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Editor's note: Former Delta County Airport Manager Andrea Nummilien, with the assistance of a number of other Delta County residents, expanded the reasoning behind her resignation during public comment at the June 6 Delta County Board of Commissioners meeting. What follows is the statement in its entirety.
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My name is Andrea Nummilien, former manager of the Delta County Airport. What I have to say extends beyond my three-minute allotment, so I have asked people to read what I cannot get to in my time.
In my capacity as manager, I served the people of our community and beyond to the best of my ability. It was always my goal to give the citizens of our county a sense of ownership and pride in our gem of an airport. I constantly received compliments on the exceptional service people received when they traveled through. We have the most courteous TSA staff, the most helpful airline representatives, a bustling car rental and, for the general aviation side, we boast an exceptional operations staff.
I wish I could take credit for these accomplishments, but they were put in place long before my tenure. It was my distinct honor, however, to continue this tradition of excellence by giving support and attention and above all, letting every stakeholder in that airport know that I deeply care about their continued success. And that was my main role, maintaining a structure that ensured the success of the operations of all the people in the airport. I was not perfect, but I did my best every day knowing I held a position of trust and honor in our community, and that I have never taken for granted.
The firing of Administrator (Emily) DeSalvo was a blow. I saw a qualified and exceptional leader removed in an emotion based decision. I say that because it has been reiterated multiple times that none of the commissioners went into that meeting intending to fire Ms. DeSalvo. Therefore, I can only conclude that the words she spoke were enough to cause you to make such an impactful decision based solely on your raw emotions in the heat of the moment. We need rational minds not ruled by emotions in positions of leadership.
I am here tonight because it is important our community knows what has gone on behind the scenes. I can only comment on the things that happened to me, but I am under no illusion that it may be happening in other areas of our county too.
I received an email from a concerned citizen containing a screenshot of a post from the "Delta County Just The Facts" Facebook page. The message on the post read as follows:
"A reminder for those who have received the invite details. I will be up from Florida next week and those of you who are involved with the issues at the airport, its lack of management, and the possible massive security breach last fall, we will be having a dinner meeting on the next steps while I am in town. It will be at the casino in Bark River next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. EST. The emails have the details about the sports bar area. Dinner drinks and discussion on (issues) we have uncovered in the last few months."
Commissioner Moyle, who served on the airport board for over a decade and should know how serious claims of security issues at an airport are, replied: "Travel safe my friend."
As the manager of the airport, it is my duty to report any suspected security issues. So, I forwarded this information on, not knowing what this possible security breach was. I did not get much of a response from TSA with my submittal and I did not expect it. I knew they were going to have to treat it like it was a legitimate claim and I would also be under federal scrutiny.
When I pass the information on, I let the federal officials know that having the chairman of the county board of commissioners and former member of the airport board comment on such a serious matter gave it a level of legitimacy and I was very worried about scaring the public.
Did I think this was a bogus claim? Yes. I had spoken with my operations staff and the TSA officers at the airport, no one could think of a single thing that would constitute a major security breach.
I had communications with many people throughout that day making sure that everyone knew that this information had been sent along the necessary channels and if there were any questions to please reach out to me. I also made sure our airport board chair, Brian Herioux, was given every detail so that he could answer any questions as well. In light of the Facebook post, I understood that there were obviously people who questioned my competency and I wanted to make sure there was a trusted source they could go to in Herioux if they did not trust me.
A couple of days later, in a meeting with Brian Herioux, we were notified by a federal official that this incident was moving along TSA channels and was also being investigated by the FBI. Security threats and investigations are obviously something that airports have to deal with every day due to the strict safety and security requirements, but I was unprepared for the stress heaped onto me over this particular incident, because it was beginning to look more and more like an attempt to get rid of me.
I still had no idea what this "possible massive security breach" could be. Luckily, two people for reasonings I hope include realizing the severity of the claim and possible adverse impact on our community, decided to tell me what this massive security breach was. The "massive" security breach was Kelli Van Ginhoven taking a tour of the airport last fall -- something that is not even remotely a security breach. One of the people told me this in a phone call. The other told me this in my office with Airport Board Chair Brian Herioux also in attendance.
So, when you try to gaslight me in your commissioner comments, Dave, know that one of these admissions was witnessed and both were offered up willingly. Also, know that the two people who told me are sitting up there with you now. And no, it was neither Commissioner Malnar nor Commissioner Viau.
Commissioner Moyle gave legitimacy to a disgusting lie that wasted people's time from the county all the way up to the federal government. Brian Herioux called him to ask him about this new revelation. Commissioner Moyle denied knowing about the security breach in the Facebook post made by his friend that he personally commented on, but told Brian Herioux that he was not happy I gave VanGinhoven a tour of the airport during the campaign and called it unprofessional. Herioux replied that he would expect me to give a tour to any official that requested one.
Commissioners Moyle and Barron also took it upon themselves to visit the airport while I was conveniently out on vacation. People described that visit as what they perceived to be a mission to find "dirt" on me. In light of claims that came from their field trip, I believe that to be true as well. I should congratulate Commissioner Moyle on his sudden interest in the airport, considering you only made a fraction of our airport board meetings and are no longer on the airport board. It's also important to note that they never contacted anyone from the airport board including commissioners Petersen and Viau -- the county board liaisons -- about heir trip to the airport.
Commissioners Moyle and Barron had the opportunity to speak with any of my personnel while they were out on their reconnaissance mission, and they did not. What they succeeded in doing was upsetting many people and wasting my time. What Commissioner Moyle thought was incriminating evidence of my dereliction of duties was all things that were already part of the airport's strategic plan -- and he would have known that, had he bothered to show up for his airport board meetings.
VanGinhoven toured three other county facilities during the campaign. To my knowledge, it has only been me that has been called unprofessional. Sheriff Oswald was not called out, the VSO manager was not called out.
I wonder what it is that is different about me?
Commissioner Moyle referred to me as "the girl" in Saturday's edition of the Daily Press. Microaggressions like this are unfortunately still prevalent in our society. Luckily, the court system is finding such overt attempts to demean and invalidate people as discrimination on the basis of sex. The third party obtained by the county to oversee the harassment claim I filed against Commissioner Moyle found no legal harassment, but I wonder how different the outcome would have been had the commissioners' Daily Press interview come out during that investigation.
In your 13 hears as a commissioner, have you ever referred to a male department head as "the boy?" No, you have not. Calling the sheriff "the boy" would be ridiculous and I assure you, calling me "the girl" is every bit as ridiculous to people who understand women are also worthy of respect.
You and your sycophants can call into question my professionalism and my dedication to my position. That is fine because I question yours.
In July of 2022, I was out on medical leave after having major surgery. My doctor required me to be off work for six weeks to recover. Two weeks post op, I got word from Skywest about the major changes they were making to our air service to combat the pilot shortage facing our nation. I pleaded with my doctor to give me a note that allowed me to work from home so that I could organize meetings with the airport board, TSA, airline, Department of Transportation and my staff to manage the challenges we faced.
I could not yet sit upright in a chair as I held these meetings, but there was no one else to step up. The Delta County Airport Board was incredible. This volunteer board aided me in managing the rapid transition we needed to make and were excellent in their leadership and advocacy for our county. There were open and constant communications with every member of the airport board, except one. Commissioner Moyle was absent throughout this critical time.
I have seen so many terrible decisions come out of this board. I have watched as sound research was ignored and replaced with the words "I think." I have watched as our standards are lowered regularly. And the final insult came with the hiring of the new county administrator. After reviewing the credentials of the other candidates, it is impossible to understand how they were passed by for someone who was less qualified. The airport faces more monumental changes in the very near future. It will take coordinated effort and it will be a challenge with experienced leadership. I was exhausted at the knowledge that the kind of support from the administrator I was accustomed to would very likely not be there, as we have chosen someone who is unprepared for this pivotal position.
I have heard the claim that this was a planned exit on my part. That I am leaving the county "just the way I wanted." If that is the case, I really committed to my role. I was set to graduate last month with my master's degree in public administration. Due to the stress and anxiety of the last few months and all I have dealt with, I, a pretty near straight A student, failed one of my classes. I did not graduate and have to retake a class costing me time and thousands of dollars. That is quite the personal sacrifice to hurt the county I love.
The truth is, I have been frantically waving my hand, it hasn't been to say hello, it is because I have been drowning. And I will not forget who threw me into the water and held my head under. There were people who knew what was going on but did not say anything or call anyone out. To the people that have supported me and helped me along the way, you have my fervent gratitude and I made it through because of you. I am heartbroken to leave but I can no longer work under leadership I do not respect.
So, I cannot even begin to understand Commissioner Moyle, how you are surprised at my departure. And how the fact that I blame you comes as any type of shock. Boys like you will remain boys. You will hurt whoever you need to hurt to achieve your goal. You will risk scaring people away from the airport if it furthers your agenda. You will waste people's time. You will abuse your position. Girls like me become women who don't tolerate boys like you.