About

On December 30th, 2010 I filed an appeal to cancel the Jet Center lease for the new St George Airport.

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This blog contains links to bankruptcy documents, newspaper articles and other supporting collateral for this appeal.

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Why am I interested?

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Two of the old aviators connected with the Aviation Museum are my neighbors. During the summer, one of them told me about the way they were being treated by the City….. “They have spent $160 million, they are pushing us off the hill and they don’t give a damn”.

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My uncle Don Rivers built the hanger that the City now owns. I know a few of the people who are owed money by Mr Venuti. So at first it was just about helping friends who deserve better treatment, and the principle that I helped pay for this airport along with everyone else. Over the past three months it has evolved into something personal as well.

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These are difficult times for all of us, and in my opinion, a company that owes millions of dollars to people in our community should not be signing a long term lease at an airport funded by those very same people who have been pulled into this bankruptcy.

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This does not serve the public good and it is not fair and reasonable. And how does the City justify raising anyones annual rent or lease in the worst recession in 50 years, let alone 300%, 500%, 1000% or 1500%.

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There is no business on or off the airport that can survive these types of imposed increases in the annual cost of doing business. FEDEX is not relocating to the new airport. These companies did not beg the City to build them a new airport.

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Justifying such increases by pointing to an owner of an FBO, who is in personal bankruptcy, that says he can pay 1500% more in rent is ludicrous.

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Comparing the St George Airport, with just 40,000 (twenty thousand) paid airline passengers last year and the Jackson Hole, Wyoming Airport with 230,000 (two hundred and thirty thousand) paid passengers last year, is like comparing  a house boat on Lake Powell to the Queen Mary. They both float!