ESCANABA — The past and future of the Delta County Airport were both on the agenda at Tuesday’s Delta County Board of Commissioners meeting. During the meeting, the board set the stage for an interim airport manager to take over the duties of Airport Manager Robert Ranstadler and Ranstadler’s predecessor, Andrea Nummilien, chastised the county for denying a Freedom of Information Request she suggested could clear her name.

“Since Robert Ranstadler first got up and gave a speech about me that was utterly devoid of facts, I have been trying to clear my name. I’ve met road block after road block, including an over $800 bill for a FOIA I know would have cleared up some of the slander against me. This latest batch of FOIA’s though takes the cake,” Nummilien said while reading a prepared statement during public comment.

Nummilien resigned from the airport June 2, 2023, citing a “constant barrage of stress” and “things that you wouldn’t expect to have to deal with in a professional setting from people in power.”

In statements made after her resignation, Nummilien referenced alleged harassement against her by Then-Board Chair Dave Moyle and a complaint she filed about Moyle’s behavior. That investigation was ultimately closed, but Nummilien reiterated Tuesday that she believes an investigation into her activities at the airport following her resignation as retaliation for the complaint.

“I strongly believe what happened to me was a retaliatory measure taken by Former Commissioner Moyle because first I filed a harassment complaint against him and then I spoke out against him at a public meeting,” she said.

Nummilien raised two issues with recent FOIA requests she sent to the county. First, she said that a FOIA request she submitted for emails between Moyle, Ranstadler, and Former County Attorney Scott Graham revealed security protocols had not been properly followed during the investigation.

“Within those emails was the revelation that Robert Ranstadler and (County Administrator) Ashleigh Young allowed Scott Graham access to sensitive security information prior to him having security clearance,” she said. “Congratulations. In the process of trying to besmirch my name and to continue besmirching my name, an incompetent airport manager, and incompetent county administrator, and an incompetent attorney all managed to commit a federal security breach.”

Young made no comments during the meeting about the possibility of a security breach. Neither Ranstadler nor Graham were in attendance.

It was Nummilien’s concern about the denial of a recent FOIA request, however, that put her on the agenda Tuesday. She had requested the names of the people interviewed by Graham during the investigation and copies of notes, recordings, or summaries of the interviews.

“The FOIA was denied and the reason given was ‘this information doesn’t exist.’ However, that information was clearly laid out in the itemized invoice sent by Scott Graham showing four separate interviews were conducted. So either the county is paying for things that they did not receive or I was being lied to,” she said.

During a discussion of the denial — which was on the agenda because Nummilien appealed the decision — Young said that the documents in question were not in the county’s possession.

“I don’t have any such documents, and I had requested it to Attorney Graham and he said that they were — I believe it was ‘he owns his notes,'” said Young.

Commissioner Christine Williams challenged that assertion, pointing to the Michigan Supreme Court 2020 case “Bisio v. City of the Village of Clarkson,” which established Clarkson’s city attorney was part of the public body and therefore the attorney’s files were public records under FOIA.

It is the county’s regular process to send FOIA appeals to the county’s legal counsel for review and to discuss appeals at the county meeting immediately following the receipt of the appeal. Because, according to Young, the county received the appeal four hours before the meeting, Young requested the board approve a 10-day extension to allow time for counsel to determine whether to uphold the FOIA request’s denial, reverse the denial, or reverse the denial in part.

After some additional discussion, the board approved the 10-day extension, with Commissioner Kelli van Ginhoven abstaining. Van Ginhoven recused herself from the vote, citing a conflict of interest due to her relationship with Nummilien.

Other discussion about the airport Tuesday revolved around finding a replacement for Ranstadler, who announced his intent to resign from the airport Dec. 3. He is expected to leave the post next month.

According to both Young and Airport Advisory Committee Member Will Carne, the county is in talks with an individual who would serve as an interim manager and develop a portfolio to attract a permanent manager and an assistant manager over the next year. A contract is still being developed, and $161,000 has been approved for the man’s hire. Young — who managed the airport between Nummilien’s departure and Ranstadler’s hire — will serve as the interim until an agreement is in place.