Cabell County Commission tables proposal to dissolve Airport Authority after 26 public speakers urge preservation

Nancy Cartmill, President of the Cabell County Commission, presided over a Nov. 24, 2020 meeting in which commissioners decided not to vote on a resolution that would dissolve the Cabell County Airport Authority.

Resolution #315 drew extensive public interest: clerks placed 26 registered speakers on the record, including pilots, airport authority members and local aviation stakeholders who spoke in favor of the airport’s continued operation and raised questions about the validity of a lease agreement tied to the resolution. Commissioners said too many questions remained unresolved and moved to table the item for further discussion.

Commissioner Jim Morgan and Commissioner Kelli Sobonya jointly moved to table the resolution until Feb. 11, 2021; the motion passed unanimously. The commission did not adopt any governance changes at the Nov. 24 meeting.

The tabling leaves open next steps: commissioners scheduled further consideration for the Feb. 11 meeting and did not direct staff to implement changes to the Airport Authority in the interim. The meeting record shows public speakers emphasized the airport’s local benefits, though the transcript does not include verbatim quotes attributed to individual speakers on the record.