READINGTON -- The Township Committee will discuss Monday a petition from residents asking for a public vote on the use of a $22 million bond for the purchase of the development rights to Solberg Airport and its surrounding open space.

The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. in the Municipal Building, 509 County Road 523.

On Thursday, Solberg Airport co-owner Thor Solberg said that more than 1,800 signatures were collected on the petition, which was subsequently given to the township for review.

New Jersey bond law, according to Mayor Gerard Shamey, dictates that when a petition is received that is signed by at least 15 percent of the number of registered voters that voted in the last state election, the bond issue must be subject to a public vote.

County Clerk Dorothy Tirpok said that 6,457 people voted in the township in the last general election, meaning roughly 969 signatures are needed on a petition to force a vote on the use of the bond.

The Township Committee passed the bond after a public hearing was held on the matter during its Feb. 21 meeting.

Shamey said the purpose of the bond is to raise money to buy the development rights to the 76-acre airport to prevent an expansion of the airport’s main runway. The township also wants to use the bond money to buy 650 acres of open space surrounding the airport. Shamey has said the proposed expansion would permit jet traffic, which officials argue would negatively affect property values and quality of life.

Solberg Airport co-owners, siblings Lorraine and Thor Solberg and Suzanne Solberg-Nagle, have said the airport is not for sale and that the $22 million bond’s approval is a step toward the township’s use of eminent domain to acquire the property.

Shamey has said, however, that ideally, the township will not have to pursue condemnation of the airport but would rather work out a deal with the airport’s owners.

According to Township Committee member Frank Gatti, the cost of the bond to taxpayers depends greatly on whether the township can acquire a Green Acres grant and a low-interest loan from the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust.

With a grant and 20-year loan at 4.5 percent interest, the owner of a home assessed at the township average of $400,000 would pay $60 more a year in property taxes, officials have said.

Without that funding, property taxes would go up $55 a year for the first three years, then $165 a year for the next 17 years.

In a written statement released Friday, Shamey said the township has had "successful meetings" with Green Acres representatives and expects the final cost of the bond will be offset by state funding.