McManimon says he needs more freeholder votes
By:John Tredrea
With the backing of Mercer County Freeholder Jim McManimon, who was on hand for the May 18 meeting, the Hopewell Township Committee voted unanimously to call on the county to do an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the proposal to expand Mercer County Airport.
“I have three freeholders already committed to doing the EIS, but I need four,” said Mr. McManimon, who said the study that would produce the EIS would cost about $500,000. “The EIS would address all the issues on which we’ve heard concern about the airport project — “noise, pollution, the effect on school children and others,” Mr. McManimon said.
The airport expansion project, staunchly backed by Mercer County Executive Robert Prunetti and recently supported by the government of Hamilton Township and the Mercer County chamber of commerce, would cost an estimated $15 million, Mr. McManimon said. The airport is located just south of I-95, which runs along the southern border of Hopewell Township.
Along with township committee members Mayor Marylou Ferrara, Deputy Mayor Jon Edwards and Committeewoman Kathy Bird-Maurice, many township residents have been protesting for months against the proposed airport expansion.
Brandon Farms, located near the end of the airport, in particular has been a hotbed of opposition to the expansion proposal. Opponents of the expansion have said it would bring too much airplane noise and pollution. Noting that 10 airlines have gone belly-up over the years while trying to make a go of it at Mercer County Airport, opponents of the expansion project say the facility is destined to be a financial loser and that any expansion would entail throwing good money after bad.
Already under way, with the results expected in about a month, is an Environmental Assessment (EA) of the airport expansion proposal. The EA is required by federal law. A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) by the EA could clear the way for the expansion, unless the county votes to have an EIS, which would be much more comprehensive than the EA.
“I want to make sure the EA addresses all the issues,” Mr. McManimon said, adding that if he is not convinced the EA is comprehensive, he will urge his colleagues on the freeholder board to require the EIS. He said the Hopewell Township resolution in favor of the EIS would help him in that effort.
The Township Committee’s resolution in favor of the EIS was written by Mr. Edwards, who also called for a “full financial impact statement” of the airport proposal, which he termed an “environmental, financial and quality-of-life issue.”
“We’re on the verge of putting a new school in Brandon Farms … it would be right in the flight path” of the airport, Mr. Edwards said.
Echoing other opponents of the airport expansion proposal, Mr. Edwards said he has found persuasive written summaries of studies that say regular exposure to airplane noise and pollution lowers student performance substantially.
The Hopewell Valley Regional Board of Education is expected to vote in mid-June on a construction proposal that would include a new, 520-student, $13 million elementary school in Brandon Farms, located just north of I-95 a few miles from the airport. Spending the money for the new school would have to be approved in a public election that could be held in the fall.
Mr. McManimon said he does not support the county administration’s position that the Mercer airport should become “a regional back-up” to the Newark Airport.
Township Committeeman John Hart, who until the May 18 meeting declined to take a public position on the airport, agreed.
“The county airport was basically built for shuttle service (between major airports),” Mr. Hart said. “We should leave it that way, with only planes with 30 to 60 seats involved.”
He added that the results of the EIS could “give us control over what kind of planes could come in and out of the airport, and at what hours of the day.”