Airport director urges county to keep $1/month lease to preserve grant eligibility for Border Coast JPA

Ryan Cooley, Del Norte County airport director, asked the Board of Supervisors during public comment May 20 to preserve the existing $1 per month master lease between Del Norte County and the Border Coast Regional Airport Authority (BOCRA).

Cooley told the board the nominal lease is a legal prerequisite that gives the JPA the ownership interest necessary to apply for federal and state grants and manage airport projects. “I wanna emphasize how critical it is that we retain the current $1 per month lease,” Cooley said. He told supervisors the arrangement helped the JPA secure tens of millions in grant funding over 16 years and that planned infrastructure needs include roughly $16 million in projects over the next five years.

Cooley said BOCRA saves the county about $140,000 a year in administrative costs and that the JPA helped assemble matching funds for recent runway rehabilitation, with the county’s $77,000 contribution leveraged by other partners to meet a larger match. He urged supervisors not to repurpose the lease for short‑term financial gain because doing so, he said, would jeopardize the airport’s ability to obtain grants.

The comment came during the board’s public‑comment period; no formal action was taken at the meeting on the master lease. Board members acknowledged the presentation and indicated they would consider Cooley’s request as the county negotiates the master lease and JPA documents.

What to watch: the county will review the master lease language and possible amendments; preserving BOCRA’s legal interest in the property may be a condition of future grant eligibility and local infrastructure planning.