Negotiations to obtain aircraft navigation easements for the municipal airport got the go ahead from Wiscasset Selectmen Tuesday night, Oct. 20. A consulting firm hired by the town will carry out the talks in hopes of solving any differences that may arise with three property owners.

Following a marathon discussion (90-minutes) the board voted 3-1, with Chairman Ben Rines Jr. dissenting, to allow Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. to enter into talks with Chewonki Campground and two other property owners. The action is part of an “Avigation Easement Acquisition Project,” a part of  the town’s Airport Master Plan.

The focus of the discussion was the impact on the campground operated for many years by the Brackett family. At issue was the removal or topping of trees at the western end of the runway on campground property. The FAA says the trees are obstructing the view of approaching aircraft. Another concern was the loss and financial impact to Chewonki Campground from relocating up to 18 campsites for the creation of a recommended “runway protection zone.”

Janice Bland, senior aviation planner from Stantec, told selectmen the FAA regards, “tree obstruction as a high priority safety deficiency.” The federal agency is insisting the problem needs addressing as a condition for future airport funding. Furthermore, she added, failure to do so would also jeopardize other federal grants unrelated to the airport. She said the FAA could also ask the town to repay the agency for previous grant monies accepted by the town for a far back as 20 years.

The campground’s treeline has been a recurring issue. Years ago warning lights were placed on poles to alert approaching aircraft of the trees. Since then the trees have grown taller and are now higher then the warning lights.

Ervin Deck, a former manager of the Wiscasset Airport who now works for Stantec, told selectmen the issue wouldn’t go away. “You have a responsibility to see if we can’t come to some kind of agreement.”

Ken Boudin, chairman of the airport committee, warned the selectmen against procrastinating on the issue. Boudin feared, sooner or later there would be an accident involving an aircraft coming in to land. “All we’re asking is to start the process of negotiating with the property owners,” he said.

Pam Brackett, who owns the campground with her sister Anne, asked if other alternatives couldn’t be considered. “It would impact our livelihood and heritage,” she said, adding she and her family were apprehensive about entering into the negotiation process. Brackett added a few years back the campground had given up several campsites to accommodate the airport’s needs.

The Bracketts asked whether the town, Stantec or the airport committee would be willing to consider other options including re-configuring the runway, lengthening it, or moving the approach to eastern side of the airport.

Deck reminded the board Stantec was working under a deadline and there were only so many options they could look into. Bland noted because federal monies were involved, all three property owners in the negotiation process would have to be treated in a uniform manner. The other two property owners were not present for the discussion.

Later, Brackett asked for clarification on what was identified as a crash zone. Bland said the “runway protection zone” is an area to be kept free form public assembly explaining this was why Stantec was looking into relocating some of the campsites. The Bracketts were told the FAA would share in the costs for doing this.

Selectmen were clearly torn by how to proceed. “The FAA is going out of their way to be difficult about this,” Rines said. He asked what course of action Stantec would recommend if the property owners weren’t interested in granting the easements. In response he was told it depended on the result of negotiations, the ultimate decision on how to proceed was up to the board of selectmen.

After making some minor changes to project report’s wording the board opted to allow Stantec to go forward with the talks.