The mayor of Readington has requested a new proposal from the owners of Solberg Airport by Monday, but one of the owners said coming up with a plan for the future of the site by that date would be impossible.

A fresh proposal from airport owners Thor Solberg, Lorraine Solberg and Suzanne Solberg Nagle could kickstart negotiations on the airport's future, which started in September and stalled earlier this month. The great airport debate in Readington has been going on for years, with township officials consistently expressing a desire to prevent airport expansion and to preserve most of its roughly 750 acres as open space.

Thor Solberg said yesterday he and his sisters could not submit a new proposal by Monday because "the whole team" would not be together to create one. The missing member of the team is Lawrence Berger, a Morristown attorney who participated in negotiations and is unavailable before Monday, according to Solberg.

"I don't think it would be fair to us to be making proposals without the benefit of counsel," Solberg said. "Hopefully, the committee will understand that, and won't have any precipitous action as a result of it."

Readington Mayor Gerard Shamey sent the Solberg siblings a letter dated Jan. 20 in which he asked that any proposals be made in writing no later than Jan. 30, "in the interests of bringing finality to these discussions sooner rather than later."

Yesterday, Shamey said his request was not an ultimatum, but the airport would probably be discussed on Jan. 30, the date of the next regular township committee meeting.

"We're meeting on that date, and we'd like to have something to talk about on this issue if we can," Shamey said.

Nagle responded to Shamey's letter with a letter of her own, in which she suggested involving a professional mediator in future negotiations.

In the letter, which she distributed to the news media, Nagle also suggested Shamey should recuse himself from all proceedings connected with the airport because he is a "founding member" and has been a "legal adviser" for BRAAC, the Branchburg Readington Airport Action Coalition. The citizens' group opposes expansion of the airport.

Shamey said he could not be considered a founding member because BRAAC was already in existence when he moved into Readington in 1995. While he did belong to the group in 1999 when he ran for office, and has offered legal advice to BRAAC "in the form of research," an ethics complaint filed by a resident with regard to the issue was dismissed, he said.

"Do I plan on recusing myself? No," Shamey said.

The mayor led an informational meeting Jan. 17, during which a group of experts contracted by the township talked about the impact airport expansion could have on noise, quality of life, threatened and endangered species and natural resources.

"It appears that Solberg Aviation remains committed to lengthening the runways, widening the runways … with a view toward attracting a corporate jet environment and facility," Shamey said at the meeting.

Frank Gatti, who took part in negotiations as a representative of the township committee along with fellow committee member Julia Allen, said that the Solbergs' final proposal included a 5,000-foot runway and limited restrictions on operations.

At one negotiation session, he said, the Solbergs called anything less than 5,600 feet "a non-starter."

Officials want to cap the airport's main runway at 3,735 feet, a length they say will prevent the airport from expanding into a regional jetport. The Solbergs' final offer included extending the runway to 5,000 feet and increasing the amount of hangar space from 30,000 square feet to 500,000 square feet, according to township officials.

"Airport would be developed as a regional business airport handling jets," Gatti wrote in the Power Point presentation he made that night, which is linked on the township's Web site.

Thor Solberg, who was out of town in Hawaii during the meeting, said yesterday he had not yet been fully briefed on what occurred at the meeting. But he said no one, to his knowledge, ever called a runway less than 5,600 feet a non-starter.

"As a matter of fact, we offered a series of restrictions to the property that would absolutely prevent it from ever becoming a Morristown-like airport," Solberg said, referencing Morristown Municipal Airport, an airport with a runway of about 6,000 feet.

"We want to keep it a small, community airport that has community events, as well as provide the benefits of aviation to the community," Solberg said.

In negotiating with the township, the family proposed building a new runway rather than lengthening the current 3,735-foot runway, part of which is paved. If a new runway were built, planes would taxi on the strip of pavement now used as the main runway, Solberg said. He said that small corporate jets already use the airport, and that the family is committed to not allowing "noisy jets."

One of the terms of the final proposal offered by the Solbergs was the new runway not exceed 5,000 feet. But the township does not want to budge on the issue of runway length. Shamey said 3,735 feet of paved runway was the maximum the township, and the public, wanted.

"We're not done talking, but any proposal that's made has got to involve the 3,735-foot runway and be compatible with our master plan and longstanding policies and goals," Shamey said. "The residents don't want jets. That's the bottom line."

Jennifer Weiss works in the Hunterdon County bureau. She may be reached at jweiss@starledger.com or (908) 782-8326.

© 2006 NJ.com

Date: January 25, 2006 Source: NJ.com
URL: http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/113816907333610.xml?starledger?nso&coll=1