An unknown future looms over the Highland Lakes Squadron – Commemorative Air Force as the city’s ability to support it financially wears thin and fundraising efforts from the CAF are fall flat.

The squadron, which has been in town for at least four decades, occupies one of the Burnet Municipal Airport’s largest hangars, housing a museum of aircraft, flight equipment, and history from a bygone era. The non-profit works to repair airplanes, like the World War II-era beast, the “Texas Zephyr,” and hosts the annual Bluebonnet Airshow.

The squadron’s hangar could potentially bring in upwards of $120,000 a year in rent according to city staff, but has been leased by the CAF at a significantly discounted rate of $38,000 a year, with roughly $25,000 of that cost covered by stipends contributed by the city.

Despite support from the city, the squadron has struggled for years to raise funds and keep its museum doors open. On Oct. 1, the lease will expire, which prompted a discussion over its renewal during a Tuesday, July 28, City Council meeting. 

The CAF requested a two-year extension to its lease, with the general sentiment of the council reflecting a shorter, one-year extension due to concerns over funding.

“$38,000 a year (the squadron) is paying, which is offset by (Hotel Occupancy Tax) and (Economic Development Corporation) money to the tune of $25,000,” Mayor Pro Tem Crista Bromley said. “You’ve had a few years to get things in place, and you’ve been trying. But in my mind, it really hasn’t come up with what we hoped it would. We want to see you succeed. But we are beholden to the citizens fiscally. We commit taxpayer dollars to a lot of the (squadron’s) projects, and we have to be fiscally responsible.”

Squadron Leader Tim Reynolds, who presented the CAF’s lease renewal request to the council at the meeting, agreed with Bromley’s sentiment, acknowledging the glaring issues at play.

“I can’t disagree with you,” he said. “We need to start standing on our own two feet better than we have been. We have a longstanding history, since about 1982 we’ve had a presence here in Burnet. We’d like to remain here, revamp ourselves, and reimagine ourselves while maintaining the three aircraft we have plus the museum.”

Both sides are painfully aware of the bleak situation, but expressed the desire to keep the squadron where it’s at.

Both angles

The city argues that it wants to keep the CAF in Burnet, but understands it does not bring in enough revenue while occupying one of the largest hangars at the airport.

“(The squadron is) utilizing our largest asset that we have at the airport, up until we just built the new hangar last year,” City Manager David Vaughn said during a recent EDC meeting. “That hangar represents about $100,000-$120,000 a year worth of rent if we were renting it to somebody else other than them.”

The squadron argues that it has been doing what it can to keep itself afloat, but acknowledges that it can’t rely on the city’s goodwill forever.

“Although we may have appeared to be quiet for a long time, we are working diligently behind the scenes to restore and fly these airplanes and to recruit members and help support ourselves,” Reynolds said. “We don’t want the image that we’ll just let the city worry about it.”

Reynolds further explained that he believed the squadron had made key moves in the right direction, including hosting several events over the last two years.

“We had a very successful (Bluebonnet) airshow,” he said. “In May, the Austin Regents School held their graduation and dance. We hosted the Hill Country Marine Corps for its 250th celebration at the hangar. We participated off-airport with the Burnet and Llano Christmas parades. During the Bluebonnet Festival we performed a flyover, and we’ve already had several requests for flyovers of football games.

The squadron leader added that they also made the difficult decision to part ways with their now-defunct centerpiece aircraft, the C-47 Texas Zephyr, which has not flown since the day it was delivered in May 2023.

“One of the hardest decisions we had to make was to contact headquarters in Dallas and request that the C-47 be returned,” Reynolds continued. “It’s obvious that we just can’t maintain four aircraft. And the complex nature of the C-47 means that we need to move forward and let headquarters deal with that.”

After a lengthy back-and-forth between Reynolds and several councilors, the council moved to continue negotiations with the squadron, with an official contract to be drawn up for approval at a later council meeting.

Prior to approving the continuance of the negotiations, Mayor Pro Tem Bromley expressed that she would like to see a one-year contract drawn up that requires the squadron to host at least eight events and pay $500 a month in rent in order to prove it can stand on its own.

“I’d like to renew the lease agreement for one year,” she said. “I’d like to see some actions or movements about things you’re going to do. And I’d like to see you hold some fundraising events so you’re not depending on the city and the airshow.”

Voices of the squadron

Immediately following the meeting, DailyTrib spoke to Squadron Leader Reynolds and Squadron Executive Officer Ed Holley, who shared their thoughts on the renewal and what steps had to be taken next.

“I kind of anticipated the outcome will be that we’re gonna be presented one year to prove our worth here and to stay,” Reynolds said. “I’m excited that we have some new members in the wings, but I’ve been trying to get our squadron to understand that we can’t just be on cruise control.”

“We need to be jumping on the museum more,” Holley said. “Right now, we’re only open 12 hours a week. And it’s hard to get people to come in when they don’t know when we’re open. You can’t imagine how many people that I have had come in and say ‘I grew up here, I’ve lived here my whole life, and I didn’t know y’all existed.’”

Reynolds added that, while the members have been doing what they can, the non-profit squadron is hard pressed for volunteers.

“Join up, volunteer,” Reynolds said. “Only certain people can fly an airplane. Only certain people can ride an airplane. But our aircraft need to be cleaned. They leak and spray oil. We have tugs that need to be operated to move the aircraft. We need an auto mechanic. We need a social media helper.”

To be a volunteer, Reynolds said, community members don’t need to be a part of the squadron. Someone with a love for aviation, social media, and even finance can pitch in.

“Our finance officer, Joy, doesn’t even want to fly,” he told DailyTrib. “But she likes our purpose, our meaning, the museum, and she likes finance. So she’s doing something she loves.”

Both Reynolds and Holley added that they, like many members, want to continue to do what they can to keep their passions alive, despite the unknown future.

“For me, it’s honor,” Reynolds said. “Our mission is to educate, inspire, and honor. Whether it be maintaining the stories of the people that flew, or remembering the many people that were lost.”

“I’m sort of in the same boat,” Holley said. “I had a lot of cousins that flew. I had a first cousin that was a bombardier on a B-24 in World War II, and he was bombed out of the sky by friendly fire on April 15, 1945, just a couple months before the end of the war. This is my honor for him.”

caden@thepicayune.com