Danvers Eyes Greater Voice On Beverly Airport Commission

DANVERS, MA — A Danvers Select Board discussion on whether to maintain its two seats on the Beverly Airport Commission or forgo those seats for a nominal tax contribution of about $6,700 per year ranged from the relative worthlessness of those two votes on a board of nine members to pursuing a demand for up to four seats on the commission and a more meaningful voice on the activities of the airport.

The discussion came amid years-long frustration from Danvers residents over the expansion of airport traffic, increased noise and the use of leaded gasoline in the planes flying overhead, and the limited recourse the town has in affecting change at the airport or collecting compensation from its activities.

Beverly Airport Director Gabriel Hannafin spoke to the Select Board last month and allowed that when he took the job 18 months ago "people were very angry, and rightfully so" at the lack of response from the airport to resident complaints.

• 'People Were Very Angry': Beverly Airport Director Talks Danvers Noise Complaints

While he said he has worked to remedy that, and that noise complaints had decreased significantly over the past year, Danvers Select Board members on Tuesday sought ways to put pressure on the airport — and the city of Beverly — to have more influence on policies and procedures at what Select Board member David Mills called "this enormous nuisance that plagues our town."

While Select Board members Dee Djoku and Maureen Bernard initially expressed skepticism that the influence of the current two Board members was even worth giving up the $6,700 in tax payments the town decades ago agreed to forgo in order to have the seats, current Airport Commission member William Kossowon argued the town should fight for greater representation instead of giving up that which it already has.

"We are badly outnumbered," Kossowon said. "But we're faced with a situation where we are talking about $6,000. What is that? That's a week's vacation. Versus representation — that's America."

Kossowon advocated pressing for four spots on the Board and making a "super majority" vote necessary to pass all pressing items — essentially ensuring that Danvers representatives would have to be in favor of a matter that passes.

Danvers Land, Use and Community Services Director Aaron Henry, who has been a Danvers representative on the commission for six years, said advocating for Danvers on the Airport Commission is often counter to the commissioner's obligation to act in the best interest of the airport from a fiduciary standpoint.

"It feels like an inherent conflict when I know what the residents want to be done but you are kind of hamstrung by such responsibilities," Henry said. "If it's the desire of the community that the airport is not a land use that we wish to support because we wish it weren't there, it does seem difficult to them put residents on that commission and expect them to unwind it and undo it.

"That's not the nature of the commission."

The Select Board debate ultimately swung toward Kossowon's request to explore increasing the town's influence from within the commission instead of walking away and fighting it from the outside with a request to interim Town Manager Rodney Conley to explore what obligations the city of Beverly has to afford Danvers that representation and what steps the town can take to petition Beverly Mayor Michael Cahill for greater representation on the board.

"I certainly think the impact of Beverly Airport on our residents requires active engagement by the town," Select Board Chair Daniel Bennett said. "To just give up the two seats for $6,000 makes no sense to me at all."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)