Article II

Aircraft Landing and Parking Rates and Related Charges at Castle Airport

• A. The purpose of this article is to establish airport rates and charges for runway use (landing fees) and aircraft parking to assist in offsetting the costs of maintaining and repairing and upgrading airport facilities including runways/parking areas in order to insure continued public safety.

• B. The following organizations, when involved in an emergency situation, are exempt from paying any fees associated with this article: Any law enforcement (LE) aircraft, California Department of Forestry (CDF) and its contractors and medical emergency flights.

• (Ord. 1735 § 1, 2004; Ord. 1764 § 1, 2005)

"Aircraft parking fees" means the fees, established by the board of supervisors, as from time to time amended, to be charged to the operator and/or owner of aircraft parking at the airport.

"Airport" means Castle Airport.

"Commercial aircraft" means any aircraft being flown in conjunction with a business, for hire, with paying passengers, flight training, etc. (commonly referred to as, but not limited to, corporate, charter, airline or commercial, crop dusting, freight or cargo).

"Facility use fee" means the fees established by this article, or as from time to time amended by the board of supervisors.

"FIS" means Federal Inspection Service.

"Fixed-base operator" means a commercial operator at the airport whose operations under agreement with the board of supervisors at an assigned area under his/her control encompasses some or all of the following: the furnishing of services such as aircraft storage, aircraft repairs, aircraft flight instruction, air charter flights, and sale of aircraft, aircraft parts, and equipment, aviation fuel and other petroleum products for use in aircraft.

"Government aircraft" means aircraft owned and/or operated by components of the military forces of the United States of America, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or of the state of California, making use of the airport and paying for use of the public runways, taxiways, aprons, and air navigation facilities pursuant to use fee agreements.

"Landing fee" means a fee that aircraft operators and/or owners pay for the right to land at Castle Airport.

"Non-signatory operator" means the operator and/or owner of aircraft that pays for use of the airport pursuant to this article, and not under a use fee agreement.

"Signatory operator" means the operator and/or owner of aircraft that pays for use of the airport pursuant to a use fee agreement and, where applicable, this article.

"Use fee agreement" means agreements between the board of supervisors and signatory operators and the military by which the aircraft operators and the military are charged fees for the use of public runways, taxiways, aprons, and air navigation facilities to defray in part the cost of development, maintenance, and operation thereof.

(Ord. 1735 § 1, 2004; Ord. 1764 § 1, 2005)

• A. Aircraft Parking. The parking of aircraft incident to operations to, at, or from the airport shall be limited to fixed-base operator locations and other areas designated by the airport manager. Such parking shall be controlled by and subject to the direction of the operator in charge of the ramp area so used. Such parking shall be subject to applicable parking fees set forth on Schedule A.

• B. Aircraft Storage. Castle Airport can accommodate 50 large aircraft on the various ramps, but desires to do so for a limited time of no more than two years per aircraft, preferably only one year per aircraft. Such aircraft storage shall be subject to the applicable fees set forth on Schedule B.

• C. Designated Loading or Unloading Areas. The loading or unloading of airfreight shall be conducted at a cargo freight handling area as designated on a master plan of the airport or by the airport manager.

• D. International Waste. Aircraft operators and/or owners are responsible for the proper disposal of all international waste as required by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

• (Ord. 1735 § 1, 2004; Ord. 1764 § 1, 2005)

The county/airport reserves the right to charge any of the following fees:

• A. Use Fee Agreements. Signatory operators and military aircraft making use of the airport pay charges for use of the public runways, taxiways, aprons, and air navigation facilities pursuant to use fee agreements.

• B. Landing Fee. The operators of all commercial aircraft and military aircraft (when appropriate per Sponsor Assurance #27) shall pay a landing fee charge for each landing of such aircraft at the airport as set forth on Schedule A.

• C. Federal Inspection Services (FIS) Facility Use Fee. The operator and/or owner of aircraft using FIS facilities shall pay an FIS facility use fee (as then currently established by the local inspectors and coordinated with the airport manager) per operation.

• D. Aircraft Parking Fees. All aircraft including military aircraft (when appropriate per Sponsor Assurance #27) parking in designated areas as directed by the airport manager, including but not limited to, remote ramp areas and parking, shall pay aircraft parking fees as set forth in Schedule A.

• E. Payment of Fees. Payment of use fee charges shall be made prior to release and clearance of such aircraft for departure from the airport to the fixed base operator having under its control the apron area at the airport used by the landing aircraft. Fees shall be paid directly to the airport for signatory operators pursuant to payment provisions of the use fee agreement. The board of supervisors may waive airport rates and charges in special cases.

• F. Late Fees. Any payment not received by the airport within 30 days of the due date shall accrue interest at the rate of one and one-half percent per month measured from the due date until paid in full.

• G. Sponsor Assurance #27. Use by Government Aircraft. The county of Merced/Castle Airport will make available all of the facilities of the airport developed with federal financial assistance and all those usable for landing and takeoff of aircraft to the United States for use by government aircraft in common with other aircraft at all times without charge, except, if the use by government aircraft is substantial, charge may be made for a reasonable share, proportional to such use, for the cost of operating and maintaining the facilities used. Unless otherwise determined by the Secretary of Transportation, or otherwise agreed to by the sponsor (county of Merced/Castle Airport) and the using agency, substantial use of an airport by government aircraft will be considered to exist when operations of such aircraft are in excess of those which, in the opinion of the Secretary, would unduly interfere with use of the landing areas by other authorized aircraft, or during any calendar month that:

  1. Five or more government aircraft are regularly based at the airport or on land adjacent thereto; or

2. The total number of movements (counting each landing as a movement) of government aircraft is 300 or more, or the gross accumulative weight of government aircraft using the airport (the total movement of government aircraft multiplied by gross weights of such aircraft) is in excess of five million (5,000,000) pounds.

(Ord. 1735 § 1, 2004; Ord. 1764 § 1, 2005)

• A. Reports. Fixed base operators shall, on each Monday, make report to the airport covering the previous week as to the aircraft subject to the appropriate fees that have landed and parked at the apron area(s) assigned to and under the control of such operator. Reports shall include the type of aircraft, aircraft "N" number, owner/operator if known, date the aircraft landed and departed, and number of hours the aircraft remained in parking.

• B. Records. The airport, through its representatives, shall have the right at any time during the business day to inspect the records of the fixed base operators as to operations from the apron area assigned to and under the control of each such operator, to ascertain the veracity of the operator's reports hereunder. If, as a result of each inspection and upon audit a deficiency in payments made to the airport hereunder of more than five percent is disclosed, the cost of audit shall be borne by the fixed base operator. Otherwise the cost of inspections and audits shall be borne by the airport.

• C. The fixed base operator shall receive an agreed upon percentage of all collected fees for their participation in this program.

• (Ord. 1735 § 1, 2004; Ord. 1764 § 1, 2005)

The airport manager shall have the right to impound, tow away, and cause to be stored with any fixed base operator at the airport, any aircraft, vehicle, or other equipment parked or left unattended in violation hereof, of whose operator fails to pay aircraft landing fee charges and/ or any other fee due under this article from aircraft operation at the airport. The operator and/or owner of the aircraft so impounded, in addition to payment of fees due and owing, shall, prior to release of the same, pay all costs incident to such impounding, including charges for towing and storage of such aircraft.

(Ord. 1735 § 1, 2004; Ord. 1764 § 1, 2005)