"Michigan airport settles rent dispute with FAA"

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Airport settles rent dispute with FAA 
By Ed White
The Grand Rapids (MI) Press

 
GRAND RAPIDS -- The Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to pay
$273,813 to settle a rent dispute at Gerald R. Ford International Airport,
officials said Wednesday. 

The settlement came after the airport threatened to sue the FAA, which
hasn't paid since a lease expired in September 2002. 

The dispute centered on 3,000 square feet of prime office space above the
food court. The FAA refused to pay what other airport tenants were charged,
approximately $50 per square foot. 

The agency will vacate the space by Tuesday. Ironically, it will be used by
another federal department, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration,
which doesn't object to the fee. 

The FAA actually owed $348,000, plus a 25 percent penalty, but "it's time to
move on," airport Director Jim Koslosky said. "It's a fair settlement." 

Separately, Koslosky told the Aeronautics Board he is sending a letter to
Washington objecting to the Bush administration's proposed cut in airport
grants. 

President Bush wants to divert money to the FAA's budget from the aviation
trust fund, Koslosky said. The money, which comes from a tax on fuel and
tickets, typically goes to airport projects. Ford airport could lose half of
its $4 million share. 

Airports across the country need the money to expand, Koslosky said. 

"The traffic is back, folks."


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