County approves airport hangar transactions and pays for work to pursue FAA contract tower program

Kootenai County commissioners approved several airport items on Jan. 13, including hangar sale and lease changes and a work order to pursue entry into the federal contract tower (FCT) program.

Kim Stevenson presented paired airport items: a lease termination tied to a hangar sale involving T and D Holdings LLC and a purchase by Flying JB Trust for a 12,600‑square‑foot lot, and a separate lease termination and addendum to recombine lots for 33 Wolves LLC. The recombined lot would total 132,597 square feet (just over 3 acres) for a proposed hangar build; the board approved the transactions.

Separately, Corey Sigford of Ardura explained a work order to prepare the county’s FCT program application, operations memorandum and benefit‑cost data. The work order fee was capped at $16,360; staff said the primary long‑term savings would come from the FAA providing controllers, which currently cost the county between $700,000 and $800,000 a year. Sigford said the work order is the first step in pursuing federally funded FCT participation and would deliver an application package for federal benefit‑cost analysis.

The board approved the work order and authorized staff to use fund balance to cover the fee because it was not included in the current budget. Staff said they will explore options for capital structure costs if a permanent tower is required and will return with further details as the FCT process progresses.