My Letter to the Charlotte City Council

Charlotte City Council,
I was given this form to send in regarding the proposed expansion of the airport. I would like nothing better than to be able to form an opinion and express it on the good or bad of the proposed airport expansion. Unfortunately, I cannot do that because this entire process was done in secrecy.

When they held the “open house” last week, it was the first I’d heard of this project. What is even more disturbing is that I was not informed of the Open House until 2:00 that day and I was informed by a neighbor. Gossip proved to be more reliable than elected officials.
I asked when this study was first set up and was told it was in 2005. This was kept quiet from the people that are directly involved for nearly two years! I asked why we weren’t given any formal notice of the open house and I was told that post cards were sent out and that the confusion or lost cards must be because our mail comes through Kalamazoo.

I also asked if a decision had been made yet. I was told that a site hadn’t been selected yet. The noticeable part of that is that they didn’t say that it hadn’t been decided yet to go through with the project. Just that they hadn’t yet chosen a site yet.
They couldn’t tell us which businesses were interested in using the new airport but they did say that it was to help the existing businesses cut costs of transportation from Battle Creek, Lansing and Jackson.

At the open house, they had charts, outlines, aerial photos and they gave us a handout with all of those as well. However, they had one chart which was a matrix that was not included in the handout. I asked where I could get a copy of it and was told that I could get it from their website. They suggested that we go through your website to find it. I did. Your website had nothing that I could find showing this project. I did find their website and all of the papers that were handed out, but not the matrix.

This entire project was done behind the scenes and not out in the open. The City Council of Charlotte does not represent me. They weren’t voted for or against by me because I’m not in their area. Yet, the Charlotte City Council is making a decision regarding my residence.
Your mayor is quoted in the weekend paper “the issue of eminent domain is what frightens people”. Later in the story she’s quoted as saying “This is an emotional issue, when you talk about the possibility of taking someone’s property.”

Eminent Domain was voted on last November and was beaten 80%-20%. I don’t think Eminent Domain even applies unless there is a loophole that I’m not aware.

What saddens, disappoints and disgusts me more than anything is elected officials continue to hide what they are doing and then spring it on an area as quietly as possible. However, it doesn’t surprise me. When I lived in Dansville I was on the Village Council and saw the same attempts being made there to hide things, albeit on a much smaller scale.

This entire thing is nothing more than lying to the people. Lying by omission is still lying. Notice that I haven’t even spoken to the merits of the project. I don’t want to speak to them because I don’t believe that we have all of the facts. I believe that we have more information, or at least that more people know about it than you wanted to know about it at this time, than what was originally planned, but I can’t trust that we can make an informed decision because I cannot trust that we have been given all of the information.

Your mayor also says that more public meetings are needed. I can only ask why. If you’ve already been hiding things, how can I trust that there isn’t more hidden?

I will be attending the Walton Twp. meeting tonight and if anyone is interested in opinions there, I will be saying that I’m against this project because of the underhanded way in which it was done. People that don’t represent me in any government body are working to take my property without my input and without fear of losing my vote. I am also under no illusions that this letter, nor any other comments sent in are going to be paid any attention.

Brett Young