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East Oregonian
Friday, February 22, 2019
Airport: Commission will meet again for a special meeting on Feb. 27
Continued from Page A1
Chrisman said he doesn’t
want to engage in this con-
flict, but the FAA doesn’t
allow the city to rent to ten-
ants in perpetuity without
recapturing the value of the
land.
If the city doesn’t include
some sort of reversionary
language in its lease con-
tracts, Chrisman said it
could put the city at risk
of losing its federal airport
funding, referencing the $8
million runway project the
FAA is funding this year.
Nelson was apologetic
about losing his temper at
the commission meeting,
but he and many other air-
port entrepreneurs remain
unconvinced about Chris-
man’s arguments.
Nelson said he built the
Pendleton Aircraft Service
building in 1975 and leased
with the airport for 40 years
afterward.
Curtiss Nelson, Har-
old Nelson’s son and a
mechanic at Pendleton Air-
craft Service, said there’s
also an emotional appeal to
the building, pointing to the
handprints the family left
before the concrete floor set.
The elder Nelson said he
leased the land for $170 per
month before his last lease
expired, and although he’s
willing to pay more in his
next deal, he doesn’t like
the reversionary options the
commission is discussing.
At a meeting Wednesday,
the commission hunkered
around a conference table to
discuss those options.
The latest staff proposal
gave renters two options.
The first option was
a standard reversionary
model: A tenant could rent
airport property for a max-
imum of 50 years. At the
end of the lease, the tenant
could either pack up their
building and leave, allow
the city to take the build-
ing, or renew the lease and
pay the a “reversion deferral
fee” that covers the value of
the building.
The second option has
a tenant paying 1.5 times
the standard lease rate for a
maximum of 40 years. Once
the lease ends, the premium
could either be reimbursed if
the tenant walks away from
the land or applied toward
the reversion deferral fee if
they choose to renew.
Not every commissioner
was enthusiastic about the
proposal.
“Having a reversionary
situation with any sort of
clause is going to be a mas-
sive disincentive for folks to
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Curtiss Nelson works on cleaning the tail structure of an Air
Tractor while performing the annual inspection for the air-
craft Thursday at Pendleton Aircraft Service at the Eastern
Oregon Regional Airport in Pendleton.
come here,” commissioner
Mike Short said.
David Styer, a member of
the airport commission and
the owner of All Terrain
Aircraft, said he did some
research and not every fed-
eral airport had reversion-
ary clauses in their lease
contracts.
Modeled after simi-
lar leases at the airport in
Medford, Styer suggested
including a third option
where a tenant could pay
twice the market lease rate
in exchange for having no
reversionary language in
the contract.
But after the meet-
ing, many business own-
ers said they didn’t like the
alternatives.
Owners like Nelson and
South County Helicopter
owner Cliff Hoeft didn’t
like the thought of contin-
ually paying the value for a
building they already paid
for.
In the owners’ view, tak-
ing a straight reversionary
clause would devalue their
investment because poten-
tial buyers wouldn’t want
to acquire a property that
could be taken back by the
city and would put a damper
on future growth as well.
“I’m
an
unhappy
camper,” Hoeft said.
Ultimately, the commis-
sion voted to table the issue
so members could take a
closer look at Styer’s pro-
posal. The commission will
meet again for a special
meeting on Feb. 27.
After the meeting, Styer
said he was encouraged by
the commission’s receptive-
ness to his idea, but admit-
ted it could all be undone
once the recommendation
goes before the city council.
A non-voting mem-
ber of the airport commis-
sion, City Councilor Becky
Marks told the commission
that it needed to focus on
what was best for Pendleton
taxpayers.
“This has got to continue,
or at least get on the foot,
of sustainability,” she said.
“We’re not sustaining this
airport with the businesses
that we have here now,
except for UAS, maybe.
So think about that. We’re
the ones who are having to
cover the bill. Whether you
fly into here or work into
here, you’re making money.
We have the right to make
money too. That’s the bot-
tom line.”
The
airport
busi-
ness owners said they felt
unfairly burdened to finan-
cially support the airport
and got short shrift com-
pared to the emerging
unmanned aerial systems
industry.
On Tuesday, the council
unanimously approved to
take out a $2.6 million loan
to build an 18,000-square-
foot hangar on behalf of the
drone company PAE ISR.
Wildhorse
Helicopter
Co. owner Brad Wahl said
the city got “tunnel vision”
when it came to serving the
Pendleton UAS Range.
Wahl said an emerging
industry like UAS was vol-
atile and could fluctuate in
the future, but general avi-
ation has been a mainstay
at the airport even in lean
years.
Chrisman said he doesn’t
want there to be a percep-
tion that it’s manned flight
versus unmanned flight at
the airport. He said he sees
value in having aircraft ser-
vice providers at the airport
and includes them in mar-
keting pitches.
Chrisman had a sim-
ple answer for general avi-
ation business owners who
wanted to stay long term
while complying with FAA
lease rules.
“Stay
forever,
my
friend,” he said.
Jurors: How much weather had anything to do with shortage remains a question
Continued from Page A1
section of McKinney Ave-
nue in Hermiston as a pub-
lic road. About 17 minutes
past 9, sheriff’s Sgt. Dwight
Johnson entered the room
and asked to interrupt. He is
in charge of court security.
“Judge Lieuallen is in a
trial,” he said, “and he has
ordered us to recruit six
jurors for that trial because
there is a shortage.”
The
judge
thought
the trial would last only
Wednesday, Johnson said,
and maybe some folks with
free time could volunteer.
Otherwise security would
make the selection. He also
told commissioners a ran-
dom group of citizens would
be better suited than a selec-
tion of county employees.
“Any volunteers at all?”
Johnson asked.
One man raised his hand.
The public hearing on
the road ended at about 9:35
with the board approving the
request.
“McKinney is a public
road,” Elfering said, which
drew applause from the
many there for the hearing.
He also quipped he knew
most in attendance would
enjoy staying for the rest of
the meeting, but they could
report to the deputy in the
hallway.
Johnson during a phone
interview Thursday morning
said one more person volun-
teered and his staff selected
the other four. He said he
looked around the court-
house first for jurors but did
not find anyone. The public
meeting, however, had more
than enough. Being a juror
may not be a joy, he said, but
the service is critical.
Roy Blaine said it was
unusual to not have enough
people to serve on a jury.
Blaine is the trial court
administrator for the 6th
Judicial District of Uma-
tilla and Morrow counties.
Since taking on the posi-
tion in late 2007, he said he
could recall only three or
four times the court lacked
jurors. When that happens,
he said, a judge can ask the
sheriff or court administra-
tor to find enough people to
create a jury.
How much the weather
had anything to do with the
juror shortage remains a
question. Thick fog and slick
conditions shut down Inter-
state 84 between Pendleton
and La Grande, but most
roads in Umatilla and Mor-
row counties were OK to
drive. The National Weather
Service initially had a win-
ter storm warning for Tues-
day but dropped that to an
advisory through Wednes-
day afternoon.
The trial was for Shawn
Dion Simpson, 60, of Pend-
leton, who faced charges of
misdemeanor driving under
the influence of intoxi-
cants and felony aggravated
harassment for spitting on a
Pendleton police officer in
August 2018. Court records
show the trial lasted until
Wednesday afternoon. The
jury voted 10-2 to find Simp-
son guilty of the harass-
ment and 12-0 to find him
guilty of driving under the
influence. His sentencing is
March 4.
JR. MISS RODEO
OREGON
2019 Rowdy Israel
You are invited to Rowdy’s
Coronation Party & Fundraiser
March 2, 2019 at 6:00PM
Grant County Fairgrounds Pavilion
411 NW Bridge St. John Day, OR 97845
$12.00 tickets
contact Nicole 541-620-2624
or purchase tickets at the door
Taco Bar Dinner | Cocktails
Silent and Live Auction
Hungry on your way, stop by the Dayville Cafe mention the JMRO corona-
tion and be entered to win a homemade pie of your choice!
Best Western John Day Inn is offering a special room rate. For reservations
call 541-575-1700 or 1-800-528-1234 and please mention Junior Miss Rodeo
Oregon Rowdy Israel