BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. – Mohave County showed up in force Wednesday, September 9, at the special Mohave Valley Airport Authority (MCAA) meeting to decide the fate of the Laughlin Bullhead International Airport.
After a presentation by Supervisor Rich Lettman, comments from Supervisor Chair Travis Lingenfelter and County Manager David Strahl, joined by Deputy Attorney Will Davis, and a nearly three-hour executive session, votes were tied 3-3.
MCAA Board President Travis Pruitt cast the deciding vote. He paused to consider his decision. Then, he said his vote is for the county’s offer, giving the county control of the airport.
The airport will be handed over to the county as a result of continual financial shortfalls in operational expenses and concerns with decisions made by airport director James Schiller.
Lettman told the board, “I recommend you accept the nominal offer ($1) instead of litigation.”
He then discussed the two documents he had sent the board which were ignored – the letter he wrote on August 3 and the Resolution filed August 11, both listing multiple concerns of operation losses, growing debt load, lack of a written plan for a strategy to mitigate negative cash flow as well as his concerns with airport director James Schiller.
Schiller, on the MCAA Board, asked Mohave County Supervisors to pause any action until January 1, 2027, because he had hired an accountant in Arizona to do a forensic audit.
Following the nearly three-hour executive session the board emerged and approved considering action to either continue with the forensic audit or to end it, and accept the draft findings as satisfaction of the audit. They also approved a limited waiver of privilege to allow the MCAA’s financial auditor to have access to necessary information in the forensic audit to enable completion of the MCAAs annual audit and payment of the outstanding invoice for the forensic audit.
