Colorado Business Seeks Purchase of Airport Hangar

The City of Sidney and the Airport Authority Board have been approached by a company that wants to purchase a hangar to expand its business.

The conflict is that so far the Airport Authority Board has not seen a written proposal.

At the October 10 meeting of the Airport Authority Board, Jim Lewis of Airtronics, Inc., met with the board in public session. According to the Airtronics Avionics website, "for over 50 years, Airtronics has ben a brand recognized for excellence in avionics repair and installation."

The company started in Oxnard, Calif., as R & B Airtronics by Ron and Betty Lewis. The website says they retired in 1983 and James Lewis bought the avionics shop, later changing the name to Airtronics. In 1997, he relocated the Oxnard and Camarillo shops to one facility at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport, Reno, Nev.

The company announced in March 2019 that it expanded to Colorado at the Front Range Airport.

Lewis' visit to the Airport Authority Board meeting regarded acquiring the hangar owned by Cabela's/Bass Pro. Lewis said his company had contacted Cabela's, and had met with Sidney City officials.

At that point, board chairman Ron Meyer said the board cannot make a decision until a formal written proposal is submitted. Lewis said he needed to know the direction of the board, adding his company is looking at two possible locations in Colorado. He said the company is interested in a location where work can be done without the interruption of walk-in customers. He added one of the goals of the company is to move the business jet traffic to middle America.

The conflict is so far there is no written record of what Lewis is willing to do, what Cabela's/Bass Pro will accept or what has been offered to the Airport Authority or the City of Sidney.

"Until we see a formal offer, nothing is going to happen," said Meyer.

Lewis said he heard the board is interested in buying the hangar. Meyer said the board's interest is only to have control over use of the hangar and ease the transition of ownership. Meyer added Cabela's has not terminated its lease of the hangar.

After the meeting adjourned, the board met in executive session. Meyer also said in the meeting, he planned to meet with the city attorney that afternoon.

In the meeting, Lewis said he had met with City Manager Ed Sadler and with Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard.

"We have talked with him. We've talked with the Airport Authority. We've talked with Cabela's," Norgard said Thursday.

She said the City is waiting to see what is next.

The Airtronics website has few entries for 2016, 2017 and 2019.

Also in the meeting, the board met with Ross Cleary, Cleary Buildings, regarding construction of new hangars at the airport. He said their design is wood-frame covered in steel.

"We can line and insulate them. We can heat them just like your house," he said.

He said the design has been updated with a safer hangar door. The update costs about $3,000 more, but is expected to save money in the long run, according to Cleary.

"We don't just pound nails and that is the last you see of us," he said.

He said they could schedule a new hangar for January to March and have it done in six weeks or less, depending on the size and weather conditions.