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Ashland man hopes airport project takes off By John Darling ASHLAND � The City of Ashland got an offer it likely can't refuse: a citizen wants to spend $250,000 to double the size of its airport building, put in a caf�, give it all to the city and lease it for 5 percent of gross income from food sales. Ashland filmmaker, developer and pilot Alan Sandler showed his proposal to the Ashland Airport Commission, which oversees the city-owned airport. The Commission's approval isn't necessary, but it supported the plan, said member Alan DeBoer. Sandler soon will make the proposal to the planning commission. The caf� would be built atop the existing one-story, 1,680-square-foot brick airport office, Sandler said. It would serve simple breakfasts and lunches three days a week for aviators and the general public. It would also sell aviation merchandise, such as books, hats and jackets. Sandler projected the gross income at $60,000 a year for the first few years, which would net the city about $3,000 a year on lease payments. If it does well, it would expand the number of days open, he said. "I'm a pilot and it's nice to have a place to fly in for lunch or bring the family out on weekends," he said. "It will have windows that slant in, so you can relax and enjoy a 360-degree view, watch planes on radar and listen to airplane communications on a speaker." Codes require engineering studies to make the structure earthquake-proof and to provide access via elevator, he said. Sandler would like to break ground in April and open the caf� next summer. "We're very enthusiastic," said Commission member DeBoer. "Any time a citizen is willing to spend a quarter of a million dollars to improve a building and there's no taxpayer money involved, it's going to be well received. He's successful in what he does (buildings), so we told him to go ahead." The venture is a "real gamble," DeBoer added, but if it doesn't succeed as a caf�, the space could be used as a much-needed training and meeting room. The airport building was engineered for a second story when it was built, he said. Sandler got into aviation in the early 1980s, when he was being flown on many business trips and realized he should be able to fly the plane if the pilot got a heart attack. He took a few lessons, he said, and "fell in love with it." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA