Norwood Airport Commission approves payments for runway work and wildlife fence; starts RFP process for Verizon lot

The Norwood Airport Commission on Sept. 17 approved payment requests tied to FAA Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants for runway work and a wildlife fence, authorized the start of an appraisal and RFP process for the Verizon-leased lot, and approved minutes from its May 21, 2025 meeting.

Airport Manager (name not specified) told commissioners that the airport currently has two active projects: a wildlife fence and the design of a Runway 17/35 safety-area extension. "We have 2 projects. 1 is the fence project, and the other is the design of the Runway 17/35 safety area," the Airport Manager said. He said the fence contract has been awarded to Premier Fence and the town has received the grant; preconstruction is expected in about two to three weeks and construction is anticipated to begin in late October or early November, subject to weather. The manager said the fence work will take roughly five months to complete, with finish expected in late winter or early spring.

Commissioners approved three separate AIP-related payment requests. Payment request No. 8 covered final costs tied to reconstruction of Runway 10/28 under AIP number 3-25-0037-048-2023; the town’s share was $8,414.10. Payment request No. 7 covered design work for the Runway 17/35 project under AIP number 3-25-0037-049-2024 for $14,230.40. Payment request No. 1 covered the construction phase for the wildlife fence under AIP number 3-25-0037-051-2025; the contract amount discussed was $2,075,840 and the town’s 5% share was reported as $188,007.07. Commissioners voted to approve each payment request during the meeting.

On the Runway 17/35 design, the Airport Manager said the latest plans and specifications have been submitted to FAA Technical Operations for review; staff are awaiting comments before making further design modifications. He also said the conservation commission permit and its order of conditions had been modified earlier in the process to move some fence sections for obstruction reasons and that no additional changes to the order of conditions were outstanding.

The commission also authorized the airport manager, the commission chairman, the town manager and town legal counsel to begin the process of obtaining an appraisal and preparing RFP(s) for the property commonly referred to in the meeting as the "Verizon lot," which has been leased for about 20 years. Commissioners said the lease ends in roughly a year and a half and that the process will consider both lease and sale options; legal language will clarify restrictions (the commission discussed keeping the lot as a vacant parcel and including nonbuildable language if sold). The commission said any RFPs and the appraisal will come back to the commission for review and a vote.

Commissioners also approved the minutes of the May 21, 2025 regular meeting and briefly acknowledged a Dream Flights event hosted by local volunteers and an organization referenced in the packet.

Commissioners who spoke during votes were identified in the meeting record as John (no last name provided), Patrick Maloney and Matt McDonald; the meeting record also includes frequent prompts by the chair (name not specified). Direct quotations in this report are attributed only to speakers identified in the meeting record. No formal public comments or contested motions were recorded during the session.