Cloverdale City Council renews lease for skydiving operation

A controversial Cloverdale Airport skydiving operation had its lease renewed for three more years Wednesday night despite being the target of noise complaints and questions over how much liability it poses to the city.

The City Council unanimously approved a new lease for NorCal Skydiving, which also was praised by parachuting enthusiasts for bringing people to Cloverdale and offering jumpers unparalleled views of lakes, the ocean and even Mount Shasta on a clear day.

Critics of the skydiving operation questioned whether the city will be legally vulnerable if there is a fatality or other mishap associated the operation.

“The only assets are two, 50-year-old airplanes. If someone is killed, they will go after NorCal and look for a way to come after the city,” said Larry Lossing, a Cloverdale attorney who urged the council to postpone acting on the lease renewal.

NorCal co-owner Jimmy Halliday told the council that his company carries the standard insurance coverage for skydiving - a $50,000 liability - although he noted that skydiving is “uninsurable.”

That’s why people who jump in California sign a 19-page waiver, he said.

“We can still do fun things because we’re willing to waive our right to sue,” he said.

Much of Wednesday’s council discussion was dominated by questions over insurance, as well as how NorCal will make up for $11,400 it was accidentally under-billed. There were also acknowledgments from the city that there was poor oversight with the previous lease to make sure the company was meeting some of its obligations, such as providing handicap access to its facilities at the airport.

But City Manager Paul Cayler praised the safety record of the company, which conducts about 4,500 jumps annually.

The discussion took an unexpected direction as council members began to question the larger role of the airport and whether the city can continue to subsidize the annual operating deficit - about $30,000 to $50,000 - that comes from the general fund.

“We need to look at the airport in a number of ways. Do we really want an airport?” said Councilman Joe Palla, who questioned whether the city will be able to continue to subsidize it.

“That airport is just a money pit” he said, adding that the city needs to get a better reckoning of its income and expenses, something to which his fellow council members agreed.

Part of the issue is that the city has accepted grants for airport improvements from the Federal Aviation Administration and has some obligation to continue to run it, something council members want to explore further.

Mayor Bob Cox said he would like to attract more businesses at the airport to increase revenues.

But former Airport Manager Mark Tuma said there are constraints due to the water service to the airport that restrict the ability to expand.

Although the terms of the skydiving company’s lease were under scrutiny, council members noted that it was the noise complaints that has put the operation under a microscope.

Dozens of residents have complained with some saying they have been assaulted with “persistent horrendous noise” caused by the engine noise.

Residents describe the noise as deafening, like an overhead leaf blower, and “snowmobiles up in the air.”

Jimmy Halliday, co-owner of the skydiving operation said he has changed flights patterns, pilots and planes to lessen the din, but complaints persist.

It’s not as easy as simply putting a muffler on the airplane, he said, because it’s actually propeller noise, he said, something the FAA has confirmed.

City officials say they don’t regulate aircraft noise and Cloverdale does not have a big enough airport to do a noise management plan, as done with some larger airports.

An aviation expert brought in to inform the City Council on the issue earlier this year said the FAA sets a high threshold for acceptable noise, much higher than what is found at the Cloverdale Airport.

City Manager Cayler said NorCal is “a legitimate aviation business,” and despite what critics would like, “We can’t just kick them out of the airport.”

Critics noted that the skydiving operation had its state business license suspended for eight months for failure to pay taxes.

The owners of the business acknowledged they had not paid a small tax bill, but said it was because one of them changed address and did not receive the tax notice.

There has been a skydiving operation at the city owned airport for about 20 years, beginning with another company before NorCal began operations six years ago.

An airport subcommittee consisting of Mayor Bob Cox and councilwoman Carol Russell earlier this month recommended the lease be renewed at rate that would increase 7 percent annually over the three year length of the contract.

To make up for past underbilling, the company agreed to pay an extra $316 per month for three years.

Under the new lease arrangement, NorCal’s rates will go from the current $1,400 per month to $1815 beginning in July and reach $2,032 in 2017

To arrive at the new rates, Cloverdale officials looked at average hangar rates in seven other local airports as well as for two other skydiving operations located in Yolo and Contra Costa counties.

You can reach Staff Writer?Clark Mason at 521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@clarkmas