Possible security risks spur opening

Dec. 15--HYANNIS -- Barnstable Municipal Airport officials and their tenants are moving into the facility's new terminal, thanks in large part to concerns that the regional airport could be used to launch a terrorist attack.

But the plaintiffs in a lawsuit over traffic issues associated with the new terminal's construction are challenging the move in court, arguing that the security concerns are cover for an attempt to circumvent the ongoing legal case.

The land court lawsuit brought by the owners of the Wendy's property on the Airport Rotary has delayed the opening of the new terminal for the past month. On Friday, however, the Barnstable building commissioner issued a 30-day temporary certificate of occupancy for the building after security concerns were raised by airport officials and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.

The TSA found the airport is in violation of a security directive because of an increase in the number of "access control points" at the facility, Barnstable Acting Town Manager Thomas Lynch said Wednesday. Access control points are doors or other barriers that are controlled electronically.

There are 12 such access control points in the old terminal and 16 in the new terminal, Lynch said, adding that these provide access to secure areas, including other airports once planes from the Hyannis airport travel there.

"TSA's concerns were not on the radar screen before I was contacted," he said.

Board cites emergency

Lynch received a letter Nov. 30 from Barnstable Airport Commission Chairman Daniel Santos laying out the security concerns and a request that the town issue a temporary certificate of occupancy for the building so the old terminal could be demolished.

"The Barnstable Municipal Airport Commission has made a determination that an emergency exists, as set forth below, that requires the immediate transfer of all operations to the new terminal and the demolition of the existing terminal to protect the safety of airline passengers and the general public," Santos wrote in the two-page letter.

If the TSA closed down the airport because of the security problems, it would have a detrimental effect on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard residents who rely on air travel when the ferry service is interrupted or when they have to commute for work or medical reasons, Santos wrote.

Neither Santos nor airport manager Roland "Bud" Breault returned messages seeking comment.

The plaintiffs in the land court case don't buy the airport's argument.

The move is not about national security but rather an attempt to get around the lawsuit over the airport's traffic plan, said Gregory Botsivales, manager of Botsini Prime LLC, the company that owns the Wendy's property.

Botsini Prime officials contend the airport and Cape Cod Commission reneged on a promise to include a separate entrance to the airport off Route 132 as part of the new terminal project. They contend that drivers will naturally use a small road adjacent to the Wendy's property causing congestion and affecting business at the restaurant.

A fence that separated the new terminal from the airport tarmac was apparently enough security for the year or so it took to construct the building, Botsivales said.

"It's crazy to say that the fence was good enough then, but it's not good enough now," he said. "This is a pretense to circumvent not only a stipulation that was encouraged by the court but also the Cape Cod Commission regulations."

As part of the ongoing court case, the airport had agreed to hold off on moving into the terminal until the lawsuit was settled. Land court Judge Gordon Piper has yet to issue his decision in the case.

Piper scheduled a hearing for Dec. 22 on a request for a preliminary injunction filed Wednesday by Botsini Prime.

Commission still to vote

The airport is also missing a certificate of compliance as a "development of regional impact" from the Cape Cod Commission. The certificate is typically required before the town can issue a temporary certificate of occupancy.

Lynch sent a letter to Cape Cod Commission Executive Director Paul Niedzwiecki on Dec. 9 describing a tour of the airport with TSA officials and outlining the security concerns they raised.

Under the Cape Cod Commission Act, town officials may issue a permit if they determine an emergency exists even if the development would have normally required approval from the regional planning and regulatory agency.

Building Commissioner Thomas Perry issued the temporary occupancy permit for the new terminal and a demolition permit for the old terminal, Lynch wrote.

The Cape Cod Commission's executive committee is scheduled to meet today to discuss the issue, followed by a meeting of the full commission, Niedzwiecki said Wednesday.

The commission could issue a stop-work order or it could do nothing, he said.

Problems addressed

The airport has addressed the security issues raised by the TSA, according to the agency's spokeswoman, Ann Davis.

"During a routine inspection of Barnstable Municipal Airport, TSA inspectors pointed out a few security issues related to the new unoccupied terminal that the airport has fully addressed to our satisfaction," she wrote in an email to the Times.

In a telephone interview, Davis declined to comment on the specific security issues involved or on Botsivales' argument that the security concerns are being used to circumvent the ongoing lawsuit.

"Our policy is not to comment on pending litigation," Davis said. "Our responsibility is to make sure the airport is in compliance with its airport security plan."

Copyright 2011 - Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.