Airport Master Plan 2012 - City of Waterville

Obstruction remediation in the form of lighting, removal, reduction, or avigation easements;
Purchase of airfield equipment, particularly snow removal equipment;
Navigational Aid (NAVAID) improvements; and
Runway Safety Area improvements.
Capital Funding Ramifications
The type of ownership/management structure of an Airport also determines its eligibility for funding
through the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which is governed by FAA Order 5100.38c.
This Order states that funding eligibility is contingent upon the type of sponsor and the type of activity for
which funds are sought.
Eligible sponsor types include:
Planning agencies: Any agency designated by the FAA Administrator that is authorized by laws
of the State or political subdivisions concerned to engage in area-wide planning for the areas in
which the grant assistance is to be used. Examples include Regional Planning Commissions,
Metropolitan Planning Commissions; the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands, and
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Public agencies owning Airports: A state or political subdivision; a tax-supported organization;
or an Indian tribe.
Certain public agencies not owning Airports: See the previous definition of a public agency.
Certain private Airport owners/operators: An individual, partnership, corporation, etc., that
owns a public-use Airport that is used or intended to be used as a reliever Airport or an Airport
that has at least 2,500 passenger boardings each year and receives scheduled passenger aircraft
service.
Since Waterville does not constitute a reliever Airport and does not receive scheduled passenger aircraft
service, it would not continue its eligibility for AIP funding if it were to be privatized. Otherwise capital
funding for the Airport under any other ownership/operating arrangement would not impact its ability to
receive AIP funding.
Recommendations
Waterville has set goals of improving services and ultimately increasing both the number of business
opportunities and users at the Airport. In order to successfully achieve these goals, the management of
the Airport must be addressed. The current structure lacks the hierarchy necessary to make timely and
effective policy-level decisions for the Airport and puts the entire financial burden of operation of the
Airport on the City of Waterville while the surrounding communities benefit economically.
Based upon the comparable Airports analysis, the review of potential ownership/management options, the
legal ramifications of each ownership/management option, and the recently adopted revisions to Maine’s
Title 6, it is recommended that the City should further examine the creation of an Airport Authority in
accordance with Title 6 that incorporates participation from the surrounding communities and potentially
Kennebec County. This participation would include representation on the Authority Board of Directors
as well as a predetermined percentage of financial responsibility when Airport revenues are not sufficient
The City of Waterville Maine
Airport Management Structure Assessment – Page 7-23
Airport Solutions Group, LLC & The Louis Berger Group, Inc. December 2011