How Things are Flying at the Gardner Municipal Airport
The Gardner Airport Commission met in an information-packed meeting on January 3, 2024. Listen to the meeting on any device. CLICK PLAY.
The Gardner Airport Commission heard a Runway Update Report from a representative of Gale Associates Inc. who noted that the Gardner Airport has a non-standard runway for which the FAA may or may not require mitigation. The FAA also doesn’t like a certain fence which has a 5 foot retaining wall beyond it stating, “short of relocating the road, there’s really nothing we can do.” He also stated he wasn’t really worried about it.
There was a discussion about the Update of the Airport Master Plan. The commission approved a request to allow first 4 chapters of Master Plan to be forwarded to the FAA and put Chapter 4 on the website so public can view. There was a concern about an inaccurate aircraft count including a couple of aircraft which are in pieces.
Discussion revolved around the possibility of a restaurant at the airport in the form of a small Pilot’s Lounge. Discussions will be had with the Board of Health. Snow plows are ready to go for a possible Sunday snowstorm.
Discussion concerned possible issues with the septic system “field has been compromised in a big way.” It may have been destroyed by a loader going back and forth. One member accused contractor of possibly taking some loam. Other members suggested more research. The contractor will be contacted for insurance information so issue can be addressed. A Member stated “should be the responsibility of the contractor of whoever they hire to fix the damn thing.”