The Spokane Airport Board says it has reached a temporary agreement with Spokane-based Felts Field Aviation Inc. to continue that company's lease and operation as a fixed-base operator at Felts Field while the two parties continue negotiations for a longer-term agreement.

A fixed-base operator, or FBO for short, provides such services as aircraft fueling and maintenance, hangar space, flight training, and aircraft rental and leasing. Felts Field Aviation has been providing those services at Felts Field since about 1985 under a property lease with the Airport Board, but without an FBO contract. Felts Field Aviation's most recent lease agreement expired Sept. 30.

Felts Field is a general aviation airport at 6105 E. Rutter that's owned and operated by the Airport Board.

SIA spokesman Todd Woodard says the Airport Baord is awaiting a business plan from Felts Field Aviation that would define what commercial activities the company would provide and what facility requirements it would have in order to continue operating at the airport.

Woodard says Felts Field hasn't returned a signed lease yet, but the board expects it to do so. Under the temporary agreement, Felts Field Aviation would rent 61,600 square feet of building space and about 220,000 square feet of paved and unpaved land there for $10,700 a month. The temporary agreement would extend as long as March 31, 2010, to allow additional time to negotiate an FBO contract, Woodard says.