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Alpena airport to take legal action against tenant

ALPENA — The Alpena County Airport Committee voted to take action on a tenant who leases property at Alpena County Regional Airport during its meeting Thursday.

The tenant is $40,000 in arrears to the county, but has been keeping current on their regular monthly payments since being approached by Airport Manager Steve Smigelski. A registered letter is being sent to the company that leases the property, demanding immediate payment in the next 30 days or the lease will be terminated by the county.

Smigelski said the past due amount was larger and he approached the tenant about it. He said they made a $20,000 payment, which lowered it to the current amount, and promised to pay an extra $2,000 on top of its lease payment to catch up on what it was behind. According to Smigelski that hasn’t happened.

“I take responsibility for it getting to this point, but I took them for their word and didn’t really want to be the one responsible for forcing a business out,” he said. “It is past that point now and something needs to be done.”

A draft of the letter has been read and approved by Prosecutor Ed Black and will be sent soon. Smigelski said the $40,000 amount doesn’t include the 10 percent late fee that is added to the past due each month.

In other business:

∫ the design plans for the new terminal are 90 percent complete and been submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration so it can begin its assessment. Consultant RS&H still needs to add small details to the plan, such as electrical and plumbing details.

∫ Smigelski met with Alpena County Emergency Management Coordinator Bert Francisco to discuss an upcoming tabletop training exercises at the airport.

∫ despite some airport closures last month, April was still a good month for enplanements. Smigelski said there were 730 for SkyWest and 31 charter flights. Total enplanements are now at 3,022 and if the airport reaches 10,000 before the end of the year, it is ensured a $1 million subsidy from the federal government.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached via email at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5689. Follow Steve on Twitter ss_alpenanews.

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