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Local businessman questions hangar transfer rules as city staff cites lease prohibition
Summary
Ray Dodson asked the commission about transfer and grandfathering of a recently purchased airplane into an existing hangar. Staff read the airport lease clause prohibiting assignment or subletting without written consent and told Dodson the lease likely terminated when the plane changed ownership.
Ray Dodson, a Springdale businessman who said he has operated in the city since 1983, addressed the commission about a hangar he said had long housed a particular airplane and asked whether the airplane could be grandfathered after he purchased it about a year ago.
Dodson said he believed the airplane had been on the field “for almost 60 years” and that he had been told the aircraft “went with the hangar.” He asked why more hangars are not being built, given a waiting list the meeting referenced as numbering about 100 applicants.
An airport staff member read the lease provision aloud for the public record: “Subletting, assignment, or conveyance of the lease — lessee may not sublet the premises in whole or in part or assign or transfer this lease or any interest therein without the prior written consent of the lessor. Any such assignment without lessor's consent shall be void and shall, at the option of the lessor, terminate this lease.” The staff member said that because the airplane changed ownership about a year earlier, that lease is terminated under the cited clause.
Staff told Dodson he could sign up for the hangar waiting list and work with the city attorney and airport staff; they said they would check the “next man down” on the list and confirm whether that person has an aircraft. Dodson said he would provide documentation and follow up with the city attorney.
The commission did not change waiting-list policy during the meeting. Operations staff later reported they are in the process of reclaiming three hangars — one for use as storage and two for subleasing violations — and emphasized enforcement would continue.
