With the first phase of the test range nearly complete, business surrounding the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range is starting to pick up.
The Pendleton Airport Commission voted to lease space at the Eastern Oregon Regional Airport to UAS service company ArgenTech Solutions.
ArgenTech is based out of New Hampshire and owns Peak 3 Technical Services, which contracts with the city of Pendleton to develop and manage its UAS test range.
According to the minutes of its July 9 meeting, the commission approved a six month lease that will total $3,000.
In exchange for paying rent, ArgenTech will house a mobile command center at the airportÂ’s maintenance shop that can be used by future customers to pilot their unmanned aerial vehicles.
Marcel Piet, the president of UAS services for ArgenTech, said the command center could stay in Pendleton as long as Peak 3 remains in the Round-Up City.
While Peak 3Â’s long-term status is currently in limbo due to its contract expiring last month, local officials are making efforts to keep them in the city.
The commission voted to support a contract extension between the city and Peak 3 through July 2015, an agreement that must be approved by the city council.
City Manager Robb Corbett said the council could approve a contract extension as soon as their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, though an extension has yet to be added to the agenda.
Although nothing is set in stone, all signs are pointing toward Pendleton maintaining its relationship with Peak 3.
While commission members could only recommend Peak 3Â’s contract extension, they did use their authority to lease office and work space at the airport to Peak 3.
Under the agreement, Peak 3 would pay the airport $8,052 to rent out the former baggage area for a year.
During the meeting, comments about the test rangeÂ’s outlook remained positive.
Steve Chrisman, airport manager and economic development director, said PendletonÂ’s range was further along than the two other FAA-approved ranges in Oregon.
Chrisman said test range employees already had several customers in place while the range waited for final approval from the FAA to begin testing.
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Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836.
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