Leesburg commission directs staff to pursue negotiated resolution on defaulted airport lease
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Summary
The Leesburg City Commission instructed staff to pursue a negotiated, middle‑ground solution for an airport hangar lease found in default, directing city manager and legal counsel to negotiate terms with lessee Ms. Cochran and report back at the next meeting.
The Leesburg City Commission on Feb. 9 directed city staff to negotiate a compromise with the operator of an airport hangar whose lease the city has declared in default, rather than immediately terminating the agreement.
City Manager Penny told the commission the lease for the Aerostat hangar, originally issued to a Mr. Puckett and now held by Ms. Cochran, is formally in default because subleases were made without the commission’s approval. The city attorney has sent formal notice of default and advised the city could terminate the lease and take the asset. Penny said staff had cured a procedural defect on the city’s side and presented three options: (A) proceed with default and repossess the facility, (B) waive the default and offer the contractual extension, or (C) negotiate a middle ground that would financially compensate the city while allowing Ms. Cochran to continue operating.
Penny outlined option C as sunsetting the existing lease and entering a 10‑year, nontransferable ground lease structured to make the airport financially whole. She provided rough valuations for context: the building was described as ‘‘in the neighborhood of about a half $1,000,000’’ and, using a time‑value calculation over 30 years, staff estimated a notional facility value near $750,000. Under the proposal, staff estimated charging roughly $1 per square foot — about $23,000 a year, or roughly $1,500 a month — as a ground lease payment.
Ms. Cochran addressed the commission and said she was unaware she was out of compliance with the city until the previous meeting. ‘‘Unbeknownst to me, I had no clue that I was out of compliance,’’ she said, and described steps she had taken to remove aircraft and parts; she told commissioners that most aircraft had been moved and only a fuselage remained on the apron pending FAA permission to transport it by road.
Commissioners expressed sympathy and repeatedly called for consistency across airport leases, but several members supported the negotiated approach. One commissioner said the compromise ‘‘reasonably holds the commission whole and gets you some value of that property,’’ while another stressed compliance should be achieved before finalizing a new deal. The city manager said staff would meet with Ms. Cochran and return with a recommended agreement at the next commission meeting.
No formal vote was taken; the action was recorded as direction to staff. The city attorney noted the lease contains an assignment/sublease approval clause (section 23) that formed the basis for the default notice.
The commission’s direction leaves three paths open — termination, contractual extension, or negotiated ground lease — with staff instructed to pursue option C and report back.
