CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATION

MEETING DATE: October 14, 2014 ITEM NUMBER: 9.C.

SECOND READING: October 28, 2014 O-2014-9
T!"E O# ITEM: Co$%e$t
"RESENTED B!: T&' B(rt), A&r*ort M($(+er, ,0,--1-84,1

SUB.ECT/AGENDA TIT0E: A$ Or1&$($ce (2t)or&3&$+ t)e C&t4 o5 0o$+'o$t to ('e$1
t)e #BO 6e(%e 5or CAG &$ter$(t&o$(6, I$c., D/B/A E6&te A7&(t&o$ to (66o8 5or t)e
'($25(ct2r&$+, (%%e'b64 ($1 %(6e% o5 U$'($$e1 Aer&(6 9e)&c6e%.

E:ECUTI9E SUMMAR!: Attached for your review and consideration for approval, please
find an amendment to the FBO Hangar Parcel 4 Lease to Chippewa Aerospace roup !nc", d"#"a
$lite Aviation, allowing for the manufacturing, assem#ly and retail sales of %nmanned Aerial
&ehicles '%A&(s)" According to the terms of the e*isting lease, the City may authori+e a su#,
lease of the property for commercial services, providing the City authori+es the su#,lease with
written consent"

On -eptem#er ./, .014, the City of Longmont was contacted #y %A-,%-A, LLC, an unmanned
aerial vehicle manufacturer and retailer that they were loo2ing for space in Longmont to conduct
their operations as they were having difficulty in the City of Boulder finding suita#le property in
which to conduct their #usiness" !n a 3oint effort #etween the LA$C and the City, it was found
the Airport would #e a#le to accommodate the #usiness in the $lite Aviation hangar, which is
currently authori+ed for commercial operations, #ut only housing aircraft and inventory" By
allowing %A-,%-A to su#,lease the property with City consent, the City will continue to see the
property generate a revenue stream #oth for $lite Aviation and the City ensuring the property
remains leased with a commercial operation"

!n order for this venture to move forward, the $lite FBO lease must #e amended to allow for the
manufacturing, assem#ly and retail sales of %A&(s" !n an effort to facilitate this process
e*peditiously, the City has provided written consent for su#,lease in order to allow %A-,%-A to
occupy the premises" However, no commercial manufacturing or assem#ly can ta2e place until
the lease is formally amended, specifically authori+ing this type of use"

As the Council may recall, the City currently has a contract with !ron 4idge $ngineering to
provide %A& services" 5hat contract will remain in effect and is availa#le for all City
departments to utili+e" However, !ron 4idge has #een una#le to secure the necessary financing in
the past si* months in order to facilitate their transition to the Airport" -taff has advised !ron
4idge of the %A-,%-A development and !ron 4idge understands that the Airport needs to move
forward in conducting its #usiness operations"

5he Airport Business Plan specifically identifies %A& manufacturing and sales as a target
industry for the Airport and City to host" 5his is part of the overall $conomic 6evelopment
strategy for the City and Airport" %A-,%-A may #e considered a primary employer as all of
their products are currently #eing sold out of county and out of state"




COUNCI0 O"TIONS: 1) Approve the lease amendment as presented or, .) 6o not approve the
lease amendment as presented"

RECOMMENDED O"TIONS: Approve the lease amendment as presented and allow %A-,
%-A to #egin manufacturing, assem#ly and retail sales of %A& systems"

#ISCA0 IM"ACT ; #UND SOURCE #OR RECOMMENDED ACTION: 78A

BAC<GROUND AND ISSUE ANA0!SIS:

%A-,%-A was founded #y -2ip 9iller, who has #rought his e*perience and e*pertise with
soaring, i"e" #uilding and flying model sailplanes, to the unmanned aerial vehicle industry" 9r"
9iller has #een a model airplane enthusiast from childhood growing up in an aviation family" He
has #een on -i* %nited -tates 4adio Controlled soaring teams, holds numerous A9A 7ational
titles and is a founding mem#er of the 4oc2y 9ountain -oaring Association" He is the former
:orld Champion and 11,time 7ational Champion, as well as the 7ational Cross Country
champion and record holder" His winning aircraft from the :orld Championship in -outh Africa
is in the -mithsonian Air and -pace museum in :ashington 6C"

9r" 9iller has assem#led a team with similar s2ills for %A- flight" Com#ined, the team has over
;< years of small aircraft e*perience" 5he end result of this is an airframe unmatcha#le in its
price category for mission performance" 5he Company also offers services from the simplest
airframe manufacture to the more comple* and complete %A-, including design, fa#rication,
modification, training, piloting service and maintenance support" %A-%-A has placed over <0
5$9P$-5 %A&(s with end users in the %nited -tates"

%A-,%-A currently has contracts with the following universities, Colorado, Colorado -tate,
7e#ras2a, O2lahoma and 9!5" Additionally, %A-,%-A also provides %A&(s for the Colom#ian
Air Force, 4aytheon 5echnologies and Aerospace and the 7aval 4esearch Center La#" On
average, %A-,%-A produces appro*imately five %A& aircraft per month, depending on
customer order" Currently, manufacturing is ta2ing place in California with final assem#ly and
system integrations #eing done in Colorado" :ith the opportunity at Longmont Airport, %A-,
%-A would li2e to relocate their manufacturing to Longmont and house all of their operations at
one facility"

ATTAC=MENTS:

Ordinance Authori+ing the Lease Amendment
Lease Amendment