THE NO RESPONSE RESPONSE.

THE NO RESPONSE RESPONSE. 

Let’s use an example of a public federally obligated airport.  Someone is using airport property for a non- aeronautical purpose.   The airport for whatever reason needs some extra cash.   The city states that they are going to have to raise hangar rents to cover the situation.  What does a tenant do? 

As an airport tenant, you have the right to review Sponsor provided documentation that supports the raise in rental rates, and provide input into the situation.  GOOD LUCK.   If you managed to get the financials, and no rent for the nonaeronautical use is documented, what do you do?  Call the FAA!!!  As soon as you hang up the phone, the phone call never happened.  File a written complaint!!  EVEN IF MODOT AND THE FAA FIND THE SPONSOR IN VIOLATION, THEY WILL WRITE A LETTER TELLING THE SPONSOR, THEY MIGHT BE IN VIOLATION.  The city can respond with complete”BS”, it won’t matter as long as they responded with something.   After that it’s over.  As long as the authorities have documentation that shows the sponsor was contacted it is final.  No follow up, no further enforcement, no solution to a problem is necessary.  The sponsor can end it by just not responding to anything.   

In the mean time the rent goes up, the Non aeronautical user is still there.  You request more information and find out that the city is not depositing the non aeronautical use rent in the airport account.  After all it is city property.  This is also revenue diversion. 

The FAA will not proceed with a rates and charges complaint unless the complainant can show that the airport is producing surplus revenue.   And even if the complainant can show proof, there is a 90% chance they will not enforce.  The Feds have this invisible dollar amount that must be met before revenue diversion will be addressed, and it fluctuates. 

At St. Clair Regional it was finally addressed when the rent went from $175 to $300.  The rent did stay at $175, but the city was given preferential treatment on the revenue diversion for the use of the maintenance hangar.  The issue of raising rent to force tenants off of the field was never followed up on,  after they city failed to respond to MoDOT. 

THE FUTURE

What happened at St. Clair Regional has become a blueprint for the future of smaller GA airports.  Any sponsor who wants to do the same thing to any other airport will be free to do so.   We have always had a feeling that we were fighting something other than just the city, the presence of a strong entity behind the curtain pulling all the right strings has always been present, we just can’t find it. 

THEY ARE GOING TO WIN ANYWAY

THEY ARE GOING TO WIN ANYWAY

The attorneys that we have contacted, can’t help, even the ones that defend airports for a living. 

What is so strange is that while the city the city was destroying this airport, we were given every excuse why nobody could help.  Senator McCaskill’s office tried to help in the beginning, but that soon went away.  No matter how many of the FAA regulations or Federal Laws were, and are being broken, the supporters of this airport and the people that want it to remain open, are not as well connected to the right people, as the ones that want it gone. 

MoDOT and the FAA ignored what was going on at this airport for years.  Every excuse in the book was dusted off and used in the St. Clair Regional issues, as to why they could not do anything about what the city was doing to the airport. 

BUT, now they are stating, “But the law says”.   The only law that is going to be enforced is the closure law.  All the other rules seem to not exist.  The city stated they would clean the taxiway on an as needed basis, and monitor the runway lights on an as needed basis.  We have 15 lights out on the runway, they fail to come on at dark, people have had to divert to Sullivan at night.  The taxiway has not been touches since 2012. 

We have been told by the safety people in the FAA, “We are not going to worry about it, they are going to close it anyway”. 

START ON THE THIRD ONE DOWN

START ON THE THIRD ONE DOWN

The following three posts are in the wrong order, go to NEVER HEARD FROM THEM AGAIN, and read them in ascending order.  I will fix this in the future. 

THE PAUSE

THE PAUSE

One “pause” is described in the following post” WHO WOULD KNOW”, but there is another “PAUSE” that will be described here.  

IF you get connected to the right person, and you describe the situation successfully, you will probably get a response that explains why you are wrong, and that there is nothing they can help you with.  WHAT DO YOU DO.    NEVER talk to a public servant unless you already have the answer to the Question!!  Do your own research, read the law, try and find someone that you can be “connected” to for help.  Never ask a question that you do not know the answer to. 

After finding out what you need to know, and you call what you think is the right office, and get the right person on the line,  (getting to the right person can take weeks) and you explain to them the situation for about the tenth time, quote them the law that you are wanting enforced!! 

You get the “PAUSE”.  What this means, is that you just proved that you have discovered a violation of public law, and it needs to be addressed, and you have found the right person to handle it, but now they need some proof.  You e-mail your documentation, weeks go by, I’m out of the office till next month, but finally you get back on the phone and explain the documentation to this person, and another “PAUSE.  A longer “PAUSE” this time.   What this “PAUSE” means is that you are right, you rdocumentation is correct, and there is probably something wrong going on,  and you have every right to be upset.  This will go one of two ways. 

THE FIRST PAUSE

First, the department that you have reached is the authority on the subject, but they have no enforcement authority, and you have to hire a private attorney.  For example if you requested financial (under the sunshine law)statements from a public governmental body, and after months go by, with nothing,  The attorney general’s office will tell you that you need to hire a private attorney, which will start at $60,000. 

THE SECOND PAUSE

The Second kind of “PAUSE” happens when you are in a conversation with a department that does have regulatory powers.  But, Very often when presenting the question, you will need to name the law that you are referring to, where to find it,  and after you present the situation, describe what is wrong and what should be done to fix it, and the law that supports your point, along with other situations that are similar and how they were resolved.  The “PAUSE”.  This time a long one, as in this conversation is over.  You will not hear anything until you just go away, or hang up the phone.   This “PAUSE” is used instead of the phrase, “you are right, and we could fix this with just a letter or a phone call, but we are not going to do that.”