Hillsdale airport runway extended to fit private jets, funded with federal money
Besty Woodruff
Issue date: 9/17/09 Section: News
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Officials said they hope the extension will improve the local economy by drawing more business to Hillsdale.
The airport is two miles east of Hillsdale on State Street.
"When it's all said and done, it'll be a phenomenal improvement," Parke Hayes, the city clerk, said.
The extension project will cost $7.27 million, according to the latest estimate.
"There's so much money involved, you absolutely cannot believe it," Hayes said.
This expenditure is only possible because the federal government is providing 95 percent of the funds. The remaining costs are divided between the state and local governments, covered by fuel taxes.
The Federal Aviation Administration provides funding to projects like these. The money comes primarily from the federal excise tax on fuel, passenger facility charges, ticket taxes on airlines and other related taxes.
James Scheibner, who is directing the project and manages the airport, described the process of gaining these funds from the FAA: "The FAA holds the money and if your project hits all those hot button issues that the FAA is willing to fund, then you get put into the system. Then you get in line," he said. "We got in line."
The town of Hillsdale first "got in line" in the '80s.
Dealing with bureaucratic red tape has presented a challenge for Scheibner.
"If anybody ever comes to me and says the government ought to do something, I stop right there and say, unless you want to make sure it doesn't hurt anybody or hurt anybody's feelings, don't ask the government to do anything for you that you couldn't do for yourself. But there's a reason, there's rules and procedures to protect the interest of the taxpayers themselves, and sometimes it can be frustrating."
In 2000, they hired the engineering firm Reynold Smith & Hills to design the project. Then they began to receive significant federal funds.
Every year since the project was born, the town has set aside some money from its budget for the airport.
In the last nine years, the town has gotten the project designed, conducted the initial study on the obstructions, removed some of the obstructions, almost completed acquisition of all the necessary easements and properties and began the process of stream relocation.
"That's a lot," Brown said.
"It's been a long, long time," Scheibner said.
The Project's Impact
Scheibner and Hayes said they believe the extension will improve the local economy by attracting business. Scheibner also thinks Hillsdale students will benefit.
"One of our target clients is the college and the interest that it draws from around the country and around the world," he said.
He continued to describe the benefits of the airport for the greater Hillsdale area, saying, "We're hoping to also use this as a springboard for economic development for the community; it's part of the transportation infrastructure. It's critical to be able to come and go as quickly and easily as possible and that enhances business opportunities."
He said when the runway is extended, access to Hillsdale will be "easier, better and safer." He pointed out that of all the communities in the area, Hillsdale is the least accessible.
Community Reaction
Right now, the airport is prepping for the extension construction to begin. Workers are focusing on leveling the ground where the runway will go. This process is called "runway safety grading."
The construction project has had a significant impact on the terrain around the airport, including the relocation of a stream.
The town used eminent domain to claim easements over some of the property near the airport. Many trees in the area are too tall for planes to fly over, and the owners of the property on which the trees are located did not want them cut down.
The town purchased two properties, and is using eminent domain to gain easements over six.
Linda Brown, the assistant city manager, pointed out that nobody will have to leave their homes.
"Many people think we're going in there, taking people's houses," she said. "That's not what we're doing. It's an easement to fly over and to maintain that area free of obstructions and to keep them from constructing something in that area that would impact that space."
The town began to remove trees last fall from the condemned properties.
"That was difficult for the property owners, to see their trees being impacted," Brown said.
"It just looks terrible," said Linda Russell, the office manager of Gelzer H. J. and Son Inc. Furniture in downtown Hillsdale. She lives close to the airport and said most of her neighbors agree.
Russell said that four houses were also torn down, one of which was a home for senior citizens.
She lived in one of the homes, and moved to another she built close to the airport.
Russell said she does not believe the extension is a good investment.
"Not with the economy," she said. "We've lost all the big businesses that have planes."
Gaining community support has presented a challenge for Scheibner.
"It's very difficult," he said.
Many citizens of Hillsdale wish the money could go to road improvements. But since the Federal Aviation Administration raised the funds, they are only available for use on the airport.
For the last six months, Scheibner has addressed a variety of civic organizations, trying to win greater community support. Many of his listeners are initially skeptical.
"When you show them why the airport is important to the community and what it does, once they understand, they're absolutely all for it," Scheibner said. "It's been rewarding going out and talking to people and shedding some light on it so they're not skeptical anymore and they understand."
He pointed out that the project costs the community very little.
"We're getting an infrastructure for 2.5 cents on the dollar. Would you do it? Yes. It's a tremendous great deal that cannot be replicated anywhere that I know of. This is a great thing and a great bargain for improving our local community."
Other Responses
"The local business community is interested in seeing our transportation infrastructure blossom," Scheibner said.
Right now, the airport houses 25 planes. A variety of people house their planes there, including a veterinarian, independent sales representatives, local business owners, convenience store owners who use their planes for trade shows and a variety of other entrepreneurs.
Scheibner said that there are usually between eight and 10,000 operations a year. An operation is a take-off or landing.
The Hillsdale College Administration has refrained from expressing approval of the project.
"The college has historically been kind of hands-off on that because of their philosophy about federal government involvement," Scheibner said. "That's why they haven't come out and championed it more openly. But they're going to love it, and they know they're going to love it."
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