COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai County commissioners and an application review committee met Friday to review 19 applications for a new airport manager.

They also decided to re-open the application deadline to Dec. 12.

Commissioner Todd Tondee said the commissioners were joined by three members of the airport advisory committee and interim Airport Manager Phil Cummings.

The county's human resource director was on vacation, and the two incoming commissioners - David Stewart and Marc Eberlein - were invited but decided not to attend.

"It's really not on my watch right now," Eberlein said, explaining why he chose not to participate.

Stewart said he didn't go because he had business in Spokane.

"The way I see it, the only choice the commissioners have now is to move forward or wait until after January," Stewart said, adding that he wants to give them the benefit of the doubt. "I guess it will depend on how strongly they feel they are doing the best thing for the county."

The review committee met in executive session, which was closed to the public. However, it opened a public meeting after the executive session to vote on extending the application deadline.

"And we are going to interview a couple of those applicants," Tondee said. "But we will wait until after we review the next round of applicants."