BEFORE THE UNITED ST ATES OF AMERICA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSP ORTATION FEDERAL AVIATION ADM INISTRATION

MCDONOUGH PROPERTIES , LLC M & R HOLDINGS, LLC TRI
- D, LLC, AND COL. FRANK BARNETT

Complainants

v . Docket No. 16

- 12

- 11
CITY OF WETUMPKA

Respo ndent

ANSWER OF THE CITY OF WETUMPKA TO COMPLAINANTS ’ MOTION REQUESTING EX TENSION OF TIME TO FILE APPEAL

COMES NOW , the Respondent , the City of Wetumpka (“City ) , pursuant to 14 C.F.R. § 16.19 (c) , and answers the motion of McDonough Properties, L.L.C (“McDonough”) , M&R Holdings, L.L.C . (“M&R”) , Tri

- D, L.L.C. (“Tri

- D”) , and Colonel Frank Barnett (“Barnett ”) (collectively, “Complainants”) requesting an extension of time to file their appeal of the October 10, 2013 Director’s Determination in the above

- capti oned matter. While Complainants’ correctly
state that the City has agreed to a 30

- day extension of time, the City requests that any such
extension be limited to no more than 30 days

. In support of this motion, the City states as follows:
1. On August 28, 2012 , the Complainants filed a Complaint against the City alleging
a number of violations of F ederal law , G rant A ssurances , and agency policy

.2

2. On October 10, 2013, Randall S. Fiertz, Director, Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Airport Complianc e and Management Analysis, issued a Determination finding that with respect to all of Complainants’ allegations, the City is not in violation of Federal law or its Federal grant obligations.
3. Pursuant to 14 C.F.R. § 16.33(b), Complainants may file an appea l of the Director’s Determination within 30 days after service. Complainants’ original deadline is Saturday, November 9, 2013.
4. On Wednesday, November 6, 2013 , Raymond Veatch, counsel for the Complainant s , contacted Pablo Nü esch, counsel for the City, to d iscuss a 60

- day request to file an appeal to the Director’s Determination

. On Thursday, November 7, 2013, Mr. Nüesch responded to Complainants’ counsel stating t hat the City will agree to a 30

- day extension of
time.
5. While the City has agreed to a 30

- day e xtension as a matter of professional courtesy, the City opposes any extension of the deadline past Monday, December 9, 2013. 1 The FAA grants extensions of time in Part 16 cases only “where necessary or appropriate for a fair and complete hearing of matter s before the agency.” 14 C.F.R. § 16.11(a). Here, it is not necessary to grant an extension longer than 30 days. The parties have submitted an already voluminous record before the agency. And , although the City has long

- desired to resolve the use
of th e property currently held by Complainants , the City’s ability to do so has been hampered by the uncertainty in the outcome of the proceeding in this docket . A continued delay in finalizing
the issues raised in this docket will harm the City

.

1 Complainants state the 30

- day extension results in a Thursday, December 12, 2013 deadline date

. Complainants’ Mo tion at 2

. Although , pursuant to 14 C.F.R. § 16.17 , the period for timely fil ing an appeal to the October 10 Director’s Determination run s until Tuesday, November 12, 2013 the actual deadline date is Saturday, November 9, 2013

.3

6. None of the C omplainants hold a valid lease for property at the Wetumpka Municipal Airport (“Airport ”).
7. Due t o Complainants’ holdover status, t he City has not sought to collect rent
from McDonough, Tri

- D, and Barnett for the period commencing on Jan uary 1, 2012 or fro m M&R for the period commencing on June 16, 2012. 2 U nder Alabama law , rent collection would extinguish the City’s right to bring an action for unlawful possession. See Housing Auth. v.
Durr , 735 So. 2d 469 (Ala. Civ. App. 1998).
8. Tri

- D owes four years o f outstanding rent ( 2010

- 2013 ) . Moreover, on June 18, 2013 a tax deed was issued to a third party transferring , to that party , ownership of all improvements on the property held by Tri

- D

. 9. Barnett has paid no rent on his lease since he assumed the previou s owner’s lease
in 2010.
10. The City has been contacted by commercial aeronautical operators who wish to lease space at the Airport. All property that would meet the needs of these requests, besides the parcels occupied by the Complainants, is validly leased to other Airport tenants.
11. The City needs a prompt resolution of the matters in this docket so it can
determine the best course for operating the Airport in the public interest

.

C ONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the City agrees to a 30

- day extension of time for Complainants’ to file an appeal, but opposes any extension past Monday, December 9, 2013.

2 M&R was the only Compla inant who held a valid lease on January 1, 2012, but its lease expired on June 15, 2012.4 Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Anjali G. Patel

____________ Pablo O. Nüesch Anjali G. Patel Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP 1333 New Hampshire Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202

- 879

- 4000 Fax: 202

- 393

- 2866 Attorneys for the City of Wetumpka

November 8, 2013Certificate of Service

I hereby certify that I have today, th is 8 th day of November , 2013 , caused the foregoing
Answer of the City of Wetumpka to C omplainants ’ Motion Requesting E xtension of Time to F ile
A ppeal to be served by U.S. mail with advance copy via email , on the following: Raymond Veatch, Esq. Attorney at Law P.O. Box 109 Cambridge, MD 21613
E

- mail: manager@internationalacs.com Wade Ramsey, Esq. Ramsey & Associates, L.L.C. P. O. Box 382012 Birmingham, AL 35238
E

- mail: waderamsey@aol.com Attorney s for Complainant s

/s/ Anjali G. Pate l

___________ Anjali G. Patel