Airport wildlife fence nearly done

The Norwood Airport Commission (NAC) convened on Wednesday, May 27 for a regular business meeting that lasted about 10 minutes. The agenda was light – despite the fact that the NAC had last met on March 3 – and it focused on two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant-funded Airport Improvement Program (AIP) projects that are at either end of completion.

Project Manager Mark Goodrich of DuBois & King – the Airport’s engineering firm – presented brief updates on both of them.

He first spoke of the wildlife fence project, over the course of which approximately 15,000 feet of the perimeter boundary has been replaced. Conservation land borders much of the Airport, and the encroachment of wildlife – particularly deer and turkeys – onto its runways and taxiways poses a serious and ongoing safety concern for pilots and aircraft.

Not to mention the wildlife.

Consequently, the replacement of the existing fence – which had fallen into disrepair over the years – was cleared.

The project got underway last December, with a budget just shy of $2.2 million – 95 percent of which is being paid for by the FAA. It was anticipated to wrap up earlier in the spring, but the severe snowstorms that hit during this past winter played a role in moving that date back.

“At this time, really, all we’re waiting for is some parts for some obstruction lights,” Goodrich said of the project’s completion status. “It’s just an issue with Flight Light, the supplier, trying to get the parts to us,” he explained. “So a supply chain issue, but nearly done.”

Obstruction lighting is used to make flight obstacles (towers, buildings, fences, etc.) visible to pilots.

The final inspection with the FAA should be scheduled within the next few weeks.

Conversely, the other project – the extension of Runway 17/35 with 300-foot-long paved safety areas at either end of it – is in its initial stages, and Goodrich noted that a request for proposals had taken the low bid. “It’s under the estimated project cost, so we’ve applied for a grant and – as I understand it – that’s in the Town’s possession now and under review by legal counsel.”

While there are safety/overrun areas at both ends of Runway 17/35, the fact that they are unpaved and on land with an elevated water table makes any aircraft forced to use them – and the emergency and extraction vehicles sent out to tend to them – susceptible to becoming stuck.

The paved safety areas will not lengthen the runway’s takeoff / landing area.

The Runway 17/35 safety area project is slated for 2027 completion.

Related to these two projects, the Commission voted on four pieces of new business: Regarding the wildlife fence, it approved three FAA payment requests totaling $868,535.82, of which 95 percent is covered by the FAA and 5 percent ($43,426.79) is covered by the Town. Regarding the Runway 17/35 project, it also approved the Chair signing off on the agreement for the professional engineering services of DuBois & King, pending the Town’s legal review.

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In the other piece of new business, the renewal of the commercial permits for 13 Airport businesses were approved for fiscal year 2027, which begins on July 1.

In correspondence, the April 29 letter from the Board of Selectmen memorializing its April 28 reappointment of Chairman Michael Sheehan to the NAC was entered into the record.

Sheehan’s new three-year term will expire on May 1, 2029.

In his report, Airport Manager Mark Raymond made a point of highlighting Wings & Wheels. The annual event – during which attendees can access the Airport’s aeronautical section to view aircraft, emergency, and utility vehicles – was held on Saturday, May 16. It was hosted by the Recreation Department, with assistance from Airport management and FlightLevel Aviation.

“It went very well,” Raymond said. “We want to thank Police, Fire, DPW, and the Light Department for bringing vehicles over, as well as FlightLevel Aviation. They did a few things for us – helped out with the setup and taking everything down after. So, it was a good event.”

The NAC meets – monthly or as Airport business demands it – at 4 p.m. on selected Wednesdays in the Mark C. Welch Administration Building (111 Access Rd.). For upcoming meeting dates, check the Town website (www.norwoodma.gov) or call Town Hall (781-762-1240).