MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County is taking over an airport hangar in the town of Ellicott.

During the county legislature meeting, lawmakers unanimously approved a resolution accepting Hangar A at the Jamestown airport from the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency.

According to IDA Chief Executive Officer Mark Geise, the county bought an IDA bond of $252,000 in 1995 for the construction of a 10,000 square foot hangar.

Geise talked about the bond at various committees the week before.

He said the bond was for up to 30 years and payments were to be made through revenue made from the hangar.

He said that all rental income proceeds from the hangar were applied to the bond until 2020, when the county took over leasing responsibilities.

“Thereafter the lease payments were not applied to paying down the bond or interest,” Geise said.

According to Geise, the ground lease with the IDA was terminated in 2023, at which time the county assumed ownership of the property. However the bond debt balance remained at $81,371.

The hangar was improved by Luscombe Aircraft, but that company went bankrupt.

An auction was held a year ago that included the entire Luscombe Aircraft Corp. aircraft factory being sold as one package.

Geise said the value of the hangar “exceeds a half a million dollars.”

The county is using its unassigned fund balance to pay the $81,371 owed for the bond.

According to court documents filed in Mayville this summer, Luscombe Aircraft owed the IDA $265,455.

Geise said during a committee meeting that the IDA sold the equipment but only got “20 cents on the dollar” for what Luscombe borrowed.

The equipment is currently still in the hangar but is supposed to be removed in the next few days.