Municipal airports create an interesting balance of interests between pilots and those who live their lives on terra firma.
The Augusta Municipal Airport is no different.
People who own one or more airplanes that cost them tens of thousands of dollars to purchase and several thousand dollars a year to store and maintain tend to take an inordinate amount of ownership in the facilities.
The balance between serving tenants at the airport and citizens whose taxes supplement the activities at the airport is difficult to reach, as well.
In Augusta, tenants who own airplanes and utilize services at the airport have taken offense to the city's attempt to fill vacant hangars by bringing in successful parts dealers and also one of the premier aviation research groups in the country.
Those leases have closed the gap between costs at the airport and revenue generated by leased space.
But the pilots and a majority of the Airport Advisory Board say that those firms shouldn't be there. They point at lease agreements and Federal Aviation Administration grant assurances in an attempt to push these other groups out of the hangars.
Advanced Research & Technology Development Group was commissioned by NIAR to find suitable locations for their work. According to its web site, the National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University provides research, design, testing and certification to the aviation manufacturing industry, government agencies, educational entities and non-aviation related businesses.
ARTDG is a real-estate firm that sub-leases 10,000 square feet at the Augusta Airport to NIAR. ARTDG is owned by Anthony Speer and State Sen. Ty Masterson.
The deal between the Augusta City Council and ARTDG was struck quickly - a move that a few on the Airport Advisory Board and even City Councilor Mike Huddleston have said left them feeling like they were buying a used car.
However, the deal was not pushed through because of its benefit to ARTDG. The Department of Defense was going to award the contract in Kansas, Ohio or Oklahoma and space availability was an important part of the process. Thanks to the rapid action of ARTDG to contact the Augusta Council and the council's quick response, the $22 million contract came to Kansas.
If that's a used car, it certainly isn't a lemon.
As for Masterson's position in the state legislature, no ethical problems have been identified. The senator went to the Ethics Commission himself to seek an opinion on the matter. This was after doing a great deal of due diligence to guarantee that his involvement would not compromise the contract.
The board found no ethical problems with Masterson's involvement because the funds footing the bill for this NIAR project are federal funds and Masterson is only one vote in the State Senate. He has no more control of state funds than any other senator.
The FAA also ruled that the sublease between ARTDG and NIAR is of no concern to the federal agency. The fact that ARTDG profits from the deal is because of their work on behalf of NIAR - a service for which they are compensated.
There are no skeletons in the closet or underhanded deals in this agreement.
Assistant City Manager Josh Shaw has done yeoman's work for the city to make sure that concerns are addressed and questions are answered. City Manager Bill Keefer and the City Council have been as responsive and as helpful as they possibly could.
The ethics commission and FAA have answered questions as well.
The fact is, no matter who has rendered the opinion, NIAR and ARTDG have been held blameless. Any continuation of this witch-hunt is merely more forum shopping trying to keep the pot stirred.
Now the Airport Advisory Board is hoping to get on a council agenda to ask the council to renegotiate a more profitable lease with ARTDG.
That is perhaps the least business friendly move ever conceived. Any lease needs to be secure for both parties. Otherwise, the city's ability to negotiate contracts in the future will be jeopardized.
The pilots - the vast majority of whom reside outside Butler County - have a lot invested in how the airport is handled.
But so do the citizens of Augusta.
The council's agreement with ARTDG is financially beneficial to the city and could lead to even bigger deals in the future.
The council should keep its word and not seek to renegotiate the lease with ARTDG.
Augusta, Kan. —
