Internal debate about how business should be done at the Island’s only commercial airport continued late last week when the airport commission met for the first time since August.

During the hour-long meeting Friday afternoon, the commission tended to routine business items, including an ongoing project to create bylaws that will govern airport business, and several land use matters.

But much of the meeting was marked by tense exchanges among members of the commission.

Airport manager Sean Flynn has been embroiled in workplace dispute involving former employee.

Mark Lovewell

Airport manager Sean Flynn has been embroiled in workplace dispute involving former employee.

Mark Lovewell

The airport is involved in two separate lawsuits, including one it brought against Dukes County Commission, the body that appoints the airport commission, for actions they claim interfere with the airport’s autonomy.

In the other lawsuit, an employee brought a complaint against the airport for wrongfully suspending her from her job after she voiced concerns about airport manager Sean Flynn.

The airport commission had postponed meetings until the superior court issued a decision about whether the county could vote to expand the size of the board by adding two members. That came this month, when a superior court judge ruled in favor of the airport, blocking the county from appointing new commissioners.

And while three months had passed since the last airport meeting, the same issues from last spring and summer resurfaced Friday, with commissioners sparring over questions of meeting protocol and transparency.

Chairman Constance Teixeira began the meeting with a phrase familiar to those who have sat in on recent airport meetings.

“The only people who are allowed to speak will be recognized by the chair,” she said. “If you are not recognized by the chair, that means you can’t speak.”

She then read a written statement defending the airport’s legal actions against Dukes County.

“We did not take this course to be disagreeable or uncooperative or litigious,” Ms. Teixeira said, but instead to uphold a document which the two bodies signed when the airport accepted tens of millions of dollars in state and federal funding for airport renovations. Two airport attorneys participated in the meeting by telephone.

Commissioner Rich Michelson says his board is plagued by lack of transparency and openness.

Mark Lovewell

Commissioner Rich Michelson says his board is plagued by lack of transparency and openness.

Mark Lovewell

Ms. Teixeira said the airport had formed a litigation subcommittee to address ongoing legal actions. The committee excludes two airport commissioners, Christine Todd and Richard Michelson. They have been deemed to have “irreconcilable conflict of interest” with respect to the lawsuits, Ms. Teixeira said.

When she finished, Mr. Michelson asked to respond to the statement.

“You referenced me in your comments, and I would like to answer them,” he said.

Ms. Teixeira denied the request, referring to her earlier remarks.

“I said at the beginning that you can only speak if addressed by the chair,” she said.

Mr. Michelson soon asked again whether he’d be allowed to speak at some point.

Ms. Teixeira addressed him again.

“I am going to shut the meeting down for just one moment, so I can address this,” she said. “I am going to tell you once again, we are going to stick to the order of the meeting,” she said. She asked him not to disrupt again.

Some business and much tension over procedure and roles in first meeting since August.

Mark Lovewell

Some business and much tension over procedure and roles in first meeting since August.

Mark Lovewell

Mr. Michelson commented later in the meeting that he and Ms. Todd had been excluded from all matters relating to litigation.

“Nobody is communicating with us, except for the end result,” he said. “This is not openness, this is not transparency, when the full commission doesn’t have information on what’s going on.”

Commissioner Jim Coyne said the only items on the active agenda of the litigation subcommittee were issues in which his colleagues were in conflict and therefore could not be briefed.

He added later that in his six years on the commission, there had been many occasions where commissioners had recused themselves in matters of litigation.

“I think if you look at the history of organizations like this across the state and across country, a lot of problems get created when commissioners do not recuse themselves from issues involving litigation even when there is the appearance of conflict,” he said.

Mr. Michelson disagreed that he had a conflict.

Ms. Todd, who is also a county commissioner and has been barred from legal talks because of that affiliation, expressed her own frustrations with the flow of information.

She suggested reorganization of the airport commission and reexamination of the lines of communication were needed.

“I repeatedly send emails to the chair asking for information pertaining to meetings, procedure, any number of things, being on committees and I get absolutely no reply,” Ms. Todd said. She said she had sent eight such emails.

“I think everyone sitting at this table deserves to be treated with respect and integrity and professionalism,” she said. “And if that can’t change, I think we need to have a reorganization. There is no reason why we can’t function as a team . . . I am very unhappy with how things are being run.”

Ms. Teixeira countered that she had spoken to Ms. Todd about the matters on the phone. “This is not the time or place for this,” she said.

She also said she would print out the emails showing she had responded to Ms. Todd.

“I would love that,” Ms. Todd said.

She made a motion to continue the discussion about a possible reorganization at the next meeting.

Airport manager Sean Flynn interjected to say that that item had not been listed on the meeting’s agenda for a vote.

Commissioner Denys Wortman said the item could be placed on the agenda for the next meeting without a vote.

“Good, open discussion is one of the best things we can have,” Mr. Wortman said. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with that because we want to find what the best way is to run these meetings.”

He extended a greeting to Beth Toomey, a former West Tisbury police chief who was appointed to the commission this fall to fill a vacancy and was attending her first meeting.

“And welcome, Beth,” Mr. Wortman said. “Welcome to the fold. With all your experience, you may be the one.”