Jeff Buchhop quit the Airport Advisory Committee Monday, because he said he is unable to do his job when council fails to consult the committee on airport matters.
He was responding to the Hillsdale City Council’s Monday approval of the first of three contracts to begin construction on a taxiway at the Hillsdale City Airport without consulting the AAC.
“I decided it was time to remove myself from the situation,” Buchhop said. “City council and the airport manager and the committee have to be on the same page. Advising the council is what the group is supposed to do, so if the council isn’t going to give us information about things we’re supposed to advise them on, we can’t do our job.”
The committee’s purpose is “appropriately and timely advising the City Council on airport matters” and “making recommendations to the Hillsdale City Council concerning policies and programs to be put in place or continued in place at the Hillsdale City Airport,” according to the committee’s resolution.
Buchhop emphasized he does not oppose the new taxiway project, but he disagrees with the council approving the contract without the airport committee reviewing it.
“There seems to be a self-imposed deadline,” Buchhop told the Collegian. “The council set up this advisory board and told us what to do and how to do it, and now they won’t let us do it.”
Acting City Manager Doug Terry said he believes the project will benefit the airport and city, but he conceded council should have consulted the Airport Advisory Committee prior to approving the construction contract.
“Sometimes decisions have to be made in the best interest of the city,” Terry said. “It was my call to move this project ahead. If there’s any fault to be laid here, it’s with me. We do have an engineering contract — we are ready to proceed.”
Buchhop added he is concerned that the city may not be complying with Federal Aviation Administration guidelines in order to receive a $1.4 million federal grant, which will be awarded to the city once council approves all three contracts for the taxiway project. Buchhop declined to comment on further details of these concerns.
Airport manager James Scheibner said he believes the city is complying with FAA guidelines.
He added the contract between the city of Hillsdale and Hoffman Brothers Inc. Excavating Contractors of Battle Creek, Michigan, had to be approved as soon as possible because “if it gets pushed back to the next start date, then the contractors will go to another contract and another project and our project will end up costing more money, and that’s what we want to avoid.”
“We can’t afford any delays in this contract process,” Scheibner told council during public comment Monday. “The state puts pressure on us to move as quickly as possible. They’re not going to send us the next project until this one is approved.”
In a March 11 email to Terry, Scheibner explained that “any delay will push the project start date to early fall construction, which brings in too many variables that could cost us.”
Terry said the taxiway project had just received grant money from the Michigan Aeronautics Commission under the Michigan Department of Transportation, but in order to secure the funds, the city had to approve the construction contract as soon as possible.
Planning and Development project manager for MDOT’s Office of Aeronautics Amanda Hopper told Terry in a Feb. 26 email that the city of Hillsdale “could wait until May 13 … if the city needs more time” to make a decision about starting the taxiway project and securing the state funds.
Terry told the Collegian if the city waited until May to make a decision about the project, then it would have to bid again for contractors. According to Scheibner’s March 11 email to Terry, Hoffman Brothers is one of the best airport contractors in the state, and was the lowest bidder for the taxiway project.
After Scheibner addressed the council, AAC member Jeff King reprimanded council for acting without consulting the committee.
“What just happened was out of order,” King said. “Last month, I expressed concern that a contract was not exposed to the Airport Advisory Committee. This time, we were told there wasn’t time to see it. Both times I call foul. We can’t make recommendations if we haven’t seen it.”
The council did not consult the committee when transferring ownership of a hangar lease at the Feb. 16 meeting. The committee should have been consulted on both occasions, because that’s the committee’s job, King said.
“We’re not your enemy,” King said at the March 16 meeting. “Our resolution is clear to advise city council on airport matters. Part of our role is to help transmit information to the citizens so they can understand it. I volunteered to make positive changes in the community. I don’t enjoy reprimanding council.”
Councilperson Adam Stockford told the committee — which was formed in November 2014 — that he believes the council will improve its communication with the committee about airport matters in the future.
“Any time a new committee pops up, there are going to be some growing pains,” Stockford said. “I’m really confident we’ll get this all under control. I don’t want you to get too impatient as we’re getting our feet wet. The city manager knows we expect full transparency between the committee and city staff. I know all of us on the council support the committee.”
Terry apologized to the committee for failing to consult them on the contract, again citing the interests of the city as the reason for his decision.
“I can’t extend my apologies enough,” Terry said. “The decision had to be made, and I made that decision, especially when there are millions of dollars at stake.”
Councilperson Bruce Sharp shared King’s concern about council transparency.
“There’s always a sense of urgency here,” Sharp said, describing council’s process of approving or rejecting motions. “We always want to rush something through.”
In other business, Director of Public Services Keith Richard informed the council of a $375,000 state grant to reconstruct State Street and install a sidewalk along State Street to Lewis Emery Park.
Council also approved redefining zoning districts O-1 and B-2 to allow multiple tenant housing and districts B-1 and B-3 to allow housing and multiple tenant housing — which opens up more off-campus student housing for Hillsdale College.
Lastly, councilperson Brian Watkins called for a Public Safety Committee meeting “as soon as possible” to discuss complaints about public burnings in Hillsdale County.
