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November 1, 2000
Piscataquis County Commission Dear Chairman; We write to you in an effort to begin discussion regarding our airport in Greenville. As you know, our airport is known as the “Greenville Municipal Airport”. We are strongly considering changing our airport status from a “municipal” facility to a “regional” facility. There are many reasons why we want to make this change. The Town of Greenville is a service-center community, the hub for governmental and commercial services for all of the Moosehead Lake Region. Many who make use of our airport own camps or homes in unorganized territories outside of our municipal borders. Many who fly in for the day do so to visit parts of the Moosehead Lake Region beyond the borders of Greenville. Yet the Town of Greenville is currently the only entity contributing local tax dollars to the maintenance and improvement of the airport. A more pressing concern for the Town and all involved with the airport is the relatively poor condition of this facility. Due to limited funds available in order to keep our property tax mil rate nearly tolerable and still provide other essential services, the airport has been underfunded for many years. As our Airport Master Plan Update shows, this lack of adequate funding has resulted in limited maintenance and repair of the facility. This lack of maintenance has brought us to the need for capital improvement projects somewhat sooner than we might have otherwise. In order to create and fund an adequate maintenance program for the airport, additional funds need to be appropriated. The Town of Greenville cannot accomplish this alone. We are in the process of developing a realistic annual maintenance program for the upkeep of the airport, and also prioritizing the capital improvement projects outlined in our updated master plan. Once a budget is created to fund this maintenance program and a reserve fund for capital projects, we will be able to determine what amount of funding we are requesting. We are also requesting assistance from Piscataquis County for this new approach to our current airport facility. Moving from a “municipal” airport to a “regional” airport makes sense for all of us. With more partners behind our airport, it will grow and improve as a regional facility. A well-maintained airport will bring more visitors to our region, and may spur economic growth through increased tourism and also business growth. We hope you will consider our request to work together for the improvement of our airport. Town Manager John Simko will be in touch with you in the near future with figures regarding our proposed budget, and our specific request for your financial partnership. Sincerely;
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