Pilots utilizing Norwood Airport could soon find themselves footing the bill for the facility’s $19,356 liability insurance policy rather than the town.
During a meeting last night, the Finance Commission voted to formally consult town counsel to determine whether the town can legally charge a landing fee to reimburse itself for airport insurance costs.
Commissioners also raised critical legal questions regarding whether public funds can properly be used to insure the private airport management firm, Boston Metropolitan Airport Inc. (BMA), given that a previous town meeting motion stipulated that insurance funding could only cover municipal property.
The controversy stems from a newly signed five-year operating lease between the town and Boston Metropolitan Airport Inc., marking the first time the town has been contractually required to pay for airport liability insurance. Airport Commission Chairman Edwin Page previously petitioned selectmen to draw the $19,000 expense directly from the town’s insurance fund, a request selectmen approved on the grounds that they had no alternative, subject to replacement funding at a special town meeting in September. However, Finance Commission Chairman Allan Howard strongly criticized the maneuver, asserting that the airport commission bypassed proper budgetary channels by going directly to selectmen instead of the finance commission.
Chairman Howard also raised broader concerns regarding transparency and lease arrangements at the airfield, questioning how an executive agent could lease property to itself and why the town agreed to absorb BMA’s insurance burden simply because the firm claimed financial hardship. Finance commission member William Plasko similarly questioned why landing fees had never previously been implemented to offset management costs. Reached later in the evening, Airport Commission Chairman Edwin Page defended the exploration of landing fees, calling it a wise option and a constructive result of open municipal discussion. Meanwhile, the Finance Commission intends to dispatch a formal letter to selectmen directing the legal inquiry back to town leadership.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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