Deal for land has bumpy landing for air board

Clark County

Discussion

January 8, 2012

Ruling against air board may be passed on to county

By BRADEN LAMMERS Braden.Lammers@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Sun Jan 08, 2012, 07:35 AM EST

A property at the end of Clark Regional Airport’s runway may cost taxpayers more than $600,000.

The Clark County Board of Aviation Commissioners lost an appeal in mid-December that ordered the board to pay $865,000 to Margaret Dreyer, the property owner, after her land was seized through eminent domain.

But due to an inaccurate value given for the land, the county may now be on the hook to pay the difference.

According to the air board, more than $200,000 was available to go toward the judgment for the case, but following the court ruling, the county will have to find a way to pay more than $600,000 for taking the property.

Case history

As part of a runway expansion project at the Clark County Regional Airport, the air board needed to purchase property owned by the Dreyers. According to court records, the board offered to purchase part of the Dreyer property at $55,000 per acre, which was accepted. However, an offer of $3,000 for another portion of property that lies in a floodplain was rejected by the Dreyers. As a result of the rejected offer, the board filed an eminent domain action in 2009 for the 72 acre parcel.

The land in question lies at the end of the proposed 7,000-foot expanded runway and is needed not only to be able to expand the tarmac, but to allow for the relocation of Bean Road. According to court records, Ed Haire was hired to do the appraisal for the air board and returned a total of $201,100 for the price of the property. Dreyer filed an objection to the figure and an appraiser the property owner hired returned a figure of $1.09 million as the value of the land.

According to court records, the large difference in the value for the appraisals of the land was due to the location of the property in the floodplain and a zoning designation of agricultural, instead of light industrial.

Following a jury trial in Clark County Circuit Court, a ruling was issued that valued the Dreyer property at $865,000.

The air board appealed the ruling and lost with the provision that the board must pay the Dreyers the $865,000 price for the property, attorney’s fees totaling $24,035 and interest of up to $194 per day. And because the airport is run by the board of aviation commissioners, but owned by the county, Clark County taxpayers could be on the hook to pay the judgment.

Finding money

Clark County has been struggling with its own budget issues and is not expected to have $600,000 to spare.

The air board, like other county departments, has seen its budget reduced over the past few years. For the 2012 Clark County Council-approved budget, the air board received no operational funding and $50,000 out of a requested $189,436 for local matching funds.

Local matching funds are required for the continuation of the runway expansion project. The county is providing a 3.75 percent match to receive $11 million of Federal Aviation Administration funding, with a 1.25 percent match coming from the state. And because the air board is not an airport authority, funding is still the responsibility of the county. If the air board were an authority, it would be responsible for funding its own budget and subsequent judgments.

The ruling in favor of the Dreyers, and against the air board, in effect is a judgment against the county, explained Air Board Attorney Jack Vissing.

Vissing and Clark Regional Airport Manager Melodee McNames said the air board plans on requesting an additional grant from the FAA to pay for the judgment.

McNames added that they will file a formal letter with the FAA to fund the judgment that totaled $865,000, of which $203,000 has already been paid, leaving a $662,000 request to go to the FAA. But if and how quickly the FAA responds to the request may determine from whom the money is sought.

“If we can’t find the money to do that, that’s a problem,” Vissing said, referring to paying the judgment. “The additional grant is being applied for; can they do it quickly enough? I don’t know.”

He added that the Dreyers’ attorney, John W. Mead, may file a levy judgment against the county to receive the ordered amount. Vissing explained that if a levy judgment were filed and awarded, the county would have to issue a bond to cover the cost of the difference in the judgment.

When contacted by the News and Tribune, Mead said that he cannot disclose the details of the plan to recover the money at this time.

Even if the air board is able to secure a new grant from the FAA, it won’t know when it would become available to make the payment to the Dreyers.

“[We] don’t know if the grant will be received this year or down the road,” McNames said.

But she added that the judgment will not stop the project.

“The grant dollars we have available will let us proceed with the project,” she said.

Securing more property

In order to begin phase one of the Bean Road relocation project — which is necessary in order to expand the runway — the air board reached an agreement Friday with another property owner, Jesse Ballew.

Vissing confirmed the air board reached an agreement to pay $792,000 for nearly 19 acres of Ballew’s property along Bean Road. He has already been paid $236,000 for the land and agreed to donate $191,000 back to the county, leaving $365,000 owed for the property.

McNames said the air board will file for a grant amendment to cover the balance shortfall and believes the majority of the settlement will be paid this year.

She said bids for phase one of the Bean Road relocation will be opened this month and will likely be awarded at the air board’s Jan. 18 meeting. Phase II of the Bean Road relocation includes the Dreyer property.