by Michael Howell –
An effort by Commissioner Greg Chilcott to get his fellow commissioners to allow a public vote on any decision to extend the Hamilton airport runway fell flat last week as Chilcott’s motion to require a public vote on the issue failed due to a lack of second.
The issue arose following action by the Board of Commissioners the previous week repealing a county resolution passed in 2001 that required a public vote on any decision to “expand” the airport. At that time, the commission also basically repealed the decision made by the previous board to pursue Alternative 2A, the preferred alternative for airport improvements in the EA prepared by Morrison-Maierle. This opens the process up again for reconsideration and the sitting commissioners have expressed a preference for alternative 3A instead. Although neither of those alternatives included extending the runway length from 4,200 to 5,200 feet, a majority of the sitting board also appear to be considering lengthening the runway as well.
The commissioner’s meeting room was packed with members of the public some of whom spoke in favor of a public vote and some who spoke against it. Many members of the public wanted to comment on the improvement options and whether or not the runway should be extended. Commission Chair J.R. Iman struggled to keep the comments limited to the question of whether there should be a public vote or not. Public comment was split on the issue with several people urging the commissioners to do what they were elected to do and make the decision themselves, while several others insisted that the present commission should honor the agreement arrived at by the past commission to require a public vote.
A group called Citizens for Responsible government submitted a proposed resolution that would require a public vote on the issue.
Commissioner Matt Kanenwisher stated that he did not believe that there was any “right to vote” at issue. He said that the authority to make such a decision was clearly in the hands of the commission.
“In the past a commission delegated that responsibility, last week we took it back,” he said.
Kanenwisher said that the public was still involved in the commission’s decision making process.
Commissioner Chilcott noted that there may not be a “right to vote” involved, but there was a promise by a previous board that was made to settle a very contentious issue and he felt that that promise should be respected.
“I am not afraid of a public vote,” said Chilcott, “But I am afraid of betraying a trust.”
Commissioner Foss said that the past decision resulted from a small group of people putting pressure on a small group of commissioners. She said that she made her stand on the need for airport expansion during the election and would stand by it.
Commissioner Iman stated that the airport has been expanded in a number of ways a number of times already without a public vote and he doesn’t believe one is required now. He said it is the Commissioner’s job to make decisions such as this one.
Chilcott made the motion to require a public vote on any future runway extension but no second was forthcoming and the meeting was adjourned.