The city of Oneonta Airport Commission was met with backlash and concern from several community members Wednesday, Aug. 20 regarding to a runway obstruction clearance project at the Albert S. Nader Regional Airport.
A public comment period took place at the start of the meeting, where many people shared their distrust in the commission and raised concerns about the impacts of the clearance project. Many also referenced the airport expansion plan, which Justin Osterhoudt, vice chair of the commission, said was entirely independent from the clearance project.
Community members said they had concerns about the clear cutting of trees in order to provide the clearance needed for the project, in addition to other environmental concerns, like impacts on the Oneonta drinking water reservoir.
At the start of the meeting, Martijn Kamerbeek, the chair of the commission, read a letter from Scott Harrington, the Common Council’s Sixth Ward representative. It was addressed to members of the commission, expressing concern about a letter property owners living near the airport received from Passero, the engineering firm the city hired for the project.
“The content and tone of that communication was not only inappropriate and misleading but also shows a complete lack of concern and transparency in how this matter is being handled,” Harrington’s letter stated.
After reading the letter into the record, Kamerbeek said that Harrington was unable to produce the letter when asked to provide a copy. In response, multiple residents said they were able to send the commission a copy of the letter, and one attendee sent one.
To begin public comment, Randy Miritello, who has attended several public meetings to speak about the airport issue, said the public has been misled about the scope of the project and he has “zero trust in this commission at this point.”
“If you have some kind of sales pitch that you can sell on me that I should forfeit my property, that this is going to be some kind of economic benefit to the community, and I should forfeit my property to do that, I would love to hear that sales pitch because I think it’s going to be a really hard sell for me,” Miritello said.
Gil Terry, whose property has bordered the airport for 30 years, said he has witnessed hundreds of acres removed over the last 20 years. This is wetland, he said, that was used to feed the Oneonta reservoir.
The city’s water supply, he added, serves way more people than the airport.
“It’s wetland,” Terry said. “This is the main supply for the Oneonta reservoir, the Susquehanna River. It’s important. I’m an environmentalist. I take it very serious.”
During regular business, Matt Kent, the airport manager who also has experience in the logging industry, said any tree clearing would be done to ensure that airport operations can continue safely without obstructions. He added that competition among trees leads them to grow as fast as they can to compete for sunlight. Trees are growing to heights that pose safety risks.
Kent said that via FAA guidelines, the clearance project has to happen.
Much of the activity at the Oneonta airport goes unnoticed, Kent said. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer visited the area last week to attend a press conference at the Oneonta Job Corps, and he flew in through the Oneonta airport.
After regular business was completed, a question-and-answer session began. The commission was unable to answer many of the questions that residents posed. There were no representatives from the engineering firm or the FAA present at the meeting.
James Forbes, a licensed engineer, asked for clarification regarding whether or not the previously stated northeast end of the runway, about 60 to 90 acres, would be cleared to the ground.
In response, Kamerbeek said the first phase of the project was in the design state, including interactions with landowners “to see what needs to be done.” He added that no decisions have been made yet specifying what needs to be cut and how it will be done.
Kent said that the project is done in stages that are “not dictated by us.” For the first phase, Kent said an easement is needed to identify that nothing can move into a designated space, looking forward to the future.
“Once they have those easements, then they do a study to determine which penetrations need to go and which can stay,” Kent said. “That’s the information.”
Later in the question and answer period, Kaytee Lipari Shue, the Common Council’s Fourth Ward representative, said she was still not convinced of the airport’s economic viability. She said she wondered if the city continues to take actions like this, it would almost have no choice but to expand in the airport “in the promise of some future economic development.”
She said that she does not see future expansion translating to economic development. People like Schumer would still come, but any expansion would just make it more convenient for them “on the backs of the taxpayers and to the detriment of our neighbors.”
“While you all may not be our constituents, right now, you are dealing with the city of Oneonta, and the representation of the city of Oneonta has been really disheartening from my perspective, and I am sorry for that,” Lipari Shue said.
Kamerbeek said that despite the outcome of Phase 1, when the airport moves into Phase 2, the execution stage, the Common Council would need to approve that, too.