GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Green Bay Austin Straubel Airport will soon be under new management.
The county board voted unanimously Wednesday night to bring in Vantage Group to take over airport operations.
In a 21-minute presentation ahead of Brown County’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Vantage Group leaders explained what their role will be at Austin Straubel International Airport.
“We are indebting the airport leadership with performance-based accountability while Brown County still retains full ownership and governance of the airport,” said Vantage Group Senior Director of Global Operational Excellence Nyika Allen. “This is not an airport privatization.”
The airport is an enterprise fund, which means its own revenue will pick up the $950,000 annual price tag for bringing in Vantage. There’s also a $350,000 startup fee, and incentive opportunities if annual ridership increases 3% or more or if annual revenue exceeds $2.5 million.
The airport fund will also cover the payment for three Vantage managers who will be on site.
“The advantage we bring is not just the individuals we place here and the experience they bring, but the broader understanding and the broader capabilities from our network of airports as well,” said Vantage Group VP of Global Operational Services Frank Scremin.
The international company has been around more than 30 years, managing locations in places like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Canada, and England. The top priorities for Green Bay is air service development, long-term vision, operational excellence, and passenger experience improvements.
While the county board unanimously approved the agreement with Vantage, two supervisors said the process should have been more transparent. The public wasn’t clued in on this possibility until a day before the vote, despite talks starting about a year ago.
“I think it’s a disservice to the public so I think for future projects we really need to focus on being more intentional,” said Rachel Maes, a Brown County supervisor.
“The proposal wasn’t ready necessarily to be brought forward for full disclosure,” said Streckenbach. “We have FAA, TSA, we have a lot of moving parts.”
Vantage Group’s work will start immediately with three current airport managers, who will be out of jobs, potentially remaining with the airport until October.
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