Wilson Creek airport runway on private property

Commissioners seek more info

WILSON CREEK — The runway at Wilson Creek's airport is a little too long.

At a Port of Wilson Creek meeting Wednesday evening, Wilson Creek Mayor Kathy Bohnet and resident Ken Friend told port commissioners the east end of the airport runway encroached onto private property.

Friend and the town swapped property in about 1989 so the port could extend the airport runway, Friend said, but the runway apparently extended over into land he is now selling to the government.

Friend said a survey of the land discovered the runway extended 250 feet too far.

The runway is on town property leased by the port, Bohnet said, but the section in question has an easement by the National Resources Conservation Service. Bohnet said it looked like the runway was at least 250 feet beyond the property line.

Friend said a fence is about 100 feet away from the end of the runway, and that part of the runway was cut off.

"It's not just the fence, (surveyor Knudsen Land Surveying) is claiming the actual runway construction went 250 feet beyond the property line," Bohnet said, following discussion about surveys conducted in 1989 and 2002.

Port Commissioner Ron Lesser said ownership of the runway needs to be established, so "somebody doesn't go up and build a fence across the runway someday."

Bohnet said the town's attorney indicated that if the port extended the runway past the property lines of the city, the port must make a decision.

Port attorney Katherine Kenison advised the commissioners the city has no interest in acquiring additional land on behalf of the port.

"At this point, to clean it up, if the port runway and the encroached area happens to fall outside the property that you were deeded by Mr. Friend, you've already taken it," she said. "So the question comes up as to how do you want to handle reimbursing Mr. Friend for the taking, and there are some options that the port has that you may want to discuss in executive session. But the port will acquire the ownership."

After a 15-minute adjournment into executive session for the purchase of property, Kenison said no decisions were made during the session.

"In discussing this issue, the commissioners have decided that there's some additional information that they need to acquire before making a final decision as to what direction they're going to go," she said. "That information should be fairly easily attainable, and they plan on pursuing that right away."

As soon as the commissioners have the information and make a decision, Kenison continued, they will involve Friend.