Schools proceeding cautiously on Gilpin land swap with airport
As asked by Rogers City Area Schools Board of Education president Scott McLennan, Dr. Mary Ann Heidemann, director of the County Development Commission, was invited to give an update on the county airport expansion project. Because the project involves a property swap between the district and the county, an agreement to exchange real property needs to be executed between the governmental entities.
Board members weren?t prepared to make a decision at their meeting Monday, even though part of the project could proceed by May 5. ?We want to move along cautiously with this and have some open discussion,? said McLennan. The facilities, grounds and planning committee will go over the details of the final land swap documents and the ?right to enter? agreement, which would get the district?s portion of the project started. McLennan said he will call for a special meeting, if needed, to see if the board wants to sign on and move forward.
THE ECONOMIC Development Commission is proposing the land exchange, which isn?t expected to affect the present use of Gilpin Field. Heidemann said it will ?enhance the use of the field in the future.? The parcel being handed over to the county is approximately 6.21 acres of the Gilpin Field grounds. It?s 170 feet wide and 1,350 long. There is a rock berm, fence, and city street on the property. Most of the parcel is within the FAA ?object free area? safety zone that is required.
The parcel the district would receive is 6.22 acres, approximately 1,130 feet by 205 feet, along the western boundary of Gilpin Field. The EDC is proposing that the county and the schools enter into an acre-for-acre land exchange. The intention is that the designated ?object free area? would be added to the airport to assure runway safety. The exchange would correct the current safety violation at the airport, while maintaining a city street adjacent to Gilpin Field?s southern boundary.
HEIDEMANN PROVIDED board members with the specifications for the grubbing, grading and seeding of the parcel of land the district will receive from the county. The contract was bid locally, with Curtis Excavating of Rogers City as the successful bidder.
?It?s going to be cleared and grubbed of raw materials,? said Heidemann. ?All stumps, branches, roots and trunks will be dug up and removed from the area with the ground being leveled to a mowable condition.? After the area is cleared and grubbed, the topsoil is to be stockpiled for re-distribution, and the site graded smooth to blend with the adjacent school property. Fertilizer will be applied at a rate of 500 pounds per acre.
?Right now the portion of the school land you own, outside of your fence, is totally, and absolutely useless to you,? said Heidemann. ?You own the land under that access road and you own some of those nice rock berms that are parallel to the road. You?re not getting real good use out of those right now.? Heidemann said the amount of readily available funds was $64,000 and the bid came in at $92,000, but the Michigan Department of Transportation found additional money, so the project can get started.
The airport runway expansion project will not go forward until federal dollars trickle to the state level. The contract with the Iron Mountain contractor will not be signed until then.
HEIDEMANN BROUGHT up another situation involving a third project, which failed to generate any bids. It is the moving of the Gilpin fence. ?We had a number of people come and look and choose not to bid on it,? said Heidemann. ?Some contractors said that fence isn?t worth moving.? ?You know that, I know that, but that?s not the way it?s done,? Heidemann told the school board. The contractor that?s going to work on the airfield got a great deal on its bid for fencing for the airport, said Heidemann.
So, all the board had to do was give its approval to a new six foot fence, which they did. It will be nine inches lower than the old fence, without barbed wire. Board member Keith Gordon said he was concerned about the topsoil
?It blows away, it doesn?t hold any moisture ? it?s terrible. I think if you bulldoze that, you?re going to have to haul something in,? said Gordon.
?THAT?S NOT going to be possible to have it funded by the county,? said Heidemann. ?It?s not in the specifications that have been bid. I agree with you, it?s thin topsoil at best, but that is what?s there.? ?That wouldn?t be playable surface, I think,? said Gordon.
?You may have to do some additional work,? added Heidemann, ?but for us to come in and make it into a playing field, the way we understood it, was not part of the deal.?
Board member Dana LaBar was also concerned about the legal fees that have accumulated as the district?s attorneys mull over agreements. Heidemann said she would like to complete the exchange within the next 60 days. The exchange will need to be approved by the FAA, MDOT Bureau of Aeronautics, PI County Board of Commissioners, the EDC board, and possibly the city of Rogers City.