According to a report in the online news source Coloradoan.com, hangar tenants at Northern Colorado Regional Airport (KFNL) have at least a month’s grace before their aging city-owned T-hangars are to be decommissioned and then torn down. After a presentation by hangar tenant Rick Turley, the airport commissioners voted last week to pause lease terminations on the A-, B- and C-building hangars until more thorough structural analysis can be completed. The four buildings (the “C-building” is made up of two structures) include 57 hangar units covering some 64,500 square feet.
An earlier engineering report said the four hangar buildings, ranging in age from 45 to 58 years old, on the airport’s west side were irreparable and could not be refurbished robustly enough to satisfy current building codes. Airport commission chair Don Overcash said in a statement, “The decline of the condition of the buildings has reached the risk level that is no longer able for the cities [Loveland and Fort Collins, which jointly own the airport] to maintain insurance coverage. The airport and cities are faced with a difficult decision … the decision is made in the best interest of the safety of airport users and is not being taken lightly.”
Turley said he had walked through the buildings with a structural engineer who indicated they could be repaired and made safe relatively easily. He expressed appreciation for the reprieve in the commission’s ruling, pending further engineering data. “I’m happy they took the feedback seriously,” he said, “and seem willing to work with us. I appreciate the extra 30 days. I wish it was six months, but we’ll take what we can get.” He added that he was willing to pay for an engineer to perform a comprehensive structural analysis of the buildings. The commissioners agreed to pause the eviction process until more data could be presented at the next meeting, scheduled for April 20.
