CAA: GA News, "Dispute stops Texas' San Patricio airport project"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@cwnet.com>]

Friday, April 28, 2000

Dispute stops San Patricio airport project
Plan to build 33 hangars at T.P. McCampbell Airport halted over redrafted
contract
By Michael Hines
Corpus Christi (TX) Caller-Times


   A contractual dispute has grounded plans to build 33 new hangars at T.P.
McCampbell Airport in San Patricio County at a time when the county's growth
is increasing demand at the airport.

   Jack Robinson, 61, said a clause in a proposed county lease agreement
that he was sent on April 18 ended his effort to build three sets of
T-hangars at the airport near Aransas Pass. The draft lease stipulates that
if any maintenance violations are found within the airport during his
possible 30-year ownership, the lease would be immediately canceled and the
hangars would automatically go into county ownership.

   "It doesn't give you an opportunity to fix any problem," he said. "That
was the straw that broke the camel's back. There was no reason to put that
in there except to hurt me."

   Sparing the county

   County Attorney David Aken said he added the rule when the lease proposal
was redrafted in early March. Aken said the addition was aimed at protecting
the county from problems experienced by other counties, where owners give
officials unusable property when their lease ends.

   "A lot of time what gets turned into the county is only fit to be
bulldozed," Aken said.

   Even so, Aken said the initial clause was changed to allow a 30-day
period to correct problems. The change came within the last three weeks.

   Consequences

   County Judge Josephine Miller approved the new lease Monday after
commissioners unanimously accepted it in their April 17 meeting. Miller said
Tuesday that she hadn't heard that Robinson had pulled out of the deal.

   The break, however, could hurt the county more than Robinson.

   Already, about 100 airplanes per month have pit stops at the airport, and
Bill St, Clair, chairman of the airport advisory board, said more growth
could be on the way.

   The rise in oil prices has sparked greater offshore drilling, he said,
which in turn has created more opportunities for subcontractors who commute
between the county and places such as Louisiana. While the number of
subcontractors using the facilities increases, the county has also seen
expansions in local industries such as OxyChem and Reynolds Metals. All of
those have helped spur about 20 percent growth in the county during the past
two years, St. Clair said.

   "If there were hangars out there, they'd be leasing them," he said.

   But change or no change, Robinson said the last seven months of
stops-and-starts have ended his interest in the deal.

   "The people in Sinton, I don't think they want these hangars," he said.

   Robinson's efforts began last October. He said Precinct 4 County
Commissioner Gordon Porter asked him to consider building new hangars at the
T.P. McCampbell Airport to attract more aircraft to the area.

   For Robinson, building the hangars would cost about $600,000, and rent
per plane would need to be at least $225 per month. Comparatively, rents at
Aransas County Airport in Rockport range from $125 to $200. The only way to
stay competitive would be to offer a new incentive, which Robinson proposed
would be cheaper fuel.

   The first contract

   Robinson's initial contract would have allowed owners to receive a
35-cent discount on fuel for the first five years. Robinson said he thought
he had reached a tentative agreement with the county in February, but Miller
did not sign the contract because commissioners hadn't agreed on it. In
early March, commissioners proposed an agreement to create a 25-cent
discount. Robinson said that break was too small and asked officials to
return to the original proposal. The latest agreement would have set it back
to 35-cent discount.

   Already, the 234-acre airport houses five privately owned hangars and 16
airplanes. Each owner has a 25-year lease agreement, with an option to renew
the lease for five years. Money is generated for the county from land use
and property taxes as well from fuel, which the county sells.

   Making money

   Hangar owners pay land costs on a sliding scale: free for the first two
years and increasing annually up to 8 cents per square foot. Fuel costs
about $1.60 per gallon. Porter said the airport generates about $45,000 a
year for the county.

   "That's very conservative," he said about the estimate. "We'd more than
double that if Mr. Robinson would build the other three T-hangars."

   Porter said as many as 45 airplanes would be willing to use the
additional facilities. He said the county could build additional hangars at
lower costs than private individuals. Protected under the Texas Tort Act,
the county has a $3,000 liability limit. It also would not have to pay
property taxes or rent. The county would also receive lower insurance costs.

   But, Porter said, county officials have shied away from construction.

   "Nobody is sure that they're going to be able to fill (the hangars) up
and build enough of them to make a profit," he said. "The county won't do it
and private entities can't afford to do it."


   Post your opinion on this story in the CAA General Aviation Forum
http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID2

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