Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Airport ?trees? solution near?


By PAT MURPHY
Express Staff Writer

The governing board of Friedman Memorial Airport may be on the brink of resolving the nagging issue of what to do about a row of cottonwood trees regarded as obstructions to landing approaches.

The Friedman Memorial Airport Authority was meeting Tuesday night in special session to discuss that single issue. The trees are off the south end of the airport's single southeast-northwest runway.

For months, the authority has been anguishing about the trees. It finally received authority from the city of Hailey and Blaine County, nominal owners of the airport, to exercise eminent domain powers to ask a court to allow removal or trimming of the tall trees or force owners of the adjacent Flying Hat Ranch to allow installation of solar-powered obstruction lights.

There was no indication prior to the meeting what course the board would take, whether the ranch owner, the Eccles family, had agreed to a solution or whether airport officials would take the matter to court.

(Full details of the meeting will be reported in Friday's Mountain Express.)

A certain urgency is involved. Thursday, Oct. 26, is the deadline for updating Federal Aviation Administration instrument approach charts. If agreement on trimming, removing or lighting the trees has not been reached, the charts will note the obstructions. SkyWest Airlines and Horizon Air could suspend night flights because of unlighted obstructions, Airport Manager Rick Baird has warned the board.

Baird said installing warning lights in the trees could be completed in a matter of a few days.

An Eccles family representative has said in the past he was hopeful a solution could be achieved without court action.




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