Island Pond residents voted on Town Meeting Day to sell the John Boylan state airport in order to allow the opening of a log yard and wood-pellet manufacturing plant. The nonbinding vote passed 326-74.
Fran Azur of Newport plans to repurpose the defunct Ethan Allen furniture plant as a wood-pellet factory, a move which will create about 34 plant jobs plus dozens of additional logging and trucking jobs. Before the vote, Azur had stated that if he was unable to purchase the nearby airport property to use as a log yard for the new plant, he would abandon the plan and instead move the project to a site in New Hampshire.
The airport, which is one of three operated by the state, makes roughly $3,300 annually and costs the state around $6,100 to run. If the airport is sold, the state will require that the helipad at the site remain functional so that it can be used by border patrol, emergency, and military aircraft.The Douglas administration has said that it is willing to sell the property, but the measure is expected to hit opposition by some lawmakers.
(Source: The Burlington Free Press)
Island Pond votes to close state airport in favor of new jobs
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