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2B | WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2020 | APPEAL TRIBUNE Life Flight threatens to leave Aurora Airport The Aurora State Airport in Aurora on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018. There is a $37 million dollar proposal to expand the airport. ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL Backs rezoning plot of land to allow expansion Bill Poehler Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK The fate of a long-va- cant church camp in north Marion County could lead to the North- west’s largest air ambu- lance service to move its headquarters elsewhere. A 16-acre parcel adja- cent to the Aurora State Airport and bordered on three sides by airport-re- lated businesses has long been eyed for develop- ment for decades and its owner, TLM Holdings, is seeking land-use exemp- tions to allow the land to be turned into hangars, shops and offices. Neighbors and nearby cities are fighting the zone change, arguing the land should remain farm- land, increased traffic from the development could clog roads and the development could lead to water quality prob- lems. But if it isn’t rezoned and developed, one of the major employers at the airport, Life Flight Net- work, has threatened to leave. “Because of the uncer- tainties of our ability to expand at the Aurora Air- port, we are in the proc- ess of evaluating whether we stay at Aurora, or leave Aurora altogether and relocate to Redmond, Oregon, or Boise, Idaho,” LifeFlight CEO Michael Griffiths wrote in a letter of support for the zone change. “Both of these airports have land available for us to build sufficient office and hangar space to fulfill our long-term needs,” he wrote. The church camp The land on Keil Road was a Methodist Church Camp until 1977, when it was purchased and the site was used to train Pa- cific Island pastors as the Beyond The Reef Theol- ogy Center. More than a dozen small buildings were con- structed among the trees to give the visiting pas- tors a place to stay while training. But the land was never rezoned from its exclusive farm use desig- nation. It hasn’t been used as a retreat since 1989 and the on-site church ceased op- erating in August 2017. The plot has been eyed for airport-related devel- opment for decades as it’s the only major portion of remaining developable land that could be con- nected to the airport. “The addition of this area to the airport only makes sense,” said Tony Helbling of Aurora Air- port-based Wilson Con- struction. According to Marion County tax assessor rec- ords, the parcel was pur- chased in 2015 for $2.1 million by TLM Holdings, a company owned by Ted Millar, who owns a num- ber of parcels around the airport. In 2017, the church training center was moved to Hawaii and the land has sat vacant. It has not been farmed in the last half century. “It’s never made mon- ey as a commercial farm- ing operation,” said Alan Sorem, an attorney for TLM Holdings. “We’re not going to see any kind of loss to the farming com- munity as it’s never really been part of the farming Harold J. Wellman MT. ANGEL - Harold J. Wellman passed away peacefully on June 21st, surrounded by his wife and the love of his family. He was 95 years old Harold was born in Silverton on November 7, 1924 to Leo & Frances Wellman. He grew up on the family farm in Scotts Mills with his older brother Clarence After school Harold worked with his dad on the farm. He also worked in the Portland Shipyards during WW II. After the war he returned to the family farm, eventually taking over from his father He met his wife, Betty Lou Phillips of Gervais, at a dance and they were married in 1949. They celebrated their 71st anniversary in February. They welcomed and raised 5 children Harold grew several varieties of grass seed and also ran a seed cleaning business for other farmers. Harold was very active in the Oregon Grass Seed Industry, including representing the industry in trade shows both here and in Europe While farming, Harold began giving to his com- munity. He was a long term member of the Scotts Mills Fire Department and of the local School Board They sold the farm in 1991 and moved to Silver- ton, where Harold continued to give to his community. He was a volunteer driver for the Silverton Hospital Care Van and at the Oregon Garden for many years. His outgoing and friendly personality were a great asset to both of these organizations He and Betty Lou moved to Mt. Angel Towers in 2013 He enjoyed hunting, fishing and woodworking, making a number of handmade gun stocks. Harold was also an avid reader and did the daily cross word puzzle most of his life. He also enjoyed helping friends & family whenever needed He will be greatly missed by his family and friends, especially his conta- gious smile and his sense of humor. Many will also miss sharing a “wee nip” with him! He was proceeded in death by his parents and brother. Harold is survived by his wife, his children – Mike (Debi) Wellman of Silverton, Julie (Dale) Bystrom of Molalla, Lorri (Jim) Abel of Bend, Mary (Gary) Casqueiro of Keizer and Suzanne (Rick) Toman of Carlsbad, CA. He also enjoyed his 11 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren The family would like to say a special thank you to the staff of the Health Center at Mt. Angel Towers and to Willamette Valley Hospice for the loving care they gave to Harold A private service will be held with his family. A celebration of Harold’s life will be held when possible The family suggests remembrances in Harold’s honor be sent to Willa- mette Valley Hospice community as we under- stand it.” Airport an economic driver The Aurora State Air- port, one of 28 airports owned and managed by the state, is on unincor- porated land at the north- ern tip of Marion County. It has grown to be the third busiest airport in the state with nearly 95,000 flights per year, trailing only Portland In- ternational Airport and Hillsboro Airport. Life Flight, which has been based in multiple buildings at the airport since 2003, is the largest nonprofit air ambulance in the nation with 600 employees in four states. Griffiths said the com- pany has run out of space at the airport and moved some support services into Wilsonville. They es- timate they needs 65,000 square feet for office and training and 100,000 square feet of hangar space to consolidate opertions. A concept plan for TLM Holdings at the site includes over 276,726 square feet of hangars, offices and shops, with enough space to house 37 aircraft. That plan could accommodate Life Flight. Businesses have thrived at the airport and there were 1,087 jobs at Aurora Airport as of 2019, according to a presenta- tion by TLM Holdings, and the new develop- ment is estimated to add about 110 jobs. The businesses pro- posed to be housed there are projected to bring in $15 million each year. But the more than 100 jobs the redevelopment would bring would fur- ther increase traffic, de- spite its remote location from population centers among farms. “We’ve basically lived with the traffic for so long, on the weekends, the dull roar is pretty con- stant,” said Lee Barkman, a neighbor of the airport. TLM is offering to pay $323,500 in improve- ments that would go to- wards intersections at Arndt Road and Airport Road and Ehlen Road and Airport Road, projects that have been identified as needed though they area not funded, but not the road itself where the workers would travel to get to the airport. And there are also con- cerns about how addi- tional traffic from people working at the airport could impact the already busy Boone Bridge on In- terstate 5 south of Wil- sonville. Traffic engineer Lacy Brown of DKS Associates said the land would in- crease fewer than 200 trips during the peak hours. “Based on our distri- bution of traffic, we’re es- timating at most 50 peo- ple at the peak hour head- ing north,” Brown said. Cities line up to oppose change Due to the holiday, our offi ce hours and obituary placement times may vary. Please contact us at 503-399-6789 or obituary@statesmanjournal.com for further details. The cities of Aurora and Wilsonville have op- posed the plan, as have private citizens, citing water quality issues that would come with the ex- pansion because there is no sewer system at the airport and the desire for it to remain agriculture land. “There are a lot of con- cern about water quality issues,” said Joseph Schaefer, planning com- mission chair for Aurora. “The basic idea of having a public sewer system in- stead of septic systems is the same reason why Au- rora about 22 years ago installed its first sewer system.” Aurora has expressed interest in annexing the airport into the city, something Marion Coun- ty Commissioner Sam Brentano said he sup- ports. But that would take years. In the meantime, once the plot of land is rezoned from farm use to public, it won’t go back, despite it not being used as agricul- tural land for at least half a century. “This is land that has been determined histori- cally and by law as ag land to support the ag economy,” said Dan Pau- ly, senior planner for Wil- sonville. “With that, there is well established case law that any goal excep- tions the burden of proof is intended to be high.” The Marion County commissioners held a public hearing for the property June 24 and vot- ed to leave the record open on the zone change until its July 15 meeting, when it is expected to vote. Bill Poehler covers Marion County. 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