The Airport Board approved a new private lease agreement for hanger space Oct. 9.
The new agreement, to go into effect January, reflects several changes for hanger owners at Shively Field, including the timeframe of the lease, the cost of the lease, the storage of personal items in hangers and other small changes.
Town Attorney Tom Thompson met with the board at its regular meeting Oct. 9 to go over the changes the Airport Board had discussed in a previous workshop meeting.
“As a result of the workshop that had occurred on Monday, I went and made some revisions to the private operator airport lease agreement,” Thompson said.
Thompson read sections of the lease agreement that had been changed according to the board’s discussion in the workshop meeting.
The changes included striking a paragraph from the lease which talked about the storage of personal items in the hangers. The old agreement included language that may “condone” hanger owners to store personal items in the hangers, Airport Board member Mike Patterson said in the workshop meeting held Oct. 7. Airport Board Chairman Lee Tromble said, according to conversations he had with an Federal Aviation Administration official, FAA regulations prohibit the storage of items unrelated to aircraft.
The new lease agreement does not prohibit the use of storing personal items in the hanger, but no longer encourages it, because of the FAA standard. Tromble said in the workshop meeting he did not know if the FAA regulation was new, or if it had always existed.
The new lease agreement has also been lengthened from a five-year renewal to a 10-year initial renewal, with two five-year renewals following. However, the terms cannot exceed 20 years.
The board also discussed what would happen to a lease if a hanger owner sold their hanger to another individual, if the lease transferred or a new lease was made. The Airport Board agreed to look at each case individually.
The new agreement also reflects a larger price tag. Lessees used to pay $200 or 7 cents a square foot per year, which ever is greater. The new lease agreement changed the amount to $300 or 10 cents a square foot per year.
The draft agreement reflected a change to liability insurance requirements, but the Airport Board denied the change. Thompson said he changed the liability insurance requirements because of a misunderstanding, but could change it back.
After a short discussion, the Airport Board voted to approve the lease agreement with board member Jack Sintek abstaining.
The vote means the lease will go into effect in January. The lease will go before the Saratoga Town Council for ratification, Mayor John Zeiger said.
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