MILLINOCKET – About 100 acres at Millinocket Regional Airport will be cleared this summer to improve safety as part of larger plans to expand the airport eventually by lengthening its two runways, town officials said Tuesday.
SAS Construction of Millinocket will get $209,341.50 to raze trees and other obstructions at the ends and alongside the runways, Airport Manager and town Public Works Director Dennis Cox said.
Of the project’s total cost, the town will pay only about 5 percent, Cox said. About 90 percent will be federal funding, and the other 5 percent will come from the state.
“The idea is to eliminate the obstructions so that airplanes that are taking off, landing or turning off can do so,” Cox said Tuesday. “It’s just about safety, primarily.”
With Town Councilor Matthew Polstein abstaining because of a potential conflict of interest, the Town Council voted 6-0-1 on Thursday to award the razing contract to SAS.
Council Chairman Wallace Paul said it was important that the council try to improve the town-owned and -operated airport, which he called an important asset to the region’s economy and infrastructure.
“When you have infrastructure [such as the airport] in place, it’s a crime to let go of it,” Paul said during the meeting. “It’s not a paying concern same as Portland [International Jetport] is.
“Having an airport in Portland is a business; having an airport in Millinocket is an opportunity,” he added, saying that an improved airport would improve Millinocket’s importance as a business and tourism hub within Maine and lead to the creation of more business in town and in the Katahdin region.
With its nearest major competitors, airports in Bangor and Presque Isle, at least an hour away on Interstate 95, the airport’s revitalization has been called a cornerstone to the area’s economic revitalization, especially since the airport has a main runway that is 4,713 feet long, lighted and, as with its secondary 4,000-foot-long runway, can handle most light twin-jet and turbo-propeller aircraft.
If the runway is expanded to 5,500 feet, most light jets and turbo-props could land on the main runway in bad weather. It can be expanded to 6,500 feet, which would accommodate all but large four-engine commercial jets.
Since 2005 – and not counting the latest investment – the council has sunk about $165,000 in town and federal money into the airport to buy two hangars and other improvements crucial to the airport’s growth. Grant reimbursement covered all but about $4,500 of the work.
The town is planning to expand the airport runways at least 300 feet, Cox said, but not for several years. Town Manager Eugene Conlogue has said that the town’s total airport expansion plan would cost $1.2 million.
The town has no plans to allocate $1.2 million immediately, Cox said. Rather, town officials hope to do the work gradually and rely on state and federal aid or funds to avoid burdening taxpayers or increasing town tax rates.
SAS was among seven bidders. It offered the lowest bid. The next lowest bid, from N.F. Luce, was $231,540. The highest bid came from Quality Contracting at $366,360.
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