The Martha’s Vineyard Airport Commission is taking steps to evict Donaroma’s Nursery from the airport business park, a result of the company’s history of failure to comply with their lease agreement. The last straw, said airport manager Geoff Freeman at a Jan. 12 meeting, was Donarama’s failure to provide insurance for their plot after repeated requests from management.

“In situations like this, it’s gone too far,” Mr. Freeman said, explaining that airport properties manager Kevin Brennan had sent the company a default letter on their insurance a month ago.

“The requests we have made have been met with indifference,” Mr. Freeman said.

Donaroma’s currently leases a 36,409 square foot lot on North Line Road used for storage of landscaping materials. In addition to the insurance issue, Donaroma’s continues to store material and debris on land outside of their lot, Mr. Freeman said.

“At the risk of sounding cavalier, there seems to be significant demand for this property,” said commissioner Richard Knabel. “I see no reason to give him special treatment. It’s been going on for a long time.”

Mr. Freeman said he would consult with legal counsel before taking further action on the eviction.

In other business, Mr. Freeman outlined airport traffic statistics from the last month, and from the entirety of 2022. In December, total air traffic was up 18.1 per cent, while commercial passengers were down by one per cent, trends he said might be due to rising frequency of small, private planes.

Meanwhile, total traffic was down three per cent over the course of 2022, while commercial passengers were up six per cent.

“It’s a high number, but it’s not the highest number that the airport has seen historically.”

The airport commission also voted to accept the grant agreement which will award $1.5 million to the airport from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, which will be used to fund the ongoing project to update their on-site wastewater facility.