville Law Director Wallace Dietz recommended Metro hire outside counsel on behalf of the board. He told the board that he has a person in mind and was awaiting completion of a conflict check to share the name.
A resolution authorizing Dietz to make the hire was unanimously approved so that the person may attend the next scheduled meeting.
Also at the meeting, Cooper said the Federal Aviation Authority still considers the city’s board in charge of the airport and thanked the gathered commissioners for continuing to serve.
“It’s important we follow federal regulatory authority,” Cooper said.
FAA Associate Administrator of Airports Shannetta R. Griffin sent a letter, in response from a request from Dietz, saying that the agency has no stake in the lawsuit. But she said they would continue to recognize Cooper's appointees until the court decides.
"The FAA is also concerned about the uncertainty the legislation may have on the MNAA board governance during the pendency of the litigation," Griffin wrote. "To avoid this uncertainty, please be advised that the FAA will continue to recognize the existing board until such time as the Chancery Court rules on the issue."
A July 28 court hearing is scheduled to decide on Metro's request for a temporary injunction. The lawsuit names Gov. Bill Lee, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville. The three state officials and the mayor of Nashville each have two votes each on the eight-member board, per state law.
"As an agency and instrumentality of Metro, the Nashville airport has consistently performed well and expanded," Dietz said. "The state this year chose to upend 50 years of successful local management."
Who's in charge?
Metro leaders dispute the state law and are seeking a court injunction to block it. They say the state is overreaching unconstitutionally into a local jurisdiction.
"This hostile takeover only affects one local government and violates the Tennessee constitution," Dietz said. "We have filed suit seeking to declare the law unconstitutional and ensure BNA’s future success."
The constitutional statute at issue states, in part, "The General Assembly shall have no power to pass a special, local or private act having the effect of removing the incumbent from any municipal or county office."
State and airport attorneys said this rule doesn't apply to MNAA because it is an independent entity.
"The (state law) does not remove any Metro Nashville officer from office, because MNAA commissioners are not Metro Nashville officers," state attorneys argue in court documents. "Because the act is not local in form or effect, it does not require local approval. Metro Nashville’s claims are not likely to succeed on the merits because it cannot meet its heavy burden to show that the Act is unconstitutional, especially in view of the strong legal presumption of constitutionality afforded the Act."
The lawsuit also accuses MNAA CEO Doug Kreulen of siding with the state and welcoming the board change. He has issued statements that the board is following the guidance of their attorneys, who say he must follow state law.
"As an airport authority, we do not take political positions," Kreulen wrote, in a recent open letter to the community. "We recognize that the current situation has caused frustration and confusion, but our responsibility is to remain legally compliant so that our airports can operate as essential hubs of transportation for our vibrant community."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville, state continue feud over airport authority board
