Council approves airport terminal lease with MACEDC; staff to seek FAA guidance on below‑market rent for military use

The Minot City Council on Aug. 18 approved an agreement (option 3) to lease airport terminal space to the Minot Area Chamber EDC (MACEDC) to facilitate space use for military personnel, while directing staff to pursue FAA guidance on whether reducing rent to $1 would violate federal grant assurances.

Council members debated whether the city can offer space at nominal rent when the terminal space would be used for non‑aeronautical purposes. Jennifer (the airport director) told the council that federal FAA grant assurances require airport terminal leases to be at fair market value for non‑aeronautical uses and that she had contacted the FAA’s Airport District Office (ADO) for guidance; the ADO official said a response would likely take at least a month. The airport director also noted that the FAA and TSA pay fair market rent for their terminal offices.

Council members proposed multiple paths forward. Alderman Fuller suggested the city itself could open the space for military use rather than leasing it through the chamber, but the airport director said doing so could still raise grant‑assurance issues. Other members suggested MACEDC could be funded to cover the rent through existing local programs or that a services agreement with MACEDC could be amended to absorb the cost pending FAA guidance. City Attorney Stephanie Stahlheim proposed approving the agreement as presented and returning to the council to amend it if the FAA authorizes a reduced rent.

Councilmember Alderman Pitner withdrew an earlier motion to reduce the annual rent to $1 and moved to approve option 3; the motion passed unanimously. Council and staff agreed to follow up with the FAA ADO and to return to the council with options if the ADO permits a below‑market lease or suggests alternative compliant approaches.