Aldermen resolve airport hanger rental issue

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Rental of hanger spaces at the Clarendon Municipal Airport was again a topic of discussion when the board of aldermen met last Tuesday, July 11.

Alderman Smiley Johnson reviewed the history of airport’s development and said nothing had been found regarding who would be responsible for the maintenance of the facility.

The city had been charging hanger owners $25 per month to keep their hangers at the airport. But in October 1998, the city raised that rate to $40 per month. Some owners stopped making payments to the city, and pilots have told the city they felt as though they were being asked to pay for the entire cost of the airport.

“The pilots who live here should pay a portion of the cost [of the airport] but not the whole amount,” Johnson said at last week’s meeting.

Mayor Tex Selvidge suggested the city return to charging $25 per month and require everyone to pay. The hanger owners who have been paying the $40 per month would receive credit. “Then when everyone is caught up, [the city] goes to a per square foot charge,” he said.

The board approved a motion by Johnson, seconded by Alderman Mac Stavenhagen, to collect the delinquent rent and charge $25 per month to the end of the current fiscal year.

The board also approved a motion by Alderman Michael Tibbets, seconded by Johnson, to have the city attorney write a letter to the delinquent hanger owners informing them of the city’s decision. The vote was 3-1, Stavenhagen opposed.

The board then debated the amount of a square foot charge. After much discussion, the board voted 3-1 to charge 20¢ per square foot per year to lease hanger space at the airport. Johnson voted against the measure.

The new charge will result in the hanger owners paying about 50 percent of the operating expense of the airport.

Johnson said he thought they should only have to pay 25 percent of the cost. And one citizen in attendance, Pat Robertson, said, “It’s never been brought up that we also pay [municipal property] taxes on the hangers and the planes.”

In other city business, Michael Tibbets was sworn in by Mayor Selvidge to fulfill the remainder of former alderman Kent Womack’s term.

The board adopted a resolution establishing an Affirmative Action plan for the Texas Community Development Program from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

Alderman Mac Stavenhagen was appointed to serve in the position of the Fair Housing/Equal Opportunity Standards Officer for the city.

The revision of the water, sewer, and sanitation ordinance was discussed and changes made.

The aldermen reviewed the 2000-2001 budget for the Donley Appraisal District and voted unanimously to disapprove the budget. The board was critical of the district’s budgeted salary increases.