Are More OC Taxpayer Dollars Taking Flight???

According to a Rome Sentinel Article, the O. C. Legislature is about to consider a 10 year lease to Freeman Holdings, a/k/a Million Air, of 5,500 square feet of terminal building at Griffiss "International" Airport for roughly $100,000 a year.

Utilities like heat, electricity and water are paid by the county.

Interesting.  Are other tenants of Oneida County also given taxpayer-paid utilities?

The car rental desk and flight school paid rent at their old locations and will continue doing so in their new locations on the second floor of the terminal building.

But ...

Under the management contract, Freeman did not have to pay rent for its old space because it was in what was considered a transitional location, awaiting a permanent one, explained Candido.

So, the County clearly gave preferential treatment to Freeman in that other tenants paid rent for their old space but Freeman did not.

Interesting thing, that management agreement, regarding the "transitional location," in Section 4 (A) . . .

". . . it is anticipated that said relocation of the FBO Offices will occur in the spring of 2009 . . . " 

2009???   

So what the OC Board of Leg. is doing now was something they were told was anticipated to be done in 2009? It is now 2015, SIX YEARS LATER!  That means that Freeman has been using County Facilities, rent free, for six years longer than the OC Legislature was led to believe when it originally approved the agreement with Freeman back in 2008! 

It is unknown why it took so long to get to this point, or who was ultimately responsible to get us to this point.  There are probably plenty of excuses which may or may not be good ones.  What is not excusable is that an unforeseen delay was something that could have been provided for in the original contract, but was not, and that as a result, the taxpayers have have not received rent for the use of county facilities for six years.

According to the Sentinel, the county executive's chief of staff Mr. Candido . . .

said the lease amount was based on a study of new construction rentals and market rates in the surrounding area.

Given the sloppiness of the manner in which the Management Agreement has been carried out thus far, the Board of Legislators may want to see the evidence supporting Mr. Candido's assertion before approving of this lease.