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#1
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Attracting Aviation Businesses -- How?
Many of you know that our local newspaper has been on the war-path to close
our local airport. Oh, they don't say it *that* way -- they couch it in terms of "profitability" and "taxpayer's subsidies" -- but that's what they really mean. No one -- from the Mayor on down to the citizenry -- seriously believes that the airport (a GA airport all the way) could be made "profitable". But what if we could close the gap a bit? Our inn has come a long ways in the first 11 months we've been open, and we're generating a pretty steady stream of fly-in visitors from all over the country -- which has helped -- but what if we could make Iowa City a "one-stop shopping center" for you airplane owners? What if you could come here and visit a first-class avionics shop, along the lines of a "Pacific Coast Avionics"? And what if you could get your interior reupholstered here, too? And how about a paint shop, while we're dreaming? Currently Iowa has successful versions of all these services, but they are scattered all over the map. We've got a paint shop in little Maquoketa, and an aircraft upholstery shop in Clinton, and an avionics place in Waterloo. Getting anything done is a royal pain in the butt. Wouldn't it be cool -- and beneficial to ALL -- if we could consolidate them all here in Iowa City? A pilot (such as yourself) could come visit for a few days, enjoy a Big Ten basketball/football/wrestling/baseball (whatever!) game, take in a play or performance, enjoy the college town ambiance, stay at our aviation themed inn -- all while having your new leather interior installed! Or while having that GNS-430 put in the panel. I personally think this would be great for ALL the businesses (sort of the same theory as putting all the car dealers on the same stretch of road in a city), and would generate a self-sustaining perpetual motion machine of aviation business in Iowa City -- thus saving the airport, and (of course) enhancing our business. But how? How the heck do you attract business like this to your airport? Any ideas? -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#2
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Jay Honeck wrote:
But how? How the heck do you attract business like this to your airport? Any ideas? Biggest attraction/repulsion will be the taxation of a local business on the airport. Is there an economic advantage/disadvantage to being an airport based business? How does your city tax airport based businesses? Is there a gross receipts tax placed on any business operating on the airport? What are rents like? Is there a difference in how much rent a business is charged across the street from the airport? Is there difference in how much a business is taxed if they are located across the street from the airport? Are rents calculated on square footage of ramp space? Hangar space? Office space? Combinations? How much are additional state/local (county/city) taxes? What are potential businesses looking for to locate at your facility? What are the advantages of operating at IOW? If I fly my airplane in for services, how do I get home if I leave it there? What is the labor market like? Union/non-union? Skilled/un-skilled? How trainable are the graduates of the local secondary schools? Access to materials? If the local controlling body doesn't make the facility attractive to business, it won't be. These are some of the questions I have heard brought up at various meetings I have attended. |
#3
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John nailed it. I've been in the aviation manufacturing game for 31 years, and
I have yet to come across an airport that didn't think that the thrill and privilege of doing business on the airport wasn't worth a whole bunch of money. When I was in San Diego, the business was located exactly 100 yards from the airport boundary. The airport wanted double the square foot rent for a lesser quality building AND 10% of the gross. Thank you no. When we moved to Nevada County, it was far worse. YOU put up the building and deed it to the county and rent it back for double the going rate PLUS an annual gross sales fee that you had to negotiate from year to year. Again, the business park around the airport had half the rent and no fees. Jay, you could always do what I did. Run for your city/county board (whichever the airport is located in) and then YOU get to make the rules on how the airport is run. Be forewarned that it may cost you an airplane, a business, and a wife. My two terms of office did. Jim john smith shared these priceless pearls of wisdom: -Jay Honeck wrote: - But how? How the heck do you attract business like this to your airport? - Any ideas? - -Biggest attraction/repulsion will be the taxation of a local business on -the airport. Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup) VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor http://www.rst-engr.com |
#4
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Jay, you could always do what I did. Run for your city/county board
(whichever the airport is located in) and then YOU get to make the rules on how the airport is run. Be forewarned that it may cost you an airplane, a business, and a wife. My two terms of office did. Ouch. In a failed attempt to make the airport more self-sufficient, our airport commission has carved out a piece of land along the northern boundary of the airport and called it a "commercial zone". It is right next to our hotel, and we would LOVE to see some aviation related businesses locate there. (There are a dozen or so parcels available.) Current problem: There is no access from the airport to this strip of businesses. The solution is to install a simple gate in the fence, and when they close RWY 18/36 in a year or two this strip of concrete will be a good taxi-way right up to the fence. They *were* trying to lease this land, but got no takers -- so now they're trying to sell it. We live in fear that they will sell to some auto salvage yard (or worse), so it's truly in my best interest to figure out how to make my dream of turning IOW into a one-stop-shopping destination come true. As for running for office, I do believe my wife would kill me. Not because she isn't all for the concept, but because she's already carrying more of the load than she should during these "start-up" years... -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#5
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Unless Iowa runs by different rules, your airport commission is appointed by the
county board of commissioners. THAT is the place to apply pressure. I'd ask for a rezone on that carved out parcel that is tied to a conditional use permit process. That way everybody gets a say in what goes in. Jim "Jay Honeck" shared these priceless pearls of wisdom: -Ouch. - -In a failed attempt to make the airport more self-sufficient, our airport -commission has carved out a piece of land Jim Weir (A&P/IA, CFI, & other good alphabet soup) VP Eng RST Pres. Cyberchapter EAA Tech. Counselor http://www.rst-engr.com |
#6
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Unless Iowa runs by different rules, your airport commission is appointed
by the county board of commissioners. THAT is the place to apply pressure. I'd ask for a rezone on that carved out parcel that is tied to a conditional use permit process. That way everybody gets a say in what goes in. Close. They're appointed by the City Council. (The county wants NOTHING to do with the airport, which bugs the crap out of me. Probably 50% of the guys who base planes at Iowa City don't live inside the city limits, and therefore have NO say in who or what happens there.) Good idea on re-zoning, though. To be honest, I'm not sure what it IS zoned now. Time. I need, like, 30 hours in each day... -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#7
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Jim Weir wrote:
Unless Iowa runs by different rules, your airport commission is appointed by the county board of commissioners. THAT is the place to apply pressure. I'd ask for a rezone on that carved out parcel that is tied to a conditional use permit process. That way everybody gets a say in what goes in. The FAA has an Advisory Circular on Compatible Land Use. Getting Zoning Codes changed MAY take quite a bit of time, depending on the bureaucracy you are dealing with. In Columbus Ohio, it took us six years to implement Airport Environs Overlay Zoning Ordinances from inception to legislation passage. This deals primarily with residential construction and remodeling on land underlying and within the 65 ldn noise contours (see your Part 151 Noise Study for your airport, these should be updated every five years). Also, have you obtained a copy of your Airport Master Plan? This lays out the 5-, 10-, 20-year goals for airport improvements. Does your state have an Aviation Department? What services do they provide? They should be administering the Federal funds they receive as part of the federal AIR-21 legislation. Each state has its own program, many provide runway and taxiway overlay project grants to general aviation airports. Feds pay 90%, state pays 5%, local government pays 5%. If you are paying a fuel tax to the state, an excise tax on aircraft parts, aircraft registration, you should be getting something back in the form of services listed above. |
#8
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Jay,
The situation you describe (as well as Jim) is apparently VERY common. In fact, it would seem that mid-size municipally owned airports almost never operate without subsidies and grants. I've been researching the same issues, recently, as it applies to my own airport in Ocean City. Most would never be able to do large scale improvements like runway re-paving, etc. without being involved in the FAA's Airport Improvement Program (AIP). I even went to a one-day conference of Maryland airport managers, so that I could listen to the topics involved. From my research, it would seem that most of the opinions on this newsgroup are fairly one-sided relative to all the issues involved. You might want to do some Googling on the following topics: Airport Management Airport Improvement Program Through the Fence Operations It would appear that it's a farely rare situation that a mid-size municipal airport can bring in enough business to operate in the black. Forward thinking municipalities probably consider the loss incurred supporting the airport as an investment in the greater good of the city, but I suspect that it's very difficult to convince a city council, or city manager, of this. -- Jay __!__ Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___ http://www2.ari.net/jmasino/ ! ! ! Checkout http://www.oc-adolfos.com/ for the best Italian food in Ocean City, MD and... Checkout http://www.brolow.com/ for authentic Blues music on Delmarva |
#9
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Jay Masino wrote:
Through the Fence Operations Not there is a VERY delicate topic. Unless you are dealing with total morons, you have less than a snowball' chance in Hell of getting something like that through a municipally owned facility. Remember, they are looking for as much money as they can get. If it isn't going to generate revenue, you aren't likely to get it. |
#10
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"Jay Masino" wrote in In fact, it would seem that mid-size municipally owned airports almost never operate without subsidies and grants. Nor do the streets, nor do the ditches, nor does the municipal boat launch, nor does the park, nor does the mosquito commission, nor do the traffic lights, nor does the water department... In fact there is not a single governmental service that does not require the tax payers to support it, and usually the commissioners are beating the drum for more money to put into these services... Only when it involves the public airport does it suddenly become an unnecessary service... I have publically confronted some of our county commissioners (politely) who object to the airport and as soon as I point out the illogic in their position I get: "Well, ummm errr, you don't understand. The parks are a line item in the budget and the airport is an additional expense that we have to take money from some other service to cover." "So, make the airport a line item in the budget!" "Oh, we couldn't do that." |
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