NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Airport Commission will go back to the drawing board with a ground vehicle policy that airport users felt was too restrictive.

 

Airport users told the commission Tuesday that the proposed policy would be too restrictive and would make regular operations at the airport noncompliant.

 

"There is not an airport in the country I believe that is this restrictive - not even Logan or JFK," airport user Michael Milazzo said.

 

"You can go to Westfield anyone with a badge to open a gate can drive their vehicles to their hangar, park their vehicles and escort a second vehicle and it is a military base. We are talking about North Adams."

 

The policy would limit the number of ground vehicles allowed on the facility and where they can travel.

 

Mark Candiloro of Turbo-Prop said they need a few vehicles to operate - whether it be delivering tools, checking runway conditions, towing planes or plowing.

 

"It would be impossible to do what we do," he said. "We would be certainly in violation."

 

Midnav owner Brain Doyle said he would have similar concerns. 

 

"I think with those restrictions I would be violating the policy by having snow removed from the front of my hangar or even having my dumpster emptied," he said.

 

Candiloro pointed out more practical concerns and noted recently an elderly woman needed a ride from her plane – this would not be possible with such a restrictive policy. 

 

"The other day we had a charter come in and it was an elderly lady and she needed help getting off of the airplane and they wanted to have cars nearby for her to get off the ramp," he said. "They didn’t want her to walk all of that distance."

 

Milazzo said he wished the commission talked with actual pilots and airport users before drafting the policy.

 

"Whoever wrote this does not know anything about airport operations or how to make safe travel," he said. "I have to be honest here I think there are some things you can do to help safety and security at the airport but you should attempt to do it with a group of people who actually know something about an airport."

 

The commission agreed that it would be beneficial to create a working group to better inform the policy. Many of the airport users at the meeting immediately volunteered.

 

"Thank you," Chairman Jeff Naughton said. "That is why we have opened this up, so we can get feedback…we can hash this out."

 

In other business, Administrative Assistant Michael Canales said now that the city has received Planning Board approval, the administrative building project will go out to bid Aug. 1.

 

The city plans to move the former Northern Berkshire Family Practice building on to the actual airport campus and redesign it as an administrative building.

 

Canales said designed work should be complete at the end of the week and construction could begin in September.