City challenged over airport lease: Arlington Municipal (KAWO), Washington

The air was thick at the Aug. 5 Arlington City Council meeting when a local businessman got up to speak during the public comment time.

Kevin Duncan, owner of Arlington Flight Services, read his concerns about a property lease at the Arlington Airport.

His concerns centered on a lease to Arlington Sport Aviation Park LLC, owned by Bruce Angell who is the "significant other" of Mayor Barbara Tolbert, and presenter of the Arlington Fly-In, for which Tolbert serves as executive director.

"Mr. Angell is also married to Mayor Barbara Tolbert. Given that (Washington) is a community property state, it's reasonable to conclude that Mayor Tolbert's financial and property interests are one and the same with Mr. Angell's," Duncan said, pointing out also that state law forbids city officials from having personal financial interests in public contracts under their jurisdiction.

Duncan cited state law, RCW 42.23.070, that prohibits elected officials from using their positions to secure special privileges for him/herself or others.

The original lease for Lot 200 was with Meidum Pyramid LLC, which, Duncan said, was in arrears to the city for more than $48,000. Angell is part owner in the company.

Earlier this year, the Arlington Airport Commission approved a new lease with Arlington Sport Aviation Park LLC accommodating the debt, with plans to compensate the arrears over a five-year period.

Duncan said he sees the new lease as credit to a private entity, which is prohibited by the state constitution.

"Mr. Angell is asking the city to act as his lender and roll his debt into a new lease under very favorable terms," Duncan said.

No one responded to Duncan during the meeting, as per city policy.

Later in the week, Tolbert said that the city followed the letter of the law.

"Any questions should be directed to Allen Johnson," she said.

Johnson, city administrator, responded to Duncan by letter Thursday.

"I must first start by stating that the city believes your concerns about the legality of the lease for Lot 200 to Arlington Sport Aviation are incorrect and unfounded," Johnson said in his letter.

"In the review of this particular lease, the city attorney was specifically asked to confirm that there would not be a violation of RCW 42.23, the Municipal Officers' Code of Ethics," Johnson wrote.

"In this lease, the tenant is Arlington Sports Aviation, LLC. The mayor is not an officer or an employee of Arlington Sports Aviation, LLC. Although the mayor is the 'significant other' of the tenant's principal, the mayor does not thereby acquire a financial interest in the company under state law."

Therefore, the lease is not prohibited within the meaning of the RCW, he wrote.

He went on to explain that the airport commission acted within (the city's) current policies of accommodating leases to enable businesses to stay during the slow economic times.

"In 1997, the airport commission was granted authority by Arlington City Council to enter into leases for the airport, including amendments and modifications to leases and the granting or requests for subordination of leasehold interest or other security interests for financial purposes.”

In recognition of the financial realities of the sport aviation industry, which was hard hit by the recession, the lease clearly falls into this category of permissible actions by the airport commission, he said.

Allen said the return of the lease would have resulted in increased costs to the airport to manage the property and buildings that (the airport) can ill afford. In the absence of this lease, the airport would receive no rental income for the next five years.

The lease, he said, means the airport will receive about $72,000 in additional rent over the next five years, plus the leasehold excise tax.

"We have worked with other businesses in the same way because it's better to have tenants at a lower rent than no tenants at all," Johnson said.

One airport commissioner, Mike Hopson, said he remembers the night in April when the commission approved the lease.

"We amended it to include review by the city attorney," Hopson said. "With that amendment, I was comfortable with the lease."

Last Monday, Duncan also suggested that the city adopt a local ethics code and consider making the airport commission an elected body, rather than appointed by City Council.

In his written reply, Allen cited a state law that prescribes how airport commissioners should be selected — by City Council — not by election of the people.

Source:    http://www.northcountyoutlook.com