<p>Thirteen months after construction began on a new airport fire station, the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission held a ceremonial ribbon cutting and building tours Thursday.</p>
Thirteen months after construction began on a new airport fire station, the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission held a ceremonial ribbon cutting and building tours for about 40 people Thursday afternoon.
Building replaces structure built by the Navy in 1942. Larger grand opening is planned for December.
Building replaces structure built by the Navy in 1942. Larger grand opening is planned for December.
“We’re really excited to have this thing done,” airport manager Ann Richart told the guests, who gathered on the blacktop of the new building’s still-unstriped parking lot as aircraft engines whined on the nearby tarmac.
Replacing a structure built by the Navy in 1942, the 23,000-square-foot facility is known, cumbersomely but comprehensively, as the Airport Rescue and Firefighting/Snow Removal Equipment (ARFF/SRE) building. Wood-shingled on the exterior, which will weather to match other Martha’s Vineyard Airport buildings, it cost $10.47 million to build and equip.
Most of the project was funded by grants from the Federal Aviation Administration ($8.3 million) and the aeronautics division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation ($461,683). The remainder of the funding came from airport operations and lease income from the port’s business park, Ms. Richart said.
The two-story building has already been profiled in the current issue of Airport Improvement Magazine, which details the FAA’s 2015 ultimatum to the airport commission: Replace the 73-year-old fire station, or lose critical funding.
“This is something that was long overdue on Martha’s Vineyard,” said FAA regional administrator Mary Walsh, who traveled to the Island for Thursday’s ceremony. “I think it’s spectacular.”
Facility will house firefighting and snow removal equipment, among other things.
Facility will house firefighting and snow removal equipment, among other things.
In addition to massive bays for firefighting and snow-removal equipment — including one plow with a 20-foot-wide sweep for clearing runways — the new building has a command center with runway views and a clear sightline of the control tower, and workspace for airport operations employees who formerly had no desks to call their own.
A roomy, fully fixtured eat-in kitchen, bunk rooms with Murphy beds and a locker room will make it easier for workers to put in long hours at the airport during emergencies. Still to come: federally-funded workout equipment for a basement fitness room. “So if we need an emergency response, everybody’s ready,” Ms. Richart said.
The airport commission also has its own place in the new building: a conference room with its own bathroom, sink, coffee machine and a personalized mug for each commissioner.
Thursday’s ribbon cutting was a preview of what Ms. Richart said would likely be a Christmastime open house for the public at the new fire station.
Comments
But still no gas station.
Jim F. And Mike C. EdgartownBut still no gas station.
Thank the former leaseholder
deshandra brown EdgThank the former leaseholder/squatter who bulldozed the station out of spite.
Sorry but your anger is
Bob EdgartownSorry but your anger is toward the wrong person it should go toward the airport commission who have done nothing but cost the tax payer huge sums of wasted money over the years. The gas station mess is just the latest example of miss management.
Nice try. His lease required
EddieB Oak BluffsNice try. His lease required him to bulldoze the site to its original condition after he refused the lowball offer from the new leaseholder. And nothing has happened since.
It's my understanding an
Edward Ames, Jr. EdgartownIt's my understanding an offer was made on the gas station building and tanks, but it was below market and rejected. The former leaseholder was legally required to return the gas station property to its original condition, a level piece of land. What I don't understand is why nothing has happened to the property since.
Please stop celebrating. Put
Chad, Cindy and Mike EdgartownPlease stop celebrating. Put down the scissors. We have trucks and cars driving all over the island in pursuit of fuel- wasting time and resources . The carbon footprint is outrageous. Do what you are elected to do and what the purpose of the Commission was set up for - disgraceful. This is not Hollywood it’s Martha’s Vineyard.
No gas station, what a
Bruce EdgartownNo gas station, what a disgrace! The airport commission are slapping each other’s backs while they ran out the Mobil station.
Now we have all the bussiness and people from airport park driving miles for fuel
Very good, now there should
Maria Vineyard havenVery good, now there should be funding for a new gas station and it should come from the airport as well.
Strange the MVAC celebrates
Arnold Plotkin County of Dukes CountyStrange the MVAC celebrates the development of an ill-funded project that has drained its financial reserves and has begun to squeeze its Airport tenant’s finances to the breaking point. Yay - we are clueless to the realities of our Island economy! Yay - we depleted our 6 million dollar reserves to below zero!
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