"No-bid DIA leases advance"

Tuesday, June 24, 2003

No-bid DIA leases advance
Council forwards bill to let concessionaires extend airport pacts
By Heather Draper
The Denver (CO) Rocky Mountain News


Denver International Airport concessionaires will likely get their leases
extended without rebidding, based on the City Council's 8-5 vote Monday to
move a leasing bill forward.

The bill seeks to extend 112 DIA concession leases by three to six years -
depending on the length of the vendor's lease - without competitive bidding.

"We all know the concessionaires program has been a very successful
program," said DIA manager Bruce Baumgartner, testifying on behalf of the
bill.

Baumgartner said the contracts had changed recently to allow existing
concessionaires to bid on spaces when they open up. The first proposal
forbade existing concessionaires to bid on spaces that came open in an
effort to give other local, small- business owners the opportunity to bid on
locations.

Baumgartner said he "really couldn't guess" how much revenue the airport
might lose because the contracts aren't rebid.

He said his argument for extending the leases isn't financial, although DIA
restaurant and shop owners have said they've endured financial hardships
since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

"They have not shown us their books and they do not have the requirement to
do so," he said. "It's more about keeping the diversity of the program."

When asked after the meeting if he agreed with the lease extensions,
Baumgartner said only: "It doesn't matter what I believe."

Council viewpoints remained strong on both sides of the issue.

Councilman Ed Thomas, who spearheaded the effort to get the leases extended,
said the city asked the airport vendors to "stick by us" when the airport
opening was delayed and after Sept. 11.

"Some see this as an opportunity to push these airport vendors under a bus,
but I'm not willing to do that," Thomas said. "It's the obligation of this
city to stick by them."

Councilwoman Susan Barnes- Gelt opposes the extensions because they "reduce
the potential revenue to the airport" and create "major cash cows" with the
long leases.

But Councilwoman Ramona Martinez, who owns a travel agency and said she
knows firsthand how the travel industry has been hurt by the terrorist
attacks, said, "I support this because I believe in small enterprise.
There's no such thing as a cash cow."

Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie, who opposes the lease extensions, said she
applauded the original concession program, which was meant to be "an
incubator for small, locally owned businesses.

"But sometimes those who benefit most nail the door shut behind them,"
MacKenzie said. "I'm afraid that's what has happened here."

She said most of the leases aren't close to expiring - many expire in 2008 -
so, "I guess I don't see any reason to take this pre-emptive action at this
time."

The council will vote on the concessionaires bill on its second reading next
Monday night.


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