Rent on the state's Kotzebue rescue hangar is up 76% in a decade, and the window to object closed in March

The state proposed to raise rent on its search-and-rescue hangar at Kotzebue to $2,034.38 a year from $1,153.13 under a 2016 extension, a roughly 76% increase over the decade. Comments on the five-year extension were due 4:30 p.m. March 30, and the decision goes only to those who commented.

Whether it was granted is not public, and the notice is no longer on the state's online notice system.

The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities proposed it for the Department of Public Safety without competitive bidding, under AS 02.15.090(c), which covers extensions for a sitting tenant. The 9,375-square-foot parcel at Kotzebue's Ralph Wien Memorial Airport is authorized for a hangar, aircraft storage, tie-downs, maintenance, and search and rescue training and coordination.

The rent is 21.7 cents a square foot, up from 12.3 cents in 2016. DOT&PF says rising airport lease rates statewide cover infrastructure, maintenance and program costs, not any single tenant. Public Safety's FY2026 budget summary calls such leases an ongoing cost and says "the costs for these leases have been rising sharply."

The airport serves 11 communities across the Northwest Arctic Borough, none connected by road.