Lake in the Hills starts new hangar incentive program at airport

LAKE IN THE HILLS – The village has started a new T-Hangar incentive program at the Lake in the Hills airport in order to bring in new tenants.

The program will be similar to a program the airport ran in 2012 and 2013 aimed at filling vacancies in the village-owned hangars.

Current airport tenants who refer new tenants who enter into a one-year lease will receive a finder's fee equivalent to one month's rent, which is $302. The finder's fee is provided as credit to the existing tenant's account, said airport manager Michael Peranich.

New tenants who enter into a one-year lease would receive the first three months of rent for free and then pay the full monthly rate, Peranich added. There would be no option to end the lease early.

The incentive program also includes a 10-cent-per-gallon reduction in full-service fuel bought at the airport during the 12-month lease period, Peranich said.

Existing tenants renewing their leases would not be eligible for the discount program, according to a memo written by Public Works Director Fred Mullard to Village Board members.

The incentive program runs through May 31. Adding one tenant would lead to a net revenue gain of at least $2,400, Mullard wrote.

Nine of the 10 spaces in the east T-Hangar are rented, and the west T-Hangar is mostly occupied by non-aeronautical storage, Mullard wrote.

"Although most of the west T-hangar building is occupied with non-aeronautical storage, priority is given to aeronautical uses," Mullard wrote. "The ... incentive program is aimed at bringing in more aeronautical storage."

The village also has started a bulk fuel discount program.

In July 2014, the village took over fuel sales at the airport.

"Although the airport maintains some of the lowest-priced fuel in northern Illinois, fuel sales over the past few years have been trending downward," Mullard wrote in a village memo.

In order to encourage more fuel sales at the airport, the village has instituted a bulk fuel discount program that will run from Jan. 1 through July 31.

The discount program is an attempt to encourage additional fuel purchases by appealing to corporate aircraft customers. The discount will apply to full-service Jet-A fuel.

Under the program, customers will have to buy 1,000 gallons a month to be eligible for a 15-cent-per-gallon discount, Mullard wrote. Customers would receive a rebate check at the end of the month.

Even after the discount, the airport would make 40 cents per gallon of Jet-A fuel sold from full service, Mullard wrote.