To avoid litigation, Airport Authority approves counteroffer on land

The Dubois County Airport Authority decided to accept a counteroffer from a nearby property owner for land needed to expand the runway.

Since 2011, the regional airport has been steadily progressing to adding 500 feet to the existing runway to expand its commercial aircraft use. To construct the addition, about 42 acres of farmland belonging to the Hasenour family along 200W will have to be purchased to create a safety zone according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s guidelines.

Attorney Phil Schneider explained during Monday’s meeting the Hasenour family had returned an offer for the sale of the property that was about 17.5 percent above its appraised value.

Schneider told the authority the 17 percent is close to the cost that would be accrued during any potential litigation if the airport authority attempted to invoke the use of eminent domain to acquire the property.

Additionally, Schneider stated the outcome of the litigation would be up to a jury and would not guarantee the airport would get the property at the price they were seeking.

The authority did learn that the Federal Aviation Administration will pay up to 15 percent above the appraised price for land in these situations. This would leave about 2.5 percent for the airport authority to pay — about $10,000 more out of pocket for the authority.

Faced with the potential litigation expence and the support from the FAA, the airport authority approved purchasing the 42 acres at the Hasenours’ asking price of $365,000.

Along with this, the authority also approved paying $5,000 to Wildest Dreams LLC, for an easement over a strip of land to remove trees and any other obstacles that would impair aircraft approaching the runway.

The additional 17.5 percent will be included in the grant application to the FAA that is due by the July 1. The grant will be used to pay for the engineering of a tunnel that will be constructed over County Road 200W; the purchase of the 42 acres from the Hasenours; and improvements already made on the west end of the runway.

The authority will apply for a grant again next year to finish the runway extension project. According to Luke Reynolds with Wolpert Engineering — the firm hired to lead the airport through the expansion project — they are seeking between $9 and $10 million dollars; 90 percent will come from the FAA, five percent from the State of Indiana and 5 percent from local sources.

The local source could be a problem, since the Dubois County Council has announced the need to curtail any extra spending in the face of lower tax revenues coming from the state.

Airport Manager Travis McQueen says that the t-hangar project has already forced the airport authority operate on a lean budget, but they will be looking for more ways to cut back to do their part for the next budget.

“We have been very tight for the last two or three years as a result of that project trying to save up all of our pennies to make that project a go and we’re still operating on that premise right now,” McQueen said.