Bonita City Council schedules Feb. 18 hearing on possible termination of Joe Reed's hangar lease

The Bonita City Council on Jan. 7 voted to reinitiate a lease-termination process for one hangar leased by Joe Reed at the municipal airport and scheduled a public hearing for the Feb. 18 council meeting.

Airport staff told the council that Reed owns two hangars at hangar block 1, space 14, and that while one of the hangars has been brought into compliance over the past year, the other remains so cluttered that inspectors could not safely access the aircraft inside. "This hangar is so full of stuff that you can't walk through it," the airport inspector said during the meeting. The inspector added that the plane inside "won't fly it. No," when asked if the aircraft was flyable.

Alan GoForth, the city administrator and airport manager, said it was his recommendation to terminate the lease for the noncompliant hangar. Council members discussed prior practice and procedure: staff said the city would send formal notice and afford Reed an opportunity to appear before the council to show cause or present evidence of compliance before any termination is finalized. Officials said a certified letter mailed Dec. 3 to the tenant was returned undelivered; staff also said they had scheduled a hangar inspection for the coming Thursday.

Dr. Langford moved to reinitiate the lease-termination process and schedule the tenant for a hearing on Feb. 18; Tyler Swift seconded. The motion carried on a voice vote; no council member registered opposition.

Council members noted that reinitiating termination does not preclude the tenant from returning to compliance and later reentering a lease should the hangar be cleaned and brought into FAA and city standards.

The council took no immediate action to terminate the lease at the meeting; it scheduled a hearing and directed staff to send notice and continue inspections in the interim.