RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio - Monica Drake, a planner with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, has been hired to manage the Cuyahoga County Airport.

She will earn $84,115 a year.

The airport has been without a permanent director since February 2013, when director Kevin Delaney resigned. He became director of airfield operations at the Wayne County airport in August 2014.

Dan DiGiammarino, who had been serving as interim administrator, will remain at the airport to work with Drake, officials said. His title on the airport website is maintenance supervisor of airport operations.

The process to choose a manager took nearly five months, said county spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan. Twenty four people applied, and eight were interviewed.

Drake has been with RTA since 2012, focusing on the bus fleet, according to her linkedIn profile.

She was executive director of the Put-in-Bay Port Authority from 1991 to 2009. She was the manager for three Lake Erie Island airports. She managed federal and state funded projects for maritime and airport improvements.

She owned and operated a bed and breakfast in Put-in-Bay from 2004 to 2008.