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Whether it wants it or not, the Pease Development Authority will soon have official ownership of Skyhaven Airport in Rochester.
The 173-acre airfield, home to over 100 private planes, has long been a controversy in the city. At the center of the controversy is ownership of the general aviation airport, which was originally built in the 1930s and acquired by the state in 1968. General aviation airports are facilities that handle private planes, and don't generally offer commercial passenger service.
Right now, Skyhaven is overseen by the State Aeronautics Commission, a division of the Department of Transportation. It is operated on a day-to-day basis by Ossipee Valley Aviation LLC. The facility offers hangar space, flying lessons, fuel, aircraft rentals, maintenance and parts.
Rochester had been given the option of taking over Skyhaven Airport, under a lease arrangement with the state, and given a deadline of May 30 to execute that option. But after three separate city council votes, the takeover was defeated, largely because of citizen concern over the potential cost to taxpayers.
Mayor John Larochelle called the proposed takeover by Rochester a "financial liability for the city." He cited the planned extension of the current runway as a risk to taxpayers, even though the federal government would pay for most of the cost.
"There's a financial risk there that we would have to come up with the difference, and the question is whether the airport would run in the black or not. It's possible that the airport might lose money."
Larochelle was one of the...