Ethics Commission Says Fairhope Airport Lease With Mid-Bay Air Was Never Filed
The Alabama Ethics Commission said no lease between the Fairhope Airport Authority and Mid-Bay Air LLC, a company associated with board member Ray Hix, was ever submitted to it.
FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The Mid-Bay Air lease with the Fairhope Airport Authority was never filed with the Alabama Ethics Commission, according to a response from the commission. Mid-Bay Air LLC is a company associated with Airport Authority board member Ray Hix.
“No lease has ever been submitted to us regarding this issue,” the commission said in a Dec. 2, 2016, reply to a request submitted Nov. 8, 2016, for any written report or remarks on the lease awarded around December 2015.
The Advisory Opinion
The Ethics Commission issued Advisory Opinion No. 2016-04 on whether a lawyer serving on the Fairhope Airport Authority board could enter into a lease with the Authority. The lawyer’s law partner serves as Fairhope’s municipal judge. The six-page opinion sets out standards such a lease must meet.
The opinion states that “the Airport Authority member may not use confidential information gained by virtue of his position on the Airport Authority to benefit his company and their submitted bid.” It also states that “a copy of any contract/lease agreement entered into between the Board member and the Airport Authority must be filed with the Alabama Ethics Commission within ten days of its having been entered into.”
Timeline
- Aug. 7, 2015: Three Airport Authority board members resigned. The Authority then unanimously appointed Joe McEnerey as chairman, Pam Caudill as vice chair and Ray Hix as secretary-treasurer.
- Fall 2015: An ad hoc committee chaired by Fairhope City Council President Jack Burrell, also an Airport Authority board member, reviewed bids for the lease and selected the bid from Mid-Bay Air LLC.
- December 2015: Before the Ethics Commission issued its opinion, the Authority signed a memorandum of lease with Mid-Bay Air LLC for space at the H.L. “Sonny” Callahan Airport in Fairhope.
- Nov. 8, 2016: A request was submitted to the Ethics Commission for records on the lease.
- Dec. 2, 2016: The commission replied that no lease had been submitted.
No Finding
The commission’s reply addresses only whether the lease was filed. It does not state any finding of a violation by any party.
