Phillipsburg residents press commissioners over airport night flights and who paid for improvements

Dozens of residents urged Granite County commissioners to take a cautious approach to proposals that would allow nighttime landings at the county airfield, saying the public has not received clear information about who funded recent planning work and what safety standards would apply.

At public comment, Jack Foster said he found little public input in the airport planning materials and argued the near-unanimous opposition by commenters to nighttime operations was indicative of local sentiment. "There hasn't been any public input on that report whatsoever until, as we all know, recently," Foster said. Speakers raised life-safety scenarios and whether limited night flights would benefit residents or primarily serve private interests.

The meeting turned to an unresolved question of grant provenance. Jen Belters, who submitted alternative options on behalf of airport meeting participants, said county communications have been inconsistent. "Donovan is saying we have only received funding from the Montana Department of Transportation so far," she said, adding that some project work had previously included FAA funds or FAA pass-through grants for preliminary engineering. Commissioners and residents said the difference matters because FAA funding can trigger different lighting and beacon requirements.

Elena Gagliano asked the board to treat the site as an "airfield" rather than a regulated airport and to provide the public more time and documents: "There is a difference between an airport and an airfield, which Riddick Field is, and the requirements are different," she said.

County staff and an airport board representative said there is no final decision yet on night operations. Commissioners directed staff to get clearer documentation about which grants were awarded and to ask airport managers and ambulance leadership to return with details on medevac procedures and run-level billing. Several residents and commissioners emphasized that even if night capability were limited to pilot-controlled lighting for emergencies, the public needed assurances on beacon requirements and who would activate lights.

The board did not vote on policy changes at the meeting; commissioners said they will revisit the issue after staff compiles grant records, FAA/MDT correspondence, and technical details about lighting, beacon requirements and medevac protocols.