Derby Mayor Dion Avello is asking new Sedgwick County commissioner Jim Skelton to reconsider a decision made before he joined the board about closing a portion of 71st Street South.
The county closed the road at the request of the owners of Cook Airfield, who plan to expand the runway at the airport and develop the area with homes that have hangars for planes.
The vote to close a part of the road was controversial and not unanimous. Chairman Karl Peterjohn and former commissioners Kelly Parks and Gwen Welshimer voted to close it. Commissioners Tim Norton and Dave Unruh voted against the closure.
Derby sued the county after the decision.
“As you know,” Avello wrote to Skelton, “the city of Derby opposed the closure of this county section line road for the benefit of one small business and to the detriment of Derby’s future growth potential.”
He said the lawsuit could be put to rest — “at substantial savings in attorneys’ fees to both city and county taxpayers” — if the board were to reverse its decision.
Skelton mentioned the letter at a meeting with county staff Tuesday. County attorney Richard Euson suggested talking about the matter during an executive session at Wednesday’s commission meeting.