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Board approves lower hangar rates, offsets revenue loss with $55,009 from contingencies
Summary
After public comment and a public hearing, the Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance change aligning county airport hangar fees with FAA/AMCG study rates, removing a CPI adjustment and authorizing a $55,008.76 supplemental budget transfer from general fund contingencies to cover the revenue shortfall.
The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted Feb. 25 to amend the county’s schedule of fees and charges for aviation hangars, reversing a prior CPI increase and aligning county hangar rates with an AMCG/FAA benchmark. The board also approved a supplemental budget transfer of $55,008.76 from general fund contingencies to offset expected revenue loss.
Karen Clauer, acting aviation director, told the board the amendment implements the board’s Feb. 4 direction to align rates with the AMCG study and to remove CPI indexing. “If your board authorizes the adoption of the fee ordinance reducing hangar rates at county airports, you will also be asked to approve the supplemental budget in the amount of $55,008.76 from the general fund contingencies to offset the resulting revenue loss,” Clauer said.
Public comment at the hearing focused on the condition of the county’s hangars, the fairness of charging transient landing and parking fees collected through a third party, and whether the county should invest in hangar repairs or create incentives for private hangar improvements. Aviators and hangar tenants urged the board to perform a condition inventory and to prioritize repairs; several speakers called for eliminating Vector Aviation’s fee-collection contract for transient fees, describing the vendor as user-unfriendly.
Board members and staff discussed options for allocating the contingency funding. Clauer said the department will use the supplemental funds as contributions to non-FAA grant projects and that staff will draft a deferred-maintenance plan; the board asked that staff prioritize a hangar-condition inventory and consider expedited studies or College of the Redwoods workforce help to assess needed repairs.
Supervisor Wilson moved to approve the ordinance change and the supplemental budget transfer; the motion passed 4-0. The new hangar rates will take effect March 27, 2025, and staff will issue rate notices to hangar tenants and return with a spending plan for the contingency funds and a schedule for hangar condition assessment.
Ending: Staff said they will begin tenant notifications, initiate an inventory of hangar conditions and explore grant opportunities and partnerships to fund repairs.
