Airport plans hit bump

The planned expansion to Hillsdale Municipal Airport encountered a conflict Monday night when it was discovered the city will also need to acquire airspace from neighboring property in order to comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations.
The airspace, currently occupied by two neighboring lots, must be acquired by aviation easement, which limits a landowner's ability to put up signs and regulates tree heights.
When councilman Terry Casler of Ward 4 asked if airport plans could go ahead without the airspace, City Manager Michael Mitchell said no.
"It would definitely affect how things are done," Mitchell said. "There's no other way around it."
Casler said that having to acquire airspace would pose a problem.
"I do have a problem with acquiring more land on top of what we already have done," Casler said.
Mitchell said the acquisition will not seek the deeds for the neighboring land; rather, it would seek the possession of the airspace above.
"But it's going to affect the land owner's property," Casler said.
The council, however, has few options. Councilman Rick Richardson of Ward 3 said if the council decides to stop the project now, then the city stands to lose millions of dollars to the FAA.
"If we stop in the middle of the project now, the FAA can say ‘okay, we're done,' and the FAA can require the city to pay back the money they've put into it," he said.
Currently, the city of Hillsdale has a loan from the FAA and Michigan Department of Transportation where the city pays 2.5 percent of the estimated upgrade to the Municipal Airport while the State of Michigan and the FAA pick up the rest of the tab.
"It's a lot more than our budget," Mayor Doug Moon said.
Councilwoman Ruth Brown of Ward 3 agreed with Casler. The council needs to be wary of being boxed in by the fine print in deals, she said.