Options for constructing new hangars dominated much of the McPherson Airport Authority meeting Tuesday, as board members debated different ways new hangars could be financed and constructed.
The board discussed a way to gague how the level of interest in constructing new hangars. Rick Bryant, a consultant from the Airport Development Group of Lawrence, suggested that attempting to gain letters of intent from pilots who would be willing to rent new hangar space would be a good option. The letters would boost the airport’s case for new hangars more than just verbal commitments if the airport needed to go before the city.
Bryant used the Lawrence airport as a model when explaining how the process of constructing new hangars could proceed. Several years ago, the Lawrence airport built 20 new hangars, but obtained letters of intent before building. The hangars have been fully rented since construction, and Bryant said that with the few exceptions of individuals moving, there had been no vacancies in the hangars.
Should enough interest be present, options were also discussed as to who would control any new hangars. Bryant went over different options with the board.
Options included allowing individuals to rent land from the airport, construct a hangar and when the individual no longer was interested in owning the hangar the land and the hangar would revert back to the city. A second option is for the airport to rent out hangar space directly.
The third option is to allow hangar space to be bought and sold directly between individuals, a condominium option. The airport would generate revenue through the condominium option by leveling a transaction fee every time a hangar space was bought or sold.
Regardless of how control issues are resolved, the board agreed that the city should have ownership over any new hangars.
Tom Chandler, McPherson Airport manager, said the board’s conversation on building new hangars had been intensifying for a year, with some people telling Chandler that they were holding off buying airplanes until new hangars could be built.
