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In late October, the Airport Authority Board told Airport Director Cynthia Schultz her contract would not be renewed. The Board has yet to give a reason for the decision.

At first the airport board said it was about the money. Schultz offered to let the board do an independent salary evaluation and take whatever number came out of it. Then it was about the terms of her contract. Schultz said she would be willing to sit down and negotiate a contract everyone could agree on.

"And then it became that it wasn't about replacing her and that was the same day we had signed a 30-plus thousand dollar contract that was titled search for new airport director," said former Airport Board chair Ed Buttrey.

KRTV tried to find out why the board was spending all that money. The new chairman of the board, Jeff Mangan, provided a written statement about the board's actions. In it, he said Schultz' contract is out-dated, poorly written and included a 1979 job description.

The statement goes on to say counsel for the board recommended they consider negotiating a new contract. However, the statement doesn't say why the board is conducting a search for a new airport director, merely that it was the best course of action to take.

KRTV also asked Mangan for a statement about the letter sent to the city and county commissions asking them to intervene and overturn the board's decision. He said he would review the letter and get back to KRTV, but never did.

Buttrey served on the airport board for three years and was also chairman from 2008 to 2009. KRTV also spoke with Ben Ives, who served on the board for six years and was chairman the year before Buttrey. Both of them say airport board members do in fact have reasons Schultz' contract is not being renewed, but no board member will say what those reasons are.

"It's very concerning to me that a volunteer board would have the power to, without any accountability, make any decision they want to and furthermore not share those decisions or reasons with the public," Buttrey said.

"All they said was we have our reasons and one board member Owen Robinson said 'Well I have my reasons', and vice chairman Morin said, 'And I know what those reasons are and they're good reasons', and that was as far as it went," Ives said.

Ives also believes the issues are personal because of a conversation with Mangan after Ives asked him to update his conflict of interest statement.

"I was told at that point in time, she has to be stopped," he said. "I said 'She who?' And he said, 'Well, Cynthia.'"

When KRTV asked Mangan if it wasn't about replacing Schultz, then why spend over $30,000 to look at other candidates, he wouldn't go on camera but did tell KRTV that they had been advised by their counsel that they couldn't simply rewrite her contract and this was how they should proceed.