Airport tenants worried about hangar leases

Hangar leases at the Boulder City Municipal Airport will expire in three years, leaving some tenants worried about the future.

During public comments at an Airport Advisory Committee meeting Tuesday night, tenants expressed concerns that their leases have not been renegotiated or renewed.

The first hangar leases expire in June 2020, but tenants at the meeting said they wanted assurances that they’d have a long-term lease soon. The airport has more than 140 hangars.

“I have six leases coming to an end first,” hangar tenant Rob Martin said. “I keep hearing the city wants to extend leases at least 10 years, but I have not received a new deal.”

A 10-year lease extension could not be confirmed.

“I would just like to point out that Mr. Martin’s 10-year extension is not an official rate,” committee member W.J. Perlmutter said. “As far as I am concerned nothing is changing till we hear it from the horse’s mouth.”

Hangars at the airport now lease for $37-$86 a month depending on the size, Airport Manager Kerry Ahern said.

Ahern said that she could give no updates on lease negotiations because City Manager David Fraser, to whom Ahern reports, couldn’t attend the meeting.

Bill Mossop said that he was tired of the city delaying negotiations and asked that hangar tenants be updated quarterly.

“You … keep every hangar owner hanging in the balance,” Mossop said. “These leases affect our property value and I think quarterly updates on negotiations would be beneficial. You need to stop kicking the can down the road.”

In other advisory committee news:

n The committee selected a new chair and vice chair. Deborah Downs was elected chair of the committee and Kurt Goodfellow was elected vice chair.

Downs and Goodfellow were selected by acclamation because no one else volunteered for the positions.

Goodfellow, who didn’t attend, was nominated by Perlmutter.

“I nominated Kurt Goodfellow because he is a regular guy and he is not here,” Perlmutter said. “In all seriousness, I think Kurt is very involved with the airport and he would make a good vice chair.”

Contact reporter Max Lancaster at mlancaster@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow him on Twitter @MLancasterBCR.