The Dukes County Commission at its Wednesday meeting received an update on a $5 million wastewater treatment facility upgrade at the airport, and interviewed new and incumbent candidates for the airport commission.
Currently, the airport is working with Woodard & Curran, an environmental consulting firm, to move through the application process for the State Revolving Fund (the funding outlet for the project), and firm up the construction timeline.
Scott Medeiros, vice president and senior client manager for Woodard & Curran, said the capacity for the wastewater treatment plant that serves the entire airport property is at 37,000 gallons per day, although the plant only reaches around 20,000 gallons of flow during its peak period.
The project, which is slated to be publicly bid in 2022, will revamp the plant’s components, which are nearing the end of their useful life.
The requirements for the permit currently held by the facility are being met, Medeiros said, but major upgrades and improvements will be needed soon, as individual components begin to fail.
The current flow capacity is 37,000 gallons per day, and the maximum capacity allowed under the existing permit is 61,000.
Medeiros said the last upgrade to the plant was done in 1992.
If a component fails at the wastewater treatment plant, Medeiros said it would shut down the entire airport property until it’s repaired or replaced.
He noted necessary ventilation improvements, pump station improvements located at the Airport Business Park, and supervisory control and data acquisition upgrades, which will allow the plant to more accurately record information like flow levels, and diagnose problems more efficiently.
Medeiros said because flow isn’t expected to change with the facility upgrades, he isn’t aware of any necessary public process.
Airport director Geoff Freeman said the airport will still be operating within the existing permit, but if flow capacity is changed in the future (which this project allows for), there will be a public hearing process where abutters and other stakeholders can weigh in.
In other airport business, airport commission chair Bob Rosenbaum said the airport is showing an operating surplus of around $1.7 million, and another round of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds are expected to be available soon.
Freeman said he has had informal conversations with all three of the major air carriers, and although their schedules are still in draft form, the fight itinerary looks promising this year. American Airlines will tentatively have the same flight schedule as last year, starting in early June. JetBlue may be starting at the end of April, and Delta is tentatively going to be flying once a day every day — a slight upgrade from their flying three days a week in prior years.
Additionally, the airport is working with the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative to install a solar canopy on some of the airport buildings, and in the parking lot.
He added that Eversource is offering a grant program for electric-vehicle charging stations, which the airport plans to take advantage of.
Freeman excitedly explained that he and other airport administrators are steering the airport into a green-energy era so Martha’s Vineyard can be a model for airports of similar size and scale.
“Electric aviation is out there,” he said. “Hopefully, MV Airport will be one of four airports in the U.S. to service the first commercial electric aircraft in 2024.”
According to Freeman, Cape Air is a potential launch customer for the newly released Eviation electric plane. “We are moving toward a carbon-neutral campus by 2040,” he said.
County interviews airport commission candidates
Dukes County commissioners interviewed two new candidates for the airport commission and two incumbent commissioners, each with a different background and expertise.
Airport commissioners serve three-year terms, and are appointed by the county commissioners, who serve as the regulatory and fiduciary authority for the airport.
Joe Jims, an Islander of 27 years, works part-time for a plumbing company, and is close to obtaining his private pilot’s certification. He said with an “ever-growing knowledge of aeronautical procedures and regulations,” he would be a valuable asset to the commission.
“I feel that as a longtime Vineyarder, I understand the life of a civilian and also an aspiring pilot,” Jims said.
He added that he has been self-employed for 15 years, which has provided him knowledge of “how business can and should be conducted.”
One of his goals if he is appointed is to bring an aviation discipline to the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. “It might be nice to offer a path in aviation from high school to being a professional pilot. They have a boating and navigation discipline, so why can’t they have an aviation discipline?” he said.
Another new candidate, Ben Hall, served as an airport commissioner for more than 10 years, on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for 10 years, and on the Edgartown planning board for five years.
Hall said his insurance and finance education, along with his decades of experience as a practicing attorney focusing on land use litigation and landlord-tenant law, would benefit the airport commission in many ways.
“There are many different areas of the law that apply to the airport. I am very concerned about maintaining good relationships with tenants and operating the business park with a great deal of efficiency, transparency, and also fairness,” Hall said. He noted that his family has been commercial landlords for decades, which would also prove beneficial if he were appointed.
Incumbent Richard Knabel said he wants to continue serving on the airport commission because he played such a major role in establishing a stable financial situation for the airport.
“I want to make sure that stability continues,” Knabel said, pointing out that the transition of accounting and reporting from the county to the airport is still underway.
With so many nondiscretionary projects coming up, Knabel said, his experience with wastewater treatment plants and runway projects would be valuable.
And for a new commissioner, Knabel said, getting up to speed can take a year or longer. “It doesn’t happen right away,” he said.
Rosenbaum, the commission’s current chair, is also up for reappointment.
Rosenbaum said that over the six years he has served on the commission, he has helped the airport “transition from an institution on the brink of failure to a very safe and successful one.”
He added that the airport is financially healthy, as a result of his efforts and the teamwork of commissioners and staff.
Rosenbaum’s focus as a commissioner, he said, has always been to meet and exceed safety standards, be responsive to the Island community and tenants of the Airport Business Park, and maintain a cooperative relationship with the regulatory agencies that oversee the airport. “I will make the claim that it has been one of the best operating commissions in the past 15 years,” Rosenbaum said.
Additional interviews will take place during the next county commission meeting on Feb. 17.
Let’s fix the treatment facility to the largest flow possible. We need to expand the business district and allow a better variety of businesses out there. It is the only way to slow down traffic in the down island towns.