The Alva Airport Commission discussed hangar rates in depth at their Monday night meeting. During previous meetings, newer members of the board questioned how rates were determined for smaller planes versus twin engines.

Dale Logsdon researched his records from previous years’ minutes and provided the board with an answer.

“What I found in my old records was basically a twin is charged one and one-half times that of a singles rate,” Logsdon said.

“If it’s already in place, then we don’t have to change anything,” Chairman Cory Washburn said. “The other thing we’d talked about was the rates for the new hangars after they’re constructed. We can have some discussion on that.”

Information provided listed North Share Hangar rates currently lease at $1,200 annually. South Share Hangars lease at $800 per year. Storage areas on the north hangars are an extra $600 annually. Rental of the Round Top Hangar and the Hay Barn Hangar list at $38.50/month.

Wes Miller asked, “Besides the water issue, why are the south ones so much less than the north ones?

Logsdon answered, “They’re smaller – not as tall.”

“Is everybody paying the same rate?” Washburn asked.

“Unless they have a storage room,” City Manager Joe Don Dunham said. “There’s an extra charge for that.”

Miller suggested a cubic foot price be figured for possible use in leasing the new hangars yet to be built.

Washburn said it seemed that the new hangars should pay for themselves in a reasonable amount of time.

“If you charge a rate that pays it back over 30 years, what do you do with the other ones? You run the risk of those sitting empty,” Miller said. “If we don’t have a rental rate for the new ones that pays that off over 30 years, all you’re doing is subsidizing rent.”

Logsdon reminded the board that the hangars are subsidized by the federal government by providing the land, and the funds the FAA continues to give via grants for improvements at the airport.

Terry Turner said, “It also says that rent on the hangars will be competitive. We’re spinning our wheels – we’re all saying the same things.”

Logsdon said if the hangars are built with an expected 30-year return rate, the cost would be $173/hangar. For a 40-year return, the rate would be approximately $140/month.

“We probably ought to look at what other airports are charging in the area,” Washburn said. “Weatherford is charging $250 a month.”

Turner said, “If we were in Oklahoma City, we could charge whatever we wanted. It will be interesting to see what the airports around us are charging.”

Logsdon said Mooreland hangars rent for $50/month.

“It’s smart to subsidize the hangars and have more planes on the airport when it comes to getting federal funds,” Logsdon said.

The airport has already lost two from the waiting list, Manager Greg Murray confirmed. He said there were still about a dozen pilots on the waiting list.

“I’ve had people ask me how much the new hangars are going to be. They’re afraid it’s going to be more than what they can afford,” Logsdon said.

Miller said, “If it’s below $200 a month, you’re going to be reasonable.”

Manager’s Report

Murray reported that sales for the previous month were good, totaling $17,062.73. Of that, $10,500 was for 100 Low Lead and $6,562.00 was Jet A.

Murray clarified an item from the last meeting which said the airport only advertised on AirNav. He said fuel prices are also advertised on GlobalAir, Fltplan, ForeFlight, Seattle Avionics Airport Guide and IFlightPlanner.

He said he also checked with Haley McIntosh about advertising data. McIntosh suggested looking at types of Google advertising, which Murray said he would continue to research.

Turner suggested Murray check on advertising in the Oklahoma Pilots’ paper or with the Oklahoma Airport Operators Association.

“Whatever we can do to promote our airport, we need to do that,” Turner said.

Murray said he had a problem with the Automated Weather Operating System computer not reporting. After troubleshooting the problem, he discovered the CPU fan had quit working. After replacing the fan, the computer works, but it is considered an obsolete computer and finding replacement parts is difficult. Murray suggested they board consider replacing it in next year’s budget.

Other Comments

Washburn said he received a call from Terry Cline about difficulty getting electricity to his new hangar. He suggested the board come up with a needed standards policy to give to OG&E.

Dunham said that information had been provided to OG&E in a previous conversation.

“I told them there along the frontage of the road, we had it platted for five separate hangar spots and an eight-bay nest,” Dunham said.

Washburn said that ultimately, OG&E installed a transformer that they anticipated would meet the total need.

Dunham said the last report he received from Garver Engineering was that the drainage at the South Share Hangar should now drain from the south to the north.

“It’s not,” Logsdon and Washburn stated simultaneously.

Dunham said the city had not signed off on the project, so he will make sure it’s correct before any payments are made.

Turner asked Murray if he’d checked into having calls to the terminal forwarded to his cell phone. Murray said he talked to Tim Nelson about it, and was told it couldn’t be done with the system in use by the city. Dunham said he disagreed with Nelson’s opinion, saying that the phone should be able to be forwarded to any number of phones.

Murray said if it were forwarded to his cell phone after hours, he would be on call 24 hours/day. Dunham said it could be forwarded to other phones so pilots coming in after-hours could arrange for service.

Paul Kinzie was the only member absent from the meeting.