For the benefit of all Bend Airport users
T hangar rents are likely to be lowered!
Well, sort-of. The bottom line is that the airport administration has finally agreed with tenants – the increased T hangar rents that went into effect August 1st were wrong. Airport administration has recommended a walk-back of most of that increase. The City Council will likely approve that recommendation on December 16th. But there is one problem that you can help with – and help is needed NOW. E-mail the city council and ask them to make the walk-back of the increase retroactively effective August 1st. The airport administration’s recommendation is for a February correction.
Here’s the history of how this came about.
Most airport tenants are well aware of the dramatic, unfounded increase in rents and other fees that went into effect August 1st. Increases were made to just about everything, from car and RV parking spots, land, office/café space, tiedowns and hangars.
In the early months of this year, the airport staff contracted with an appraiser in Seattle that resulted in an evaluation of comparable rents at airports across the region. That appraisal was provided to tenants months later, on July 1st, along with a 30-day notice of the rent increase. Click here for the appraisal.
The Oregon Pilots Assoc. conducted a number of roundtable discussions on the topic, and about a dozen T hangar tenants organized and collectively spent hundreds of hours following-up on cited rents at “Comparable” airports that appeared to be in error, of course on the high side. That group notified the airport administration and the appraiser of their findings, which included itemized listings of lower rents than the appraiser cited at some airports. But what disturbed those tenants most was the appraiser’s recommendation for significantly higher rents and fees were not supported by his own findings! The many very-well documented protests, including overwhelmingly abundant evidence went ignored by airport management. The matter was taken to the City Council, with no support.
After the increases went into effect, during August members of that tenant group had direct contact with the appraiser. The appraiser told tenants he agreed to re-examine his findings.
Inquiries to airport administration in regard to a possible revision went un-answered. In October, tenants paid $125 for a public records request, asking for documentation of any work being done on a revision. That public records request yielded what tenants had been hoping for. On September 3rd the appraiser revised his original appraisal, which included correcting (Lowering) some of the comparable rents figures that the tenant group had provided, and more significantly, he lowered the rent increase recommendation! See figure 1.
Tenants still believe rents are unrealistically high, citing “The Bend Airport has good pavement”. But Redmond has lower rates and more amenities.
| Rate as of July 1, 2020 | Rate as of August 1, 2020 | Phased-in Rate FY2020-21 | Proposed rate for February 1, 2020 |
|
| T-Hangars A-B | $207.00 | $250.00 | $250.00 | $240.00 |
| T-Hangars D-H | $283.00 | $400.00 | $341.50 | $320.00 |
| T-Hangars I-J | $345.00 | $450.00 | $397.50 | $370.00 |
| Hangar 63088 | $207.00 | $400.00 | $303.50 | $240.00 |
This past Wednesday, airport administration forwarded a proposal to City Council to walk-back the already-implemented higher fees in accordance with the appraiser’s revision. Sounds good, right?
Well, there are two issues. (1) The “Corrected” increased fees wouldn’t be effective until February. Which means tenants will have paid six months of erroneously high rents, which the airport administration has finally admitted were in error. (2) The appraiser’s lowered/corrected rents are still higher than the comparable rents support.
The tenant group met the morning after the City Council meeting, and decided to pursue a meeting with airport administration, and maybe even City Council members to demand the effective date of the corrected/lower rents be walked-back retroactively to August 1st.
What you can do is to e-mail airport administration and city councilors with your demand for a walk-back of the increase to August 1st. Do it NOW. The City Council meets to vote on the matter December 16th.
| Tracy Williams, Bend Airport Manager | trwilliams@bendoregon.gov |
| All City Council | council@bendoregon.gov |
| Abernethy, Bruce, Mayor Pro Tem | babernethy@bendoregon.gov |
| Campbell, Barb, Councilor | bcampbell@bendoregon.gov |
| Goodman Campbell, Gena, Councilor | ggoodman-campbell@bendoregon.gov |
| Livingston, Justin, Councilor | jlivingston@bendoregon.gov |
| Moseley, Bill, Councilor | bmoseley@bendoregon.gov |
| Piper, Chris, Councilor | cpiper@bendoregon.gov |
| Russell, Sally, Mayor | srussell@bendoregon.gov |