Since Dean Memorial Airport Manager Dennis Cunningham tested a new beacon light for a week in September there have been complaints from Haverhill residents who were disturbed by the light. The rotating green and white light, that would shine from sunset to sunrise allowing pilots to locate the airport, is a safety improvement recommended by the FAA and has been deferred by the airport for a decade, said Cunningham, who posed with the light being stored in an old hangar in North Haverhill, N.H., Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. "I wouldn't want that light coming through my bedroom," he said, adding that the airport commission is exploring where to locate the light, and the possible use of baffles and a shield to minimize the impact on neighbors. "The airport wants to be a good neighbor," said Cunningham. "We're part of the community." (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com.
Since Dean Memorial Airport Manager Dennis Cunningham tested a new beacon light for a week in September there have been complaints from Haverhill residents who were disturbed by the light. The rotating green and white light, that would shine from sunset to sunrise allowing pilots to locate the airport, is a safety improvement recommended by the FAA and has been deferred by the airport for a decade, said Cunningham, who posed with the light being stored in an old hangar in North Haverhill, N.H., Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019. "I wouldn't want that light coming through my bedroom," he said, adding that the airport commission is exploring where to locate the light, and the possible use of baffles and a shield to minimize the impact on neighbors. "The airport wants to be a good neighbor," said Cunningham. "We're part of the community." (Valley News - James M. Patterson) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Credit: Valley News — James M. Patterson

North Haverhill — Dozens of Haverhill-area residents have raised concerns about light pollution from a proposed beacon at Dean Memorial Airport following test periods ordered by the Selectboard, with some saying it is “invasive.”

The vast majority of public responses to the latest test run of a two-light, rotating beacon at Dean Memorial Airport have been unfavorable, according to Haverhill Beacon Light Committee Chairwoman Susie Tann, who lives on nearby County Road.

Tann said that “95 percent” of public feedback has been negative following the test run, which took place from Jan. 5-11 at the town-owned airport.

“People are concerned about light pollution … and the impact on wildlife such as nocturnal birds,” said Tann, who added that the committee — charged by the Haverhill Selectboard to determine public sentiment and make recommendations about the Hali-Brite L-801A that the Haverhill Airport Commission acquired last year — has received 43 responses over two test sessions. The first one occurred last fall.

“Lights are flashing onto people’s properties, and they’re concerned about property values, but they’re also concerned about preserving the night sky in this area, saying it’s an environmental asset to Haverhill. To them, it’s one of those, ‘You don’t know what you have until it’s gone,’ kind of things, and they can’t imagine having the beacon going 365 days a year,” Tann said in a phone interview on Tuesday.

Sandy Mann, who lives on 150 acres on Benton Road, is one such concerned citizen. She said she worried that the voices of those opposed will not be recognized properly by the Selectboard.

“For a lot of people who live here, one of the reasons they moved here is because they love the darkness of the valley,” Mann said. “When that beacon is on, our property is bathed in light. It looks like a carnival. It’s horrific. It shines all night long, and when you close your eyes, you still see it. It’s very invasive.”

Dean Memorial Airport Manager Dennis Cunningham said the beacon — acquired by the Airport Commission last year for $4,200 — would be an important safety measure to help guide small planes to the facility’s 2,500-foot runway. Its lone illuminating feature currently is a series of pilot-controlled runway lights.

Cunningham said a beacon installation has been requested by officials from the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems, or NPIAS, a Federal Aviation Administration program that oversees more than 3,300 U.S. airports and allocates funding from the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program.

If the beacon is installed, the self-funded Haverhill Airport Commission would be eligible to be reimbursed for much of its cost as well as funding to assist numerous necessary projects, according to Cunningham. The light would operate from sunset to sunrise each day, he said.

Cunningham voiced hope that the airport can renovate or replace a 72-year-old hangar building as well as an unheated farmhouse he says is no longer used.

“That building should be condemned and either be demolished or destroyed in a controlled burn,” Cunningham said. “What we’d like to have is one building with three sections, one being a hangar, one being a crew lodge with a bathroom — right now we just have a port-a-potty that gets iced over — and one being for snow removal equipment and other storage,” he said.

Tann, the Beacon Light Committee chairwoman, said her group is considering recommending steps that could help lessen the perceived negative impacts of the beacon, including baffling to help channel illumination and various options pertaining to its location and angle position.

The committee also has discussed the possibility of implementing pilot-controlled lighting for the beacon, a system already used to activate the airport’s runway lights after dark.

Cunningham said aviation officials have informed him that pilot-controlled lighting for the beacon, which means it only would be turned on when planes are seeking to land in North Haverhill, is permissible in New Hampshire.

“The only problem is, the town foots the bill,” Cunningham said. “I’m not sure what it costs, but I’m not sure it’s something (Haverhill voters) would go for.”

Diane Kirkwood, who lives on nearby Route 10, said a beacon would be unnecessary at Dean, which does not keep traffic data but likely serves three or four light aviation planes per day on fair weather days and more during foliage season, according to Cunningham.

“I can’t imagine we’ll be seeing any 747s landing there, so why do we need to light up the night sky?” Kirkwood said. “Also, who’s going to pay for the electricity for something like that.”

Haverhill Selectboard Chairman Wayne Fortier said electricity costs likely would come out of the Airport Commission’s budget, which is funded through on-site fuel sales and hangar storage.

Additional beacon test runs are expected during the spring and summer to fulfill a Selectboard request for tests during all seasons.

Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.