Eltahir: Eminent domain not her approach

Aug. 2—OSKALOOSA — Oskaloosa City Manager Amal Eltahir is firm in her resolve that eminent domain will not be used in the city's quest to build a new South Central Regional Airport on Mahaska County farmland near Leighton.

The conversation took place Tuesday at the Oskaloosa Herald's office during a sit-down meeting requested by Eltahir and Oskaloosa Mayor David Krutzfeldt to discuss "communication strategy for Oskaloosa." During the meeting, the city officials stated plainly that eminent domain is not part of Eltahir's plan when it comes to the airport project.

"It's not being discussed, it's not proposed and it's not my approach," Eltahir says.

Eltahir added that, regardless of city council directives, she will adhere to her own "code of ethics," and that using eminent domain to acquire the farmland is not within those bounds.

"I have my own code of ethics," she says. "I don't even care if the council wanted me to go this way or this way. I will abide by code of conduct."

The City of Oskaloosa, in partnership with the City of Pella, currently owns 379 acres of Mahaska County farmland near Leighton for the purpose of constructing a new airport. The issue has been highly controversial in the community, drawing criticism from both rural and city residents who say the area simply has no need for another airport.

City officials argue that airports have been the cause of further economic development in other Iowa communities, citing Iowa Department of Transportation statistics showing that airports in Ottumwa, Newton and Marshalltown generate total economic activities of $9,684,400, $5,894,900 and $5,124,700, respectively.

Eltahir and Krutzfeldt say that the close proximity of Ottumwa's airport is not an obstacle to building a new one in the Oskaloosa area. "We know Ottumwa has an airport. We want to compete with Ottumwa," Eltahir says. "It's not about who's got the best airport. It's the portfolio of things you have."

Google Maps places the Ottumwa Regional Airport 26 minutes away from Oskaloosa. Krutzfeldt estimates that the South Central Regional Airport would be 10-15 minutes away from Oskaloosa.

No studies have been conducted on the economic impact of the proposed South Central Regional Airport in Oskaloosa specifically.

"We think we're a very good community, and we have great things that people will be interested in locating," Eltahir says.

"We're a smaller community. We're safer," she adds. "We have plenty of good water. We have good location — We have a perfect location in terms of transportation. We can sell access. We can capitalize on our location. We need to have a nicer amenity, and with the airport, provide access. We're going to sell access by having a facility that will complete the picture."

In the same vein, Krutzfeldt says that the airport idea was born out of a shared desire for Pella and Oskaloosa to experience community growth.

"Bearing in mind, when this [airport idea] was crafted together, the cities of Pella and Oskaloosa both expressed a desire to grow," he says. "Amenities need to be provided in order for the regional airport to serve the two. The reason we had the conversation was because the Pella airport is not in a desirable location, and they've been told they can't expand.

"The Oskaloosa airport is underserved. It doesn't get anywhere near what it should for activity. Therefore, close two, put one modern airport that allows for instrumentation to be used when landing in inclement weather."

Recently, support for the new airport has dwindled in Pella, as officials turn their gaze to the possibility of investing in repairs to the already existing Pella Municipal airport.

As locally-based company Pella Corporation says it no longer supports the proposed regional airport and Vermeer remains neutral, Eltahir says the city is "not building [the airport] for Musco," another major business in the area, but to attract new businesses to the Oskaloosa community.

In May 2023, the City of Oskaloosa announced it has plans to execute an 80/20 annexation with the 379 acres of airport land it already owns jointly with Pella, as well as the connecting portion of the Highway 163 corridor.

The city would need to obtain 80% of the land prior to annexation, and could then involuntarily annex the remaining 20% into city limits pending approval from the City Development Board.

As of Aug. 8, 2022, 63% of the land needed for the airport project has been purchased by SCRAA, according to a land acquisition offer submitted to landowner Dave Prine by a SCRAA consultant.

Once annexed, the city would have the power to use eminent domain to acquire the remaining land necessary. The announcement spiked concerns in the community that the annexation was an indication of the city's intent to use the power it would bring to access the needed land.

Krutzfeldt and Eltahir say in no uncertain terms that once annexed, the city will not use its eminent domain power in pursuit of a new airport. If the remaining land cannot be acquired willingly, Eltahir says that the project will be shelved until a later date when conditions change.

"The airport idea will continue, till the end of time, to be a good idea," Eltahir says. "It will sit. That airport idea will sit until market conditions and things [change], but I think that's not going to be abandoned."

Channing Rucks can be reached at crucks@oskyherald.com.