By Jack Kenton CPA Airport Rep Coordinator
The ownership of the airport has been resolved following a court case in which the original owner attempted to reclaim the airport due to nonpayment (on the mortgage) by the buyer. The present owner bought the airport some two or more years ago and, after starting a flight school, renovating a motel and the restaurant, found that he was not earning enough from the operation to have it pay its way. The court case involved a counter suit by the buyer, the present owner, that the original owner had misrepresented the potential of the airport for financial return. He stated that he had buildings that had to be brought up to code and, of course, the constant problem of fuel tank leakage.
The judge in this case ruled in favor of the present owner. According to Wes Krause, a local resident and airport user, the judge awarded the airport to the present owner “free and clear.” There is also a penalty award.
The present owner has not, however, returned to operate the airport as he did when he first purchased it. Bill Jensen, a former Hesperia mayor, is managing the airport at present. Plans for the future are still unknown. As the original owner had proclaimed that it was his intention to take back the airport and then close it and sell the land for other purposes, the present “unknown future” still sounds better than it might have been.
