Photo (standing l to r): Loren Danner and Steve Hamilton address Carroll County Board of Supervisors
It was standing room only Monday morning in the Carroll County Board of Supervisors meeting as a Carroll farmer brought forward a petition, seeking financial assistance for moving of a grain leg that has been found to be protruding into the protected airspace of the Carroll Airport. Loren Danner has farmed in that area since 1968. His attorney, Steve Hamilton, told the board they were submitting the 542 signatures as a show of support for Loren and Pan Danner, who sought and received a building permit in 2013 from the county zoning office to construct the conveyance system.
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The court has since ruled that local ordinances do not conflict with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) no hazard determination. That case is on appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. The courts have also ordered that the leg be moved or dropped by about 60 feet. However, this is at a significant cost to Danner, estimated around $350,000. Hamilton says this is an unfortunate case, and there is not a bad person here, but sometimes the laws don’t do equity or fairness, and this petition is about bringing some of that back to the situation.
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Carroll attorney and airport commissioner, Greg Siemann, says Carroll is home to one of only six enhanced service airports in western Iowa, and it is designated as a regional transportation hub. He says, in some eyes, they have been made out to be the bad guys because they are seen as not being “reasonable” in making accommodations.
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Siemann adds it is clearly spelled out in the zoning ordinances that the commission is to be contacted when building is done in any of those zones. He contends the FAA has even notified them that federal funding for the airport could be impacted if the situation is not rectified. Siemann says they too have expended a lot of money on engineering and attorney fees in defending the airport and would like reimbursement as well.
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He presented a billing statement that showed over $43,000 in expenses, but said there was one main fact that surprised him. The Danner construction project was the very first time someone built around the airport without contacting the commission first. As for Danner, he says he is only asking for what is fair.
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The supervisors declined to comment at this time and will be planning a closed session with Carroll County Attorney, John Werden, at a future meeting to discuss the petition and the claims from the airport commission. Full audio from that meeting can be found below.
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