READINGTON TWP. — The owners of Solberg airport want township voters to decide whether officials can borrow $22 million to buy the land surrounding the airport, and one of the owners said Friday they are close to reaching that goal.
If about 968 registered township voters sign petitions protesting the bond ordinance officials approved last month, it must be put to a vote. Suzanne Solberg Nagle, who owns the airport with her siblings, said she is confident they will produce at least that many.
"I think it's important for the township committee to see that there are so many registered voters that want to say no to a $22 million bond ordinance," Nagle said.
If 15 percent of the number of registered township voters who cast ballots in the most recent general election sign the petition, a referendum must be held, according to township Administrator and Clerk Vita Mekovetz.
Hunterdon County Clerk Dorothy Tirpok said Friday 6,457 voters cast ballots in the November 2005 election, but a previous count the township received totaled 6,415.
If the referendum occurs, officials will be bound by the outcome, Mekovetz said.
Officials have said the bond is key to furthering negotiations.
Without it, Committeeman Frank Gatti isn't "sure where that would leave us with negotiations" and questioned how they could "compensate the family for their land."
The Solbergs say it's unnecessary to negotiate and view it is as the beginning of an eminent domain process.
"It has to be made clear that that's not what our goal is," Committeewoman Julia Allen said.
In a letter dated March 9, Mayor Gerard Shamey requested the family submit dates when they are available to resume discussions.
Nagle said she hadn't seen the letter as of Friday.
The airport's future has been a point of contention for years. Officials want it to remain at its existing size and preserve 650 acres surrounding the facility with the Solbergs maintaining ownership of the airport.
Officials won't budge on runway length and won't hear a proposal to lengthen it beyond 3,735 feet.
During the course of negotiations from September to January, the Solbergs asked for $36 million for the development rights to 350 acres of the land, Gatti said. Under that proposal, the company didn't want a referendum, Gatti said.
"That makes me a little suspicious," he said.
According to officials, using a long-term bond with anticipated Green Acres grants and state Environmental Infrastructure low-interest loans, a township homeowner with an assessed home value of $400,000 would pay an additional $60 a year in taxes to help shoulder the cost of buying the airport.
If the township doesn't receive those grants, that homeowner would pay $55 for the first three years and $165 annually for 17 years.
Some have questioned whether the township could count on state funding if it condemned the property. While that's not the plan, it wouldn't jeopardize funding, Allen said.
"The Green Acres municipal grants program does fund eminent domain actions, it has since its inception and so does the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure funding," she said. "And those are two of the main sources we've listed."
Reporter Andrea Eilenberger can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at aeilenberger@express-times.com.
© 2006 The Express-Times.
Date: March 13, 2006 Source: PennLive.com
URL: http://www.pennlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-2/114222683139980.xml?expresstimes?nnj&coll=2
