READINGTON TWP. - Although at least one of the Solbergs is calling for negotiations over the future of Solberg Airport to continue with township officials under the guidance of a professional mediator, talks between the family and township over a plan to preserve or purchase open space near the airport and limit its eventual size have apparently broken down.
“It’s important to the community that we do this (reach an agreement) and we should seek the help of a professional negotiator to seek a resolution,” said Suzanne Solberg Nagle, one of the three co-owners of the airport facility, which was established in 1939 by aviation pioneer Thor Solberg.
Mayor Gerard Shamey said on Monday the Township Committee will discuss its next move before proceeding further, and no additional negotiations had been scheduled as of that time.
The issue moved to the front burner again last Tuesday, Jan. 17, when a few hundred residents attended a public meeting at the Holland Brook School at which the Township Committee offered an update of the course of negotiations since last September, when talks began. The township has also posted letters and information regarding the airport negotiations on the municipal Web site, Readingtontwp.org.
The township also presented a panel of experts last week who described the effects that an expanded airport with jets landing on a regular basis would have on the quality of life in the surrounding community.
“We have two schools (Holland Brook and the Readington Middle School) close to the runways,” Shamey said on Monday, following up on discussions about high decibel levels from jets at other airports such as the one outside Morristown.
Thor Solberg Jr. said on Monday that, “We are proposing all sorts of restrictions that would prevent the airport from ever achieving the sound levels at Morristown.” Those restrictions would include noise levels, hours of operations and other limitations that would protect the nearby quality of life, he said.
Besides disagreement over issues such as the amount of open space to be preserved at the 726-acre facility and the maximum permitted length of the runway, there is a large gap between what the township is offering and what the Solbergs are reportedly asking to preserve at least part of the land.
The Township Committee said at last Tuesday’s special meeting that Readington had offered $22 million to purchase 650 acres of open space surrounding the actual airport operation. The Solbergs are reportedly asking the township for $36 million for the development rights only for an unspecified amount of acreage while retaining more of the property for the airport’s use.
Township Committeewoman Julia Allen said that Readington generally pays between $8,000 to $12,000 per acre to deed restrict land as open space, meaning that the township would be paying about five times that amount to preserve the open space around Solberg Airport, even if 650 acres were preserved.
Nagle did not dispute the $36 million figure, but said that the Solbergs would not only be selling development rights to property, but would also be restricting future operations at the airport, thus limiting potential growth of the business.
The township has also asked the Solbergs to limit the paved length of the airport runway to 3,735 feet.
The current length is about 3,000 feet, plus an additional 735 feet of turf runway, as well as another unpaved crosswinds runway.
In discussions, the Solbergs asked for an allowance to build a maximum length runway of 5,000 feet. Nagle added afterwards that since township officials are asking for an agreement in perpetuity, the airport owners would like to retain that right.
But Thor Solberg insisted on Monday that the airport has absolutely no plans at this time to expand the runway beyond the 3,735-foot length.
“If we ever thought we would have configuration changes, we would come to the public and say what we wanted to do,” Solberg said.
In a letter mailed to residents on Nov. 2 signed by Thor Solberg, he wrote, “Like you, we are a part of Readington Township. Our homes and families are here. We are as interested as you are in preserving the quality of life that we enjoy. That is why we have promised the residents of Readington that we would never make any changes to the airport without complete public involvement.”
Shamey called for Thor Solberg to be honest with the public about his plans. The mayor said he would be more inclined to go along with the suggestion of a negotiator if he knew “what everyone expected from the negotiations.”
Allen pointed out that the “public involvement” in airport plans might be a revival of a state environmental impact study held between about 2000-01, after the Solbergs had filed a plan for improving and expanding the airport in the late 1990s.
Allen said that state “hearing” consisted of state officials sitting at tables collecting information from residents, rather than a public give-and-take.
Shamey called the state process “insulting at best” and said he felt the outcome would have been predetermined.
That process was followed by an attempt of a municipal takeover of the airport, which was halted when the state offered the Solbergs $20 million for the entire airport facility back in 2002. The specter of a possible condemnation of the private airport has clouded the relationship between the township and Solbergs ever since.
That tentative agreement with the state eventually expired, and the Township Committee introduced an ordinance last summer to buy the facility for $22 million, resulting in a packed meeting hall with residents questioning both the intent and taxpayer impact of the proposed airport purchase.
The proposal was then put on permanent hold, and negotiations started in September.
Township officials say they would expect state reimbursement for much of the cost of buying either the airport or just the surrounding open space. But Thor Solberg said residents have repeatedly shown in polls they are reluctant to take on such an expense.
Meanwhile, the two sides remain far apart on several issues, according to information released at the meeting and afterwards. The township has called for a limit on the expansion of existing hangar space, now about 30,000 square feet to 150,000 square feet.
The Solbergs have supposedly asked for a maximum of 500,000 square feet, although Thor Solberg said the Solbergs would in no way reach that size in the near future.
The Solbergs didn’t officially take part in the meeting last Tuesday.
Thor Solberg said on Monday he had informed Committeeman Frank Gatti in early January that he was scheduled to be away on Jan. 17.
Shamey said on Monday he was unaware of any requests by the Solbergs to reschedule the meeting, and that such a request might have been granted.
Nagle, who attended the Jan. 17 meeting and sat in the audience before asking the township to continue talks, said that a letter informing the Solbergs of the meeting date had been mailed specifically to Thor Solberg, and had not been opened by either of his sisters.
Thor Solberg said that the family was not prepared to give a presentation on Jan. 17, but would be willing to hold a joint presentation with the township releasing “meaningful” information.
“I am absolutely open to negotiating, and hope the committee reconsiders” continuing talks, Thor Solberg said on Monday afternoon.
At the end of four hours of expert testimony, comments by officials, and questions by residents last Tuesday, one resident said he hoped some sort of agreement could be reached on the future of the airport by the end of 2006.
© Recorder Newspapers 2006
Date: January 25, 2006 Source: Hunterdon Review
URL: http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=15997308&BRD=1918&PAG=461&dept_id=333252&rfi=8
