Airport director pitches parking, land‑lease and hangar revenue to support capital
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Summary
The airport director recommended charging for surface parking, raising aeronautical land‑lease rates and formalizing fees for ride‑share/TNCs and short‑term ground transport; officials said these changes could help fund roof repairs, apron work, hangar development and other projects.
Airport Director Justin Fletcher told council the airport has multiple under‑leveraged revenue sources that could help the facility pay for needed upgrades and new projects.
Fletcher reported a short count of cars in surface lots and estimated conservative parking yields (e.g., $8/day) that could generate a material revenue stream (a conservative estimate in the presentation suggested up to about $450,000 annual revenue at current utilization). He proposed incremental actions: (1) rehabilitate surface lots so they can be monetized; (2) raise aeronautical land lease rates on newly developed South Taxi Lane parcels from the current 12¢/sq ft to competitive market rates (staff discussed 25–30¢/sq ft in peer comparisons); (3) negotiate agreements with transportation network companies (Uber/Lyft) and emerging short‑term rental platforms (Turo) to collect per‑trip or access fees; and (4) pursue in‑terminal advertising and hangar lease adjustments now that an outside advertising contract has expired.
Fletcher also discussed airport‑scale capital projects (customs/FIS, hangar development) and the tradeoffs involved in active air‑service recruitment (airlines commonly request minimum revenue guarantees and marketing support). Council asked staff to develop specific cost/revenue schedules and to return with a phased plan for parking, land leases and rideshare agreements.
No action was taken; staff will return with firm pricing proposals and implementation sequences.