NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The vacant restaurant space in Harriman & West Airport's Administration Building will finally get some equipment. 

Airport Commission Chair Jim Haskins announced on Tuesday that Williams College has offered to donate some surplus kitchen equipment to the proposed restaurant space.

Haskins said the college plans to renovate three of its on-campus dining spaces. When it switches out the old equipment, the city is welcome to it.

"They said when they start taking it apart we can have it …That is sitting there waiting for us," he said. "That will save whoever wants to go in there a lot of money and make it more attractive."

The city has struggled for years to convert the open space into a restaurant. Multiple Requests for Proposals (RFPs) have gone unanswered. Local restaurateurs have told the commission that taking over the space is too big a proposition without any kitchen equipment.

Haskins said the equipment would likely be available in the spring, adding he went over to look at it and it includes everything a restaurant would need.

"That is a big plus," Commissioner Robert Grandchamp said. "We will take it."

Before the announcement, Marya Kozik, director of community development, told the commission that the city had failed to capture a One Stop for Growth grant that would outfit the shell airport restaurant space with the needed kitchen equipment.

"I think it would be prudent for us to go back and re-evaluate that," she said. "It looks like we may be asking for too much."

She added that pop-up restaurants have had success in North Adams and there may be better ways to approach the space.

In other business, the Airport Commission accepted a new, shorter lease for the Mohawk Soaring Club (MSC) and a negotiated $1,200 abatement.

Haskins told the full commission that airport representatives met with the club to discuss the agreement and hammer out a better-fitting lease.

"All parties intentionally avoided getting drawn into past accusations, previous airport incidents, or individual personalities," Haskins read. "Instead, we focused on the lease terms versus MSC's actual use of the rented space, as related to the request for abatement."

He said because of declining membership, there was no need for all five tie-downs included in the original longer-term lease. For the past two years, MSC has used only three tie-downs, and only for seven months each year.

Because the tie-downs in use are grass tie-downs, they do not create any additional costs to the airport, Haskins said. There are plenty more tie-downs available, and the adjustment would only result in reduced revenue.

Originally, MSC requested an $1,800 abatement that would wipe out its unpaid balance from fiscal year 2024. MSC leadership provided documents to the commission claiming "severe financial consequences that were the result of the atmosphere of harassment and interference that took place during the 2023 Soaring Season." The letter stated that this resulted in the loss of seven club members and of revenue from scenic rides.

Haskins did not touch on the alleged harassment, but said, after discussions, a $1,200 abatement was agreed upon.

Kozik added that this is not out of the ordinary.

"In the past, there have been requests for new leases or requests for abatements based on the fact that they would not be utilizing their space for certain months out of the year," she said. "Those have been granted."

Commissioner Dean Bullet, who made the motion to approve the abatement, did not necessarily agree with the plan.

"I am not opposed to it," he said. "As for this reason, I do not agree with it. If you rent a hotel room you are not going to be there 24/7."

Commissioner Andrew Fitch, who abstained from the vote, also felt more needed to be discussed in terms of the abatement. He abstained because he was new to the commission.

"I misunderstood this here, and I thought originally I articulated some discomfort with this. This is why I asked for a meeting to see what kind of deal would be worked out hoping something would come back," he said. "We could work on a deal going forward. I didn't realize the abatement was still on the table."

But the commission was happy with the new lease that seemed a bit more future-proof with the shorter maturity time.

The new one-year lease agreement includes a $1,450 base rent, payable monthly. The charge is $25 per month per tie-down from April through October. There will be a $50 per month hangar space fee from November to March.

In other business:

• Haskins read a determination from the state clearing the commission of an Open Meeting Law complaint originally filed in 2024 alleging that the commission posted a notice with insufficient specificity for a meeting held on Dec. 5, 2024, and deliberated outside of a properly posted meeting.

The complaint, filed by an airport user, alleged that the commission did not provide enough notice for a Dec. 5 meeting in which it planned to rescind a vote from October accepting airport user Michael Milazzo's bid to lease the Northeast Hangar. It was also alleged that there were meetings between commission members and the mayor's office in regard to rescinding the vote that qualified as a quorum. Lastly, the complaint implied the commission did not approve the Oct. 15 minutes quickly enough.

"So that puts that to rest," Haskins said.

• The commission accepted a proposal to install security cameras on the Administrative Building, Shamrock Building and the Northeast Hangar. The total cost is $30,017.48.

Originally, the airport planned a larger-scale security overhaul of the campus, but this was not currently economically feasible.

Kozik said because of vandalism and destruction of property, it was important to get some cameras installed sooner rather than later.

"With such an immediate need, this just fits the bill," she said.

• The commission approved an updated Capital Improvement Plan that will be sent to the mayor's office for consideration in future budgets.

Recently Completed Projects (FY 2025). These projects have a total cost of $422,524 and were fully funded by the state Airport Safety and Maintenance Program:

• Vehicle Gate Operators/Controllers (Gates 1 and 5): Total cost of $22,524.
• Statewide Pavement Maintenance: Total cost of $400,000.

Planned CIP Projects (FY 2026-2032) The total estimated cost for this 5-plus year CIP is $10,031,693.

• TBD (To Be Determined): Airport Security Improvements (cameras): Estimated cost of $410,000, funded by ASMP.

• FY 2026:

♦ Construct 6-Unit T-Hangars (revenue producing): Estimated cost of $1,048,692. This project has significant Federal (AIP) and BIL funding planned.
♦ Replace Roof on City Hangar (includes alternate in hanger bid): Estimated cost of $80,000.
♦ Purchase Zero-Turn Mower: Estimated cost of $15,000.

• FY 2027:

  ♦ Rehabilitate Existing Equipment Storage Building: Estimated cost of $100,000.
  ♦ Relocate & Replace Rotating Beacon and Replace Windsock: Estimated cost of $333,334, with a $300,000 Federal (AIP) contribution.
  ♦ No AIP Project: (Note: The document indicates a rollover of FY27 NPE to FY28).

• FY 2028: Fuel Tank Repairs (pump savers, plumbing, enclosure repairs, paint tanks, etc.): Estimated cost of $80,000.

• FY 2029: New Taxilanes for Hangar Development - Design, Permit and Construction: Estimated cost of $850,000.
• FY 2030:

♦ ALP Update (include airspace analysis): Estimated cost of $166,667.?
?♦ OCS Obstruction Removals (RW 11 Approach): Estimated cost of $250,000.

• FY 2031: Rehabilitate Runway 11-29 (Predicted PCI-56): A major project with an estimated cost of $4,500,000.

• FY 2032: Rehabilitate Taxiway A (Predicted PCI-59), Taxiway A1 (Predicted PCI-55) & Taxiway B (Predicted PCI-50): Estimated cost of $2,200,000. This includes installing Taxiway Edge Lights.

In total, the CIP equals an estimated cost of $10,031,693. This program is heavily reliant on federal support, with an estimated $7,821,358 coming from Federal (AIP) funds and an additional $418,000 allocated from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The remainder of the funding is secured through state and local contributions, including a projected $1,308,667 from MassDOT, and the City of North Adams providing an estimated $483,667 toward the total project costs.

"Not a bad deal for our city," Grandchamp said.

Fitch added that he was excited to see all of the projects — even those that could change in time — on one piece of paper.

Airport revenue can also be used towards these projects.

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