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Commission ratifies airport land lease after tenant raises validity questions
Summary
A hangar tenant told the commission a land lease was signed by the airport manager without commission approval and buyers are being deterred; the city attorney said an unapproved lease is not binding but can be ratified. The commission voted to ratify the lease and bar assignment.
Blake Donley, a tenant at the city airport, told the Big Rapids City Commission that a land lease for his hangar had been signed by the airport manager but never brought to the commission for approval, creating uncertainty for potential buyers and prompting him to ask whether the lease is legally valid.
"It was signed by Kendra, the airport manager, and it was never brought before you guys for approval," Donley said, explaining prospective buyers are being told the city may change lease terms and that this uncertainty is harming the sale of his personal property.
City legal counsel (Brad) told commissioners that, under the circumstances described, a lease signed without commission approval would not be binding on the city. "If there is a lease that was signed by somebody other than the commission or it wasn't approved by the commission, it wouldn't be binding on the city," he said, adding that the commission could retroactively ratify and confirm the prior agreement by a vote.
Commissioners debated options, including (a) treating the signature as a clerical error and ratifying the lease retroactively, (b) requiring a new buyer to negotiate a new lease, and (c) prohibiting assignment of the existing lease so a buyer could not automatically assume long-term terms. Several commissioners said they believed the original transaction appeared to have been entered into in good faith and favored protecting the tenant from being prejudiced by an internal administrative mistake.
Commissioner James moved to ratify and confirm the prior land lease retroactive to the date it was signed; a friendly amendment specifying that the lease be nonassignable was added and accepted. The motion passed unanimously.
The commission instructed city staff to ensure communications about leases go through the city manager and to bring any necessary lease documents back to the commission for formal record-keeping. The commission also noted that if a new buyer chooses to seek a different lease term, that would still be a matter for separate negotiation.
The action resolved the immediate question about Donley’s lease but left open how future lease terms and assignment language will be handled going forward.
