The city of Tulelake’s involvement with the Tulelake
Airport is nearing a close.
Earlier this month, the Tulelake City Council held the
first reading of an ordinance authorizing the sale of
the land underlying the airport to the Modoc Tribe of
Oklahoma. The airport itself is owned by Modoc County.
The council is expected to finalize the sale at its July
31 meeting.
A
vote to adopt the ordinance is scheduled following a
public hearing at the upcoming meeting. Attorney Michael
Colantuono of Grass Valley, Calif., who has represented
the city in negotiations over the past several months,
said the hearing is intended to allow public comment.
Under terms of the contract, the Modoc Tribe, which is
based in Miami, Okla., will buy the land under the
airport for $17,500. Contract terms stipulate the
airport will continue to be used as a public airport.
The airport is on property that was part of the World
War II Tule Lake Detention-Segregation Center, the
largest of 10 “internment” camps where about 18,000
Japanese Americans were incarcerated from 1942 to 1946.
Colantuono, who has worked as a government lawyer for 30
years, said the airport has little value to the city
because the airport facilities are owned by Modoc County
and leased to Macy’s Flying Service. He said the sale
price will largely cover legal fees. He terms the
Tulelake Airport is “an economic development
opportunity,” comparing it to the need to have roads and
highways for travel and commerce.
Following the war, the property was conveyed to the city
of Tulelake in 1951 with the stipulation it be used as a
public airport. The transfer also said the property
would revert to the U.S. if it is not used as a public
airport.
According to the ordinance, which must be approved by
four of Tulelake’s council members, the sale “achieves
the City’s purpose of continued operation of the airport
as a public airport.” If the second reading of the
ordinance is approved at the council’s July 31, the
transfer will take place within 30 days.
During the July 3 meeting, four people spoke in favor of
the sale during the public hearing while none spoke
against the sale.
Colantuono said he and Blake Follis, attorney general
for the Modoc Tribe, will attend the July 31 hearing.
Follis has not returned calls or email requests for
information on the tribe’s plans for the airport.
Follis previously said the tribe, which consists of 300
members who are relatives of Modoc Indians sent to
Oklahoma following the 1872-73 Modoc War, wants to
re-establish Tulelake Basin ties.
Last year, the tribe purchased 800 acres of former
Fleener sheep ranch north of the Lava Beds National
Monument and, according to documents, has contacted the
U.S. Department of Energy about a possible geothermal
development.
The Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma is separate from the Klamath
Tribes, which includes Klamath, Yahooskin and Modoc
Indians.
The airport has become controversial in recent years
following proposals by Modoc County to erect a 3-mile
long, 8-foot high fence around the airport. In two legal
challenges, the Tule Lake Committee, which includes
Japanese Americans who were incarcerated at Tule Lake
and their families, fought the construction of the
fence, claiming it “would desecrate the site and had
been working toward a settlement to protect and preserve
the site and ensure access for future generations.”
Along with Modoc County, the city of Tulelake and Macy’s
Flying Service are named in the suits. Asked if the sale
of the land underlying the airport will end the city’s
involvement in the suit, Colantuono said, “That’s the
goal.”
The airport’s primary user is Macy’s Flying Service, a
business that since 1956 has serviced farmers in far
Northern California and Southern Oregon with
agricultural chemicals and fertilizers applied by ground
and air. The business employs up to 40 people, most who
live in the Tulelake Basin, during its peak season.
Owner Nick Macy said efforts to build a fence, which is
wanted to keep animals, primarily deer, off the runway,
began in 2004.
“We’re hoping it’s going to be a good thing, not just
for us but for the entire community,” Macy said of the
pending sale and hopes new ownership will lead to new
jobs He also believes the Modoc Tribe wants to
re-establish itself in the region.
“Regardless of whether they purchase the airport or not,
they want to be part of the community.”
