By Kerri Pepoy,Staff Writer

PARIS – Oxford County commissioners plan to attend the March 16 regular meeting of the Oxford Board of Selectmen to discuss options for ownership of Oxford County Regional Airport, an issue that has been receiving a growing amount of attention.

At Tuesday’s monthly commissioners’ meeting, Oxford Town Manager Michael Chammings invited the three commissioners to attend the meeting and be placed on the agenda. “The selectmen pretty much want to be on the same page as the commissioners,” he said. “We hate to see (the airport) sit there and not flourish.”

Oxford County is only one of two counties in Maine that owns an airport. The county’s cost to maintain it is $25,000 this year.

In addition, of the three airports in Oxford County, only the airport in Oxford is owned by the county. Fryeburg and Bethel airports are owned by the towns, and commissioners have indicated in recent months they would like the same structure in Oxford.

Chammings said Tuesday that the selectmen were perhaps “reluctant” about the town owning the airport, but they want to discuss all options next month with the commissioners.

Commissioner Steven Merrill of Norway indicated that town ownership was his preference.

“I think (the discussions in March) should move toward how can you participate in the ownership or the management of the airport,” he told Chammings.

During a brief meeting recess, Commissioner Jeffrey Fagan of Paris made similar comments. “Personally, to me, it makes more sense that the airport be municipality-owned,” he said.

At last month’s commission meeting, Chammings said the airport’s runway could be expanded 1,000 feet so the airport could accept larger planes and remain functional. He estimated it would cost $1.5 million to lengthen the runway and said the Federal Aviation Administration would pay 95 percent of the cost, with the county picking up 2.5 percent.

However, last month airport consultant Phil Simpson said that the FAA did not support a previous runway expansion proposal because the airport was too close to the Auburn airport, which has a long runway that can accept bigger planes.

Simpson also said the cost of expansion would be more than $1.5 million, partly because the airport is surrounded by wetlands that would need specialized studies and work.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Floyd Thayer said Tuesday that more information is needed on the issue before any decision can be reached, hence the upcoming discussions with the commissioners.

“I don’t have a hard feeling on it yet,” he said. “We don’t even know what the expenses are to run it, what the county has tied up in it … we don’t know any of that. Before we would even entertain the idea (of ownership), we have got to find out where we are.”