North Haverhill
The Hali-Brite L-801A beacon, acquired by the self-funded Haverhill Airport Commission earlier this year, drew a mixture of praise and criticism from residents following a two-week test run this fall. Sweeping back and forth across the night sky at angles of 2 to 10 degrees, the green and white lights — colors signifying that it’s a non-commercial, civilian airport — were obtrusive in some residents’ opinions, especially on overcast nights when the lights reflected brightly off of moisture particles in clouds. During the test run, the lights ran from sunrise to sunset and could be seen across the Connecticut River, in parts of Newbury and Bradford, Vt., as well as in Haverhill.
But some residents supported the lights, seeing them as emblematic of a much-needed safety feature that will help pilots navigate the area at night and help the Haverhill Airport Commission remain eligible for federal grant money.
An ad hoc committee of Haverhill residents, including one pilot and a Selectboard member, has been formed to gauge public sentiment toward the lights and weigh the potential civic impact of their use.
Lacaillade, whose last day is Nov. 21, said she heard from both supporters and detractors after the beacon was activated for two weeks at the small-craft facility alongside Route 116, also known as Benton Road.
“I heard from a lot of people who live in North Haverhill, who are most directly affected. A lot of them either didn’t like it or didn’t know what to make of it,” Lacaillade said. “I live in North Haverhill, and I don’t know how I feel about it, either. Others voiced support of it, so we could be leaning toward a ballot in March.”
That might not be this coming March, according to Haverhill Selectboard Chairman Wayne Fortier. He said he’d like to see more time than that for the public to weigh in after seeing the lights operate during all seasons.
“Public input is vital, and the mission of the Airport Beacon Committee is to take a comprehensive look at the impact it has on citizens, negative and positive,” Fortier said. “I’m not sure that can be accomplished between now and March because it should be tested in all kinds of weather and conditions, when the leaves are on the trees and when they’re off.”
Dean Memorial Airport manager Dennis Cunningham said the installation of a beacon is an overdue safety measure at the facility, which contains a 2,500-foot runway roughly perpendicular to Route 116. Three or four light aviation planes per day land there on clear-weather days, he said, and it can be higher during popular tourism times such as foliage season.
“I’ve lived here for 30 years and I’ve always thought of it as a safety issue, to have an active runway so close to the road with only runway lighting,” said Cunningham, a former 43-year commercial pilot. “Even with GPS technology, pilots don’t see the runway until they’re fairly close.”
Dean Memorial Airport is enrolled in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, or NPIAS, a program from the Federal Aviation Administration that identifies and monitors the roles of more than 3,300 U.S. airports and allocates funding from the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program.
According to Cunningham, NPIAS officials have stated plainly that Dean must take the safety measure of installing a beacon to remain eligible for additional improvement funding.
“It’s at the top of their priority list for us,” Cunningham said. “They’re not going to give us much of anything else until they see us do something about this.”
If approved by the town, the Haverhill Airport Commission will be eligible to be reimbursed for much of the beacon’s $4,200 price tag as well as project assistance toward a permanent concrete slab and pole to support it and the engineering to install it.
Once the beacon is in place, the commission hopes to apply for NPIAS assistance to renovate or replace a 71-year-old hangar building that currently is being used to store non-aircraft machinery, to install a card reader for pilots to fuel their own vessels, and to repave a runway that Cunningham said was last resurfaced in 1968.
“We could really use a brand new building because the one we have was built in 1947. The roof sags, the floor sags and there’s no heat,” Cunningham said. “We could receive up to 95 percent assistance for a new building, and up to 100 percent for a new runway if we get approved.”
Fortier, the Selectboard chairman, indicated that residents may have been caught off guard by the unforeseen presence of the beacon lights during the recent two-week test run and said he hopes the public is more sufficiently alerted the next time they’re to be reactivated.
“People need to know where and when to look for it,” he said. “That’s how they’re going to get a feel for the impact they have.”
The Haverhill Airport Commission is meeting at 6:30 tonight at the Morrill town office building at 2975 Dartmouth College Highway (Route 10) in North Haverhill. The meeting is open to the public.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.