Sorting out the details
Public Works Director Eric Johnson proposed three updates to the airport policy at the Sept. 9 meeting:
- Allowing up to 50-year land leases
- Adjusting the price for self-serve fuel
- Changing the planned unit development agreement to meet federal regulations
The current airport policy allows 30-year leases, and the Federal Aviation Administration does not allow land leases at airports over 50 years.
Most commonly, tenants may lease land from an airport to construct hangars or other aviation-related facilities. Georgetown Executive Airport has leased and developed two hangars.
The airport has five active letters of intent from developers to build hangars, but securing a land lease is contingent on the developer having a long enough lease to receive a return on their investment, according to city documents.
There is also a waitlist for those who want to store their airplane in a hangar at the Georgetown Airport, totaling 387 people. The city can encourage more hangar space at the airport by extending the land lease policy, translating to hundreds of thousands in revenue for the airport, according to Johnson.
“Our real estate is really our highest net profit among all of our revenue sources,” Johnson said at the Sept. 9 meeting.
In addition to high demand for hangar space, Georgetown Executive Airport has consistent year-over-year increases in aircraft operations and fuel sales. There is currently no policy for self-serve fuel sales, as the airport is operating with a wholesale policy and rate.
This translates to an estimated $85,000 of lost revenue per year, according to city documents. Johnson proposed setting a retail rate and allowing the airport manager to adjust the fuel price based on the cost of fuel.
“So we want to be competitive with other airports in the area, and also we need cost recovery to provide an adequate return based on expenditures,” Johnson said.
The history
The Georgetown Airport opened in 1945. It provides air transportation for uses other than commercial, like medical flights, business aviation and military flights.
The airport is also a national reliever airport, which relieves congestion at larger commercial airports, as designated by the FAA in 2023.
Consisting of 640 acres, it provides aviation fuel, avionics sales and aircraft maintenance. There are more than 25 aeronautical businesses based in the Georgetown Airport.
What’s next
An ordinance revision for the airport will come before City Council in October to allow for longer land leases.
Also of note
The airport will break ground on a new maintenance building in October and also has plans for terminal upgrades in the next few years.
