For the week of May 29 - June 4, 2002

Pilots: affordable housing for airplanes needed

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"You touched a raw nerve in all of us when we heard you want to take a part of our value."

- DAN THOMAS, hangar owner

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By TRAVIS PURSER
Express Staff Writer

It’s about rising land values and the lack of diversity that can result.

It’s also about affordable housing—for airplanes.

Hangars at the Hailey airport are skyrocketing in value. The city of Hailey and Blaine County, who co-own the airport, worry the inflation could eventually force pilots with limited financial resources off the airfield. They also worry the airport might attract speculative investors concerned more with turning a buck than providing services for pilots.

But then Hailey and the county do want a return off their investment.

Last month, the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority proposed taking up to 75 percent of the profit when owners sell their hangars. The proposal alarmed hangar owners and users, who packed a meeting room at the Old County Courthouse May 21 during a meeting of the authority.

"You touched a raw nerve in all of us when we heard you want to take a part of our value," hangar owner Dan Thomas told the authority.

Proposed policies for new leases are complex and varied. So are the current leases. But, generally, hangers at the Hailey airport are privately owned, while the land is leased from the airport. No existing lease expires before 2009, so the authority could take years to draft a policy for new leases.

At the meeting May 21, the group favored two policy ideas.

One, presented by authority board member Len Harlig, would require 20-year land leases at below market rate and a portion of the profit from hangar sales to go to the airport.

That would encourage hangar owners to remain on the airfield long-term. The airport would make money later rather than sooner.

Another idea would require five-year leases at market rate, but with no profit-sharing. Board member Ron Fairfax preferred that policy because it would immediately generate money for the airport.

For their part, pilots suggested that the airport simply allow more hangars to be built so that demand, and price, would go down.

But authority Chairwoman Mary Ann Mix said an agreement between Hailey and the county prevents that.

The authority began addressing the lease policy as a way to offset the financial burden of new security demands following Sept. 11.

"We are having some budget difficulties, yes," Mix said.

 

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