Citrus County ratifies termination of Inverness FBO lease after operator lost Part 141 certification

The Citrus County Board of County Commissioners voted 4-1 on June 23 to ratify county staff and its aviation attorney's decision to terminate the fixed-base operator (FBO) lease at Inverness Airport for Wright Rudder/RightRider Aviation after staff determined the operator had not met key lease obligations.

The termination letter, sent under advice of aviation counsel, cited the loss of a Federal Aviation Administration Part 141 flight-school certification among the lease deficiencies. Public Works Director Carlton Hall told commissioners the county had first identified multiple lease discrepancies during an ongoing review and that, under the lease terms, the operator had 30 days to cure the deficiencies but had not done so.

Why it matters: The FBO operates services and facilities at Inverness Airport. Commissioners and staff said the county is reviewing leases across both airports to make operations more consistent, to better protect airport assets and to strengthen financial oversight.

Hall said county consultants and staff had been reviewing airport finances and leases for over a year. "During that discussion we had last Monday it was brought up and asked what his thoughts for the future were... he mentioned he didn't need it," Hall said of the Part 141 certificate, referring to the operator's stated position. "Because of the fact he's not meeting those minimum requirements, the lease was terminated as per the lease documents."

RightRider Aviation owner Andy Chan came to the public microphone and disputed that the operator had violated the lease. Chan said the negotiated lease language allowed RightRider to "obtain" a Part 141 certificate and try it, but not to be required to maintain it. Chan said the company had earned a Part 141 certificate, then allowed it to lapse because demand for Part 141 training was not present in their student mix and because maintaining the certification required substantial ongoing costs.

Commissioners described additional concerns in the backup and during discussion, including inconsistent documentation, hours of operation, fuel-farm and exclusivity language and an event at the airport that resulted in property damage. Several commissioners said the county had not previously enforced or updated lease terms consistently and that the current review aimed to correct that.

Board action and vote: Chair Rebecca Bays moved to ratify staff and the airport attorney's termination letter and to stand by the deadlines in that letter; Commissioner Diana Barrick seconded. The motion passed 4-1. Commissioner Jeff Kennard cast the lone dissent. After the vote staff said the county will issue an RFQ for the FBO slot; RightRider and other entities will be eligible to compete under a new solicitation.

Next steps: County staff said the action preserves county property and operations while the county develops a stronger, standardized set of lease, operating and reporting requirements for airport tenants. The county's aviation review includes a request for greater financial transparency from operators and a request to standardize lease years and extension language for hangars and fuel farms. Commissioner Diane Finnegan and others said the county plans to advertise the opportunity for a new FBO operator and to tighten security and operational requirements in future leases.