Supervisors learn runway work has extra legal costs

by Larry Chowning –

After a closed session on Tuesday, Nov. 1, the Middlesex County Board of Supervisors (MCBS) voted unanimously to hire the Richmond law firm of Randolph, Boyd, Cherry & Vaughan PLC to help the county obtain a navigational air easement “by legal means” from Topping homeowner Robert Roberts.

County Airport Attorney Mark Flynn informed the board that negotiations with Roberts to obtain the navigational easement over his property near Hummel Field airport had failed.

The county-owned airstrip was recently realigned and lengthened from 2,200-feet to 3,200 feet long.

Earlier at the meeting, supervisors unanimously approved an appropriation of $30,000 to be paid to a landowner for rights to their navigational air easement near the airport.

Flynn informed the board that legal costs involved in easement acquisition, additional easement cost and the cost of required buffer plantings near the airport were all cost elements that had not been figured into the original cost of realigning the airstrip at Hummel.

This brought up the conversation of who would be required to pay for these new expenses.

The Virginia Department of Aviation (VDOA) funds 80% of the total project cost which was originally thought to be $1.4 million. Flynn said these new cost factors could push the total cost of the realignment project to $1.8 million, leaving 20% of the added total to be paid for elsewhere. The 20% of the $1.4 million ($300,000) has already been paid.
History of realigning and funding…