VIA officials say Harlingen leaders want a part in director’s hiring process

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HARLINGEN — City leaders want to take part in the process of hiring Valley International Airport’s next director, airport officials said.

Since its founding in 1950, the airport’s board of directors has hired the aviation director while overseeing the hiring process, based on the city charter, board Chairman George McShan said.

Then in last November’s city election, voters passed a proposition amending the charter to state “the aviation director of Valley International Airport may only be hired or terminated with the prior approval of the Harlingen city commission.”

While giving the board autonomy to oversee the airport’s operations, the charter also aimed to keep politics out of the aviation director’s hiring process, McShan said in an interview.

“If elected officials are included, you have politics, and you can end up dealing with special interests,” he said.

Now, city officials want the mayor, city manager, one or two commissioners and the Economic Development Corporation’s chief executive officer to be part of the selection committee, McShan said.

“We have the responsibility to oversee airport operations — that’s in the charter,” he said. “It’s the airport board’s search, not the city’s and the mayor’s. We determine the process. They approve the hiring. They want to be involved in the whole process. None of these people have aviation expertise.”

While Mayor Norma Sepulveda declined comment, City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez did not respond to messages requesting comment.

Last month, Marv Esterly, who’s served as the airport’s aviation director for 11 years, announced his retirement following months of heated debate stemming from his proposal to hire a contractor to replace the Harlingen Fire Department’s annual $1 million airport firefighting service.

As part of his announcement, Esterly said he would stay on the job through Dec. 7, adding, “I remain committed to a smooth transition and will continue to fulfill my duties through my final day.”

Earlier this month, the airport board scrapped a proposal to hire to a search firm to help select candidates for the job.

During a meeting, the board rejected a proposal from ADK Consulting and Executive Search, an Atlantic Beach, Florida, company, to conduct the search for $45,306.

“Financially, that just wasn’t prudent,” McShan said, pointing to the airport’s tight $9 million budget. “They would set up all the process, identify candidates and then interviewing — who meets requirements.”

Instead, the seven-member board plans to conduct the search, he said.

McShan, who’s served as a consultant working for Texas school districts seeking to hire superintendents, said the board’s qualified to conduct the search.

“I have experience in executive searches,” he said. “The process is very similar.”

Officials are planning to advertise the position in the American Association of Airport Executives, Esterly said, referring to the country’s biggest organization of airport employees representing more than 875 airports and authorities.

Now, officials are drafting the job posting, he said.

Officials are planning to search for “someone with experience, particularly at the higher executive level — director, assistant director — with experience and knowledge in operating an airport such as Harlingen,” McShan said.

Candidates might include Bryan Wren, the airport’s assistant aviation director for nearly 18 years, who said he’s “considering” applying for the job.

If Wren applies for the position, the board would consider him for the job “if he meets the qualifications based on the job description,” McShan said. “He will be interviewed for the position and considered with all the applicants.”

In 2015, Esterly, who’s drawing a salary of $228,803, took the airport’s top job after serving as aviation director for Midland International Airport during a career that included work as an air traffic controller.

Earlier this year, Esterly and city officials became locked in a heated debate over his proposal to hire Pro-Tec Fire Services to replace the Harlingen Fire Department’s specialized airport firefighting team, a move he argued would save more than $200,000 a year while cutting mounting annual costs on a break-even budget.

In May, the debate led Evan Mann, president of the Harlingen Professional Firefighters Association, to warn city commissioners the union would file suit against the city if they didn’t stop their appointed airport board members from hiring a contractor, a move he claimed could cut firefighter jobs in violation of Civil Service law.

As the airport board considered the proposal to hire a contractor, officials reviewed Federal Aviation Administration reports citing the fire department for training violations.

From 2017 to 2024, the FAA cited the department for three training violations, while last year Esterly self-reported “misleading” entries raising concerns of the possibility of records falsifications in training logs stemming from two sessions in June and July 2024.

But Mann argued airport officials overstated FAA reports of “isolated” firefighter training violations as part of a plan to “discredit” the fire department in order to lead the airport board to terminate the city’s $1 million agreement providing aircraft rescue and firefighting services.

Esterly denied the claims.

As the FAA closed its investigation based on last year’s findings, the agency described the fire department’s violations as “isolated” and “not systemic” to the city’s training program.

Meanwhile, Mann argued airport officials overlooked the fire department’s “perfect score” on its annual FAA inspections.

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