Written by 
Sofia Farret carefully prepares landing gear kits for shipping to customers. She also performs other critical aviation roles at Landing Gear Works. Ms. Farret has spoken to Renton City Council twice, including this past Monday night, asking for help in settling the lease issue.
Renton Airport management and The Landing Gear Works are engaged in a landlord-tenant dispute that’s made its way up to the Renton Council, dominating Monday’s audience comment period. Eight aerospace workers could lose their jobs, and they were asking for Council help. Council Members seemed to want to help, but have been reluctant to engage directly with Landing Gear Works.
Renton airport management is frustrated with Landing Gear Work’s claim that the company repaired their roof in lieu of rent payments. Airport management asserts the roof was Landing Gear Works’ responsibility under the lease.
Landing Gear Works company founder Tom Anderson asked Council for help in settling the lease disagreement at Monday’s council meeting. He said his offer included his providing “good faith funds.”
The president of Landing Gear Works, Tom Anderson, said the city only made the roof his responsibility a few years ago through unfair pressure, and he doesn’t understand how the city would expect him to install a new roof and make other long-term upgrades to a building when he can only get a one or two year lease. He says he’s been trying to settle these issues for months, including making payments if they won’t accept his repair receipts, but the airport office has been uncommunicative. He points out the Renton airport is on their third airport director in three years, and recently had no director for several months after the previous director attempted to manage our airport from his home in Utah.
My opinion is that Council Transportation Committee should meet face-to-face with Landing Gear Works and see if an agreement can be worked out before going down the expensive path of litigation. Under RCW 35A.11.020, Renton City Council has ultimate leasing responsibility for Renton Airport, and past councils have engaged in these discussions with tenants when necessary. I recommend Council not go down the eviction path until they’ve personally tried to work this out.
Recent councils have not experienced many landlord-tenant disputes at Renton airport, thanks primarily to the long, productive tenure of a former Renton airport manager who worked closely with all airport tenants, and ensured there were regular monthly meetings of an empowered Renton Airport Advisory Committee (RAAC). The RAAC combined the perspectives of airport users and representatives from Renton’s neighborhoods to build a thriving, compatible airport community, and they addressed tenant issues like roof maintenance productively and early. In my early days on council, Prior to formation of the RAAC, up to 25 percent of my council time was spent handling airport landlord-tenant disputes. Recently, frequent changes in airport management and infrequent RAAC meetings are bringing back landlord-tenant tensions at the airport.
Sergio Nunez, a ten-year employee of Landing Gear Works, asks the Council to help save his company.
Background on Landing Gear Works:
For 11 years Mr. Anderson and his company “The Landing Gear Works” have designed and built specialized light plane landing gear at Renton Airport. Mr. Anderson pointed out at the Monday meeting that he has deep roots in Renton; his Dad ran a Machine shop in Renton dating back to 1947.
The Landing Gear Works’ most popular product is a titanium landing gear system for Cessna 180 and 185 aircraft. These specialized landing gear are lighter weight and less susceptible to corrosion than alternatives, and are sought after world-wide by Cessna owners seeking improved performance and durability. They are not available from anyone else.
On a typical day, the Landing Gear Works will have two or three customer aircraft on-site receiving new gear, and will ship out additional landing gear sets to repair stations around the globe.
The products are made entirely in Renton, with major components fabricated in their airport workshop and other components coming from machine shops throughout Renton.
The shiny Cessna 180 titanium landing gear strut in front, available only from Landing Gear Works, weighs half as much as the approved steel strut behind it, and it is less susceptible to corrosion. The titanium gear reduces an airplane’s weight by 23 pounds, extending it’s range, adding cargo capacity, and reducing its carbon footprint. These are made in Renton.
The Landing Gear Works must maintain key approvals from the FAA to sell these products. The FAA has issued Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) approving the design, and Parts Manufacturer Approvals (PMAs) authorizing the manufacturing. Both of these approvals have to be rigorously maintained by Landing Gear Works, by showing they maintain high quality manufacturing processes and that their engineering team is responsive to in-service incidents involving their products. They have an FAA “continuing airworthiness” responsibility to care for the design, manufacture, and use of these products, as long as they are in service on airplanes.
One continuing airworthiness obligation is maintaining an approved spare parts supply. Needed parts must be readily shipped to anyone with an airplane on ground. FAA enforces this requirement to keep the world’s aircraft flying safely, and eliminate any temptation to use unauthorized parts in repairs.
An eviction of an STC and PMA holder (such as Landing Gear Works) with a mere thirty days notice is incompatible with meeting these Federal regulations and expectations. Ninety days for a move should ordinarily be considered a bare minimum, and more time would be better.
The Landing Gear Works maintains FAA-approved spares, manufactured in Renton, that can be quickly exported around the world to meet their continuing airworthiness requirements.
The Historic Building:
Landing Gear Works’ engineering and manufacturing takes place in a historic building at Renton airport. The “Old Tower Building” was built in 1943, and provided air traffic control when Renton was building up to one hundred and sixty B-29 superfortresses per month during WWII. Later, the building served as the Engineering Liaison office for Boeing’s flight line.
The Landing Gear Works occupies the old Renton Control Tower building, built in 1943.
The view from Renton’s historic old control tower, looking over the Boeing flight line today. The black and white photo shows the view when Renton was producing 160 B-29 Superfortresses each month during WWII.
The Landing Gear Works building still contains reminders of it’s long service for the Boeing Company. While at Boeing I personally spent long days and some overnights in this building as I worked with flightline “Liaison” engineers making adjustments to airplanes prior to first flight.
When Boeing gave up their lease on the building and turned it back to Renton, we searched for an appropriate aviation use that could occupy the building. The building does not have any hangar space and is designated in the FAA approved airport layout plan as “Aircraft Manufacturing.”
I remember when our long-serving airport manager enthusiastically announced he found the right company, with Renton roots and a high-end product. Landing Gear Works was to occupy most of the building, with the exception of the historic tower and some of the offices below the tower. At that time the city maintained the exterior of the building, including cutting the grass, picking up debris, and keeping the roof repaired. The airport manager also helped Landing Gear Works sublease three hangar spaces to install their equipment on aircraft.
Renton’s 2017 FAA-approved Airport Layout Plan available here, showed Building 36 (the old tower building) approved for for Aircraft Manufacturing (in green), which Landing Gear Works uses it for. Non-manufacturing use, general aviation, or non-aviation use would not be per plan.
The Landing Gear Works operated in smooth partnership with Renton for many years. The recent dispute took root when a later airport manager condemned the hangars used by Landing Gear Works and scheduled them for demolition, and insisted that Landing Gear Works must agree to rent the entire old tower building under a one-to-two year lease if they desired replacement hangar space.
Mr. Anderson says the city then stopped doing any repairs or upgrades to the building, asserting it had become solely a tenant responsibility. The roof began to leak in several locations, and a rusted AC unit broke from a wall in a storm and let water damage an office. The roof appears to be one or two decades past its design life, and is now subsisting only from frequent patching.
Normally, if the city expects a tenant to pay for long-term upgrades to a building, such as a new roof or HVAC system, the city will extend a lease for a long enough period that the cost of the upgrades can be amortized over many years. As a Council Member, I often helped negotiate these time frames, to ensure our tenants could amortize their improvements. That was apparently not done in this case. Landing Gear Works began to use a large percentage of their profits making short-term repairs to their building, not able to fund major upgrades without a long-term lease.
One of many manufacturing rooms. The large building comprises a compact factory, filled with carefully calibrated mills, presses, lathes and other machine tools that are used in manufacturing landing gear. Thirty days notice to move the FAA-approved operation is not respectful of the rigorous care and planning required for such a move.
The future for the historic Old Tower Building:
The Airport Layout Plan was updated in 2022. While the latest version is not yet on the City Website, I have included it below. The new layout plan shows that the historic old tower building along with several other buildings may eventually be demolished, and replaced with new hangars and offices. Ideally, new airport buildings would front the perimeter fence, so customers could visit a building without going onto the air side of the security fence. The layout plan shows such a configuration.
In the 2022 Airport Layout Plan, purple cross-hatched buildings including old tower building are designated for possible future removal, to be replaced by new hangar/workshop/office buildings shown in red along perimeter fence. Light blue area would get a revised taxiway.
Implementing this plan will require extensive coordination with leaseholders and other stakeholders to protect everyone’s interests. It will require a request for proposals, public review of options, planning, permitting, and FAA approval. Hopefully this plan will also include coordination with the Renton Historical Society and building architects, who should consider saving the historic tower cab and incorporating it into one of the new replacement hangars.
Finding an aviation tenant for a leaking office building that is planned for demolition will be difficult, and it’s possible the city could go months or years without income from this building. We can look a half mile east to the former Boeing Buildings on Park Avenue to see how poorly buildings can fare after a period without tenants. Unfortunately a recent airport break-in shows that the even the airport perimeter fence is not enough to stop intrusions on the airport.
I think Council and Landing Gear Works should sit down together and attempt to sort this out. If a settlement can be reached for Landing Gear Works to catch up on rent, with a possible allowance for continuing to nurse-along the aging roof, it would make sense to keep them in the building until demolition is near. If demolition will not happen for ten or more years, then a long-term lease that allows Landing Gear Works to install and amortize a new roof would make sense.
New titanium gear installed. (This photo is from The Landing Gear Works website)
Thank you Randy for the great article, you covered just about everything! Yes I want to have open and meaningful conversations with the council now. I want a win win.
I agree with Randy, Council needs to hear BOTH sides, not just the Administration’s version. Tom Anderson, the Landing Gear Works owner, said on Monday at the Council Audience Comment that he had tried to negotiate with the City back in November and there was no response.
I was Chair of the Council Transportation/Aviation Committee when the Renton Airport Manger brought Tom Anderson/Landing Gear Works to us for consideration of leasing the “old Tower building”, which had sat empty for a long time. We were so happy to hear about this innovative, successful company that was willing to take the space, knowing there were repairs needed but trusting the Airport/City would uphold their end to make that happen so he could have a good place for his manufacturing business. Take a look at their website to better understand the importance to the aviation industry: https://tlgw.aero/.
The business grew quickly, and the airport manager was able to provide additional space as needed. Landing Gear Works was a real prize for the Renton Airport and Community, hiring & training local workers as well as supporting neighboring Boeing among its many high-value clients. And then… our long-time Airport Manger was offered a very good position at the FAA. Our Renton Airport hasn’t had decent management since. We have had a revolving door of uncommitted, uninterested people serve for short stints “managing” the airport, and the decline is obvious in spite of the tenants trying their best.
The fact the tenant was forced to do critical repairs to keep his business from further damage because the City failed to do necessary required upkeep is beyond frustrating. The City then turning against the business because of late lease payment with no discussion is shameful. This is what is hard to understand. Why won’t the City work with the tenant? So far all I’ve heard is excuses about “no airport manager available, in place, etc.”. That’s the City Administration’s fault, not the tenant who is trying desperately to keep his business running!
From the City of Renton’s website under Business Resources (https://whyrenton.com/business-resources-renton/):”THE SPIRIT OF RENTON IS INCLUSIVE, INFORMED, AND INVENTIVE Supporting local businesses in Renton and ensuring they have what they need to be successful is our top priority. Through this dedicated support approach, we aim to develop economic activity in the city and strengthen Renton’s tax base while providing a top-notch quality of life for residents.
“Where is the support for Landing Gear Works? Why has the City not “ensured they have what they need to be successful” since it’s “TOP PRIORITY”? In my opinion, the City puts out words but no ACTION. The definition of HYPOCRITE. : a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs.
This is one of many problems at the Renton Airport that has gone unchecked for years. Ask any business there about their internet service (almost non-existent for some), security, etc. and you’ll be surprised they are able to function. Who on Renton City Council has any interest in the Airport? It does not appear any of them have paid any attention to the Airport at all, trusting the City Administration. Which is a BIG mistake.
Respectfully,
Marcie Palmer
Renton Council Member 2004-2015
Great Words.
Randy, thank you for the article! I appreciate how you covered everything. This is very important to me and my coworkers, we depend on this job to support our families. The Landing Gear Works has been a blessing to me. I’ve learned so much about the aviation world and the FAA certifications. I really would love to keep learning more!
Randy
Thank you so much for your detailed information, your support and all the efforts you’ve put into helping us with the preservation of the Landing Gear Works , as well as your passion for the airfield, and it’s history
I became employed by Derek and Tom Anderson in October of 2023 with the company and I have to say they have treated me like nothing short of family.
I’m battling some very concerning health issues at this point and not only have they supported my journey to get healthy again and continuously asked if there’s anything they could do to help me
while I’m at work as well as treated me as an asset to the team and company
I can’t say enough about them Tom Anderson has been nothing short of a true gentleman to me, and his son Derek has been by my side, the whole way with everything I’ve learned in the Aviation industry since I began as well as always looking out for my best interest
I truly hope we continue on with business as usual, and strive to grow and bring even more of the community than they already have
Thank you so much to each person who’s paid attention and taking their personal time to care and show support for The Landing Gear Works at Renton Airfield.
Sincerely, Michael Cole,Employee
Great article, thank you for all of the research and time you’ve put into it! I like learning about how deeply Renton’s ties to aviation go.
Interesting facts, from the last I knew (OK it has been several years) Boeing was using that building.
Renton needs to do more to keep small businesses, not try to find ways to move them out.
Who is on the airport committee for the City Council?
Thanks Dave. You probably used to work with Engineering Liaison in this building too, like so many of us.
Renton Transportation/Aviation Committee:
Ryan McIrvin, Chair
Kim-Khanh Van, Vice Chair
Carmen Rivera, Member
Here is the link to the committee information:
https://www.rentonwa.gov/city_hall/city_council/council_committees
That threesome is scary and explains a lot. But I thought they were supposed to help the little guy.
Thank you for the information.
I sent an email with my opinion (in support) on the need for assistance from Renton Council on keeping this small business at its present location at the Renton Airport.
As a little further info on one of my points, it’s not just a City policy that a longer lease term should be provided if a tenant needs to make major upgrades; it’s also an FAA policy.
Pages 17 and 18 of the FAA’s Airport Leasing policy address the fact that tenants should be afforded the opportunity to recap investments, and be given term leases that give them the time to invest in the building, not just yearly extensions. That policy can be found here.
While on council I helped develop Renton’s airport leasing policy consistent with FAA policy.
This is from Renton’s Airport Leasing policy for instance:
“6.4.2. If major improvements or maintenance are needed to the City owned facility, the City Council may choose to offer an increased lease period, consistent with scheduled private investments in the facility. ”
It’s expected by policy that there be planning and discussions to ensure major improvements get made in a way that meets both landlord’s and tenant’s goals.
While I don’t expect everybody to know everything about these policies, I would have liked to see the airport manager bring these issues to either the RAAC or the Renton City Council long before an overdue roof replacement turned into years of leaks and an eviction of a tenant.
This dispute could have easily been avoided by running the roof replacement need through these designated channels for lease-negotiation suggestions. Even now, at this late stage, with some damage already done, I think the RAAC and/or City Council would be more productive and appropriate forums for resolving this than the Airport management office and the City Attorney’s office. Constitutional separation of powers puts the responsibility for leasing on the legislative side, not the executive side, and that’s where this could and should be resolved.
If the airport manager and attorney succeed in pushing this tenant out, it will most-likely give the city an empty, leaking, deteriorating building, that has no revenue coming in and can not be leased because it is scheduled for demolition at some uncertain date in the future. And any hope for saving the building’s important historical elements, like the control tower cab or equipment, will diminish if the building sits unheated and unattended for any length of time.
Landing Gear Works will of course stop paying rent, B&O taxes, and sales taxes to Renton. Renton machine shops working with them will also pay less tax money to Renton. While the rent is a loss only to the airport fund, The lost taxes are a loss to the city-wide general fund. Every cent of lost taxes from business will need to be replaced by property taxes on homeowners. This is an example of how the airport management affects everyone in Renton.
Even worse, if Landing Gear Works cannot quickly find a suitable site, their employees may face layoff, as they have expressed concern about at Renton City Council.
This is a lot of needless harm resulting from not using proper channels to work through a straightforward issue of a roof on a city building.
I have worked at The Landing Gear Works since Mr. Anderson first moved his equipment into the building over a decade ago. I handle the FAA engineering documentation as Data Controller though now part time as a retiree. After being out of town, I’m now hearing about this unfortunate situation that could so easily have been resolved by better management at the airport and the city of Renton. I’ve watched Mr. Anderson and his hard working team of dedicated employees grow this amazing business. Mr. Anderson also continues to employ and train many aspiring young people in aviation skills. I urge the airport and the city to please get on the ball and rectify this problem so everyone here can continue to focus on supplying much needed products for general aviation.
Thank you, Lucy Berentsen
Why does the airport leadership continually make it difficult for its tenants.
I thought their mission was to promote aviation, not hinder it!
I worked for Mr. Anderson at The Landing Gear Works from 2015-2021. I can tell you that Tom and his business TLGW is a HUGE asset to not only the aviation community in Renton at the airport there, but he is a huge asset to general aviation WORLDWIDE. There are hundreds, if not thousands of airplanes that rely on TLGW’s services and manufactured FAA-PMA parts. It is unfortunate that the airport management is making it so difficult for a business that generates a ton of money and brings business to the Renton airport consistently over the past decade or more. Putting people’s employment at risk over a simple fix would result in the impact of not only the affected employees, but their families and beyond. I really hope that airport Management can come to the simple conclusion and put people first, and maintain a healthy relationship with TLGW to continue to support general aviation in Renton for several more decades to come
Thank you, Randy, for the thorough and concise summary of the issue at hand. It makes the most sense, as you stated, for the airport to be better about communicating. While I may be bias, being his daughter I have seen how Tom’s business has positively impacted the aviation industry at large since his very first STC. He has always provided wonderful employment opportunities, always acted from a place of compassion as well as provided excellent customer service. It is my belief that with patience and understanding the airport and TLGW can come to a compromise that is beneficial for all, while maintaining a good landlord – tenant relationship.
So this is weird. A City Council Executive Session following the Committee of the Whole Monday 4/1/24. In my 12 years on Council, all Executive Sessions were following the City Council Meeting. Is this about the Landing Gear Works eviction by the City?
At last weeks Council meeting, Transportation/Aviation Committee Chair Ryan McIvin pulled the referral to his committee from the Consent Agenda, and referred it back to the Administration. Rightfully so! (https://renton.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Id=11483)
“c)AB – 3532 City Attorney requests authorization to initiate further legal proceedings against The Landing Gear Works, LLC to enforce its lease with the Renton Municipal Airport.
Refer to Transportation (Aviation) Committee”
Here’s the Agenda Bill:
https://renton.civicweb.net/FileStorage/7D206232728040A58D41430B279E4CFE-Authorizing%20Legal%20Action%20against%20The%20Landing%20Ge.pdf
“…On March 13, 2024, the City completed the process of terminating all three leases, to take effect on March 31, 2024. If the tenants have not vacated the premises on that date, further legal proceedings may be necessary to enforce the terms of the lease(s). The City Attorney’s office is in the process of procuring outside counsel to handle any such legal proceedings to evict the tenant (known as an unlawful detainer) and/or to recover the unpaid rent and other damages, should it be determined that further action is required. The lease for the two buildings (LAG-13-005) includes a provision for attorney’s fees to be awarded to the prevailing party in a dispute of this nature. Pursuant to RCW 35A.12.100, the commencement of legal proceedings to enforce a contract require Council approval. The administration is seeking advance authorization to commence legal proceedings, as it deems necessary, to enforce the lease judicially. Such action may include, but is not limited to: damages, recovery of the leased space, and attorney’s fees.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Authorize the Mayor and City Attorney to initiate further legal proceedings against The Landing Gear Works LLC to enforce its lease with the Renton Municipal Airport.”
https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=42.30.110
RCW 42.30.110
Executive sessions.
“(i) To discuss with legal counsel representing the agency matters relating to agency enforcement actions, or to discuss with legal counsel representing the agency litigation or potential litigation to which the agency, the governing body, or a member acting in an official capacity is, or is likely to become, a party, when public knowledge regarding the discussion is likely to result in an adverse legal or financial consequence to the agency.
This subsection (1)(i) does not permit a governing body to hold an executive session solely because an attorney representing the agency is present. For purposes of this subsection (1)(i), “potential litigation” means matters protected by RPC 1.6 or RCW 5.60.060(2)(a) concerning:
(i) Litigation that has been specifically threatened to which the agency, the governing body, or a member acting in an official capacity is, or is likely to become, a party;”
I don’t know what topic is to be discussed Monday during Council’s Executive Session.
Council has not had a public discussion on the issue of EVICTING Landing Gear Works from the Renton Airport, that I can tell reviewing the Transportation/Aviation Committee Agendas back to December 4, 2023 (https://renton.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Id=11463).
My guess would be if it was discussed with Council, it was under “Emerging Issues”.
This concerns me. Council should be presented with all sides from all parties. Owner Tom Anderson has not been able to have his side heard directly by Council. This is a very very serious issue that affects many people’s lives. The dedicated Staff is worried sick if they will have a job Monday morning, April Fools Day.
A public discussion is necessary for proper Public Disclosure and Open Public Meetings.
Respectfully,
Marcie Palmer
Renton Council Member 2004-2015
It tonight’s executive session concerns this topic, as the previous commenter suggests, the Council might consider action tonight on the agenda bill that was tabled last week. I would still like to see council attempt to resolve this issue with the tenant first.
Some may suggest that “Council’s hands are tied” by the lease. But council’s hands are never tied on issues for which their approval is required. (Why would the law ask a decision-making body for approval if that body had no choice?)
Click here for a link to the Lease addendum from the city website signed by the City and Tom Anderson in 2022. This expanded the Landing Gear Works lease to the whole building, while only giving them a two year extension– not enough time to amortize major renovations like a new roof or HVAC.
Note this lease addendum sets June 2024 as a final move-out date based on the “Airport Master Plan”, which originated from a proposed FAA redesignation of the airport that threatened to extend the runway all the way to Renton High School. The RAAC, City Council, and Mayor pushed back on the FAA redesignation, and the Master Plan referenced in this lease addendum was ultimately never adopted.
Instead, the “Airport Layout Plan” now guides future development, and it is more discretionary. Elements of the Layout Plan may not happen for many years, and are up to Renton City Council to approve the timeframe.
Note that there is a clause giving 90-days notice to terminate the lease which was put in the lease to address the FAA expectations of STC and PMA holders (as discussed in my article.) But in this case a 20-day notice was issued. If there were other parties clamoring to pay money to rent a leaking office building that is scheduled for demolition, I could perhaps understand the eagerness to move Landing Gear Works out. But the building sat empty before Landing Gear Works leased it, and it will almost certainly sit empty again after they leave; I believe a 90-day notice would have been more appropriate, or a lease renegotiation that made long-term upgrades.
Lastly, there is a state law that covers management of Municipal Airports, which gives cities authority to have tenants make repairs and improvements to their buildings (as was done in the Lease with Landing Gear Works). The same sentence of the state law also gives cities the discretionary right to reimburse tenants for such repairs:
Per RCW.08.120 (1)(d) (The airport oversight body has power)… “to authorize its lessees to construct, alter, repair, or improve the leased premises at the cost of the lessee and to reimburse its lessees for such cost, provided the cost is paid solely out of funds fully collected from the airport’s tenants;”
I don’t know if this lessee should be reimbursed for their repairs– that’s up to the Council. But I feel Council should at least discuss it when requested by a long-time tenant. Collaboration should always be attempted before litigation.
I completely agree. This is a reflection of those who have oversight of the airport. An issue like this in the past would never have escalated to this state. It would have been resolved by relational means far before a business and families lives being disrupted and uprooted, especially one with such a history as this.
This is a business that has checked all of the professed boxes on subjects the council and the major say they support. Diversity, equity, inclusion, trades training, reasonable expectations in lease agreements in other words renters rights. This is all of those and more. This is a business who barely survived COVID only to be kicked in the pants with emergency roof repairs and decisions to pay people or rent. Come on! Let’s encourage our elected officials come to the table and figure out how to help this business get back on track to again be successful!
Ha… kind of sounds like the renters right folks are slum lords. Right..
I emailed this message to City Council earlier today:
Dear Renton City Council,
I’m writing as a long-time participant in Renton’s aviation industry and as a former council colleague. I worked as an engineer and manager for Boeing for 33 years.
First, I wish to remind Council that according to Washington State Law, city council is responsible for leases of city property. Your authority to approve lease terms and take legal actions can not be delegated to Renton Airport management, which is why airport management is asking you to approve an agenda bill evicting one of our airport’s long-time manufacturing tenants.
Like many others, I was happy to see the Landing Gear Works locate in Renton in 2013. To me, the company represented Renton diversifying it’s aviation production into the light plane component market. While large airplane components were increasingly being produced in other countries, Landing Gear Works promised to fabricate their components locally. They have delivered on this promise.
Their company has worked in smooth partnership with Renton without any issues for nearly a decade. In fact, their lease has been modified five times as the city sought to lease them increasing amounts of space and extending the terms.
It’s now disappointing to me to see that at the same time our large airplane manufacturer is struggling and moving work to other locations, our city’s focus is on evicting our one-and-only light-plane component manufacturer over a $60,000 rent dispute— one that the tenant is trying to resolve. After eight decades of Renton being an aviation manufacturing community that is the envy of the world, our aviation manufacturing future is increasingly in doubt. I’ve always hoped Boeing would eventually build their next single-aisle airplane in Renton, but if they don’t, I hoped we could build other types of aircraft.
I enjoyed my decades of work in Renton’s aviation community, along with thousands of others Renton residents. Thirty percent or more of Renton’s families have traditionally been supported by these living-wage jobs. Every other city in the world would like to have the aviation industry that we have, and they will quickly take it from us if given the chance.
I have shared my view of this issue on my blog at RandyCorman.com. As of this writing I’ve received almost 20 comments, many of them from current or former employees of Landing Gear Works providing additional information about the attributes of this business.
I ask you to please review the blog yourself at https://www.randycorman.com/?p=18997.
For decades, Renton Council has worked collaboratively with our tenants at the airport, frequently inviting them to Transportation/Aviation Committee Meetings in order to resolve complex or controversial lease issues. This is one of the roles you were elected for. Please do that now. Thank you for your consideration,
Randy Corman
Renton City Council Member 1994-2021
Here’s what I sent Council:
Greetings Council Members,
Please extend a friendly hand to Tom Anderson, owner of Landing Gear Works, and work to negotiate an amicable resolution to the current lease dispute. In reviewing the Transportation/Aviation Committee Agendas back to December 4, 2023, I see that this has not been reviewed by the Committee/Council. Council is responsible for leases, which means having ALL the facts to make a reasonable and fair decision.
It’s time you WALK your TALK. The Community is watching.
Marcie Palmer
Renton City Council Member 2004 – 2015
Cecelia Hill
I worked for The Landing Gear Works for nearly 10 years. The building had never been in great shape. The building sat empty for a number of years until TLGW was willing to rent it. When I first working for the company the rent was reasonable for the shape the building was in and the airport took care of the maniainance. Later the rent was raised and the city made TLGW responsible for the repairs yet wouldn’t give a long-term lease to make the repairs worthwhile. TLGW provides a service to the light aircraft community plus jobs and support for other local businesses. It would be great if the city would step up and help.
PLEASE KEEP COMMUNICATION CHANNELS OPEN TO ALL
I’ve recently been sent language from the Renton attorney’s office to the employees of Landing Gear Works, advising them they are not allowed to have normal communication with their elected officials.
The First Amendment guarantees the rights of residents to petition their government, which includes reaching out to Renton officials. While I’m not a lawyer, common sense says that potentially evicting someone is a tenuous reason to infringe on their rights to have open communication with their officials. At this stage the Council has not even authorized legal action, and Landing Gear Employees are trying to reach their elected officials specifically to avoid litigation.
Here is the text apparently sent from the City Attorney to the employees of Landing Gear Works:
“I have instructed all Renton Municipal Airport employees to have no further communication with employees of the Landing Gear Works, LLC, unless those communications are related to the matter of vacating the premises, returning city-issued badges and/or property, and/or unless the communications are related to essential airport business solely unrelated to the lease. ”
…”If The Landing Gear Works LLC intends to communicate with the City, its representatives may do so solely by contacting me through the below contact information. With that said, if The Landing Gear Works, LLC or its employees wishes to address the City Council through public comment or during a public meeting, they may do so, but due to the fact that The Landing Gear Works LLC has threatened to take additional action against the City, the Renton elected officials are instructed not to respond directly and to forward any written communications to the City Attorney’s Office.”
>> the Renton elected officials are instructed not to respond directly and to forward any written communications to the City Attorney’s Office
I’m not a fan of some on the council, and I wish some of them would shut up, but this isn’t good. They have the right to communicate.
Thank you all for the great comments and support.
Now everything is in limbo. Everyday we look over our shoulders to see if we are going to be blindsided by some sort of unilateral bully effort.
Nothing has been done. Our Civil rights were seemingly violated by not allowing to speak to our elected government officials. The original Lease signed in 2013 appeared to be correct but later modifications appear to be in error because the lease guidelines established by the City Council were not followed for amendments. The council, who is supposed to approve it never even saw it after last effective airport manager left in 2014. Ryan Zulauf Sep 2001 – Aug 2014 · 13 yrs
I am now advocating for a third party, like the Council Transportation Committee or an impartial mediator, agreeable to both TLGW and The Renton Council, not the Public Works Director, the City Attorney, or the Airport director, to sit down and correct the errors in the lease amendments. This will allow us to have a win win. We will pay our share, the Historic city owned Tower building will continue to be preserved, we can get an extended lease, a portion of our efforts will be reimbursed. The rent will be reasonable based on the condition of our facilities, and AGAIN the City will get revenue for the mutual considerations.
Thanks for the update Mr. Anderson. I hope the Council reaches out to you.
The lease policies, and leases themselves, are all clearly the purview of Renton City Council, which is why it is confusing to me that the council has chosen not to publicly discuss your lease.
I wrote a blog entry in 2008 after Don Persson, Rich Zwicker, and I as the three council members on the Transportation Committee, finalized the airport lease policy we have today. In the blog entry I give special credit to Marcie Palmer, who had also put enormous work into the policy the previous year as Transportation Chair. We all felt it was work we were elected and paid to do. Here is a link to my blog entry on the subject. https://www.randycorman.com/?p=762
I don’t know why Council is now letting the Airport Management make these decisions. State law still says it belongs to the Council.
I Support Tom Anderson’s request the city of Renton negotiate with him in good faith, so that he may continue to provide his valued services to the Aviation community. He brings tremendous added value to our Renton Airport family with the services and products he produces. As a Renton Airport 30 year plus tenant / aircraft owner, flight instructor and part 135 pilot I felt I must speak up and voice my support for Tom’s request for a common sense resolution to his complaint. He has provided me with many unique and valuable services as an operator and general aircraft owner.The future of Renton Airport needs The Landing Gear Works as a tenant. Tom is a reasonable man deserving an accelerated resolution so he may operate and plan his future. Thank you
Mr. Corman, thank you for your fair representation of the tenant’s difficult situation and for shedding light on the many ways the airport’s and the city’s actions, or lack thereof, will impact not only the Landing Gear Works, its owner Tom Anderson, and his employees and their families but also the Renton community and aviation industry as a whole.
Tom Anderson is a pillar of the community and has more integrity than most people could ever aspire to. Running a business is never easy and has its ups and downs for many reasons. However, it is downright unfair and unnecessary to load this additional pressure on a local business owner who is making not only a good-faith effort to resolve this issue amicably and fairly, hoping for a win-win outcome but also a man whose family has deep Renton roots dating back to the 1940s. I commend not only Tom Anderson but also his loyal employees who stay and work despite an unknown future. That says a lot about Tom’s leadership and his commitment to his employees and his customers. Tom Anderson and his diverse workforce have not only invested in the business, the building, and the community, but they also invest in the future of the local youth by providing internship and learning opportunities.
The Landing Gear Works is a unique business. It is the only company to offer this type of landing gear, which is fabricated locally and is popular worldwide. Their light-duty and fiercely reliable titanium landing gear option saves Cessna owners money while providing an eco-friendly power plant modification that does not corrode or rust, which protects our planet and our future.
The Landing Gear Works deserves not only a meaningful response, but a fair resolution, and the city needs to step up if the airport management cannot get back on track. That’s unfortunate, of course, but it is not the tenant’s fault or responsibility. Give them a longer lease or reimburse them for the repairs and give them a fair lease. The airport’s and the city’s actions appear extremely short sighted. What other businesses will be willing to come into this space knowing that neither the airport nor the city will have their back paired with the upcoming changes to the site in the near future?
This beautiful historical tower building needs to be preserved, but it should not fall solely on the shoulders of the tenant. The city council should work with The Landing Gear Works to come to a mutually beneficial outcome for all parties. The fact that historically, Mr. Anderson and The Landing Gear Works have had a smooth relationship up to this point with Renton in their decade of occupying this space illustrates their ability to continue to do so moving forward. I look forward to the expedited resolution The Landing Gear Works and the Renton community deserve.
Please keep the conversation going, Mr. Corman, and everyone taking the time to comment here!
UPDATE Council Meeting last night. Because the city attorney, airport authority, and backing by the city council have moved this eviction issue over to legal, with a quiet passing in a confusing council meeting. Almost as if it was surreptitiously planned. That means they did not negotiate with me to work this out. They decided to move this along to lawyers. Now it looks like legal attempts are going to be made to try to kick The Landing Gear Works off the airport. More JET and corporate space!!! I am going to stay and fight as long as I can, however it may have to be the old David and Goliath story.