Mohave supervisors now control Laughlin/Bullhead Airport. Director says they don't have authority

The Mohave County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on July 20 to take control of the Laughlin-Bullhead International Airport away from the airport authorities that have run the facility for more than three decades.

This move marks the latest chapter in an ongoing dispute between the Mohave County Airport Authority (MCAA), who operates the Laughlin-Bullhead International Airport, and the Mohave County Board of Supervisors, who own the land where the airport sits.

“The Mohave County Airport Authority is not a center of excellence,” said District 2 Supervisor Rich Lettman at the meeting. “It is a center of mediocrity, of poor decision making, financial audits that failed.”

But Airport Director James Scheller said the supervisors do not have the authority to unilaterally take over airport operations because they are simply the lessor of the land, and do not have oversight over the airport authority.

“Because the airport bears the name of the county or the municipality that somehow or another they're in control of it, and they're not,” Scheller said.

Background

The Laughlin-Bullhead International Airport is located in Bullhead City, Arizona, and is the only airport governed by the MCAA.

The Board of Supervisors allege several instances of wrongdoing and lawbreaking by the MCAA and Airport Director James Scheller, including violations of Arizona’s open meeting law, failing financial audits, lacking transparency and a violation of Arizona’s loan procurement law.

The Board of Supervisors allege Scheller procured a loan for $700,000 from the airport’s fuel provider, Titan Aviation Fuels, without approval or action for the MCAA board.

Lettman also alleges the MCAA violated Arizona’s open meeting law by hosting a quorum at the board president’s home in July 2025.

“After investigating the operation for almost two years, we are finding significant operating losses,” Lettman said. “Failed financial audits, poor planning, and a lack of transparency by the governing board.”

In addition to voting to take over the airport, the Board of Supervisors also unanimously approved a separate measure requiring approval from the airport authority board of directors before securing goods and services greater than $5,000, except for in cases of an emergency which can be approved after the fact.

Open meeting violation

On Jan. 19, four members of the MCAA board — Frank Stepongzi, Mark Golligher, Roger Dawes and William Osborn, the board’s president — resigned at the request of Lettman.

Lettman said he called for the resignation of the four board directors because of a private meeting that was held by a quorum of the airport authority board of directors at William Osborn’s home in July 2025, and an email that talked about the setting up of this meeting.

“Were we in violation of the open meeting law?” Osborn said. “We absolutely were. OK? No doubt about that.”

Osborn said they did not discuss any business and simply drank whiskey.

And Osborn said he was advised the board is not subject to open meeting laws because the airport authority is an Arizona Nonprofit Corporation.

“We don't think you should be running to somebody's house with a quorum of your board of directors for any reason, much less distributing emails amongst all of you,” Lettman said. “That's part of open meeting laws.”

Lettman went on to say the Board of Supervisors is not allowed to email amongst one another and can only talk during open meetings.

In the weeks following the resignations, the new board began to take shape. Travis Pruitt was elected as board president, and Luke Morgan, Gene O’Neal and Steve Latoski also became directors. Morgan was later replaced by Linda Green.

Loan Procurement

The supervisors allege Scheller procured a $700,000 loan without board action or approval.

But Scheller said he received board approval on March 13 to procure a loan to build a new fuel farm for the airport.

Scheller said the new fuel farm is necessary because an inspection revealed the current tank is 25% degraded.

According to minutes from the Mohave County Airport Authority special session on March 13, Scheller informed the board he would pause the project to allow the incoming directors to decide.

The minutes say the board approved a motion 5-2 to allow Scheller to determine the funding mechanism and proceed with full construction of the fuel farm.

“The purpose of the $700,000 is not to outfit the entire fuel farm,” Scheller said. “It's just for the deposit that's needed to keep the project moving forward and on schedule, so … we can protect the environment and improve the airport facility.”

July MCAA executive meeting

On July 10, the MCAA held an open executive session to consider the employment of Airport Director James Scheller. Executive sessions are not usually public, but Scheller requested the meeting be public.

Linda Green is an MCAA board member and the treasurer. She said the board had concerns about the performance of the airport director.

Green said MCAA board members were presented with Scheller’s proposed 2027 budget at 8 p.m. the night before the July 8 regular quarterly meeting leaving little time for review.

At the meeting, Green said she inquired about Scheller’s entering into an “inappropriate” contract with the airport’s fuel provider without discussing it with the board.

Green said she and fellow board member Steve Latoski requested documents from Scheller and the airport, including financial information and job descriptions.

“We were told as board members that we have to follow the same information request as a member of the press,” Green said she was told by Scheller.

Green then accused Scheller of fueling an adversarial nature against the Board of Supervisors, making it out to be an “us against them situation.”

At the July 10 executive meeting, Latoski and Green made two motions to fire Scheller, including one with cause.

Both motions failed, and the MCAA voted to put Scheller on a 30-day action plan for review by the board. The plan included determining airport sponsorship status and revising the 2027 budget.

Scheller’s perspective

Scheller claims this dispute between the County Board of Supervisors and the MCAA is about the airport sponsorship, and who has the legal authority to develop airport land.

“Ever since November of 2024, there has been this aggressive movement by the county and the city to try and, let's say, infiltrate the airport authority and put seats on the board so they control the board and sell property,” Scheller said.

Scheller says the MCAA is the sponsor of the airport because of a master lease agreement with the county.

According to county records, the airport land is owned by the county, and the airport authority operates the airport under a “master lease” granted in 1991. The land was donated to the county in increments by D.J. Laughlin starting in 1987 for the purpose of building an airport.

Scheller pointed to action by the County Board of Supervisors on March 16, 2009, that amended the master lease agreement by removing Mohave County as the sponsor of the MCAA and permitting the MCAA to act as the airport sponsor.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, an airport’s sponsor is responsible for ensuring an airport’s owners comply with their federal grant obligations.

Vacant land at the Laughlin-Bullhead City Airport is encumbered by a federal grant restriction, meaning the FAA is required to approve any non-aeronautical development and lift the restriction. The process to lift a grant restriction is lengthy and cumbersome.

But the airport successfully petitioned to release the obligations on 83 acres of airport land in 2002.

The Board of Supervisors voted on Monday to condemn the master lease agreement and take over the airport.

It is not clear if the action by the Supervisors answers the sponsorship question, or if the FAA will still rule on where the sponsorship lies.

Scheller also accuses the Supervisors of trying to influence and stack the MCAA board.

Scheller is concerned the new board has too much influence from the city of Bullhead and Mohave County.

Pruitt is the assistant city manager, and O’Neal is a city councilman in Bullhead City. Latoski is the Mohave County engineer and public works director, and Linda is the chief financial officer for Mohave County.

He also raised concerns that none of the new board members are aviators.

“They needed to get rid of me for any reason,” Scheller said.

Back to the board

The Board of Supervisors did not reach this decision flippantly or overnight, said board chairman Travis Lingenfelter.

Lingenfelter said the board made several attempts to resolve this cooperatively, but “the same lack of transparency, continued conflict, negative headlines, and outright disdain and resistance to reasonable oversight and questions have persisted.”

Lingerfelter said the board chose lease condemnation because it is a lawful tool and process available when an existing arrangement no longer services the public’s long-term interests.

“For the first time in 20 or 30 years, the county is finally looking under the hood, and the results are concerning,” Lettman said.

Lettman said the recent behavior by the MCAA and the airport is indicative of a long-term trend, and he fully supports the move.

“The airport sits on land owned by the citizens of Mojave County,” Lettman said. “It's everybody in the room, not Bullhead City, and not the airport authority.”