The tempest stemmed from a proposal by Gaylon Harp, 6830 Whiskey Creek Road, who planned to submit a bid to manage the airport when the current contract with Washington Aviation Inc. expires at the end of May.

The agreement with Washington Aviation, however, will automatically renew for the next three years. A clause in the contract requires the city to notify the company at least 180 days prior to the renewal date if it plans to open up the agreement to other bidders. That deadline passed in late December.

"It's in the agreement that it automatically renews under the same terms except for the monthly compensation which will have to be negotiated," said City Counselor Mark Piontek. He said he does not like that clause and feels the contract should have a specific escalator on compensation.

Harp addressed the council at last week's field operations committee meeting. City officials said at that time they did not know the date of the 180-day notice deadline, but would get back to him with that.

Tuesday night, several council members said they felt that because concerns had been expressed previously about the current contract, the staff should have made them aware before the 180-day cutoff. Some said they thought they had until May 31 to make a decision.

"John (Rhodes) suggested we go out for competitive bids," said Councilman Tim Overschmidt. I was really surprised it got to this point without forewarning the council."

City Administrator Jim Briggs said as he understood the concerns were mainly over the fees charged for hangar space, which could be negotiated with the airport manager.

"I don't know that anything was expressed to staff that you didn't want to renew the contract," Briggs said. "Maybe individuals, but not as a collective group. There was no reason to terminate it."

Rhodes said the administrative staff was either "incompetent," or "insubordinate" for not advising the council prior to the cutoff date.

"I've got to believe the staff was directed not to inform us of this. I feel you've deceived the council for not bringing this up. To say the council did not have concerns is disingenuous. We've been hoodwinked," Rhodes stated.

"I think Washington Aviation should come back and say they don't want to be under this cloud," Rhodes said. "We've spent millions of dollars on this."

"I don't think you should go after staff on this," Mayor Dick Stratman shot back later in the discussion. "No one came forward and said we should get rid of the FBO (fixed base operator). Not at a council meeting."

"We didn't have anyone come up and ask to review this contract and go out for bids. Individual council members don't have the authority to do that," Briggs said. "Gaylon had knowledge of the contract. You can't put all the burden on staff."

Briggs said Harp was given a copy of the contract last summer but didn't come in and say he planned to submit a proposal until January.

Briggs said the the city pays about $40,000 a year to Washington Aviation, "not millions." Rhodes said the city spent millions of dollars on improvements. "That has nothing to do with the FBO," Briggs retorted.

"I don't think the staff had any vision that the council was dissatisfied with the FBO," Briggs added.

Councilman Guy Midkiff, who acknowledged that he has made the airport "a big issue," said he has to share some of the responsibility.

"I read the contract and I thought I understood it. I saw the deadline date but for some reason it didn't click with me," Midkiff said. "I have to take a certain amount of responsibility."

Rhodes said back in November when some members toured the airport with Brian Boehmer, assistant city administrator, to look at the pavement damage, Boehmer said they were told that they could address any contract issues in the spring. "We were deceived," he repeated.

"I have never tried to deceive the council or have I been insubordinate. I've always tried my best to do what the council wishes," Boehmer stated emphatically. "I've brought in many grants for the city to develop the airport. I did not purposely try to deceive anyone. I was going by memory I didn't remember that clause. I'm only saying it was a memory lapse."

"I feel caught in a whirlwind," remarked Councilman Roger Langendoerfer. "I truly feel the staff is not incompetent or insubordinate. It's mind-boggling how we got to this point. But there's a definite division between the contract and the millions spent to improve the airport. They're two different issues."

"I feel it's a communication problem," said Councilman Herb Dill. "We need to make sure it doesn't happen again. But now we need to put it behind us and move on."

"We made mistakes. Let's move on," said Councilman Jeff Mohesky.

Stratman said that companies that use the airport are "gushing with praise" when they speak about how the airport is managed.

"I can't tell you how many good comments I get from people who use the airport," the mayor said. He mentioned the owner of the new Colton's Steakhouse as the most recent. Others who have praise for the airport include First State Bank, Target, Wal-Mart, Parker Hanniffan and Harman Becker, he said.

"People who use the airport love the way it's managed," Stratman said.

"To me, that airport's there for economic development. It brings in good jobs. Recreational flyers can use it but its real purpose is for economic development."