South Alabama Regional Airport will continue to wait for Yulista’s commitment to the twin hangers, the executive director said in a meeting on Tuesday.

“Yulista paid $30,000 to hold the building for three months, so they have until July 9,” Jed Blackwell said.

“If everything goes according to schedule and they intend to go on with the lease, Yulista could be here by October 1.”

If Yulista executes the option to lease, it will pay $30,000 per month for the facility.

Yulista chief engineer Rick Toliver told board members last month that Yulista has bid on task work in a contract awarded to Lockheed Martin. If the company wins that bid, he expects Yulista to have 17 to 22 people working at SARA, and Lockheed to have 14 to 25 people working there.

Yulista is a subsidaiary of Calista, an Alaska Native Regional Corporation created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The for-profit corporation has 17,300 shareholders primarily of Eskimo Yup’ik descent.

The company works with defense, aerospace, civilian agencies and Homeland Security. The headquarters for the company are in Huntsville.

If Yulista doesn’t make a move to go on with leasing the hangars, Blackwell said there’s no reason to worry.

“There has been another company, out of Crestview, that has shown a lot of interest in the hangars,” he said.

“If Yulista doesn’t go on to lease the hangars, I feel like the company out of Crestview will lease it.”