NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Stantec engineer Peter Enzien told the Airport Commission that building materials needed for the Northeast hangar renovation should be delivered this week.

 

Enzien said Tuesday that work can begin once the contractor has everything.

 

"They are still waiting on materials to arrive on site before they can remobilize," he said. 

 

The city purchased the dilapidated hangar with hopes of restoring it, but the pandemic has delayed the project with material shortages and rising costs.

 

This anticipated start date is now June 26.

 

Enzien said structural work should take about six weeks. Once the building is watertight, electrical work can begin.

 

This means an anticipated finish date is sometime in late August.

 

"It is a pretty quick turnaround once they can get everything together," he said.

 

In other business, Chairman Marc Morandi said he hoped to create some new subcommittees made up of commissioners, residents and other stakeholders.

 

"I think we need to get these panels in place working on stuff because we are limited with what we can do," he said. "I think a lot can get done in between meetings."

 

These panels would not have to adhere to the Open Meeting Law because they would not contain a quorum of commissioners.

 

He said he first would like to create an events committee that would help bring in different activities at the airport that would draw in the public.

 

"Something to get people here," he said. "Anything that can get people to the airport."

 

He included car shows and movie nights but also noted the airport's 75th anniversary is coming in October. He said this panel could help organize a celebration.

 

Secondly, Morandi said he wanted to establish a panel that would help bring a restaurant into the airport's administrative building.

 

"We have gone nowhere with the couple of RFPs that have gone out there," he said. "We need to figure out what will work there and what can be done to get someone in that space."

 

He said those familiar with the restaurant business would be an asset on this committee and hopefully steer the airport in the right direction.

 

Also in Enzien's report, he noted that the commission needs to begin thinking about updating its Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

 

He said typically they go before the Federal Aviation Administration and state Department of Transportation with an updated CIP in the fall.

 

"Those are typically friendly discussions where they will talk about the projects and available funding," he said. "It is usually a good back and forth."

 

He recommended reprioritizing the current CIP and that the sooner they can send it off to the FAA and MassDOT for review the better. 

 

Enzien said the airport will likely have to wait another year for crack sealing on the runway. He said the city may be able to pay for the sealing upfront and apply for reimbursement if they did not want to wait.