Airport management a shambles
I own Hollister Gliding Club, an aviation business based at the
Hollister Airport. I’m also a former captain with a commuter
airline and have worked in airport operations. I feel compelled to
comment on The Pinnacle’s recent airport series.
Airport management a shambles
I own Hollister Gliding Club, an aviation business based at the Hollister Airport. I’m also a former captain with a commuter airline and have worked in airport operations. I feel compelled to comment on The Pinnacle’s recent airport series.
It’s true that Hollister owns the airport, and it should serve the citizens. But it should also be pointed out that since it receives federal funds, then no valid users may be discriminated against, no matter where they actually live. The gliding community fully expects that jets and economic development will happen at the airport. And we welcome that, as long as we – and other valid users –are not purposely squeezed off of the airport in the process.
Another contentious issue at the airport is management. It’s obvious to me that the City official in charge of the airport must be as friendly and inviting to its users as officials are at, say, Pinnacles or Hollister Hills Vehicle Park. By dramatic contrast, many of my experiences with Bill Gere have been truly horrible. He is by far the worst management person whom I’ve ever interacted with in a professional environment. No Hollister merchant should be subjected to hostile yelling or irrational management decisions as I have at the airport.
Your three-part series was a good beginning. However, I feel that you’d need to do quite a few more segments in order to shed some truth on what I feel is a much more complex economic and political environment than Jessica Ablamsky had the space to explore in her articles.
Quest Richlife owner,
Hollister Gliding Club
Can we get somewater here?
I live down the street from Frank Klauer park. I often visit this park with my husband and two kids, ages 5 and 3. They play hard on the playground and whenever they go to get a drink from the only water fountain there IT DOES NOT WORK! It is ALWAYS clogged. In fact, I don’t think it has been working for about the last two years! I know the city workers are short staffed and that this is probably not a priority, but it would be nice to have it working come the spring time.
Jennifer Corona
Hollister
Thanks for compassion
On behalf of the Hurtado family we would like to thank the following people who helped us during our difficult time. We would like to thank Father Rudy, Isidro and Aurelia Hurtado, Elias and Clara Bedolla, Hollister School District, Sunnyslope School, Ladd Lane School, Susan and Carlos Rivera, Lily Klauer, Las Palmas Restaurant, Manuel and Lupe Gonzalez, David Vergara, co-workers of San Benito Foods, all of Alex’s childhood friends and to the community who sent so many cards, flowers and donations. Alex is in a better place and would be proud that so many people cared and loved him.
Aureliano, Eva, Lorena, Luis, Gabriela, Monica and Aldo Hurtado
Hollister
There’s room for allat the airport
This letter is in response to the Pinnacle article “Whose airport is it anyway” dated Jan. 4. Many statements in this article attributed to the airport manager, city manager and financial representative are simply not true, others not accurate or misleading.
The article started with “cracked pavement and hangars in various states of disrepair.” The buildings in “disrepair” are the old Navy buildings, not hangars, that were at the airport when given to the city some 50 years ago. They were never maintained by the city. The cracked pavement mentioned is the result of no FAA grants received for repairs in the past three-plus years. There are two types of FAA Grants – entitlement and discretionary. Entitlement grants of $150,000 per year are there for the asking for urgently needed repairs or other eligible improvements. They can accumulate for 3 years. (Use or lose up to $450,000). The $427,500 entitlement grant recently received is for urgently needed repairs as a result if an FAA airport inspection three years ago. The mentioned $450,000 fence grant was already in place when manager Bill Gere started in 2004.
Regarding airport deficits: Robert Galvan, city finance director, commented “the deficit goes back to 2002-2003”. That year, there was a step increase in airport revenue (almost double) of approximately $221,000 due to new T hangars, and a 30 percent increase in all T hangar rents. Since then, hangar rents have increased per the CPI Index (Resolution 2002-193 Adopted Sept. 15, 2002). This is in contrast to the city manager’s statement “the rents have not been increased in several years.” Hangar rents now range from $290 to $2,140 per month, depending on size and type. These are not “cheap rents.”
Discounting non-operational or non-airport related expenses from 2003 to 2007, there should be a substantial airport enterprise fund surplus. An example of a non-related expense is the Elks Lodge roof repair and replacement in 2005/2006 at a cost of approximately $197,600 from airport funds, according to documents from the City Finance Department. The Elks Lodge located on the airport has no aviation related function and pays minimal rent.
Comments on “most people we are giving breaks to” from the airport manager, referring to tenants that do not live in the area. These tenants, as well as local tenants, pay hangar rent, personal property tax on their airplanes, and possessory interest tax on the hangars they rent. All of this is a contribution to the local economy. What is wrong with that? Without these “outside” tenants, many hangars would be empty.
There has been much public discussion regarding the potential of the airport including a jet center development, or a combined development including the CDF and a smaller Jet center development. Tenants are all for future development such as this, but would also like to see some airport history preserved. Managed and developed properly, there is room for all and the Hollister Airport will achieve its full potential.
Fred W. Meyer
Hollister
