Petition calls for Stout Flying Service to get its lease back

A Lewiston business owner has submitted a petition supporting an aviation company that lost its lease at the Lewiston-Nez Perce County Regional Airport.

The petition shared with the airport authority board earlier this week asks it to reconsider its July decision that requires Stout Flying Service to vacate its premises in early September over a disagreement about insurance.

Airport officials have stated that Stout Flying Service didn’t maintain public liability and property damage insurance from Jan. 2 to May 21 as required by its airport lease.

Not enforcing rules in leases could put the airport at risk of losing millions of dollars in Federal Aviation Administration grants for infrastructure, according to airport officials.

The owners of the business, Paula and Ralph Stout, have acknowledged a lapse in a small portion of the insurance, but they said the coverage that was missing only applied to minor injuries in their building, like falls, and that everything else was covered.

They have also noted they didn’t have any accidents during the time in question.

The petition supporting Stout Flying Service has nearly 1,500 signatures. It was circulated on social media by Branden Beier, owner of Alternative Nursing Services in Lewiston.

As the owner of an in-home care business, Beier said he is sticking up for the Stouts partly because he has been impressed by the high quality of their charter service, which he has used for business travel to Boise and Pasco.

The business, according to the petition, serves an important function in the community, fueling commercial aircraft, providing hangar space and giving pilots a place to grab a cup of coffee.

“Many professionals, businesses and community members are dismayed at the (airport board’s) attempt to devastate a family’s livelihood, in a time when air travel is already in a precarious position,” according to the petition. “This termination without offer of rectification is irresponsible and cruel.”

Paula Stout declined to comment Thursday on the advice of her attorney because it is an ongoing negotiation.

Airport officials are speaking with the Stouts’ lawyer through their legal counsel, but haven’t reached a compromise, said Airport Director Michael Isaacs in an email.

In addition to asking for a reversal of the board’s decision, the petition asks for the city of Lewiston, Nez Perce County and the Idaho Legislature to intervene on behalf of the Stouts.

Lewiston Mayor Mike Collins said in a text message that he is not aware of any plans the city has to get involved in the issue.

Attempts to reach Nez Perce County Chairman Don Beck on Thursday were not successful.

Idaho Sen. Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston, co-chairman of the Idaho Legislature’s intrastate commercial air service interim study committee, said in a text that he has contacted Stout, the board and other individuals about the matter.

As the discussion about what will happen to the Stout lease continues, Airport Board Chairman Gary Peters said he wonders if the petition would have received as many signatures had the description of what happened had more details.

The petition states that Ralph Stout corrected the problem “as soon as the error was discovered.”

But Peters said the airport alerted the Stouts about the issue in late February by requesting proof of insurance. The documentation that was provided by the Stouts arrived more than two months later, on May 22, and was for a policy that started that day, not anything that showed coverage between Jan. 2 and May 21, Peters said.

“This was an extremely difficult decision for the board,” he said.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.