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Kenosha council approves 35-cent-per-square-foot airport rent increase after tenants object
Summary
The Kenosha Common Council voted Oct. 6 to raise Kenosha Regional Airport land rental rates to 35 cents per square foot. Tenants urged postponement or phased increases, and the airport cited years of deferred increases and $32 million in improvements as rationale.
The Kenosha Common Council voted Oct. 6 to raise land rental rates at Kenosha Regional Airport to 35 cents per square foot, approving the measure 12-0.
The increase was proposed in Resolution I-6 and approved after public comment from airport tenants who called a 40% across-the-board increase excessive. Tenant Shelly Cole, speaking for airport renters, asked the council to “postpone, amend, and amortize the proposed 40% resolution,” saying the hike would fall “on the backs of the little people.” Daniel Feldman, speaking for Southport Hangar, said he understood the city’s budget pressures but added, “I do have a problem with it on the back of an over 200% tax increase that we saw 2 years ago.”
City staff and airport representatives defended the increase as overdue and modest in context. “Rent hasn't been raised in 6 years and we've held the line,” said Mr. Reid, an airport staff member who addressed council questions during the debate. Reid told aldermen the city has invested about $32 million in airport improvements since the last rent increase and presented figures showing the change would add roughly $233,000 to the airport's operating budget while the airport would still require an estimated $145,000 subsidy from the city.
Reid also compared local rents with peer airports: Waukegan at 65 cents per square foot, Waukesha at 45 cents and an average among large Wisconsin general aviation airports of about 56 cents. He noted some nearby airports charge less but lack comparable facilities or services.
Council members asked for practical impacts on tenants during discussion. Reid gave examples: a typical 1,300-square-foot T-hangar tenant would see an increase of about $17 per month; a larger building such as the one mentioned by Daniel Feldman was estimated to increase roughly $3,000 per year in total, or about $257 annual for the entire structure before being split among unit owners.
The motion to concur with the Finance Committee recommendation carried on a roll call vote of 12-0.
The measure will take effect per city procedures for council-adopted resolutions. Tenants and aldermen who expressed concern urged the city to continue seeking revenue opportunities that would not rely on tenant increases as much as possible.
