MARQUETTE — At the Marquette County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday night, commissioners unanimously approved funding to procure three jet refuelers, part of Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport’s transition to utilizing a county-run fixed-base operator.

Assistant Airport Manager Anania Tekurio was present at the meeting to make a privileged comment requesting one 3,000-gallon jet-refueling truck and two 5,000-gallon jet-refueling trucks. Both trucks are brand new.

Tekurio stated that both trucks would be available for use 60-days from the date of order confirmation, just in time for the County to take over FBO operations on May 1.

When asked by Commissioner Bill Nordeen whether the county was otherwise ready to take on FBO duties, Tekurio responded in the affirmative: “definitely,” she said.

The funds for the new trucks come out of the airport reserve fund.

Commissioners also unanimously moved to elect Fred Benzie to the Airport Board. Benzie’s past experience includes tenures on the Health Department Board and the Landfill Board.

At the end of the meeting, Chairperson Joseph DeRocha moved to enter into a closed session so that the commissioners could discuss pending litigation.

Commissioners spent about 20 minutes in closed session and when they returned, DeRocha made a motion to “cancel the mediation with Kubick situation,” referring to the state lawsuit filed by Kubick Aviation in regards to their cancelled FBO contract. The motion was carried unanimously.

Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.