More information on the issue of airport hangar leases

In response to the letter to the editor from Gerald Geske complaining about the decision of the Mineral County Commissioners and County Attorney concerning his “ground lease” at the Mineral County Airport in Superior, we offer the following reply:

Mr. Geske and other hangar owners signed an agreement with Mineral County in 2005 to pay six cents per square foot per year to locate their hangars at the Mineral County Airport. The term of that original agreement was three years. 

When Mineral County accepted Federal Aeronautics Administration (FAA) grant monies to improve our airport, we agreed to charge a rental fee for tenants at the market value. Therefore, in 2008 the Board of Commissioners authorized our administrative assistant to survey other small airports in western Montana and determine what they were charging hangar operators. The results indicated that nearby airports were charging more than six cents per square foot; some of them three or four times more. The board proposed raising the lease rate to 10 cents per square foot per year and undertook discussions with the hangar owners regarding both the square foot price and the additional issue of insurance coverage. Those discussions went on for months and involved a number of public meetings with users at the airport, including Gerald Geske. When a mutually agreeable price could not be negotiated, the Board of Commissioners asked Mineral County Attorney Shaun Donovan to advise us regarding our legal rights.

After reviewing the 2005 contract, the county attorney indicated that the agreement had an original term of three years and had expired, leaving both the county and the hangar owners free to negotiate an entirely new contract. 

Mr. Geske’s letter claims other lawyers consulted by him and the hangar owners “found the county attorney and the commissioner’s position laughable.” Although we were not privy to the legal opinions obtained by Mr. Geske or others, at least one of the attorneys, a Todd M. Martin, of the Association, AOPA, noted that the lease had an initial three-year term and advised consulting “a local attorney who is familiar with the Landlord/Tenant or property law in your state.” As far as we know, the only local attorney consulted regarding this matter was Mr. Donovan.

Ultimately, the Board of Commissioners decided to raise the rental amount to 10 cents and offer a new contract with that figure to all hangar owners. That decision was reviewed and approved by the Montana FAA in Feb. 2009.  Eventually, all of the hangar owners signed the new agreement and paid the new increased rent.

In making our decision, we did rely on the advice of the county attorney, rather than other legal opinions reported to us by the hangar operators. We did that for several reasons, including the fact that we were never provided with the other supposedly conflicting legal opinions.  Additionally, in our experience, Mr. Donovan’s advice has almost always been found to be correct and is always motivated by the best interests of Mineral County.

Rather than being, as Mr. Geske claims, an example of a public decision made badly, the process by which fees at the Mineral County Airport hangars were considered is an example of our board giving a full opportunity to citizens to state their point of view and making a decision after considering all options.