Huntington Beach leaders called the air show settlement one of the hardest negotiations of their life, as they defended their decision and took the public’s questions at a lively town hall.

“They were so difficult that a couple of times negotiations were broken off, and I believed with all my heart that we were done,” City Attorney Michael Gates said, “there was not going to be a compromise and that there may not be an air show.”

Mayor Tony Strickland said when the air show operator walked away at times during the five-month negotiations, he “begged them to come back to the table to negotiate — I thought it was that important for the city of Huntington Beach.”

The Wednesday, Aug. 30, town hall gave the public a chance to directly question leaders involved with the controversial near-$5 million settlement between the city and the annual air show operator, Pacific Airshow.

The air show settlement, first announced in May, caused a litigious summer, from Gates refusing to release the complete settlement agreement, to a failed attempt to prevent the settlement days before the city sent the first check, and former Mayor Kim Carr being accused of wanting to halt the 2021 air show because of alleged personal animosity toward the operator.

Huntington Beach resident Diane Bentley questioned why the city didn’t look for an alternate company to hold an air show. Strickland responded by saying Pacific Airshow has done a great job in past years and has already demonstrated a positive economic impact for the city and the ability to pull off the event.

“This is the largest air show in the country,” Strickland said. “They’ve been remarkable at their economics of what they’ve done, and why wouldn’t we want to go with someone who’s a company here in Huntington Beach if we can?”

Resident Bill Nees was among those critical of why the city settled, asking what information was shared during negotiations and if the city was representing Carr, who Pacific Airshow is still suing.

“A lot of information was shared during confidential settlement negotiations,” Gates said. “Their demands were on an order of magnitude, much higher, than what it was settled for.”

Gates said the city is defending Carr, but didn’t provide further details.

The air show saga began in 2021 when an oil spill was reported offshore, and the final day of the three-day event was subsequently canceled. Pacific Airshow sued Huntington Beach and Carr last October for losses it incurred after the cancellation.

Visit Huntington Beach officials promoted how much economic impact the air show creates for the city, citing a Destination Analysts study that indicated nearly $70.4 million in direct spending by people coming from outside of Huntington Beach during the 2022 show. The event generated $1.73 million in tax revenue for the city, according to the study.

The city has already sent the first settlement check of $1.99 million and will send $500,000 each year for the next six years. Included also in the settlement is a parking offset of no less than $110,000 this year.

In 2021, the city charged Pacific Airshow $236,695 for services such as police, fire and marine safety during the event, which then got $41,750 taken off the bill from parking revenue generated during the event.

The city charged the U.S. Open of Surfing operator more than $360,000 for its 2022 event, which did not receive a parking subsidy on its bill.

Strickland called saving the air show his No. 1 accomplishment as mayor. The next flying is Sept. 29-Oct. 1.

“I fought for what I thought was best for Huntington Beach,” he said.

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