Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

The Clark County Regional Airport has lost its appeal of an eminent domain lawsuit, leaving it and the county owing more than $600,000 for about 73 acres the airport took in 2009 to prepare for a runway expansion.

The Southern Indiana airport already has paid about $200,000 for the land, based on appraisals that it originally obtained. In a Clark Circuit Court trial last year, a jury ruled that the land was worth $865,000.

�It is very concerning in the situation we�re in,� said Clark County Council President Kevin Vissing, referring to the county�s continuing financial problems. �It keeps pouring on.�

The landowner involved, Margaret A. Dreyer, declined to comment.

Her property is to be used by the airport to relocate Bean Road, making way for a 1,500-foot expansion of the main runway. That will bring the runway�s length to 7,000 feet � long enough for commuter aircraft and larger cargo planes.

The jury award was based largely on the testimony of an appraiser for Dreyer, who noted that the acreage is zoned for light industrial use even though it�s now farmland.

Appraisers for the airport said the land was worth $205,000 to $260,000 because it is in a flood zone and could be used only for agricultural purposes.

The airport asked the Indiana Court of Appeals to overturn the circuit court ruling. But on Dec. 14, the appeals court upheld the award, saying the jury properly based its judgment on the �highest and best use� of the property.

Alan Conner, a member of the board of directors that oversees the airport, said there are no plans to appeal the decision.

He said he believes the judgment is a result of the airport�s having no professional, full-time director and staff to help manage such complexities as a $15 million expansion and substantial property condemnations.

The airport has no means of paying the judgment, Conner said, because it must survive on rents from tenants and some fuel and landing fees, and its entire operating budget is only about $235,000 a year.

He said he believes county government, which owns the airport, will be responsible for the judgment unless the Federal Aviation Administration can find a way to help. The FAA is paying for most of the expansion.

Mike Harris, the consulting engineer for the expansion project, said there have been discussions with the FAA about the judgment, but there is no commitment that it will help pay.

Harris said he had obtained an appraisal for the property in filling out the FAA grant application to help pay for the road relocations.

He said he does not believe the appraiser, Jacobi, Toombs and Lanz, has any financial liability for the judgment.

The expansion is continuing on schedule for the time being, Harris said, with a bid opening scheduled in January for the first phase of the Bean Road relocation.

The property in dispute with Dreyer will be required for a second phase of the road relocation. Harris said he believes the judgment will have to be satisfied before the second phase can go forward � perhaps later in 2012 or in 2013.

If there are no delays in funding or construction, Harris said, the expansion project should be finished in 2015.

Reporter Ben Zion Hershberg can be reached at (812) 949-4032

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20111223/NEWS02/312230079/