AGO 1951-53 No. 20.

• Case Date: April 20, 1951
• Court: Washington

Washington Attorney General Opinions 1951. AGO 1951-53 No. 20. April 20, 1951[Orig. Op. Page 1]PRIVATEMUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS, AIRPORTS, TRANSFER THEREOF WITHOUT CONSIDERATION.A county may, by gift, transfer to a port district, authorized to acquire and operate a municipally owned airport, without financial consideration and with the consent of the donor municipal corporation.Honorable Howard V. DohertyProsecuting AttorneyClallam County205 Kuppler BuildingPort Angeles, WashingtonCite as: AGO 1951-53 No. 20Dear Sir: We acknowledge receipt of your request for an opinion of this office in which you ask whether Clallam County has authority to make a transfer of the county owned airport to the port of Port Angeles without any financial consideration or other authority. Our conclusions are that a county may, by gift, transfer property, including an airport, to a port district authorized to acquire and operate a municipally owned airport, without financial consideration and with the consent of the donor municipal corporation. ANALYSIS You have stated that the county commissioners of Clallam County and the commissioners of the port district known as the port of Port Angeles, have mutually agreed to effect a transfer of the Clallam County airport from the county to the port district without financial consideration in the belief that the port district can, through its advantage in making tax levies for airport purposes, handle the airport for its betterment. Although we have not, to date, advised as to the transfer of an entire airport from one municipal corporation to another, both of which are authorized to own and operate such projects, we have advised by an opinion of this office [Orig. Op. Page 2] dated April 4, 1948, to Representative Warren Poyhonen that a city may make a considerable gift of money to a county for the improvement of the county owned airport; we have held a city and a county may own and operate jointly such an airport and may establish a joint fund to operate the same by opinion dated April 11, 1945, addressed to the state auditor; and we have further held under the older law governing municipally owned airports, by an opinion dated October 2, 1939, and addressed to the prosecuting attorney of Whitman County, that, as cities and...