Public hearings on airport bond, seaplane base scheduled for Monday

LACONIA — Councilors will hold public hearings on a request from the Laconia Airport Authority to issue a bond to fund an expansion and improvement project there and another from Epic Seaplane Adventures to beach a plane at the Weirs at their regular meeting on Monday.

Airport officials previously asked the city to issue a bond to cover the $3.5 million cost of a project to develop and lease land located along an abandoned runway in order to accommodate more air traffic and build hangars there. 

Councilors learned at the end of June the airport anticipates receiving grant funding from a federal appropriation through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Earmarks within that legislation directed funding to airports nationwide, including the Laconia airport in Gilford.

Pursuant to the charter, the Laconia Airport Authority is not able to borrow monies but will need $3.5 million to cover the cost of building an access road and developing commercial lots for lease. Commercial entities would construct hangars to house aircraft there and Airport Manager Marv Everson told councilors that nine of those lots are already set to be leased.

The airport would collect lease fees associated with each parcel but would not own the hangars, and and the associated property taxes would be collected by the Town of Gilford. 

Everson and city Finance Director Glenn Smith developed a plan to issue a bond to cover the costs in anticipation of receiving that grant funding. The abandoned runway cannot be reopened and demand for increased hangar space is high in Laconia and throughout the country, Everson told councilors at a previous meeting. 

The plan stipulates issuing a 20-year bond for $3.5 million that the airport authority would make installment payments on after receiving the grant monies and collecting revenue from the land leases. The city would ultimately bear no cost for the project.  

Direct grants will cover roughly $2.3 million of the $3.5 million project and Everson said the airport anticipates receiving them around 2027 and 2028. The airport will receive those grants in installments of about $1.3 million and then $300,000. The $1.2 million difference between the cost of the project and the amount anticipated in grant funding would be paid for by the airport on behalf of the city. 

And council will hold another public hearing regarding a request made by charter company Epic Seaplane Adventures to beach a plane at the Weirs, preventing possible damages done to equipment during rough seas or high winds. 

The proposal would allow Epic Seaplane Adventures, which operates tours around Lake Winnipesaukee, to beach a plane outside the swimming section ropes. The Department of Transportation Bureau of Aeronautics already approved and certified the Weirs Beach Seaplane Base in March through 2034.

Tours would be operated from the end of the Winnipesaukee Pier owned by East Coast Flightcraft. East Coast Flightcraft is named on the NHDOT approval certificate as the operator of the seaplane base. 

In other business, city council will:

• Hold a public hearing regarding a request to designate Prescott and Paugus avenues as emergency lanes

• Review a city recommendation to stop providing public works services to Janes Avenue

• Accept an $11,000 award from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program to fund the purchase of ballistic helmets

• Hear a request from Social Club Creamery to allow outdoor seating

• Review a refuse and household waste collection ordinance

City council will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, July 8, at City Hall.