A first, tentative step was taken Tuesday night by the Friedman Memorial Airport Authority toward legal action to either literally or figuratively remove a row of cottonwood trees as a safety obstacle to airport flight operations.
The trees, located south of the airport's runway on Spencer Eccles' Flying Hat Ranch, have been deemed a hazard to night landings.
After nearly an hour in closed-door executive session, the governing body authorized airport attorney Barry Luboviski to negotiate an agreement with the city of Hailey and Blaine County to hire an attorney specializing in eminent domain law.
Hailey, which will discuss the matter at its regular Monday meeting, and Blaine County, which will discuss it Tuesday, own the airport.
Once hired, Luboviski explained, the special attorney would recommend some sort of legal action asking a state court to either condemn the row of trees to remove or trim them, or force Eccles to allow the airport to install six solar-powered obstruction lights on the trees.
However, when informed of the board's decision, Eccles' longtime representative, Marc Reinemann, who acted as an intermediary in discussions with airport officials for the past year, hinted at a solution without litigation.
"I hope we can work things out," he told the Mountain Express. "Reasonable people can do reasonable things."
Beyond that, Reinemann would not comment on the impasse or on discussions with airport officials.
Friedman is pressed for time. The Federal Aviation Administration will publish new instrument approach procedures for the airport on Oct. 26 to include a new 600-foot safety area extension at the end of the southeast-northwest aligned runway.
However, before the board went into closed-door session, Airport Manager Rick Baird recapitulated the history of Friedman's safety issues and other projects undertaken with FAA approval and funding to modify the airport for safety reasons.
As he has done on several occasions when the trees issue was on the authority agenda, Baird said the cottonwoods constitute an obstruction in the airport's protected surface area. They would disqualify Friedman for an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) approach procedure. Both SkyWest Airlines and Horizon Air require IFR flights from takeoff to touchdown.
The effect of the trees on approach procedures would be to negate the value of a 600-foot safety area and shorten the 6,952-foot runway for landings. Baird has said that the air carriers prefer a 7,200-foot strip in the event braking problems are encountered because of snow or rain.
The FAA in April approved Friedman's proposed lighting installation of six red lights on plastic poles among the trees as a solution.
Before voting on moving toward eminent domain litigation, Authority Chairwoman Martha Burke asked Baird, "What if we do nothing by Oct. 26?"
"If we do nothing," Baird replied, "we'll have to design a project to repaint the runway (markings)" to indicate a shortened landing area. It would be months before a new IFR procedure could be approved, Baird said.
Burke then asked whether landings from the north over Hailey might be a solution to the airliners.
"Horizon and Southwest might question whether this is a viable market," Baird replied, implying that if landing procedures become complex and non-standard the air carriers might consider Friedman a marginal airport.
Horizon spokesman Bill Coniff told the Mountain Express that the airline had been assured by Friedman officials that the trees issue "would be resolved" by the Oct. 26 deadline, and that Horizon would not change schedules, including night flights. A SkyWest spokesman did not immediately respond with a comment.
Attorney Luboviski told the board that "we really did think we could come to a resolution" during discussions with Reinemann, Eccles' representative, over the past year.
In addition to installing proposed obstruction lights, Luboviski said, a suggestion was made to cut down the cottonwoods and replace them with professional landscaping funded by the airport.
During discussions, Luboviski said the proximity of the airport was raised as a reason some ranch workers were concerned about living in the house. Luboviski made an offer for the airport to buy the house and relocate it, or buy a mobile home for ranch workers.
Suggestions were made, he said, "that would make the situation palatable," Luboviski said, "so we wouldn't have to take legal action."
Authority member Len Harlig said action is necessary.
"We can't allow air service to be terminated," he said.
A Sky West Airlines flight makes its approach into Friedman Memorial Airport Wednesday, passing over a line of trees on the south end of the runway. Photo by David N. Seelig
