Airport tenants and council clash over hangar rent increases and a private reimbursement request

A Kingwood resident told the Cleveland City Council he financed relocation of a hangar at the Cleveland Airport and asked the city to reimburse him for costs the prior city manager had discussed covering but never submitted to council.

"I respectfully ask that you consider the benefit of having this hangar relocated to your airport at no financial risk to the city and that you would fulfill the financial obligation of repaying me for the cost that I incurred in moving and relocating the hangar to your airport," Jack Stevens said during public comment. Stevens said his invoices summed to about $440,632 and that the hangar’s rent generation would add roughly $42,000–$48,000 a year to city revenue.

Separately, the Airport Advisory Board — represented at the meeting by chairman Hugh McFarland — told council it recommended raising hangar rates on a percentage basis (up to 5%) rather than a flat dollar increase. McFarland said the airport has nine different monthly rates and that a flat $50 rise, when applied uniformly, produced larger proportional increases for the oldest, lowest‑rent hangars (one tenant would face roughly a 22% increase) while newer shared hangars would see smaller proportional changes.

"We recommended that you raise hanger rates, by a percentage, not by a flat dollar amount," McFarland said. He added the board believed a percentage approach would distribute costs more fairly across tenants and recommended future contracts include inflation‑clamp language (index or capped percent) to limit sudden jumps.

Council members said the city faces multiple budget pressures — including rising insurance and utility costs — and that many fees across departments had not been adjusted for several years. Mayor Danny Lee noted the city’s insurance cost rose and emphasized the council’s need to protect core services. Staff said communications with the advisory board have improved and promised better two‑way feedback on future rate decisions.

Stevens’ request for repayment was made during public comment and was not a council action item at this meeting. Council did not resolve the reimbursement request at the meeting; staff said the airport manager and city administration would follow up.

Next steps: staff and the airport manager will continue consultations with the advisory board and tenants and will return to council with more information on rate structure and potential mitigation for low‑rent tenants.