Commander Premier eviction can proceed

BENTON, MO (KRCU) - Commander Premier Aircraft Corporation was scheduled for a hearing in Scott County Court on Monday.

Once again, representatives from Commander did not show up.

Judge Scott Horman awarded possession of the airport hangar to the city. The city now must wait ten days before physically removing Commander Premier from the property.

Cape Girardeau City Manager Scott Meyer says the hearing was a big step towards evicting the bankrupt manufacturer from the city-owned hangar.

"Commander, CPAC, didn’t show up so they had a default judgment which means that they were ready for us to file the paperwork to move toward eviction. Since they defaulted there was no need for a trial then, they signed the order, so now then there’s just some procedural things that we do and then we can execute on eviction," Meyer said.

This is not the first time Commander was a no-show in court. The company failed to send a representative before a bankruptcy judge in Texas earlier this month.

Meyer says all of Commander’s belongings are still in the airport hangar.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Cape Girardeau files papers to evict Commander Premier

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The City of Cape Girardeau has filed court papers to ask for the eviction of Commander Premier Aircraft Corporation from a city-owned hangar.

The papers were mailed to the Scott County Court on Thursday.

Cape Girardeau City Manager Scott Meyer says there is still no timeline for when Commander will be out of the hangar.

"It’s still rather complicated whether or not there is a claim of ownership of the equipment by other lien holders and things like that. That is a questions that may speed that up or slow it down. So really it’s still unknown," Meyer said.

Meyer says he expects a hearing to take place within 30 days.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Judge rules against Commander Premier

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The Commander Premier saga is one step closer to a conclusion.

A bankruptcy judge in Texas sided against the airplane manufacturer and in favor of the City of Cape Girardeau Tuesday. Commander Premier did not send representatives to appear in front of judge Bill Parker.

The decision opens the door for the city to proceed with Commander’s eviction from the city-owned hangar at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

Over the weekend, Commander Premier executives sent an open letter to the Southeast Missourian, which stated that residents pressured city officials to take action against the cash-strapped company.

City manager Scott Meyer was intrigued by Commander’s strategy.

"It’s just kind of interesting that Commander had time to kind of lay it on the backs of Cape Girardeau citizens. They had time for all of that," Meyer says. "But they didn’t have time to appear in front of the judge and make and their case. It’s just kind of interesting what they chose to spend their time doing."

Meyer says the city should be able to proceed with the eviction within 14 days.

Commander Premier has not paid rent at the hangar since 2007.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Commander Premier files for bankruptcy

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Commander Premier Aircraft Corporation has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In May, the City of Cape Girardeau gave the company notice to vacate the city-owned hangar at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport. The deadline passed, and Commander instead chose to protect itself from creditors with the bankruptcy filing.

Commander filed the papers on June 16 in Tyler, Texas.

Cape Girardeau City Manager Scott Meyer says that the filing changes the city’s timeline for a what he hoped would be the voluntary and smooth transition of the hangar.

“We will need a forced takeover, if you will, of the hangar. So we will have to wait for the court to do that. Typically that’s 30, 60 days. So that’s where it puts that,” Meyer said.

In a press statement, Commander Premier President Greg Walker said that his company choose bankruptcy in order to complete a sale of the company to Montreal-based Aero-Base, Inc. The statement mentions that the City of Cape Girardeau and a private party holding a large company note initiated legal actions against Commander.

Commander Premier made only eight of 59 rent payments to the city since it began operations in 2006.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Commander Premier still in airport hanger

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The aircraft company Commander Premier is forcing the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport’s Advisory Committee to make tough decisions.

The company is more than one million dollars behind on the rent for the usage of the hangar it currently occupies.

Airport Manager and committee member Bruce Loy says that the board is recommending that the city does not reach any side agreements on the hanger with any company until Commander Premier has vacated the property.

“We are working with the city and at some point in time if they are not going to get out on their own, we will probably need to lock the facility up,” Loy said.

The committee stated that, to date, it does not appear that Commander Premier has even begun to move out of the hanger.

Commander’s deadline for vacating the hangar is Thursday.

The Airport Advisory Board also discussed the air traffic control (ATC) at their meeting Tuesday night ... and there is little relief in sight for ATC operators at Cape Girardeau’s Regional Airport.

Currently the ATC at the airport is in operation 10 hours a day, 7 days a week. Many other airports run their ATC for about 12 hours.

But Cape’s airport also only has three full time ATC operators on staff.

The airport’s Advisory Committee wants to hire another operator; however a lack of funds means that they will have to look first for funds to train a part time operator to help out.

Despite this, Loy holds out hope for the future.

“Down the road we are hopeful, that maybe can use that person if we can get the find mores maybe to turn that into just, just a part time controller so if we could turn that into a half time. We would probably be able to go into a 12 hour operation,” Loy said.

Nevertheless the airport will first have to locate funds.

The airport has fewer operators then many other comparable airports in Missouri, but it has more flights.

Tim Filla, KRCU

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City sends final notice to Commander

Cape Girardeau City Manager Scott Meyer sent a letter to Commander Premier Aircraft Corporation, instructing the company to vacate city property within 30 days.

Commander Premier has failed to pay rent to the city for over three years. According to the letter dated May 16, the company has also failed to provide required insurance documentation.

Meyer’s letter says that if Commander does leave the premises within 30 days, then the city has the right to enter the property and remove all parties.

The letter also states that eviction does not end Commander’s financial obligation to the City of Cape Girardeau. Commander must still pay back rent. Interest will continue to accrue.

The aircraft manufacturer has been housed at a city-owned hanger near the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport since 2007.

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TTF will fund Broadway renovations

Cape Girardeau City Manager Scott Meyer says that the City Council’s decision to take nearly two million dollars to pay off the airport bond is akin to a household using a tax refund to pay off the credit cards - yet still making a new purchase in the long run.

On Tuesday, the City Council decided use the upfront money from Isle of Capri Casino to make a final payment on its adjacent airport facility construction loan in order to save money on interest.

The city originally planned to use the money for Broadway Street renovation and beautification. Meyer says that the city has every intention to move forward with the Broadway plan by tapping in to Transportation Trust Fund dollars as originally laid out in TTF4.

"With TTF we’ll pay for Broadway. There’s not money there for amenities, but we also might also apply for a grant for those amenities as well. So we’re looking for every possible dollar we can," Meyer said.

The bond is question was used to construct the airport facility now housing Commander Premier, who owes the city one-point-two-million in unpaid rent. The city has already told the aircraft manufacturer that it will be evicted if it does not pay off its back rent.

By paying off the bond, the city can lease the facility to a business other than an aircraft manufacturer.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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Thorngate plan approved, Commander Premier must pay rent

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - The Cape Girardeau City Council voted Tuesday night to approve the Thorngate Redevelopment Plan which will allow Blair Industries to expand operations to the currently empty building at 1507 Independence Street.

Blair Industries currently operates within the area and their expansion is something that mayor Harry Rediger believes is important.

“History has proven that the majority of new development and new jobs are created by our friends; existing businesses, existing industries, and existing manufacturers,” Rediger said.

The city will grant the business’s owner a real-estate tax abatement for 10 years as incentive to help alleviate start up costs of their expansion. The majority of the abatement will be from the school system, something that Rediger says will be outweighed by new jobs and new residents brought to the community.

The redevelopment should create more than 30 new jobs in Cape Girardeau.

It also appears that Commander Premier’s days at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport could be numbered. City Manager Scott Meyer explained that the city has given the struggling aircraft manufacturer 60 days to pay the $1.2 million it owes the city in rent. Commander Premier has not made a rent payment for over three years. Failure to pay the rent will lead to eviction.

In other business, the council scheduled a sound experiment which will help them construct a new noise ordinance in downtown Cape Girardeau. Members of the council will review noise levels by placing sound systems in several downtown businesses to help decide the size and scale of the new ordinance.

The noise test will take place on the evening of March 8 in the downtown area.

Matthew Caldwell, KRCU

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