OCEAN CITY – Geese love grass. Airplanes don’t have feelings, but if they did, they would not love geese.
One study found that Canada geese – a common sight on Ocean City fields – were the third most hazardous species in terms of collisions with aircraft.
At the Sept. 12 Ocean City Council meeting, Mayor Jay Gillian put that as the primary reason behind a plan to replace the grass near the runway of the city airport.
“The biggest thing is safety. It keeps the birds away. You know, birds and planes don’t mix,” Gillian said.
More than 20,000 aircraft fly into Ocean City’s airport in a given year, mostly small, single-engine private planes. Over the weekend (Sept. 14-15), the airport was the site of the annual air festival, which saw numerous historic planes fly in for the day, along with skydiving demonstrations and other attractions.
Council members unanimously approved a resolution adding close to $620,000 to this year’s budget from a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) funding most of the project. According to city Administrator George Savastano, that will cover 90% of the cost of the artificial turf. The city has applied for matching funds from the state Department of Transportation (DOT).
“Which hopefully will turn this into only a 5% share,” said Savastano
The project is set to begin in December or January, replacing some of the grass alongside the runway with a product called AVTurf, designed to prevent erosion. It will be permeable to rainwater. Officials said it will resemble natural grass.
Savastano indicated there had been several questions about the project, including about the makeup of the material and the potential use of herbicides at the site. There were also questions about whether artificial turf had already been installed, raised because documents referred to the project as phase two.
It has not, Savastano said. Phase one was a study of the proposal. He said the project was designed in 2011. He said the FAA began a test of the material in 2004, and it’s still holding up.
At the meeting, resident Donna Moore had further questions about the plans. She said she was not opposed to the plan, but had concerns that material or chemicals from the artificial turf could wash to the nearby bay or wetlands.
In some instances, artificial turf includes an in-fill material applied among the blades of artificial grass. She wanted to know what kind of material would be used, pointing out that the runway is sometimes submerged during flooding, questioning what would happen to the small pieces of material on the artificial turf.
Officials said they did not believe the product would include any in-fill material.
A similar question arose as the city looked at artificial turf for Cary Field, used for Ocean City High School football and many other activities. Some residents were concerned after reports alleged a link between using crumb rubber as an in-fill material. In the winter of 2016, the city revised its plans, changing the material to cork.
Council also approved another amendment to the budget, accepting $361,000 in FAA and DOT money for lighting improvements at the airport.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
