Two projects planned in Highgate could bring new jobs to the town and spur economic growth across Franklin County, officials said.
The Franklin County State Airport is slated to receive more than $2 million from the Federal Aviation Administration to rebuild and widen its runway, allowing larger planes to use the airport in years to come.
And town residents are scheduled to vote Sept. 14 on a $3.5 million bond to help fund extension of municipal water and sewer service to the airport and a nearby industrial park — likely making both more attractive to new businesses.
Officials said the projects are independent but would support each other, presenting an opportunity for growth with little precedent in the border town of 3,700.
“It’s almost fate that everything has come together at the same time,” said Sharon Bousquet, chair of the Highgate Selectboard.
Airport expansion
The Franklin County State Airport is the busiest general aviation airport in Vermont, with between 15 and 20 private planes operating there on a typical day, said Clifford Coy, the facility’s manager and president of Border Air Ltd.
Plans are to rebuild the existing 3,000-foot-long runway and widen it from 60 to 75 feet, the size required under current federal guidelines, according to state transportation officials.
Coy said a 1,000-foot runway extension could begin in 2023. It would allow larger planes to use the airport, since they need more than 3,000 feet to take off and land. Permits are still being sought for that stage of the project, he said.
The airport could then accommodate single-engine cargo and passenger planes, Coy said, though no planes as large as what flies in and out of Burlington International Airport.
He said the Highgate airport also wants to partner with local technical schools to train students for aviation-related careers, such as being a pilot, mechanic or air traffic controller.
“We’ve got about 340 acres of developable land that we do have interested parties in,” Coy said. “But they want infrastructure.”
State airports can bring many economic benefits to the communities around them, said Trini Brassard, an assistant director at the Vermont Agency of Transportation. There are 10 in Vermont — plus five private airports — in addition to the Burlington airport.
“We’ve heard from the aviation community that it’s something that they want,” Brassard said of expanding the Highgate airport. “Anything that can generate more use at these airports, we’re interested in.”
Industrial park
To get public water and sewer service at and near the airport, Highgate plans to extend service lines north from the nearby Missisquoi Valley Union High School.
If voters approve the bond next month, the town will be able to match federal grants for the project and continue applying for more funding, Bousquet said. Construction would be likely in 2022 and 2023.
“Commercial property is more valuable with municipal water and sewer,” she said, and those utility services expand the options for the types of businesses that can move in.
Tim Smith, executive director of the Franklin County Industrial Development Corp., said new businesses around the airport would benefit the entire region, not just Highgate.
He compared the town’s plans with the industrial park built in St. Albans Town in the 1970s. Some 1,500 jobs have been created there since, he said, notably at value-added food companies such as Ben & Jerry’s and Barry Callebaut.
The value-added food sector is already prominent in the region, so there’s a good chance more of those companies would come to Highgate, he said. And the tenants could well be Canadian, since the airport is about 5 miles from the border.
“It’s utilizing the resources we have — and the infrastructure that’s there, which would be the airport — to help attract new business and create jobs for all ages,” he said.
Bousquet said about 60% of Highgate residents commute 45 minutes or more to work, which shows there is a need for more local jobs.
Town officials also hope new business growth would shift some of the local tax burden off homeowners, making Highgate a more affordable place to live. That is important for young people coming out of high school or college, as well as older adults, she said.
Franklin County has a growing need for senior housing, with the percentage of the county’s population age 65 and over steadily increasing over the past decade.
Bousquet said the town’s selectboard is still figuring out how much of its American Rescue Plan Act funding could be used for the water and sewer extension project. Still, she said, she hopes voters will support the project at the polls.
“We know it’s a hard year to ask,” Bousquet said, referring to the pandemic. “But this may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the town.”
