Dear Airport Commission members,
The Pioneer Valley Military and Transportation Museum (dba the Westfield Aviation Museum, P.O.Box 1332, Westfield, MA, 01086) currently holds a lease at 20 Airport Road, Barnes Airport of approximately eight acres for the next eighty years. This is a valid lease, signed by the airport commission and the mayor of the city of Westfield. This lease has also been validated by the acceptance by the city of Westfield of our paid lease fee at 20 Airport Road for the last seventeen years. The museum has spent a great deal of time and money clearing the property of trees and leveling it for museum use.
In 2010, we erected our first building with no objection from the city of Westfield. In 2014-2015, we raised enough money to purchase a 72’x100′ building from Morton Building of Westfield, MA. Even though we had a valid building permit, we were stopped from constructing the building, with the city siting questionable bonding issues, even though Morton Buildings who was erecting the building was and is fully bonded in Massachusetts. Then we were told that we needed to go through an expensive site review process which we are currently working on.
Recently, the city has questioned our lease because we are told that our lease does not meet FAA guidelines. We have corresponded with a Ms. Amy Corbett, regional director of the FAA who has informed us that the FAA has no legal standing on a lease between the city and the museum. FAA guidelines regularly make exceptions in these guidelines for museums.
We have been threatened with eviction from our leased property by the city several times. We would welcome our day in court if that should happen.
We believe we can meet the FAA guidelines, especially since we are a non-profit aviation museum. Westfield Aviation, LLC of 61 Loomis Ridge, Westfield, MA 01085, currently holds a 29 year lease on Hangar #3 signed in 2010 with a ten year lease extension available. Westfield Aviation LLC will continue to pay its lease fee to the city as well as taxes, even though those taxes are paid on city owned property (on a municipally owned airport).
The Westfield Aviation Museum is proposing to give up its lease on approximately eight acres of which many consider “prime” airport property in exchange for approximately four and one-half acres which is considered “back” property surrounding Hangar #3. This property has not been used for many years and certainly has little value to the city in our opinion. However, in an effort to resolve the lease question on 20 Airport Road, the museum would consider using this property for museum purposes. This property is directly across from the new vocational school at Hangar #2, recently renovated by the city at considerable cost. Since the museum’s purpose is to educate the public about our aviation past supplemented with flying exhibits, this should be an excellent educational match.
The museum would continue to pay a lease fee of $100 a year as well as 10% of the museum’s revenue once we are open to the public. We would construct our 72’x100′ Morton Building within one year of our lease approval by the city of Westfield. We would consider a twenty-five year lease with a ten year extension once our first building is erected by Morton Buildings. We would ask for another ten year extension once our second 72’x100′ Morton Building is erected within six years. We will ask the city to wave any site review process for the museum on this property since there is a large detention basin already existing behind what would be our first building to the south of Hangar #3.
We believe we will meet any FAA guidelines since we are a non-profit aviation museum. The property outlines are proposed on a map known as S-1 drawn by R. Levesque Associates.
An appropriate amount of property will be assigned to Hangar#3 which will include access, parking and continued tarmac use in front of Hangar#3.
The museum has made several proposals to the city in good faith, but we have received no response. This proposal by the Westfield Aviation Museum would make available to the city eight acres of property valued at twenty-nine cents a square foot. We feel the Westfield Aviation Museum would be an asset to the city and would increase revenue to local businesses and help increase tourism to the city and the airport.
We await a response to our proposal from the city.
Sincerely,
Paul Dion, Treasurer,
Westfield Aviation Museum
