Commission OKs six-month extension for airport hospital rehab, moves forward on airfield leases

City Manager Charlie Davis and staff told the Douglas City Commission on March 10 that the city would grant a six-month extension to contractor Chris Rounds to finish rehabilitating the former hospital building at the World War II Flight Training Base, and that staff will draft lease documents for a separate building Rounds is seeking to occupy.

"We typically lease it for $750 a month," City Manager Charlie Davis said of Building No. 4, adding that aviation-related leases are structured as 20-year terms executed in five-year increments. He said staff would prepare the building with minor repairs — paint, carpet cleaning and small fixes — and would draft a contract to return to the commission for formal approval.

Roughly the same ownership/occupancy request relates to the hospital building at the air base, where staff and commissioners discussed Rounds' request for an additional six months to complete rehabilitation work he began in 2022. Miss Henderson noted the project's timeline and staff recommended the six-month extension based on Rounds' investment and the Air Base Preservation Committee's recommendation.

Commissioners asked for a clear reassessment deadline. "If he goes past that time," one commissioner said, the city will "assess it and then come back before y'all." Commissioners stressed that staff should document progress at the six-month mark so the commission can decide whether to extend or take other measures.

The item moved forward with consent during the regular meeting: a motion to approve the extension was made, seconded and carried by voice vote. Staff said it will return with a drafted lease and any additional terms after preparing the building.

What happens next: staff will draft the lease for Building No. 4 and finalize paperwork for the hospital-building extension; the commission directed staff to evaluate documented progress at the six-month checkpoint and report back.