County officials close eminent domain hearing, landowner looks to appeal
“The two landowners who will be most directly affected by the proposed eminent domain proceedings at the Watertown International Airport expressed outrage over the measure during a public hearing Thursday night at the airport.
The meeting was a continuation of a hearing that had been adjourned two weeks ago after Jefferson County, which owns and operates the airport, decided to allow more time for comments and submission of documents from the public.
Property owner and Watertown attorney Roscoe A. Eisenhauer, who caused a stir when he all but cross-examined an airport consultant during the last meeting, returned to make his case that the county was overstepping its bounds by initiating eminent domain.
Mr. Eisenhauer and his wife, Cynthia, stand to lose 84 acres of their land if the county acquires it to secure a Federal Aviation Administration-mandated protection zone for a proposed 1,000-foot runway extension.
“I hope the county can understand our concerns as landowners and neighbors to the airport,” Mr. Eisenhauer said as he concluded his comments. “We ask that we be treated as least intrusively as possible as the county pursues its goal to increase traffic at Watertown International Airport.””
Flatley, Daniel. Watertown Daily News 20 December 2013.