Chatham officials call joint meeting to clear air on airport
CHATHAM – The town's municipal airport is nearly surrounded by water, and powerful storms can make flying an adventure.
But many of the storms that have buffeted this small airport in recent years are man-made. For nearly a decade, a vocal group of residents and property owners, fearful of the impact that a noisier, busier operation will have on their quality of life and property values, have fought everything from skydiving to instrument assisted landings.
The Board of Selectmen is often on the receiving end of complaints and requests for action, and they would like to use a joint meeting of their board and the airport commission Tuesday night to bring some clarity to the responsibilities of the town, state and federal agencies in managing the airport.
“There’s a lot of people who know a lot about the airport, then there are those who don’t,” said Selectman Peter Cocolis, the board’s liaison to the airport commission. “We have to understand who is responsible for what. I get emails that say I should take a leadership role and get them (the airport commissioners) to do what you want them to do. But that’s getting into (the commission's) responsibilities.”
Town Counselor Patrick Costello will make a presentation focusing on airport governance that will focus on airport commission authority under Massachusetts General Laws, the Board of Selectmen's authority under the town charter, the town manager’s fiscal role in signing grants and other contract agreements, Federal Aviation Administration laws and regulations, and local land use bylaws.
It’s a web of relationships that can be hard to parse. Much of the money for airport upkeep and improvement comes from state and FAA grants. Those frequently have conditions that can affect future decisions.
Town Manager Jill Goldsmith signs the grants and contracts as a representative of the town. Selectmen appoint the seven commission members under the town charter, but may have little other authority over it.
“The Airport Commission is operating under a narrow set of rules. We don’t set policy, we just maintain the airport,” commission Vice-Chairman Peter Donovan said. He compared the FAA role and requirements to federal highway funds that are often conditioned by state or federal design criteria.
First established as a private airport in the 1920s, Chatham Municipal Airport was approved for commercial use by the general public in 1940. The town matched federal and state funding in 1949 to acquire more land, improve runways and create an airport commission.
Issues started a decade ago when the airport introduced skydiving, prompting residents to complain about the noise of the flights and of the skydivers themselves. Also, in 2012, a skydive plane trying to land crashed into a lake in a residential area.
The commission said skydiving is an FAA authorized use that cannot be banned according to conditions attached to federal grants. Citizen litigation seeking to ban skydiving is still pending in court.
An airport master plan that was released for public comment last year also ran into opposition. The plan has been criticized for adding instrument landing capabilities that critics say will allow pilots to fly lower over homes and is part of a plan to expand airport use to larger, noisier aircraft.
“This is not the forum for issues like the master plan,” Airport Commission Chairman Huntley Harrison said. As the commission's new chairman, Harrison wants to expand public outreach to help heal the divide between his board and airport critics.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the meeting is being conducted remotely using the town cable Channel 18, and a dial-in link for those who want to participate.
Contact Doug Fraser at dfraser@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter:@dougfrasercct.
CHATHAM AIRPORT MEETING
What: Joint meeting between Selectmen and Airport Commission
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Remote access only. Watch on Chatham Cable Channel 18 or call-in to 1-508-945-4410
Plug in conference ID: 134 208 476#