Kootenai County Commissioner David Stewart issued the following statement regarding Greg Delavan’s employment with the county as general manager of the Coeur d’Alene Airport.

To whom it may concern,

I strongly voted against the firing of Greg Delavan. Greg has managed the Coeur d'Alene Airport with excellence and professionalism. Over the past couple of years the Board of County Commissioners have also received numerous positive comments from other governmental agencies about how well the airport is managed. They consider it to be a model example. In my opinion and due to comments made by Commissioner Dan Green to me personally, the firing is due to a personal vendetta by Commissioner Dan Green against Greg Delavan. During my term as a Commissioner, Greg Delevan's job performance has been nothing but exemplary. In my opinion Greg has done nothing wrong to warrant this type of action.

My concerns now are that Commissioners Dan Green and Marc Eberlein have exposed the county to an enormous liability. Remember a few years ago whereas the county paid several hundred thousand dollars in employee claims? A bigger concern is, will ICRMP the county's insurer cover the claim? If not, the county could be at risk of a multi-million dollar payout much like the City of Coeur d'Alene experienced not long ago.

My hope is that the two new commissioners, Fillios and Bingham, will immediately revisit this issue when they take office next week, investigate it thoroughly, and take the necessary steps to do the right thing and reinstate Greg Delavan as the manager of the Coeur d'Alene Airport.

Sincerely,

David Stewart

Kootenai County Commissioner