May Reduce Its Use Area To Keep Fees Manageable

The Longmont, CO City Council has implemented a new fee structure for land use at Vance Brand Municipal Airport (KLMO) which will have a direct impact on Mile-Hi Skydiving in terms of the amount of land it may use or the fees it pays.

The Times Call newspaper reports that the new system charges non-exclusive users of undeveloped airport property 10 cents per square foot that a company uses on an average day. That would have caused Mile-Hi's fees to soar to $104,617.50 for the 975,000 square feet it used, according to airport manager David Slayter. In contract, Mile-Hi paid $7,896 last year, according to the report.

While the company did not respond to the paper for comment, it is believed that it will have to greatly reduce the amount of undeveloped land it uses in an effort to keep its overhead costs down.

The scheme does have some flexibility. The recommended area for a skydiving operation from the Denver Airports District Office is 338,000 square feet of space open for parachuting operations. Slayter said that Mile-Hi can request less for normal operations, and more when necessary. Additional discount credits for maintenance the company might perform on airport property in the LZ could also be applied to the company's bill.

(Image from file)

FMI: Original report