Delta County Administrator Asheligh Young

By Ilsa Minor

iminor@dailypress.net

ESCANABA — Delta County Administrator Asheligh Young was offered the position of Delta County Airport manager during a special meeting of the Delta County Board of Commissioners Monday, potentially opening up position of the county’s top-ranking employee.

“If she accepts and everything goes as planned, we will have to start looking for a controller and an administrator,” said Delta County Board Chair John Malnar, referencing Young’s multiple roles as administrator, controller, and human resources director for the county.

The board voted unanimously during Monday’s special meeting to offer the position to Young, who has served as the county’s interim airport manager since the departure of Former Airport Manager Robert Ranstadler in January. She had also served as the interim airport manager following the departure of Ranstadler’s predecessor, Andrea Nummilien, for a period in 2023. She completed her airport manager licensing examination earlier this month, allowing her to hold the position on a permanent basis.

Young was a late applicant for the position, which was announced in early December of last year, well in advance of Ranstadler’s Jan. 17 departure. Since then, the county has offered the position to one candidate — who later said she would not be filling the role — and tentatively approved entering into an agreement with a staffing firm to run the airport until a permanent hire could be found.

It was first noted that an internal candidate had applied for the position at the April 15 county board meeting. At that meeting, there was some discussion about truncating the hiring process by holding fewer interviews for the internal candidate. However the consensus of the board was to hold two interviews, as was required of all candidates being considered, but to hold the two interviews in a shorter period of time.

The vote to hire Young came after the hiring committee recommended Young receive the position to the full airport advisory board, which in turn recommended it to the board of commissioners Monday morning.

Young did not immediately accept the position. She will now begin the process of negotiating with Board Chair John Malnar.

“Technically the … administrator would negotiate with the airport manager for terms. Because it’s our administrator that is … being offered the position then it goes to the board chair to negotiate the terms of the agreement,” said Commissioner Kelli van Ginhoven, who also serves on the airport advisory board.

While nothing has taken place officially, much of the negotiation has effectively taken place already. According to van Ginhoven, Young said she would only accept a starting salary of $85,000 to take the position — the high end of the salary range being offered to potential managers. The sum would be a pay cut from her current salary administrator, controller and HR salary.

Commissioner Christine Williams raised concerns about the number, citing a request for a raise from Ranstadler that would have taken him from $60,000 to $70,000. That request was denied.

“The previous manager asked for a raise after the budget cycle. So he had plenty of opportunity to add a raise for himself and for his assistant during the budget cycle. He did not do that. I’m not going to speculate on his reasons,” said Airport Advisory Board Chair Brian Herioux, who said he believed Ranstadler had left the position to seek more money elsewhere and that other area airports were still paying more than the $85,000 offered to Young.

Preliminary scheduling done during Monday’s meeting set a private meeting between Malnar and Young for April 23. The board voted to hold an additional meeting at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 24, at which time her hire would be approved or — if an agreement was not reached — the county would go back to searching for a new airport manager.