WESTFIELD – The City Council voted last night to accept a $25,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation to secure federal recognition for the Westfield Vocational Technical High School aviation program expected to open at Barnes Regional Airport next September.
The Council also approved a free cash appropriation of $127,700 to complete the design and engineering documents needed to advertise rehabilitation work on Hangar #2, where the aviation program will be located.
Westfield Vocational-Technical High School (WVTHS) formed an advisory committee last year to seek funding from the state and local businesses for the formation an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Program for aviation technology, which would allow WVTHS students to join the aviation industry upon graduation in maintenance, manufacturing, air traffic control, airport management, engineering and airport design positions.
The $25,000 DOT grant, which requires a city match of $11,825, will fund hiring a consulting firm to assist the school in securing certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for the Aviation Technology program.
WVTHS director Stefan Czaporowski said recently that the FAA certification will license students graduating from the aviation technology program, enabling them to directly enter the aviation field which is in drastic need of technicians.
“These are great-paying jobs for our kids, in careers that last a lifetime,” he said. “We’re working with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) in order to get our program approved and we’re moving ahead.”
The Council had approved a bond, which will be paid through Community Preservation Act funding over the next three years, at a cost of $166,000 a year, to refurbish the exterior envelope of the hanger building.
The 10,000-square-foot hangar was originally built in 1939 with a brick, wood and steel structure that fell into disrepair in the 1970s when the original facade was covered with aluminum siding.
Airport Manager Brian Barnes has said the rehabilitation plan is to repair the “envelope” of the structure, which has been deemed of historical significance by the city’s Historical Committee, and restore it to its original appearance.
Finance Committee Chairman Brent B. Bean II said the $127,700 free cash appropriation will bring the building restoration design, for both the hangar interior and exterior, to “the bid phase” of the restoration work.
“This program is very important,” Bean said. “Yes, there are funding questions down the road, but we’re all vested in this project.”
The entire project to restore the hanger exterior and launch the aviation program is projected to cost $2.6 million. Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki announced in December the award of a $1,026,061 grant to WVTHS for the aviation and programs.
“When we started the Aviation Maintenance Technology program plan this past January, we knew that we had many obstacles to overcome if we wanted to start in September 2015,” Czaporowski said. “With the assistance of Secretary Bialecki and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we now have the funding to purchase the equipment necessary to open the first high school FAA approved Airframe and Powerplant Certification Program in the state.”
The City has committed the $500,000 in CPA funds, and last night the $127,700 for the engineering and design work being performed by Reinhardt Associates, Inc., of Agawam.
The advisory committee has also secured private funding from Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation of $200,000 over four years and is currently working with other potential corporate donors to complete the renovation and providing the instructional equipment for the program.
Ward 2 Councilor Ralph Figy said that the School Committee approved the program earlier this week and the advisory board is seeking additional “state grants and private donations to finance the balance of what is needed.
“They’re trying to do this as much as possible without city money,” Figy said.
