Members of the Mansfield Metropolitan and Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) met Thursday night to discuss airport operational needs and developments as well as upcoming events. 179th Colonel and Airport Commission member, Gary McCue also provided a briefing on the airlift wing's community development and recruitment projects.  Colonel McCue mentioned that private piloting lessons will be taught at the OSU Mansfield Campus this coming spring semester, and that recruitment for the base’s National Guard program has increased significantly in the past year. 

Commission members also discussed the annual Airport Day celebration to be held in July and airport service operational projections for the 2015 year. 

City Council Airport Committee Chairman Don Bryant said he enjoys the opportunity to serve as a Commission member. 

“This is a unique opportunity to serve the city in this capacity. One of my biggest tasks involves helping to hold the Theaker Administration accountable toward ensuring Mansfield airport operations are in compliance with Federal standards and that we as a city continue to support the mission of the 179th Airlift Wing.”

The next Airport Commission meeting will be in March at Mansfield Lahm Airport. 

Local government workers took time to meet with Councilman Don Bryant to share their concerns regarding the equipment they use to service the city. Bryant listened to a number of issues on Thursday with one of the most pressing being the amount of time and resources its taking to repair city service vehicles.  

“I counted at least 17 vehicles that were either completely inoperable due to damages or that were temporarily down due to needed repairs,” Bryant stated. 

An example of the repairs being done during Bryant’s tour included reattachment of a salt-truck bed and the replacement of several truck plows. When asked how these incidents happened, one of the employees said, 

“We’re using decade old vehicles that were not built to do the work we’re doing. “ 

Another employee mentioned,
“Some of these truck plows we’re using are intended to be used for residential driveways, not city streets.” 

Councilman Bryant echoed employee concerns when he met with the City Service Center Complex supervisor following his tour. 

“Employees have every right to be frustrated” said Bryant. “However, I as well as the center’s supervisor understand that the city does not have the financial capacity to replace the vehicles.  But, this does not mean that the city can’t do anything about the problem. There is an underlying safety issue here; our streets must be taken care of, especially during this time of the year.  I encourage City Administrators to work together to deliver results.” 

“It’s time to deliver quality results. No more excuses.”