The Upper Cumberland Regional Airport Board rejected a motion to lower hangar rents back to previous levels amid push back from local pilots Wednesday.
Board member Bill Austin said the recent rent increases were implemented unfairly and treated long-term tenants poorly. Austin said the board should return the rates to their original levels and instead implement a standard annual cost-of-living increase to remain competitive with surrounding airports.
“I think we P.O.’d a bunch of people that have made this airport what it is, and I think we need to go back and I think we need to put it back where it was, that’s in my view, competitive, like it was before to the towns that surround us, and then look at it again in a year,” Austin said.
Austin said the sudden spike in rent did not give tenants enough time to decide if they wanted to move their aircraft or sell them. Austin said the board should give the people a chance to find a cheaper location if they want to keep flying. The board also voted to approve repairs to Hangar Row B.
Hangar tenant Mark Dymond said the rent for T-hangars has increased by 252 percent over the last 10 years while the Consumer Price Index only rose by approximately 34 percent. Dymond said the small box hangars have seen an even steeper increase of 286 percent during that same decade.
Dymond said he questioned why the airport did not set aside a portion of monthly rent over the last 50 years to cover maintenance issues. Dymond said it seemed inequitable to dump the entire cost of repairs on the current tenants.
Treasurer Chad Marcum said the rent increases were necessary because the airport did not have enough money set aside for approximately $100,000 in upcoming maintenance. Marcum said the airport must ensure it does not use taxpayer funds to cover costs that should be the responsibility of the tenants.
“This airport, the government of this airport should make sure that this airport supports all the citizens, supports the welfare of all the citizens and doesn’t become or turn back into a country club where just certain people get benefits for being here,” Marcum said. “This airport should be here for growth of this economy of White and Putnam counties and that’s what we’re doing.”
Marcum said storing a piece of equipment like an airplane is different than residential housing. Marcum said the current rates are comparable to other hobby storage options, such as boat slips at Center Hill Lake.
“Hanger Row A was was priority number one; we just voted on Hanger Row B,” Marcum said. “That’s the idea. We’ve not been able to keep up with where these need to be to be, the airport that we wanted it to be. I mean, we want to present a good image not just to our tenants but to anybody that comes through.”
Airport Manager Dean Selby said the state has stopped providing maintenance grants for hangars, leaving the financial burden on local airports. Selby said the Tennessee Department of Transportation now focuses its funding almost exclusively on asphalt projects like runways.
Selby said the airport used to rely on the state to cover maintenance, but the legislature has pushed back against general aviation funding. Selby said the airport is now forced to find other ways to fund repairs for roofs and hangar doors.
“It’s been a challenge without having T-DOT support and FAA support on T-hangers, because they just flat out said, ‘Don’t come to us for T-hangers; we’re not interested T-hangers or box hangers anymore, that’s a local problem,'” Selby said.
In other business, the board approved to use grant funding to seek the design of two new signs to direct visitors to the airport.
The board also approved a grant for $253,935 to fund the engineering and design of a ramp expansion on the north end of the airport. Selby said the project will eventually provide more space for aircraft parking and future building locations.
