Greenville voters OK airport services exchange

GREENVILLE – About 15 residents on Wednesday gave selectmen the authority to negotiate with a local businessman to help move forward the construction of an airport arrivals building.

Randy Comber of Moosehead Cedar Log Homes has offered to donate the building materials for a 20-by-24-foot building in exchange for a hangar lot that is under development.

He also has asked that any surcharge and the 15-year-lease fee charged by the town be waived.

The airport advisory committee has been working hard on preparations for the airport arrivals building that will offer pilots and their passengers a place where they can take shelter and use toilet facilities, obtain local weather updates and access a telephone.

Much of the site work and utilities for the project have been donated by local businesses and committee members. The last big piece is the building itself.

If the town were to purchase the building materials, it would cost about $20,000, whereas the hangar lot and the associated fees would amount to about $17,500, according to Town Manager John Simko.

Selectman Bruce Hanson will represent the board in negotiations with Comber. The resulting arrangement is expected to be acted upon by selectmen in August.

Residents attending the special town meeting also voted to accept the future arrivals building as town property and voted to accept two planning grants, if awarded.

One of the grants being sought would provide funds to study the possibilities for ecotourism between Greenville and Brownville. For instance, there has been interest in a dog sled run between the two communities, according to Simko. Brownville is the lead community for this grant.

The second grant would fund a feasibility study for a wood products cooperative related to the business incubator that will be constructed in the community.

Simko said that under a cooperative, woodlot owners in the region could dedicate stumpage, and the incubator could be assured of a wood supply.