6-3-25. Powers and duties of counties, municipalities, and political subdivisions as to airports generally.

Counties, municipalities, or other political subdivisions which establish airports or landing fields or which acquire, lease, or set apart real property for such purpose or purposes are authorized to:

Construct, equip, improve, maintain, and operate the same or vest authority for the construction, equipment, improvement, maintenance, and operation thereof in an officer, board, or body of the county, municipality, or other political subdivision. The expense of such construction, equipment, improvement, maintenance, and operation shall be a responsibility of the county, municipality, or other political subdivision;#

Adopt regulations and establish charges, fees, and tolls for the use of such airports or landing fields, fix penalties for the violation of said regulations, and establish liens to enforce payment of said charges, fees, and tolls, subject to existing contracts;#

Lease such airports or landing fields to private parties for operation or lease or assign to private parties for operation, space, area, improvements, and equipment on such airports or landing fields, provided in each case that in so doing the public is not deprived of its rightful, equal, and uniform use thereof; and#

Lease portions of such property lying within any county having a population of 550,000 or more persons according to the United States decennial census of 1980 or any future such census for an initial term of up to 50 years, and to extend such leases, to private parties for development of such property for hotels and related facilities, conference centers, office buildings, commercial and retail uses, and other similar airport and travel related purposes, provided that:#

1. (A)

   A lease under this paragraph shall expressly grant and convey to the lessee a taxable estate for years in both the property and any improvements upon such property as may be constructed and shall not grant or convey a nontaxable usufruct in either the property or the improvements upon such property; and#

2. (B)

   The leasing authority granted under this paragraph shall not extend to property acquired for airport noise mitigation purposes pursuant to the former Airport and Airway Development Act of 1970 (49 U.S.C. Section 1701, et seq.), as amended, or the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982 (49 U.S.C. Section 2201, et seq.), as amended.#