SPRINGDALE -- The Springdale Airport Commission will consider a zero tolerance policy, or as close as it can get, to crack down on hangar rental fees that are in arrears, its members said Thursday.
"I know zero tolerance is tough to reach, but we need to be hard-core about this sort of thing," commission Chairman Neil Johnson said at the commission's meeting at City Hall. Zero-tolerance would mean the renter's plane would be removed from the city-owned hangar as soon as rent became in arrears.
The commission decided to confer with Springdale's city attorney about its options.
Hangar rent at the airport ranges from $74 to $450 a month for a typical private space, according to facilities manager James Smith. The hangars range from those with a space at a covered area with no door to a space in a fully enclosed hangar.
The airport has $10,020 in hangar fees more than 90 days overdue, commission financial records show. Of that, $2,664 is owed by renters still occupying space in the hangars. The rest is owed by former renters.
The problem is caused by a handful of owners, records show. Almost all accounts are up to date. The bulk of the $10,000 more than 90 days past due is on the accounts of four renters. The airport has 14 buildings with about 130 spaces available, and only about seven of the least-protected spaces are unfilled as of Thursday, Smith said.
Hangar rents accounted for $296,156 in 2017. Still, commission members said it was unacceptable to allow the city to be taken advantage of with these public facilities, and unfair to renters who paid in a timely manner.
The airport has a waiting list of people who want space and are willing to pay for it, members said. Those who don't pay rent promptly should make way for others who will, they said.
"Perhaps we already have policies that will fix this, but we've not adhered to them," Johnson said.
The airport has imposed late fees, but seldom removes or evicts a tenant. The lease contracts for hangar space need to be reviewed and possibly revised, according to members.
NW News on 01/19/2018