ROCKLAND, Maine — When it rains on the islands near Knox County, the runways at their small airports get muddy, and planes usually don’t fly. They even get stuck.
Conditions are so rustic that Matinicus islanders have been known to drive to the airstrip after dark and turn on their headlights so the planes know where to land.
For these reasons and more, Kevin Waters, owner of Penobscot Island Air, which services Knox County’s Penobscot Bay islands, is happy that more than $400,000 may soon be put toward runway maintenance.
Vinalhaven, North Haven and Matinicus, along with Swan’s Island farther east in Hancock County, were awarded the money through a state bond issue last year. The towns now must agree to make a 20 percent match before the work can start.
According to state Department of Transportation project manager Catherine Small, work is expected to be complete by the end of next year’s construction season.
Matinicus has requested about $175,000 and Vinalhaven is expected to ask for $65,000, according to Marjorie Stratton, chairwoman of the Knox County Island Airports Consortium and Vinalhaven’s town manager.
The state money is necessary because these airstrips do not qualify for money from the Federal Aviation Administration, said Jeffery Northgraves, the Knox County Regional Airport director.
Island runway upkeep is performed by Penobscot Island Air, an unusual arrangement, according to Northgraves.
“[Waters] has had to ship out rock and bring bulldozers out there and even go out there and plow, which is an extensively burdensome responsibility,” Northgraves said. “As a result of that, his prices go up. He has that overhead that many organizations would not have.”
Waters’ business makes up 8,700 of the approximately 14,000 flights out of Knox County Regional Airport each year. Most of his business is to the islands.
Waters said he budgets about $35,000 a year for island runway maintenance “so we don’t bust up the airplanes.”
The four islands’ strips vary, but they are all dirt. Matinicus’ is sunk in the ground so water collects there. Some of the islands’ airstrips slant uphill, others downhill.
“The airstrips on Vinalhaven, on North Haven, on Matinicus, on Swan’s Island — those are all unimproved, which means they are dirt or grass,” Waters said. “They don’t meet the federal standards. The issue is we provide air service to all the islands, but the ones specifically — North and Vinalhaven and Matinicus and Swan’s Island — are the most challenging from a safety standpoint.”
But these runways are a vital connection to the mainland, where hospitals and jails are located. Penobscot Island Air helps law enforcement in addition to delivering groceries, mail and helping bring sick or injured people to the mainland in times of medical emergency.
One issue that will be resolved if Matinicus Plantation residents vote to match the funding is lighting for night landings. The island now uses car headlights and flare pots to light the runway at night. If the new plans go through, Matinicus will either get solar-powered runway lights or will connect the runway to the power grid, which is more than 1,000 feet from the lane.
Some of the towns, such as Vinalhaven, own their strips, while others, like Matinicus, do not and rely on private landowners to continue to allow their land to be used by the public.
Northgraves thinks that although the funding is needed, there may be a backlash from the islands involved. He said there are some strings attached to the state money, including policies that allow everyone to access the airstrips.
“[The acceptance of the money] requires you to allow public access — and normally that means anytime — with limited restriction of who and when they can fly in. For some of the islands, it goes against their local ethos. “
They like their privacy,” Northgraves said. “But it’s a great thing and it needs to happen.”