Flight 93 Memorial News

Deals Reached to Sell Land for Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset
By Richard Robbins, Tribune-Review, Saturday, June 13, 2009 
            
Chris Williams had her doubts, but a last-minute deal to sell the land she and 
her  husband own in Somerset  County avoided the  necessity of the 
government seizing it for the Flight 93 National Memorial.
            
Chris  and Dale Williams and four other landowners had until Friday to strike 
a deal with the National Park Service for approximately 160 acres in the area 
where  Flight 93 crashed after being hijacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. 
The  government vowed to take the land through eminent domain if the 
deadline was not met.
            
The  Ruffsdale couple's six-acre property includes a log cabin, which the family  
used for weekend retreats.
            
"We got not quite 70 percent of what we wanted," said Chris Williams.
            
She said negotiations on Wednesday went better than expected.
            
 "I  couldn't believe it," Williams said. "I went in apprehensive. We're pleased."
            
The government also reached an agreement with Tim Lambert of Aliquippa, 
who also owns six acres near the crash site.
            
Lambert,  a radio newsman in Harrisburg,  said he reached "an unofficial 
agreement" with the government  Thursday.
            
Lambert  owns 163 of the 2,200 acres the national memorial park 
eventually will  encompass. He said the remaining 157 acres he owns will 
be purchased by the  Families of Flight 93.
            
Lambert  said the deal on the six acres he owns closest to the crash site 
was never in doubt because he always intended to donate the land. He will 
donate the proceeds from the sale to the family group for the memorial, 
he said.
            
Lambert  said the Park Service offer on the six acres was "very generous." 
He  added he probably "left money on the table" with the other acreage, but 
that was fine. 
            
Lambert  said he's glad the matter has finally been thrashed out.
            
A  statement released yesterday by the Families of Flight 93 said "there 
has been good dialogue and a commitment on all sides to making this work." 
            
It  said the families are "optimistic about reaching our goal" of opening the 
memorial by Sept. 11, 2011.
            
Both Lambert and Williams said this was the first time they had discussed 
their land  with the Park Service. In October, the government began talking 
about the possibility of seizing the property using eminent domain. The Park 
Service would acquirethe property after getting an independent 
determination of its fair market value.
            
Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar met with landowners on June 5. Afterward, 
his office issued a statement setting a one-week deadline for the 
negotiations to be  completed. Salazar did not mention the deadline when he 
met with them, several of the landowners said.
            
Williams said yesterday that the Salazar visit probably pushed matters along. 
            
The  government wants to open the $58 million Flight 93 National Memorial 
on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Officials have said construction 
must be under way by November in order for that deadline to be met.
            
The 40 passengers and crew members of Flight 93 who died in the crash 
near Shanksville in Stonycreek Township have been credited with thwarting 
an attack on either the White House or Capitol in Washington.  The terrorists 
also struck the Pentagon in Arlington,  Va., and the World Trade Center in 
New YorkCity.
            
Information  about the other landowners was not immediately available. The 
Department of  Interior said it expected to issue a statement on the status 
of negotiations later yesterday.