Commission approves Van Dam helicopter lease, awards terminal contract and forms airport zoning and master-plan groups

The Flagler County Board of County Commissioners on March 3 approved a ground lease with Van Dam Helicopters, awarded a construction contract for a new terminal at Flagler Executive Airport and set up two local bodies to oversee airport land use and future planning.

The board voted 3–1 to approve a ground lease allowing Van Dam to build a maintenance hangar and operate at the airport. According to Roy Seager, director of Flagler Executive Airport, Van Dam plans to invest about $1.5 million to $2 million to construct a metal hangar and to perform maintenance and limited flight testing on decommissioned military helicopters they convert for civilian uses. Seager said the company expects to bring roughly 20–30 employees initially and as many as 40–45 permanent jobs over time.

“They’re gonna put in about a million and a half to $2,000,000 to build this hangar,” Seager said, adding that the company could expand and that “at the end of 30 years…the improvement becomes property of Flagler County.” The lease framework discussed at the meeting ties the lease length to the private investment: a $1 million improvement would qualify for a 30‑year lease, larger investments can extend the lease up to 50 years (the FAA cap…