Airport vote
would be referendum on seizure
Readington voters likely will have the
opportunity to decide for themselves whether the township should offer up to $22
million to try to buy development rights at
But the vote wouldn't really
be about that $22 million. Approval would, realistically, indicate public
support for potentially seizing the airport through eminent domain.
The Township Committee
approved the $22 million bond in February, with the idea of using that money
for a contingency-free cash offer to the Solberg family. Officials want the
development rights, because they fear the Solbergs want to expand the facility to accommodate jets.
But committee members already
have conceded they don't expect the Solbergs to
accept that offer. And that seems rather obvious now considering that the
petition to force the bonding to a public vote -- and potentially overturn it
-- was generated by the Solbergs and the airport's
supporters. In other words, they don't even want the money the township wants
to give them.
All of which means that,
barring a virtual surrender by the Solbergs, this
fight is headed for a condemnation attempt and the courts.
Last week, co-owner Thor
Solberg released a statement announcing that more than 1,800 signatures had
been collected to force a public vote on the bond. That's about double the
amount of certified signatures that would be required to prompt the referendum.
Committeewoman Julia Allen
said officials had been anticipating this all along and would welcome the
voters' input. That doesn't entirely ring true, of course, considering the
Township Committee could have decided for itself to put the bond to a public vote.
But it's fair to say Allen and other township leaders feel they have sufficient
support in the community -- and sufficient fear of the Solbergs'
intentions -- to pass the bond.
If that happens, however, the Solbergs obviously don't plan to accept such an offer for
the development rights. So approval of the bond is actually setting the stage
-- and lining up the money -- for an eminent domain seizure.
If the bond
plan is rejected at the polls, on the other hand, what then? Township Committee members have
insisted for years that the community overwhelmingly wants the airport to stay
as it is, with no jets. Even assuming the truth of that belief, if residents
don't want to pay to try to secure that, then what can -- or should -- be done
to control any expansion visions of the Solbergs?
Those are among the questions Readington voters should be thinking about long before they
actually cast a vote on this issue. Because it's a safe bet that $22 million
won't be buying anything anytime soon.
from the Courier News website www.c-n.com