The Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority has made it official with its executive director. At Tuesday's authority meeting, the board voted to hire Charles Everett as executive director, a position he has held through the airport's management consultant AvPorts.

"He was always our executive director, but with a footnote," said Tony Iannelli, chairman of the airport authority board.

He said that the airport still has eight to nine months left on its contract with the management firm, but hiring Everett makes it easier for the authority to end its contract with AvPorts when the contract is up.

He said the savings to the authority will be around $300,000. That's the approximate management fee the firm charged above and beyond the roughly $140,000 per year that went to Everett's salary.

Iannelli said he thinks making Everett official was a good move.

"It was very clear he likes it here, and we think he has some ideas on how to improve the airport," he said.

While the board has voted to extend the offer to him as an at-will employee of the airport, Iannelli said some details still need to be worked out with the airport and AvPorts on the transition.