City Hall: Push for vertiport takes off with support of aldermen

Apr. 11—ALDERMEN GAVE THEIR blessing last week for city officials to help DEKA pursue grant funding through the Economic Development Administration Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance programs to put a vertiport in Manchester.

A vertiport — a pad for high-speed, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft — is considered a key component of the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute's efforts to establish a new manufacturing industry for tissue-engineered medical products in the Queen City, according to inventor Dean Kamen.

"Within a few years it will be possible to fly from Cambridge to Manchester in 15 minutes, in a new breed of electric aircraft," Kamen wrote in a letter to city aldermen in support of the proposal. "Manchester's emerging tissue industry provides the perfect opportunity to launch this capability by transporting lifesaving cargoes of human organs to hospitals in Dartmouth and Cambridge."

The EDA program requires an 80/20 match. DEKA spokesman David Rogers told aldermen last week the 20% would be raised by DEKA and corporate sponsors, meaning no financial commitment will be required from the city.

The move to bring a vertiport to Manchester arises from interest in Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute, or ARMI. The aircraft travel at about 150 mph, Rogers said, which would permit human tissue to be quickly transported to facilities in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the region.

DEKA is working with Beta Technologies in Vermont on the project.

"They develop a sort of infrastructure for charging these new electric aircraft," Rogers said. "One of the first applications of this could be to fly organs and tissue transplants down to hospital systems in Massachusetts or up to Dartmouth Hitchcock as well. We think it's an exciting opportunity to use the opportunity zone status of the Millyard to bring something exciting to the Millyard."

"It's a really exciting opportunity for the city of Manchester, potentially having the first vertiport in the United States in the Millyard in Manchester," said Mayor Joyce Craig.

"If this is the first one on the U.S., where is the plane going to fly to?" asked Tony Sapienza of Ward 5. "Is there somewhere for it to land?"

Rogers said the craft can land at normal helipads.

The grant will help fund planning for the project in areas like engineering cost estimates, environmental narrative and other various logistical needs.

Rogers said while his team has a "couple potential sites" in mind, one thing they will look to determine early on is whether the vertiport would be located at the Millyard exclusively, at the Millyard and Manchester-Boston Regional Airport, or just at the airport site.

"With our local partner BETA, I do think we're well positioned to be the first in the nation on this," Rogers said.

Yard waste pickup restored

City aldermen have approved a plan to return to the curbside yard waste pickup schedule that was in effect before the board voted last October to reduce the number of collections.

In her Fiscal Year 2022 budget address last week, Craig said she had worked with city Public Works Director Kevin Sheppard to identify $69,000 from his budget to be used to reinstate the weekly yard waste pickup schedule through June.

However, because of the increase in costs associated with the Pinard Waste Systems contract, aldermen will need to identify funds through the FY 2022 budget to continue weekly pickup, Craig said in her speech.

Last week, Ward 8 Alderman Mike Porter asked committee members to approve the transfer of up to $70,000 from the city's contingency account to maintain the current yard waste pickup schedule through the remainder of the contract year with Pinard Waste Systems, which expires June 30.

"This is a crucial service that many, many homeowners — if not all residents — utilize," said Porter, who on Friday announced he was resigning from the board.

"When we cut the service — which is what we did, the mayor didn't do it, we did — we took something from the homeowners without their input. Let's return it to what it was...we never should have cut it to begin with."

"We cannot take services away without causing problems," said Barbara Shaw of Ward 9. "It's a small issue, but it's a big deal for the people, especially for the people who live on the outskirts of the city. This is one thing where people said this is the last straw."

Porter's request was received and filed, after public works officials confirmed money from a surplus in their fiscal year 2021 budget could be used to fund pickups though the end of June.

Board members voted 9-4 to approve using $152,950 in surplus funds to fully fund a contract with Pinard Waste Systems for yard waste service through June 30, 2022.

Opposed were Kevin Cavanaugh, Bill Barry, Dan O'Neil and Sapienza.

Weekly curbside collection of yard waste resumes Monday. Material must be placed at the curb for pickup by 7 a.m. on regular trash collection days. No individual branches or stumps more than three inches around or three feet long will be collected. Yard waste must be in biodegradable paper bags, bundles or barrels with an orange yard waste sticker.

The weekly collection will last six weeks.

Sullivan wastes no time

In election news, days after announcing she had entered the exploratory phase of another run for mayor, Victoria Sullivan — Craig's 2019 opponent — was busy last week meeting with residents and business owners around the city. She also issued statements on issues like yard waste pickup, where she criticized last year's board vote to reduce collections.

"In addition to this decision being unfair to our taxpayers, it was incredibly shortsighted," Sullivan said in a statement. "Making yard waste collection less frequent would heighten illegal dumping around the city and force landlords to put less time into the upkeep of their properties. Furthermore, yard waste is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and ticks, so these actions would increase the risk of associated diseases."

As former school board member Rich Girard mulls a run for mayor, the Girard for Mayor political committee has launched a website featuring a survey asking residents for their thoughts on issues facing the city.

The survey is at girardatlarge.com/girardformayor.

Paul Feely is the City Hall reporter for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. Reach him at pfeely@unionleader.com.