NORWICH – High insurance costs are threatening a money-making opportunity for the county at the Lt. Warren E. Eaton/Chenango County Airport.

Airport Administrator Don MacIntosh told members of the Planning & Economic Development Committee on Tuesday that a business interested in renting t-hangar space could not afford the county’s quote for insurance.

Last month, members of the Board of Supervisors authorized a three-year lease to Plane Leather Repair Inc. of Bainbridge. They set a monthly rental fee for the 5,100 square feet of space at 22 cents per square foot plus utilities, or approximately $13,000 per year.

MacIntosh said the business could afford only $1 million in coverage, not the $5 million liability, or $18,000 per year, advised by the county’s attorney and insurance consultant.

“He said he can’t do it,” MacIntosh said.

The start-up, leather upholstery business specializes in refurbishing aircraft seats and interiors. It currently operates out of a trailer that is hauled to airports to make repairs for clients.

“It (the company) has nothing to do with the flight of the aircraft, just the seating and interiors,” MacIntosh said. “It depends on the risk the county would want to take to help a fledgling, but promising business. It looks like the business has a lot of potential to grow.”