Council Terminates Lease With Airport Authority

The Grove City Council voted to terminate the lease between the city and the Grove Municipal Airport Managing Authority and withhold future expenditures of budgeted funds to the authority.

The action was taken Tuesday night at the regular meeting in front of an overflow crowd at City Hall. The vote was 3-2 with Councilors Bishop and Parham voting nay, following a spirited two hour discussion.

Cutoff of funding came about due to fears the authority would use city money to sue the city as a result of the action. Upon satisfaction of the current airport debt of $89,000 the airport lease with the authority will be terminated, said city officials. The operation of the airport will not change, said City Manager Bill Galletly "and the authority will continue to run the airport."

Previous requests to the authority to transfer all real property to be titled under the City of Grove, for protection in case of a judgment against the authority, had failed. At a special meeting of the authority on Monday, the airport board voted 3-0 with two abstentions, to title non airside property on a 50/50 basis with the city, and turn over all airside property including the runway extension area, to the city at 100%.

City Attorney Ron Cates said that under the authority's proposal only 50% of the property would be protected from a judgment. "Fifty per cent would still be at risk,' he said.
Some 13 tracts of land will now go to the city, he said.

"This process we begin tonight will end up in Jay Oklahoma in Court," said Councilman Terry Ryan, "and if that is what it takes we have no other recourse."
Councilman Gary Bishop, who voted against the transfer, said "I can't understand taking such action and breaking the trust." Councilman Larry Parham said "we would all like to reduce risk, but risk will never go completely away." Parham, a pilot and airport user, also voted against the measure.

Former Councilman and current airport board member David Adzigian said "it would be imprudent to take action tonight based on the jury still being out on the issue of 50%," although he had voted at Monday's airport board meeting to abstain. He had said the issue boiled down to two issues…the risk of loss of titled assets in a lawsuit, and upholding "our fudiciary responsibilities."

Previously, attorney Donna Smith for the airport authority had said "we do not believe you can do what you propose to do." Clearly, this issue is headed for court as the two sides continue to differ.
Next meeting of the airport authority is 1 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13 at City Hall.

In other action, the Council:

--tabled a decision on a request to rename Highway 59 North from Sailboat Bridge to Leisure Lane to "Freedom Blvd," presented by Grove businessman Rick Howard, until further consideration of the name as it relates to Grove as a lakefront community could be accomplished.
--approved refinancing of a GMSA 1996 bond issue, taking two years off the note, saving $400,000 in interest payments, and lowering the interest rate to 4.10%.
--awarded Longan Construction Company of Grove as low bidder on asphalt for the second half of the fiscal year.
--accepted a REAP grant in the amount of $44,690 for paving the parking lot at All State Tank, approved by Grand Gateway on Jan. 18, 2006.
--approved engineering work for design of the storm drain at Third & Main so that the corner can be included in LandPlan's work.
--approved $11,985 to finish out retaining walls at 18th and Main on three corners.
--appointed City Manager Bill Galletly as the city's representative to the Grand Gateway Board of Directors for 2006.
--approved $9,000 for a restroom at the Grove Rotary Park Project, noting that Rotary has previously donated $180,000 and still needs $18, 606 to finish the project. Rotary is to donate the remaining monies.