READINGTON TWP. - Township residents approved a $22 bond referendum on Tuesday that township officials say will be used to negotiate for the purchase of the land and development rights at Solberg Airport.

According to an unofficial count, the referendum was approved by a vote of 3,470 to 2,775.

Mayor Gerard Shamey said that the vote ensures that the township has the financial resources to enter into negotiations. "We are hopeful we can come to an agreement," said the mayor.

The Township Committee had already approved the $22 million bond ordinance on Monday, Feb. 21, but in March the Solbergs collected the signatures of more than 1,800 registered township voters to call for voters to decide whether to approve or overturn the $22 million bond ordinance at the polls.

On Tuesday evening, there was a steady flow of voters at Our Lady of Lourdes in Whitehouse, one of several voting locations throughout the township. Voters had mixed opinions on the controversial bond referendum.

One resident said she didn’t believe that government should condemn private property. Another resident, Peggy Milkewicz, said she was worried about an expansion of Solberg Airport and "jets flying over that will reduce the quality of life in Readington."

Resident Joan Pierson also supported the referendum. "I’m afraid the airport will become a nuisance in our neighborhood," said Pierson. "I see this as a business decision for the township to keep Readington the way it is."

Voters were still trickling into the township municipal building, another polling location, later on Tuesday evening before polls closed. Bob Spencer of Whitehouse Station said he voted against the referendum for several reasons, but mainly because of his support for the Solberg family. "They have lived in this township forever and I think they run a nice operation over there," said Spencer.

Another resident who voted in support of the bond question said it would give the township an option in case the Solbergs do try to expand their airport.

Township Committeeman Frank Gatti, who served on a sub-committee that conducted negotiations with the Solbergs last fall, had said that a ’yes’ vote on the bond ordinance would give the committee the ability to continue negotiations with the Solbergs.

But Solberg family members stated publicly that they believed passage of the ordinance paves the way for the Township Committee to condemn their property through eminent domain, with a resulting cost to taxpayers that could triple the amount of the bond ordinance.

The Solbergs say they have no plans to expand the runway at the present time, and a state Department of Transportation official verified two weeks ago there are no expansion plans on file with the state.

Township officials had said that approving the bond ordinance on May 16 does not authorize the Township Committee to proceed towards condemnation.

That would require a separate action by the Township Committee, including passage of an ordinance that would include a separate public hearing, Gatti said.

The future of Solberg Airport has been of concern for several years in Readington Township. Township officials and other residents point to a 1999 Master Plan on file with the Federal Aviation Administration that shows an increase in the runway length from the 3,750, as now proposed, to 5,000 feet.

Critics say that increase in the runway length will bring in jet traffic that will destroy the township’s rural atmosphere, damage property values and put nearby schools in the path of ascending and descending jets.

Family members stated flatly a few weeks ago that the airport is not for sale, and that there is no knowing what a judge might set as the ultimate value of the property if it is condemned. Legal and consulting costs would also add up if the Township Committee moves towards eminent domain, according to the Solbergs.

Thor Solberg Jr., son and namesake of the aviator pioneer who founded the airport in 1939, said, "As far as the referendum is concerned, I think it’s important that everyone realize that a yes vote could mean taxpayers are on the hook for $60 million."

Solberg said he based that figure on a $40 million appraisal the Solbergs received for their 726-acre property four years ago, as well as related costs of condemnation and inflation since that time.

At that point, the state Department of Transportation had a tentative deal to buy the airport from the Solbergs as part of its general aviation preservation program for about $20 million, but that deal eventually fell apart, partially because the Solberg’s appraisal was higher than the state’s estimate.

The township has been seeking updated appraisals on the property.

Date: May 17, 2006 Source: Hunterdon Review
URL: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16648874&BRD=1918&PAG=461&dept_id=506546&rfi=6