Should the Biddeford City Airport Close for 3 million or Stay Open for $60,000 Annualy?

To close or not to close, the Biddeford City Airport stands at the center of a heated debate between taxpayers, the Airport Authority and the airport staff.
For the taxpayers the airport stands as a burden both financially and property wise while the airport staff stands by their facility saying it brings in around $56,000 per year from gas, taxes and various land leases.
With 47 planes, the airport is small and only worth 1.6 million dollars yet costs around $60,000 to keep it running annually. According to the Airport Authority and the FAA ( http://faa.gov) it will cost a whopping 3 million to close, almost double the airport's total worth.
"While it is a small airport there is a lot of fuel and things of that nature that we have to transport and dispose of which ups the cost considerably" says a spokesperson for the Airport Authority.
The FAA is concerned about the proximity of the airport to the surrounding homes and businesses after hearing an account of a plane grazing trees close to a home and has been cutting down trees to make more room on the runway.
"Safety is our number one priority, not profit. While we understand people may feel more exposed now there have been incidences of children playing on the runway and just an overall breach of security. It's the right thing to do for everyone involved."
The National Association for Small Airports (NASA) agrees, saying that this airport while small is still bringing in a considerable amount of profit for the community and is at a convenient location for many corporations.
" It's a great thing to have for the community like Pease International Airport http://www.peasedev.org/pease/airport.asp . We are willing to listen to all sides in this situation so we can find a solution that works for everyone."
Phyllis Landry is a private pilot who keeps her plane at the Biddeford airport and stands firmly behind the facility and the FAA, saying that it is worth a lot more than people are making it out to be.
"The FAA is just doing its job. People need to understand that.Maybe it's expensive to run the airport. But it's a great resource. I know business people who fly in here all the time."
For the taxpayers, like Roland Pelletier who lives next to the airport, having to pay taxes on a property that is not used by the general public, however, in "times [that] are tough" is unreasonable.
"We can't afford to support operations that don't support themselves. These are tough times, and that's the time we need to be tough."
Paul Archambault is the chairman of an group called Shut Our Little Airport (SOLA) and has lived at the end of the runway for almost a quarter of a century. Of his group he says they are fighting for the taxpayers rights and out to make the community a better place.
"Look, we're not some bomb-throwing radicals; we're just concerned taxpayers looking out for the best interests of this great city and its wonderful citizens."