Island Pond voters support airport sale

Voters in Island Pond say they support a plan to sell the John H. Boylan State Airport to the developer of a proposed wood pellet manufacturing plant.

Vermont Biomass Energy wants to buy the airport. On Tuesday, in a Town Meeting Day vote, Island Pond residents voted 326-74 in favor of a nonbinding advisory endorsing the plan.

The developer wants to convert an old Ethan Allen furniture plant into a manufacturing facility, and needs a lumber yard to hold the logs. That's what the airport site would be used for.

Developer Fran Azure had said if the airport proposal were rejected he'd consider using a vacant mill in Groveton, N.H.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has agreed to provide a $9 million loan guarantee for the $18 million project.