Former authority members react to critics
At least one former member of the Fayette County Airport Authority doesn’t take offense to reportedly being called a thug. Martin Griglak, who was on the board in 2004 when Fayette County solicitor Joseph E. Ferens Jr. reportedly made the remark, said he wasn’t offended. “I’ve known (Fayette County Solicitor) Ferens for years. He’s (employed at) at the good will of the commissioners,” Griglak said.
Griglak said he, along with former board members Timothy S. Mahoney and Bob Schiffbauer, used what he described as “strong arm” tactics to move the agenda of the authority forward. He said the board was able to advance the runway extension project, get the Fayette Area Coordinated Transportation hub at the Connellsville Airport and get rid of non-aviation tenants.
Fayette County Commissioner Angela M. Zimmerlink recently reported that back in 2004, Ferens referred to airport authority members as “thugs.” Zimmerlink said that at that time, she was being asked to support disbanding the airport authority, a move that Commissioners Joseph A. Hardy III and Vincent A. Vicites reportedly were in favor of doing.
Since that time, Hardy and Vicites have voted to replace former airport authority board members with three individuals who have known business ties to Hardy.
Earlier this year, the authority voted 4-1 to rename the airport in honor of Hardy, but that is being challenged because a covenant in the deed may prevent changing the name from Connellsville Airport.
Griglak said he and the others served on the airport board with the idea of getting things accomplished, not for the benefit of any one individual. “We went in and that’s what we did. When it got politics in it, everything stopped,” Griglak said. He said Hardy was putting pressure on authority members “way back.”
Mahoney, who is serving his first term as a state representative, said he did not seek reappointment to the board because he knew he would not prevail in that effort. “I have my own mind,” Mahoney said. “Sometimes when you don’t get your way, you want to take the ball and go home.”
Griglak said he, Schiffbauer and Mahoney did what they needed to do to get the airport’s agenda on track. He said that included getting non-aviation tenants out of the airport.
When Griglak’s term was up, Griglak said he didn’t seek reappointment, and was replaced by Nick Ludi, who was Hardy’s pilot. Since that time, Griglak said three people with Hardy ties have been put on the board. They include Terry Shallenberger, Mark “Kingfish” Wasler and Todd Radolec of McMillen Engineering. Hardy and Vicites approved all three.
Former airport authority chairman Fred Davis most recently did not gain reappointment, and Griglak said he doesn’t know how the authority will get along without Davis. “He was our encyclopedia,” Griglak said. He said Davis was frequently outspoken and hard to get along with, but spent a lot of time at the airport and was very knowledgeable.
Mahoney said his goal when he served was to do what was best for the airport, not what was best for any one individual. “We turned it around, we were getting grants, it was progressing,” Mahoney said.
Schiffbauer said he recalls a discussion about possibly renaming the airport, but it never got any further than the preliminary talking stages.
Schiffbauer said he accomplished what he wanted to do while he served on the airport authority, which was to change the direction of the authority. He said the authority did not have proper guidance and entered into “ill-fated” leases that he worked to eliminate. “I think we accomplished a lot pursuant to getting funding to extend the runway,” Schiffbauer said.
Schiffbauer said he worked to gain the support of U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, to help gain funding for the runway extension. Now, he said he doesn’t think the authority members realize the need to emphasize how important the extension is as a way to gain its completion.
Although Hardy’s spokesman has said that in 2004 Hardy believed there were problems that needed to be resolved, Schiffbauer said he thought the problems were well on their way to being resolved at the time he was on the authority.