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SWAAAE: Airport News, "Mason City, Iowa Airport Commission puts new hangars on hold"
Wednesday, June 23, 1999
Airport Commission puts new hangars on hold
By DAVID KROTZ
Of The Globe-Gazette
MASON CITY - Two new aircraft hangers at the Mason City Municipal Airport
were put on hold at a meeting of the Mason City Airport Commission Tuesday.
Almost all of the 50 pilots, business people, city officials and airport
supporters who attended the meeting were there hoping for action on a plan
to build two new aircraft hangars.
But the commission deadlocked on two motions dealing with the proposal, with
both failing on 2-2 votes with Commission Chairman Garey Kropf abstaining on
both.
One hangar would house 10 smaller private aircraft at a rent of about $150 a
month and the other would house eight business-sized aircraft at a rent of
about $500 a month. The cost of the hangars would be from $688,000 to
$788,000.
The project proposal had been put together by the North Iowa Regional
Airport (NIRA) Action Committee working with Airport Manager Duane Haataja,
WHKS & Company's Bob Welper and airport commissioners to establish its scope
and costs. NIRA came with 15 signed letters of intent from companies and
pilots willing to rent the proposed hangars. There has been a waiting list
for hangar space for years.
Doug Rozendaal, chair of the Joint Development Task Force, told the
commission that the amount of work, plan drawings and video the committee
put together as volunteers would have cost many thousands of dollars if
hired out to consultants. He said they were all trying to help the
commission do its job.
Joni Dunn said, "I want to get all our ducks in a row, before we go to the
(City) Council."
Chairman Kropf thought building infrastructure, water and sewer service to
the airport, were higher priorities.
Dunn and commissioner Pat Johnston voted against the hangar proposals and
said they weren't willing to accept the letters of intent without getting
more legally binding commitments.
"These people have put an incredible energy into this," said Rozendaal, "and
I'm deeply disheartened by what I've seen here today. The airport is the
heart and soul of any joint development effort."
Businessman Ric Anderson said that corporate planes have to fly to other
airports whenever there is threatening weather and that precluded most new
businesses from even considering Mason City as a location.
The proposal called for three hangars being left unrented to service
transient business aircraft.
Audience members kept suggesting motions that might move the proposal
forward and after nearly three hours of spirited discussion, a motion was
passed.
Haataja was directed to gather relevant information for the commission so
that it could present "the concept" of the proposal to the City Council at
its Aug. 3 meeting.
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