Updates given on Airport safety projects

The Norwood Airport Commission (NAC) met on Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 28 for the first time since October, and it was a similarly brief session featuring only one piece of new business: the authorization of the payment of two bills regarding the replacement of ~15,000 feet of the security/wildlife fence that encloses and protects the Airport’s aeronautical area.

The encroachment of the wildlife that populates the conservation area bordering much of the Airport is an ongoing and significant safety issue, and there have been instances of damage to aircraft – and risk to pilots and passengers – that have been caused by deer and turkeys getting past the existing fence and onto aprons, taxiways, and runways.

Consequently, the fence replacement was slated as a federal Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant project. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is covering 95 percent ($2,075,840) of the total cost, and the Town is responsible for the remaining 5 percent.

The project got underway in mid-December, and is being handled by Premier Fence, which is based in Canton. It is scheduled for completion in the spring, and – as Airport Manager Mark Raymond stated during his update – is on schedule, despite the storm that had hit earlier in the week temporarily limiting activity to the clearing and removal of snow from the work areas.

“They’re doing a real good job,” he said. “I’ve been out there and looked at it a few times, and I’m pretty happy with the progress with that. So, hopefully, they’ll complete that on schedule.”

Raymond also gave a brief update on another upcoming AIP safety project: the paving of the 300-foot overrun areas at either end of Runway 17/35 (which runs parallel to Access Road). He let the Commission know that Airport engineering consultant DuBois & King had submitted project design plans to the FAA and is awaiting its comments. The project is slated for 2027.

Those 17/35 safety areas are already in place, but they are unpaved and – due to the softness of the ground, airplanes – and the emergency vehicles and equipment typically deployed to assist them – are at greater risk of getting stuck if they go off the end of the runway. While these accidents will still happen, the paving of those areas should make them easier to deal with.

Of note is the fact that this project will not lengthen the landing area for Runway 17/35.

Raymond also gave the Airport’s aggregate revenue for October, November, and December as $94,969.49. “Nice piece of change that went into the Town funds,” Chairman Michael Sheehan commented. “For all those that say we don’t make any money, that’s a lot of money.”

There was no executive session, although it was listed – as it usually is – on the agenda regarding federal and state court litigation pertaining to Boston Executive Helicopters (BEH).

There has, however, been some scheduling activity in the Norfolk Superior Court lawsuit brought by FlightLevel Norwood (FLN) against BEH. It was filed in August of 2019 in response to a settlement agreement that was the result of a federal case brought by BEH against the Town.

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As part of that settlement, BEH was granted a fixed base operator (FBO) permit that allowed it to provide multiple Airport services including, among other things, the sale of aircraft fuel. The only other FBO at the Airport is FLN, and the two businesses have a long and bitter history that has involved multiple linked lawsuits dating back to late 2014 – all of which are still open.

As part of BEH’s 2019 settlement with the Town, the new FBO was also granted the opportunity to lease out apron space – a necessity for it to function effectively. Pre-existing easements on those leases that favored FLN became a major point of dispute during the settlement negotiations and – once that settlement agreement was reached – they became the basis of FLN’s lawsuit.

Since then, this case has been making its way through court (the Town was dismissed from it as a defendant in late 2020), and the trial is now scheduled to begin on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026.

The NAC typically meets on a mid/late-month Wednesday afternoon in the Welch Administration Building (125 Access Rd.). To check for upcoming meetings, visit the Town website (www.norwoodma.gov) or call Town Hall (781-762-1240).