Leighton Township voters will be given a busy ballot in the Aug. 7 primary election, featuring the very contentious “airpark” issue.
The matter is so contentious that citizens who oppose establishing the air park near the corner of 144th Avenue and Kalamazoo Avenue argued Thursday night with the Township Board about ballot wording over the use of one word “airpark” rather than “airport.” The citizens’ group apparently believe the difference could have legal implications on how the facility could or couldn’t be regulated.
Kate Scheltema, owner of a horse farm that is neighbor to where the airpark would be established,, asked the board to change the ballot wording to “airport” because developer Clark Galloway’s correspondence with officials most often uses that word to describe it.
She maintained that the State of Michigan defines an airport as a place “used for landing and takeoff of aircraft.”
She asked board members, “Why are we not calling it what it is?”
Fellow citizen Mark Ouwinga asserted the wording is “conveniently lining this up to what the developer wants. And that developer is (Township Supervisor) Steve Deer.”
The supervisor indeed is a partner in the project with Galloway, but has steadfastly avoided commenting or voting on the matter to avoid conflict of interest. He abstained in the 3-0 vote board colleagues made to approve the wording as presented by township attorneys.
Clerk Mary Lou Nieuwenhuis insisted, “It was never referred to as an airport” during the more than two years the issue that underwent deliberations by the board and the Planning Commission. “I think the language is clear and understandable.”
There was much discussion that sometimes veered into debates between members of the audience. Deer at one point asked everyone to refrain from a back-and-forth with one another and follow decorum for just one person at a time to speak.
Scheltema said, “I apologize. But it is upsetting when I hear somebody say something that is not true.”
The air park issue will be on tbe ballot because opponents gathered enough petition signatures to call the question after the Planning Commission approved the airpark.
Four other matters will be decided in the Aug. 7 primary:
• A renewal of 0.984 mill for township road maintenance, repair and paving.
• A proposal for one more mill to take care of the township’s roads because Deer said it’s difficult enough to get necessary work done with just the renewal. He added, “I think just about all of us know the condition of the roads in Michigan.”
• A proposal to renew the 0.984 mill for public safety, which includes police and fire services.
• A proposal for another half mill to better fund public safety services, which soon may include fire apparatus and a new police cruiser to be shared with Dorr Township.
The question was not between “air park “ and airport. It was between airstrip and airport. Airstrip is in the ballot language that was approved. It might have helped if you posted the actual language.
The reason this item is on the ballot is the Leighton Township Board chose to ignore their own planning commission advice to deny the request to build an airpark.
I cannot understand how building a housing development for less than 10 homes that includes an airstrip will be an economic benefit to the township compared to a development that would have 12-16 homes with equivalent or higher assessments with a higher future appreciation value potential because those homes would appeal to much larger pool of potential buyers, not just those who own their own single engine aircraft. I also have a hard time believing house hunters who are not pilots see any advantages of living on an airstrip.
If you don’t want an airpark or another airstrip for amateur pilots built in Leighton Township, show up and vote No. There is nothing stopping airplane owners who want to be close to their aircraft to use Calkins Field which is less than 15 minutes away from the corner of 144 and Kalamazoo.