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Regional airport aviation director resigns

VIENNA — The aviation director at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport has resigned from the position.

Dan Dickten, hired in 2010 to oversee the daily operations of the facility in Vienna, took an opportunity elsewhere when his contract expired last week, said John Moliterno, executive director of the Western Reserve Port Authority.

Dickten could not be reached for comment Monday. He will inform the public of where he moved on to when he is ready, Moliterno said.

He was paid $95,481 per year, a salary agreed upon when his contract was extended for two years in 2016.

The port authority will begin the process of looking for a new person to run the airport. Dickten’s responsibilities will be handled by Moliterno and other staff until someone is selected by the port authority board, which oversees the airport, Moliterno said.

“The board of directors appreciates Dan’s hard work and dedication,” said Marty Loney, chair of the port authority board. “After eight years, the board will use this time to reflect on where we have been and explore new opportunities.”

The new aviation director will be expected to continue the search for an airline to conduct daily passenger flights out of the airport, something the airport has been without since Allegiant Air left in January.

“There is nothing easy about attracting an airline, but we will find one or more. We can’t just snap our fingers — it won’t happen overnight. So we will think about who will be in a good position to help us with that. People with relationships in the industry would be helpful to us,” Moliterno said.

The board has been looking into partnerships with Ashley Air LLC, which proposed services to Sanford / Orlando, Fla; Tampa / St. Petersburg, Fla; Tunica, Miss. and Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Elite Airways, which proposed a service to Newark, N.J.

Moliterno said the separation from Dickten was amicable.

Dickten and unnamed members of the port authority board were at the center of a controversy that led to a settlement in January 2017 with a former employee who claimed she was directed to “use her sexuality, rather than her marketing experience” while working as a marketing / business development coordinator for the airport.

Dickten called the allegations “untrue and insulting.” The port authority’s insurance carrier paid the woman a $30,000 settlement.

The board will advertise the opening across the aviation industry to gather a large selection of candidates.

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