Airport Relocation Update
November 27,2007
Thanks to everyone who braved the weather and made their way to the Anderson Airport for last night's meeting! It was a great crowd - some of us even had to park with the planes! But that's okay! The pilots and airport staff were excellent hosts and glad to show us their wonderful facility. And as a group, the NO FLY ZONE was very, VERY well represented; anxious to hear the status of both the Anderson Airport and the SW Madison airport relocation plan.
The new Mayor spoke … and we liked what he had to say:
"Read my lips, the new airport in South West Madison County is a dead issue."
Once the standing ovation died down, and he had donned a "NO FLY ZONE" t-shirt, Mr. Ockomon thanked us for our support. He stated that our area of the County IS growing, and would continue to grow on its own; that there is no need for interference. He firmly believes in the viability and potential of the current Anderson Airport, and invited us to turn what has been for the past 5 months a negative into a positive, by throwing our support behind the current Anderson Airport. Mr. Ockomon's talk was preceded by a wonderful presentation from the Anderson Airport Support Group (AASG - pilots) and by Pete Bitar, President and CEO of Extreme Alternative Defense Systems (XADS) and AirBoyant, detailing some of the many plans they have for the Anderson Airport. Many in Madison County seem not to know what a fine facility we already have. It is deserving of our support and attention.
So, what does this mean? Are we done?
We're still in "wait and see" mode. Fishers Town Council President, Scott Faultless, was asked today for his response to Mr. Ockomon's statement. "If it's dead, it's dead", Faultless replied … but then went on to say Fishers had other options they are looking into. We have our "feelers" out for what those "other options" might be, but given the number of attorneys that sit on the Fishers Town Council, and the money Fishers has invested in Madison County already, our antennae are "up" for possible "end run" maneuvers. To that end …
1) We're encouraging folks to leave the NO FLY ZONE signs up!!
2) We're attending the upcoming BOAC meeting
3) We're attending the next County Commissioners meeting
4) We've assembled 3 complete sets of copies of our Petition Signatures and will deliver one each to the County Commissioners and Anderson City Council. (1607 total signatures !!! Great job everyone!!!)
5) We are consulting with our attorney about our current position and what, if anything, our next move should be.
Our goal from the beginning of this struggle was to end the SW Madison airport possibility now and forever. None of us wants to be fighting this airport again in a month, a year or even ten years. Mr. Ockomon stressed last night that the airport was a dead issue as long as he was Mayor. That is truly GREAT news!!!. But at this point, that is a 4 year guarantee. And there may be ways to accomplish the airport even without Anderson's support - we just don't know.
We've learned from this experience that as an area, we have been identified. Most of our land is unincorporated, and we do live in the fastest growing area of Madison County. For these reasons, we are a target. As we've talked with our attorney, we've been told there are things we can do to lessen our vulnerability. One is "rooftops" - the more buildings that would have to be torn down, the less attractive the airport option. (So …. go ahead and build that Dream House!!) Another is annexation. Rob Sparks, Deputy Mayor of Anderson and Interim Head of the Corporation for Economic Development, has been quoted in the paper confirming that Anderson does intend to annex west and south of the Nestle's area, and a new 385 acre annexation will actually have a hearing on December 13th. As NO FLY ZONE, we don't support or oppose annexation - it's an individual decision and it's not our issue. We have, however, heard some suggest that this will turn into a "pick your partner" situation for our area down the road. What we're saying is, the airport has taught us the need to be pro-active and vigilant in deciding what we each want for our community, and not wait until some entity tries to move in and decide those things for us.
The SW Madison airport seems to be dead for now - let's hope it's forever!!
One final note: This week, as we looked back through all the petitions and signatures … the notes of encouragement … the kind emails … we couldn't help but be proud of the NO FLY ZONE! Our little group (well, okay, 1600 people isn't exactly small!) accomplished quite a bit in just a few months. It's confirmed in us our belief that people do matter. That a small group of dedicated individuals can effect change when they go about it positively. And most importantly, that our voices count just as much - or more - than those of big cities, big business or big money. Thank you for making it happen! YOU'RE THE GREATEST!
We'll be in touch!
NO FLY ZONE/don’t_fly_zone
