Issue Story

There is a question to whether Biddeford City Airport should close to decrease taxes or keep it open for flyers’ needs.
Biddeford City Airport is small with 47 planes and 126-acre property, which is worth $1.6 million. The cost to run the airport has increased since 2006 from $47,000 to $60,000, including maintenance, utilities, and improvements.
“Once we started looking at the airport, we came to the conclusion that there is not financial benefit at its existing size and capacity,” said Paul Archambault, Chairman of Get Rid of our Little Airport. “It continues to be a tax burden.”
A few years ago the issue was about the airport cutting down trees for safety reasons and enforcing no-trespassing rules on the popular space when the airport was at risk of losing Federal Aviation Administration.
But with fewer trees, residents have complained about less protection from and noise from planes.
“The FAA is just doing their job,” said Phyllis Landry, a pilot. “People need to understand that.”
Landry, has been working at the airport for 25 years and has seen a lot of changes, but he does not think they airport should close. For pilots and flyers, closing the airport would be an inconvenience because they would have to go to Sanford or Portland.
“Maybe it’s expensive to run the airport, but it’s a great resource,” said Landry. “I know business people who fly in here all the time.”
However, for most residents it is about the tax paying more so the trees.
“The money is the biggest thing,” said Roland Pelletier, a local resident. “If it was self-supporting, fine, let it go on.”
If the airport were to close, it would cost about $3 million, which will be taken out of the general operating funds, according to John Bubier, city manager.
“The City Council really hasn’t come down on one side of the issue or the other,” said Bubier. “I think they’d prefer to have the voters settle this one.”