News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Livingston will move forward with a new 80′ by 80′ hangar at the city airport.
Airport Chairman Jason Duke said the hangar will sit on a grassy field between the airport’s other two hangars. Duke said that Mid-State Construction will build and pay for the building in exchange for a twenty-five year lease after it is completed.
“Remember, if anyone builds anything on the airport, it’s city-owned property,” Duke said. “So no private individual owns a structure on airport property, so that right when it’s built, it’ll be leased for a twenty-five year term. All construction and operational costs are paid by Mid-State Construction, who will take the lease on this.”
Duke said Mid-State Construction would also pay $200 per month to rent the facility during the lease term. Mayor Curtis Hayes said he appreciates Mid-State putting such an investment into city property.
“I just want to say, Jason, good job on this,” Hayes said. “I know you and Kelly (Coleman) have been working together.”
Duke said Mid-State Construction currently leases the airport’s main hangar, but that lease would be terminated with this proposal.
“That’ll revert back to the airport,” Duke said. “We will lease that space to someone else.”
Duke said the original plan was to construct a new airport terminal in that spot, but the space was freed up after they received funding to rehabilitate the existing terminal building.
“I met with Barge and talked to all of our engineers, and we can get two if not possibly three commercial hangars placed in that field,” Duke said.
Duke said Mid-State Construction is allowed to sublease the hangar if they so desire, but they have to get approval from the board of aldermen before doing so.
“It has to be approved by the board of aldermen and then they can do that up to twenty-five years,” Duke said. “Then at twenty-five years it reverts to city use and we can at that time determine if we’re going to lease it back to Mid-State or someone else.”
Duke also gave a quarterly report on the airport as whole during the council meeting. He said several projects are expected to be completed in December including wetland delineation, the acquisition of a 100-foot wide strip of land adjacent to the airport, and the design phases for the terminal hangar rehabilitation and relocation of their fuel farm.
