HAYDEN - Kootenai County and the city of Hayden are hashing out a written agreement to serve as a guide for future land acquisitions relating to the Coeur d'Alene Airport.

The Hayden City Council Tuesday night discussed a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) written by the county. The city's staff made some major draft revisions, which were revealed at the meeting.

Councilman Dick Panabaker said relations between the two sides have been more than strained in the past, and it's past time to turn over a new leaf.

"There was a lot of bad feelings, a lot of backstabbing going on," he said. "It would be phony to say it broke my heart, but it really upset me."

Some anger, he said, was a result of a county plan to extend a runway through an area needed for a future Huetter Road bypass on the west side of the airport. The airport is owned and operated by the county.

"It got personal between a lot of people," Panabaker said. He would know. He was Hayden's mayor for seven years, starting in 1988, and then served as a Kootenai County commissioner from 1994 to 2004.

Along with concerns about the Huetter bypass, the city would like to extend Ramsey Road. That would require acquisition of future right-of-way on the county's property that is within the airport boundaries.

Connie Krueger, the city's community and economic development director, said the county would like to purchase land for expanded runways and protection zones on the west side of the airport.

"There's a lot of language within here about working mutually and willingly together to try to resolve these issues," Krueger said.

City Attorney John Cafferty said the MOU wouldn't be a binding legal document.

"This can't be used by either party for or against the other," Cafferty said. "In the agreement, either party can walk away any time they want without repercussions."

Mayor Ron McIntire said the airport is a great resource for Hayden and the rest of the county.

"We don't want to do anything that changes the direction they want to go as long as we can get along with them doing it," McIntire said. "We need to make sure that where we're stepping doesn't interfere with these jets coming and going."

The city shared its draft revisions with the county Tuesday night.

"We're waiting for feedback as well from the county to make sure that where we're going is the right direction," said City Administrator Stefan Chatwin.

He said it's in the best interest of both sides to get the MOU finished and signed.