- April 25, 2024
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Refinancing the loan on the Ginn hangar at the Flagler County Airport will save $57,000 in five years. Twenty new T-hangars are also planned.
Thanks to the bad economy, the county has been able to refinance its $2.8 million loan on the Ginn hangar at the Flagler County Airport. The new deal would drop the interest rate from 7.48% down to 3.29% for the next five years, saving the county about $57,000.
The Flagler County Board of County Commissioners praised the county staff for making the cost-saving deal.
However, County Commissioner Barbara Revels pointed out that this is only a temporary benefit on the 20-year loan.
“The rate is great,” she said. “What I worry about is in five years … are we going to have to start over again? It’s not going to be pretty.”
The commission made it clear that the airport’s operations are not funded by residential property tax money, but instead by an enterprise fund. In other words, the day-to-day operations of the airport support themselves. In fact, fuel sales and rent on hangars and buildings have given give the airport a surplus.
“It’s operating in the black, and it has a $1 million reserve,” County Administrator Craig Coffey said.
Still, the county has been criticized for its debt. Commission Chairman Alan Peterson compared the debt to a resident financing an automobile. Yes, the resident is in debt, but he also has a car to use in the mean time. Similarly, the airport’s enterprise fund is in debt, but in the mean time, it has a building it can use to rent out.
Coffey also said the county is planning to spend $200,000 out of the enterprise fund to build 20 T-hangars.
There is a waiting list of airplane owners looking for space at the airport, and this new plan will help the enterprise fund to generate even more money.
