Airport in County wins grant for maintenance

FRENCHVILLE — The Northern Aroostook Regional Airport at Frenchville will receive $40,000 from the Maine Department of Transportation 1995 Transportation Bond to purchase maintenance equipment for the facility.

Ron Roy, head of the DOT’s Office of Passenger Transportation, said the equipment will help improve the ability of the airport to maintain runways, taxiways and areas around the facility.

He said the grant was a reflection of the DOT’s recognition of the key role of Pine State Airlines in providing air passenger service to northern Maine and the importance of the Northern Aroostook Regional Airport to Maine’s transportation system.

Roland Martin, president of Pine State Airlines and the fixed base operator at Frenchville, said the facility is looking to buy $50,000 worth of equipment with the grant paying 80 percent of the cost.

Martin said the airport will purchase an enclosed cab tractor, with a loader, 8-foot-wide sweeper, 7-foot grass-cutting attachment, and a nitrogen and sand spreader.

Martin said the airport board of directors will decide what equipment to buy and when to buy it. The committee has received three bids.