Hollister
– Developer Andrew Barnes thinks he has the answer to
Hollister’s financial woes.
Hollister – Developer Andrew Barnes thinks he has the answer to Hollister’s financial woes.
Barnes wants to develop six hangars at the Hollister Municipal Airport. The hangars would be rented out to corporate jet owners, generating jobs, rent money and around $1.5 million annually in taxes for the city’s general fund, Barnes said.
There’s just one catch. City Manager Clint Quilter said most of the land is already committed to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for a new air-attack base, and it’s been committed since the City Council directed staff to begin lease negotiations in 2001.
“It’s been a long, drawn-out process,” Quilter said.
There are several reasons for the lengthy discussions, Quilter said, including turnover at the state Department of General Services – which handles negotiations – and uncertainties with the state budget.
Cal Fire real property manager Luke Wilson said the existing “substandard” base is more than 40 years old. Plans for a new one have been in the works since 1999 and call for four fueling pads, a hangar, an operations building and a tractor shed.
Barnes, who submitted a proposal for the land on June 13, said he hadn’t heard about the city’s commitment to Cal Fire until Friday.
“That doesn’t smell right,” he said.
Barnes and Bill Dickert, director of sales and marketing at Barnes’ company ABVision, argued that their proposal is a much better deal for the city. They pointed out that Hollister has cut services due to a structural budget deficit.
“We’re talking about driving economic development that will drive taxes that will go to the general fund,” Dickert said.
Barnes said his plan is economically viable because hangars in San Jose are “overbooked,” so companies may come to Hollister for a better deal. He also noted that Cal Fire’s offer of $92,000 annually for rent requires the city to fund construction of a new taxiway and control tower.
Airport Manager Bill Gere said that construction would cost $2.5 million.
Wilson acknowledged that the tower and the taxiway are “a sticking point.” The state Department of Finance doesn’t want to pay for construction on city land, he said, but he emphasized that the details of the proposal can be negotiated.
“That’s just an opener for negotiation,” Wilson said.
Although negotiations have dragged on for seven years, Wilson hopes they’ll be wrapping up soon.
He added that Cal Fire wants to work with Barnes to move both projects forward, but the developer said that if the full 10-acre firefighting facility is built, his hangars wouldn’t be commercially viable.
Development at the airport is already a contentious issue. In addition to Barnes’ beef with Cal Fire, many longtime tenants have said they’re unhappy with plans to open corporate hangars, which they say would change the recreational character of the airport.
For his part, Gere hopes there’s room for everyone.
“We need to work together and work it out,” he said.
