Sep 6, 2015 3 min read

A local aviation group approached Greene County commissioners last week to ask the county to trim the tops of trees at the eastern end of the runway at Greene County Airport to make the airport safer for landings and takeoffs.

Support Our Aviation Resources, a group that promotes use of the county airport, also would like to see reactivation of nighttime runway landing lights, something the airport has been without for the last few years, apparently because of the trees that encroach on the airport’s glide path.

The county should trim the trees, considering the safety and liability issues involved. But we also understand the matter is more complicated than that.

Some of the trees are on private land, and the property owner apparently doesn’t like planes flying low over his house.

County solicitor Cheryl Cowan is reviewing a lease and right-of-way agreement the county has with the property owner that could resolve the issue.

The airman’s request, however, also brings to mind the many discussions that have taken place over the years on the future of the airport as well as the plans currently in progress.

We note that, back in the mid-1990s, the county actually considered selling the airport property as a site for commercial development and possibly building a new airport in another part of the county. The airport’s growth, and any use beyond that considered recreational, has always been limited by its size and the length of its runway. The expansion of the 3,500-foot runway for larger planes is considered too costly and would entail filling in a large valley east of the runway.

The county, however, has been moving forward with a plan to make improvements to airport facilities by developing the property that fronts Route 21 for commercial development.

The idea, county officials said at the plan’s inception, was to improve the airport, keeping it at its existing size, while also bringing in revenue from the lease of the commercial land to prevent the airport from being a drag on county finances.

Within the last two years, four hangars have been demolished in the area that will be made available for commercial development and a new T-hangar was built east of the administration building.

The county also is moving ahead with plans to develop a new access road and a new entrance road to the airport, a $2.5 million project that will realign the airport entrance road with Murtha Drive.

It certainly can’t be said that the airport has been ignored but it also must be said that while the improvements proceed, the county can’t ignore the issues that involve its safe use.