Morey Airplane Co.
The city of Middleton bought Morey Field in 1998 and is now crafting a master plan to determine options for its future.
Michelle Louis has lived in the Enchanted Valley neighborhood in the town of Middleton for two decades. For most of that time, she considered the Middleton Municipal Airport a good neighbor.
“When we first moved in, we really enjoyed seeing the small planes fly over. It was just a little community airport and we hardly noticed it was even there,” says Louis, who lives about two miles down the road. “Now, planes are flying over every day, all the time. It can be so loud, you have to pause a conversation with somebody sitting right next to you until the noise stops.”
Louis is one of several residents in the Middleton area who have observed an increase in air traffic at the Middleton airport the past few years. That’s why she’s alarmed by the prospect of even more planes — including larger private jets — flying over her house.
“We’re at a real tipping point right now in terms of airport traffic. This affects the entire area’s quality of life. Planes are already coming in late at night and waking us up early in the morning,” says Louis. “That’s why it’s frustrating that it feels like something is being hidden from us and the expansion of the airport is just inevitable. It’s very strange.”
Louis is talking about the city of Middleton’s efforts this year to develop a master plan for the city-owned, but privately operated, airport located between Quisling Park and Highway 12. The city formed an advisory committee this spring — the Airport Master Plan Advisory Committee (AMPAC) — to guide the process and is spending $250,000 in TIF revenue to have consultants Mead & Hunt draw up a 20-year plan for the airport.
The process so far has made for a turbulent summer in the “Good Neighbor” city, with a bitter debate brewing about noise pollution, safety and the environmental impact of more planes.
In developing the master plan, the consultants are charged with looking at existing facilities, identifying improvements and anticipating future use. What’s outraged some residents is that the master plan will also look at options to expand the airport, such as extending the current 4,000-foot runway to 5,000 feet, paving a shorter crosswind grass runaway and increasing the number of private hangars.
There’s also been controversy over representatives of businesses operating at the airport being appointed to the master plan advisory committee — because they could financially benefit from an expansion. Middleton Mayor Gurdip Brar says he expects members of city committees to recuse themselves if they have financial conflicts of interest, but he wanted AMPAC to include all stakeholders.
Leslie Hayner is an organizer with the Middleton Area Good Neighbors group, which opposes an airport expansion. She’s pored over thousands of public records regarding the airport master plan and is troubled by a lack of transparency.
“There seems to be this predetermined narrative to transition the airport from one primarily used by hobbyists, to one that serves the business community and is a jet hub for the wealthy,” Hayner says. “Some city officials keep saying they don’t want to change the character of the airport yet they are railroading through a master plan that will do exactly that.”
Middleton acquired Morey Field, which had been privately owned by the Morey family for more than 50 years, in 1998. It has primarily served recreational pilots with small propeller planes. The Morey Airplane Company operates the public airport, chartering planes, selling fuel and running a flight school.
In 2016, Capital Flight started a flight school at Middleton Municipal. It also buys and sells used aircraft and rents hangars, and does plane maintenance for customers. It’s one of two Cirrus Training Centers in Wisconsin that can teach new pilots how to fly state-of-the-art, multi-million-dollar Cirrus Jets.
Matt Hofeldt, who owns Capital Flight with his wife, Jade, says he’s waiting to see what options emerge from the master plan.
“The current runway length is fine for us, otherwise we wouldn’t be in Middleton,” Hofeldt says. “However, a longer runway would increase safety, which is paramount in my business, so I do think it’s absolutely worth looking at. I have clients who want hangars. There is clearly a demand that isn’t being met and it’s been building for some time.”
As of 2017, 94 aircraft are based at Middleton Municipal. Because it’s a public airport, anyone is allowed to fly in to the facility. An amateur in a small prop plane can land and park for the day; so can a private jet bringing in corporate executives visiting Spectrum Brands or Epic Systems — both headquartered nearby. Mead & Hunt writes in a report that many corporate aircraft insurance policies require planes to use runways that are at least 5,000 feet long — meaning more planes would be allowed to land there if the runway were lengthened. A longer runway would also allow larger planes to land and increase use during inclement weather.
Mark Opitz, city planner and zoning administrator, is the staff liaison for the Airport Commission. He says there has been a demand for more private hangars at Middleton Municipal since the city acquired the airport. Currently, the airport is at capacity in terms of hangars. Mead & Hunt reported there were at least 16 inquiries from pilots and businesses about leasing hangar space between October 2017-October 2018.
“For years, we have had requests for more private hangars and for a longer runway,” says Opitz. “In order to even look at that, we need to do a master plan. It’s the same process we’d use for park improvements or anything else to study the needs of a public facility.”
Opitz says some residents are wrongly equating developing a master plan with expanding the airport. He says it’s been a struggle to correct “misinformation spreading on social media.”
“We believe our airport is part of the transportation infrastructure of the Madison metropolitan area. We are interested in making sure the airport continues to have long-term viability without changing the character of both the airport and the area around it,” says Opitz. “The master plan could recommend expanding the runway, adding more hangars, or it may not.”
Opitz adds: “The master plan will hopefully get us the answers we need to make an informed decision.”
Cynthia Richson, the town of Middleton board chair, is on the Airport Commission and the master plan advisory committee.
“Right now, people I represent are already experiencing airplanes flying more often and flying so low it shakes their homes,” says Richson, who lives near the airport. “This summer has been the worst ever in terms of noise. So of course people are upset about even the possibility of bigger, larger, faster business jets coming in.”
The advisory committee Richson sits on isn’t expected to draft a master plan until later this year, at the earliest. She’s concerned the community is being shut out of the process until it’s too late to influence any decision.
In August, Richson tried to halt the process until the community could be surveyed. The Middleton city council rebuffed that idea with a unanimously passed resolution on Aug. 6 that calls for a survey after the master plan is drafted, but before it’s adopted.
“The whole assumption of the master plan is that the airport will be expanded. If that wasn’t the goal, then why are we doing this?” asks Richson. “They want to have one quick public hearing at the very end of the process. Then zippity-do dah, boop, it’s a done deal.”
