Council OKs Mac leadership changes for city, airport

McMinnville has a new (interim) city manager and a new airport manager.

City council unanimously approved a contract Tuesday for former councilor Adam Garvin to take over as manager while the city searches for a permanent replacement. Public Works Director Geoff Hunsaker announced the city has hired John Paskell, former Salem-Willamette Valley Airport director, to lead the airport.

Paskell was manager of the Salem airport for 14 years before submitting his resignation Aug. 1, a week after commercial carrier Avelo announced they would cease operations at the airport, according to the Salem Reporter. Following a 15-year absence of commercial flights at the airport, the company had been providing commercial flights since 2023 to Burbank, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Potcake will continue airport management until its contract with the city expires next year. The company will then be retained as the airport’s Fixed Based Operator, according to Hunsaker.

Paskell will replace retiring part-time manager Willy Williamson and take over daily operations from Potcake Aviation as full-time manager, according to Hunsaker.

“I’m very excited about this hire,” Hunsaker said. “He’s got a lot of great airport management experience and has a strong background in airport economic development, which I believe aligns very closely with the council’s vision for our airport.”

Paskell will start Sept. 2. Williamson previously said he will stay on in some capacity to ease the transition.

Garvin was chosen over 13 other candidates for the interim position last month and will start Monday after finalizing a contract. He previously served eight years on council before deciding not to seek reelection last year. He is also president of the McMinnville Fire District Board and a member of the McMinnville Water & Light Commission.

Also at the meeting, city engineer James Lofton said the city is moving forward with a traffic and pedestrian data collection project at the intersection of Old Sheridan Road and Cypress Lane, following the death of a pedestrian in May.

“You may see video cameras collecting data over next few weeks,” he said. “We’ll collect that and compress it and analyze it. I expect to be coming back with short-term and long-term improvements, recommendations for safety improvements out there.”

The department will have an update on the project by the end of September, he said.

Lofton also announced the completion of a paving and striping project on Cypress and Fellows streets. Contractors are currently working on installing ADA ramps in the area.

Council approved a change order for $364,746 to continue the project by paving Cypress Street from Southwest Locust Street to Second Street. The overall project is currently under budget by approximately $107,000, according to Lofton.

The city also came in under budget on the recently completed Midtown Basin Stormwater project, which installed over 570 linear feet of stormwater infrastructure between Northeast Irvine and Kirby streets. The project was funded through American Rescue Plan Act dollars and is expected to reduce flooding in the area by up to 49%, according to Lofton.

“This is a great use of ARPA dollars with real results,” he said.

The city has received bids for an elevator replacement project at the community center and all were within the city’s $200,000 budget, Hunsaker said. A contract for the work will be brought before council at the Aug. 26 meeting.

Community Development Director Heather Richards said code enforcement will be contacting property owners about tree trimming issues over the public right-of-way, following complaints.

City code requires property owners provide eight feet of clearance between limbs and the sidewalk and varying clearances between limbs and the street depending on the type of roadway.

“We’ll be making that concerted effort here in the next couple of weeks,” Richards said.

The community and aquatic centers will be closed Aug. 25-29 for maintenance, according to interim parks and recreation director Jenny Berg.