The Hollister City Council was set to increase the rent of
Gavilan Joint Community College’s month-to-month lease at the
Hollister Municipal Airport on Monday. The market value in 2010 for
a space that size is $7,959 a month, or 41 cents per square foot,
according to the city. At this time, the school pays 0.05 cents per
square foot to use the site for its airport mechanic program.
The Hollister City Council was set to increase the rent of Gavilan Joint Community College’s month-to-month lease at the Hollister Municipal Airport on Monday.
Gavilan College has rented space at the Hollister airport since 1978 and in 1998, its initial agreement with the city expired, moving the agreement month to month.
When the initial lease expired, the school was paying the city $281.55 a month. Since that time, the rent has increased but the school only pays $314.59 per month, well below market value.
The market value in 2010 for a space that size is $7,959 a month, or 41 cents per square foot, according to the city. At this time, the school pays 0.05 cents per square foot to use the site for its airport mechanic program.
When the deal expired in 1998, the college was given an opportunity to sign a new contract but failed to do so, according to the staff report. The lease was then moved to month to month with the same lease requirements, which included keeping the area in a “good and sanitary order.”
Ten years later, the city proposed increasing the rent to 21 cents per square foot, below market value. The college then sent back its own proposal of 6 cents per square foot. But since then no action has been taken.
Mike Chambless, director of airport and code enforcement, wants the rent increased for the school, he said in a letter.
“I am proposing that we exercise our right to increase the rent on the site you (the school) currently occupy effective July 1, 2010,” he said in a letter. “I further am proposing that increase comply with the terms of the original lease, and the rent be set at the market rate.”
Chambless also writes that the school “continues to be in violation of several municipal codes.” He noted that there are “numerous derelict aircraft littering the ramp” and he is concerned of the school’s ability to be a “good steward of the property.”
Look back for an update on this story.
