County Commissioners Inflexible About Options
The operator of an airplane parts salvage yard is being pushed
out of the way by the county to make room for new hangars at a
Florida airport, but vows not to give up without a fight.
Kevin Rosa has been doing business as Command Aircraft Parts and
Recovery for over 10 years at Florida's Flagler County Airport. Now
county commissioners want to send him and his business packing, to
make way for the construction of new hangars on a 2.3 acre tract on
the north side of the field.
Back in 1990, another business obtained a 15-year lease on the
property, which Rosa took over after seven years into the
agreement. The renewal date of the lease in 2005 came and went
without much fanfare, leaving Rosa with the impression that his
lease on the property had been renewed.
But county officials say that instead of renewing automatically,
the lease simply reverted to a month-to-month basis after its
expiration in 2005. Around the same time, Flagler County
Commissioners adopted a new airport master plan that did not
include Rosa's business, according to Daytona Beach News-Journal
reports.
Last year, commissioners decided the property in question would
be better used as a site for new hangars, leaving Rosa out in the
cold. "But they didn't make it well-known that's what they were
doing," Rosa said, claiming that no one from the county approached
him about the plan, and was unaware the meetings and commission
decisions had occurred.
Carl Laundrie, Flagler County spokesman, said officials did
everything legally required to notify the public about their plans
for use of the land. Financed through an enterprise fund, the
Flagler County Airport is not supported by property taxes, as funds
for operations and expansion come from revenue from fuel sales and
land leases.
Rosa is paying 4 cents per square foot for his lease,
approximately $345 per month. "We can no longer afford for the
public's property to subsidize this salvage yard," Airport Manager
Jack Thompson said.
Last week in a news release Laundrie said the county is losing
out on prime airside property that's better suited for other uses,
and cited that other airport tenants are paying up to 10 times more
than Rosa for their leases.
Rosa says he knows all that, and also says he's willing to pay
more for his space at the airport, or to move his salvage yard to a
less visible spot on the airport's nearly 2,000 acres, if officials
will let him. Rosa said, "It's nice to be in the flight line, but
we'd be just as happy elsewhere on the property."
Rosa said former County Manager David Haas told him years ago
his space at the airport may one day be needed for another purpose.
"Haas and former airport manager Jim Jarrell promised the county
would provide a new lease elsewhere on the airport property when
the time came. But the offer was never put in writing," Rosa
said.
Rosa received an eviction notice last month, demanding that he
and his business vacate the property by November 1. County
officials have done nothing to help him find a new location for his
business, he said, and worse, the eviction could affect a dozen
jobs.
Not willing to give up without a fight, Rosa is staying put, and
has hired a lawyer to provide legal counsel and evaluate his
options. "Things are hard enough right now. People aren't flying
and things are slow," Rosa said. "The last thing you want to spend
your money on is lawyers."