PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Survey plans for the avigation easements for removing trees and growth at the Municipal Airport can be finalized, the Airport Commission was told on Tuesday. 

 

The commission was given an update on the avigation easement acquisition project by Jacklyn Marks, a consultant from Gale Associates, who said the survey plans have been "updated to reflect the accurate runway and coordinates." 

 

City Solicitor Stephen Pagnotta has reviewed the offer letter, purchase-and-sale agreements, easement deeds, and the survey plans and greenlit the project. 

 

"So everything has been reviewed and drafted. Dan [Shearer, airport manager] was given a copy of those draft documents, so those should be in his possession," Marks said, who added that the value agreement that the appraiser and the review appraiser came up with would be discussed in the executive session held later in the meeting.

 

"So basically, now that the easement values have been determined, formal offers from the commission can be made to property owners and again, during the executive session,” she said. 

 

Gale Associates is requesting to extend the deadline from April 11 to May 16 from the Federal Aviation Administration with the purpose of being able to do the actual tree removal in fiscal 2023. Gale Associates, however, is getting the bidding documents completed in time for the grant proposal April 11 deadline.  

 

"We're still shooting as if we're basically operating under the assumption that April 11 is the deadline. So at this time, we haven't received confirmation from the FAA, but just trying to be proactive," Marks said. "And if we can buy the commission a little bit more time by extending that grant application deadline, we would certainly welcome a little bit of extra time just to give us a buffer there."

 

A preliminary scoping meeting for the design and bidding of the tree clearing happened last week when representatives from the airport, FAA and Massachusetts Department of Transportation met to discuss the scope of the project with the presumption that a 2022 grant application can move forward for the design, permitting and bidding of the project. 

 

"If the project moves forward, it will be a fiscal year 2022 project for the design permitting and bidding with the tree clearing itself to occur during the winter of 2022 to 2023 timeframe," Marks said. "Then a grant application for the actual removal of trees. So the construction portion of the contract will be submitted in fiscal year 2023."

 

The commission approved a motion to allow the manager to engage Montgomery Consulting Associates for the purpose of obtaining an invitation for bid. 

 

This project will be brought before City Council because it is going to require the city to front the money for the actual tree removal. 

 

In other business, the commission:

 

• Approved a request for consent of the ground lease for Westwood Center. The expiration of the lease date will stay the same as the original negotiation on June 27, 1989, and is set to expire on June 27, 2029. The airport received $3,134 in airport revenue from Westwood. This amount is 15 percent of the total for all the different lots combined for what it collected last fiscal year. 

 

• Received a verbal approval for the acceptance of a MassDOT Aeronautics ASMP Grant for a Ventrac mower flail attachment but has not received the contract award yet. MassDOT has already purchased the majority of the machine and attachments. 

 

• Approved the MassDOT Aeronautics' Airport Safety and Maintenance Program Grant for an airport operations truck to replace the Ford EDIS (electronic distributorless ignition system) truck that was taken off the road last fall and will be replaced with a Dodge RAM1500 that should be delivered within the next few weeks. 

 

"We're also looking towards making it a little more versatile. The last year was a little too small to build the certain functions," Shearer said.