Proposed airport fees grounded as commissioners mull recommendations

Proposed changes to fees charged at Hagerstown Regional Airport hit a snag Tuesday as two business entities connected with the airport balked at new fees for security badges and other services.

The airport operates under an enterprise fund, separate from the county's General Fund and financed primarily by fees for services, leases and by state and federal grants rather than local taxes, and has been pretty much self-sufficient, airport Director Neil Doran has said.

But costs for operations, compounded with inflation, prompted Doran to seek approval to raise rental fees for T-hangars, and add new fees he said have been assessed at other commercial airports but not at Hagerstown.

These include Dumpster costs, fees for security badges, airport maintenance fees, after-hours fire and rescue services, and miscellaneous operations fees.

Proposed rent hikes for T-hangars are about 4% across the board

"We have noticed that the airport faces a number of big-ticket items in the future," Doran told the Washington County Commissioners during a public hearing Tuesday on the new fees.

"We do have to contend with expensive maintenance responsibilities; we have to contend with our needs to comply with the (Federal Aviation Administration) strict requirements and also the (Transportation Security Administration)," he said, adding that the federal government often provides no money to pay for their costs.

The airport's ability to absorb costs for services that users pay for at other airports "is in some degree diminished." So airport officials proposed the fees to help recoup the costs of airport security badges and Dumpsters in the T-hangar area.

The revenue would also help "offset rising expenses for our fire department, our airport maintenance department and our security department," Doran said — departments that do not generate much revenue, he added, but are "vital to airport operations."

Altogether, the rate increases and new fees were expected to generate nearly $60,000 for the airport for Fiscal Year 2025, which begins July 1.

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What would the fees mean for airport tenants?

But while she didn't question the T-hangar rent increases, Carolyn Motz, director of development for Rider Jet Center and a former airport director herself, questioned the new fees — starting with the Dumpster fee, which would be $2.50 per Dumpster per month for non-commercial hangar tenants, and $5 per month for commercial tenants.

"I've not ever heard of such a fee and I'm really a bit floored by it," she said, and suggested it should be included in the cost of rent.

But her more serious concern was the new fees for security badges.

There are three security levels: Airport Operations Area, Security Identification Display Area and Driver's Permit. The proposed fee for an AOA badge is $30 per year, for a SIDA badge is $100 per year and a driver's permit, $40 per year.

"In case there's any confusion about thes SIDA badges and the AOA badges," she said, "let me just tell you that I know of two entities on the airfield that need a SIDA badge."

One of them is Rider Jet center, a fixed-base operator that provides aviation services. Motz noted that Rider is where Allegiant Air, which provides passenger service to the airport, sends its fuel for its planes. Rider workers need the badges for refueling operations, Motz said.

"We went from $0 to $100 annually … We have at least 20 employees that are gonna need those badges every year," she said. "That's $2,000."

Since the fees are not charged for airport staff, TSA or law enforcement personnel, "why didn't we just say they're for Rider Jet Center?" she asked. "Because really, that's what they're for. And I'm opposed to it."

Further, she said, "we don't know what a 'driver's permit' is for."

She'd never heard of "airport maintenance fees" before this week, she added, and "what I'm hearing loud and clear is it's not a business-friendly atmosphere.

Motz said she was "disappointed in the lack of input gathered from airfield stakeholders" regarding the proposed fees, and hopes that changes in the future.

Speaking for Plane Care, an aircraft maintenance service company operating at the airport, Ali El-Mohandes also opposed the charge for security badges.

Plane Care, he said, serves 17 to 20 families at the airport "and it's not a huge money-maker." He said that the increase for T-hangar rentals is reasonable, but that the cost of the badges is "an airport issue concerning airport personnel," and shouldn't affect tenants at the airport. Regarding the Dumpster costs, "I don't really see the nickel-and-diming as a reasonable option."

He added that he'd like to see more T-hangars at the airport, and noted that some customers don't want to refuel in Hagerstown because fuel prices are sometimes cheaper in Leesburg, Va., or Johnstown, Pa.

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Commissioners have questions, too

Commissioner Randy Wagner said he also thinks charging for the badges is wrong, as these tenants "are invested in the airport." When someone with a plane has a problem, he said, these businesses are "all ready and willing to jump in and help. I've seen that happen. And it helps us look good, and it helps the airport prosper."

He did, however, agree with raising the rental price for T-hangars — and added that there shoudl be better maintenance on them.

But Doran noted that TSA is talking about upgrading the airport's security category, which means issuing hundreds of new security badges and conducting new training in order to comply. And the airport already has costs of nearly $100 per badge, not counting staff time, he said.

Wagner, however, was unmoved. He didn't want to penalize tenants, he said, and noted the airport is also considering parking and enplanement fees in the future. Wagner, an ex-officio member of the Airport Advisory Commission, said he understood the increased costs. "But it seems like this is a small piece that we can give our tenants a break on."

And because there were some typographical errors on fees list — some of the annual or one-time fees were listed as monthly — Commissioner Jeff Cline said he wanted to see a corrected sheet before voting on the fees. He was also concerned, he said, that there seemed to be some communication issues with tenants.

Commissioners President John Barr noted that new parking and enplanement fees would generate more money for the airport, and Doran said airport officials are working on that process.

The commissioners plan to revisit the fees in the coming weeks. But overall, Doran said, "things are good at the airport … by just about every metric, we're performing better than we have in the past."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Commissioners will revisit proposed airport fees