PARTNERS @ Solberg - News and Events - STOP the Condemnation of Solberg Airport!

READINGTON -- The Township Committee introduced a bond ordinance this week to purchase Solberg Airport after the state Department of Transportation recently withdrew its offer for the property.

But one of the airport's co-owners, Lorraine Solberg, said she isn't interested in the deal. On Monday, the Township Committee introduced a $22 million bond ordinance to buy the 730-acre airport and preserve it as open space.

Mayor Frank Gatti did not comment on whether the township will use its power of eminent domain, an option the township had been pursuing until the state signed a contract to purchase the facility.

According to Gatti, Solberg Airport was identified in the township's 2001 Master Plan as a high-priority for preservation.

"In 2001, our Master Plan was amended to say municipal ownership of the airport would be recommended," Gatti said. "A number of state agencies have expressed an interest in the airport's purchase and said they would contribute. There are so many development pressures in Hunterdon, and we're just looking to preserve that environmentally sensitive area."

Gatti said that if the bond ordinance passes, the airport's cost would be divided among taxpayers and state agencies such as the Green Acres program and the Department of Aviation.

The introduction of the bond ordinance came just one month after the New Jersey Department of Transportation removed its offer for the purchase of the airport -- also in the amount of $22 million -- following four years of unsuccessful negotiations between the agency and the Solberg family.

But Lorraine Solberg says the airport isn't for sale.

Solberg, who owns the airport along with brother Thor Solberg and sister Suzanne Solberg-Nagle, said she was surprised and disappointed the Township Committee would use taxpayer dollars to secure the airport for open space when the Solbergs have no intention of developing the property.

"Why would they want to waste millions of dollars for land that is not being developed and is not even being considered for development?" Lorraine Solberg asked. "The ultimate cost to the taxpayer could easily reach or exceed $60 million. It's ludicrous to waste this kind of money in a small town."

Gatti said he questioned Solberg's resistance to the sale of the airport since purchase negotiations between the Solberg family and the Department of Transportation lasted four years.

"They're saying the airport is not for sale, but they had an 18-month contract with the state from April of 2001, and it was extended a number of times," Gatti said. "If they weren't interested, why would it have lasted so long?"

According to Department of Transportation spokesman Brendan Gill, the state spent thousands of dollars and countless hours negotiating the airport's acquisition, but the Solbergs never accepted the offer.

"Over the course of time, we did an appraisal on the land that cost $10,000, and we made a fair and balanced offer based on the market value of the property," Gill said. "This offer was on the table for quite a bit of time, and when there was no follow-up or acceptance, we decided to pull the offer."

Gill said the state has made no decision on whether to continue to pursue the airport's purchase.

"At this point, the state has no plans, but we always leave the door open so that the parties will come back to the table again," Gill said.

In neighboring Branchburg, where township officials say residents have been concerned for years about the possible expansion of the airport, the decision by Readington Township to purchase the property is considered a step in the right direction.

"From my perspective, anything that Readington can do to limit the expansion of Solberg Airport is welcome activity," Branchburg Township Committeeman Jim Leonard said. "I think (Branchburg) residents I've spoken to have been mostly concerned with the airport's expansion and the possible inclusion of jet traffic. Most of the people that I've talked to moved to Branchburg knowing the airport is there, so they accept the level of air traffic there is now, but when it comes to expansion, they are very concerned."

Gatti said a public hearing on the bond ordinance has been scheduled for Aug. 15.

Christa Segalini can be reached at (908) 782-2300 or csegalin@c-n.com.

Date: July 23, 2005 Source: C-N.com — Courier News Online
URL: http://www.c-n.com/news/c-n/story/0,2111,631957,00.html

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