There was spirited debate at the Gardner City Council Aug. 21 as councilmembers grappled with what to do about the deteriorating buildings at the Gardner Municipal Airport.
The councilmembers heard presentations from Michael Kramer, public works director, who pleaded with the council to give staff time to complete evaluations and develop options before deciding what to do with the airport.
Kramer outlined what the staff has already done and the next steps needed before a decision can be made.
He said the city had conducted inspections to the buildings at the airport, developed cost estimates, conducted a survey of city residents about the airport and developed an Airport Layout Plan. He said there was still more work to do before the council decides what to do about the airport building.
“Don’t pick the first option. Avoid emotional decisions. Let’s gather as much input as possible, so we have the information we need for the next steps,” he said.
Kramer was however interrupted by Mayor Steve Shute and councilmembers Rich Melton and Lee Moore who said they wanted to hear from representatives of Apex Environmental Services about an inspection the company conducted at the airport.
“We don’t want to hear this as presented by the staff but by Apex,” said Shute.
Melton said the councilmembers have been waiting for 16 months to hear from the corporation, and Kramer should yield the floor for a company representative to explain details about the report.
But Kramer resisted the move saying that councilmembers have in the past wanted to know what the staff have been doing about the airport.
“One of the comments during the last meeting was that nothing has been done, so we wanted to let you know what has been done,” he said.
(Read more: Gardner News)