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KUSHNER & SANDERS 

ATIORNEYS AT LAW 

A Partnership of Professional Corporations 

Wellesley Office Park ; • 

55 William Street , 

Wellesley, Massach~:~s'etts 02181 

(617) 431-1400 Fax (617) 431 -7178 

Marvin W. Kushner, P.C. 

Lloyd A. Sanders, P.C. 

Of Counsel: 

john M. Babington 

Sara Fleschner 

jonathan ). Ma rgolis john S. McNicholas 

jeffrey Gerson 

Marjorie Zaltas 

john M. Updegrap h 

Mr. Lawrence Egan, Chairman 

Norwood Airport Commission Norwood Town Hall 

P.O. Box 40 

Norwood, MA 02062-0040 

RE: Commercial Aeronautical Operations Permit 

Application submitted by Norwood Air. 

Dear Chairman Egan: 

July 28, 1994 

This office represents Eastern Air Center, Inc., ( 11 EAC 11

which Eastern Air 

), of 

Charter is a division. 

full-service 

As you are aware, EAC currently serves Norwood Airport as a 

fixed base operator ( 11 FB0 11

Commission 

). In 1988, your 

Airport, 

in conjunction with its agent, Boston Metropolitan 

Inc., (nBMAn) awarded this posii..:ion to EAC after issuiny 

a comprehensive Request For Proposals ( 11 RFP 11

extensive 

) and conducting an 

evaluation of the responses submitted thereto. 

The expressed purpose of BMA's 1988 RFP was to find a 

Airport. 

competent, qualified, and financially stable FBO for the Norwood 

Through the RFP, BMA sought to evaluate applicants 

ba sed on specific criteria including sensitivity to community 

needs , experience with similar business enterprises, overall 

w

business strength, and quality of the business plan. Applicants 

balance 

ere required to submit evidence of financial status such as a sheet, resumes of management personnel, and business 

refer e nc es. An operating plan, site development plan, security 

p l a n, three year business plan, and a growth plan were required 
~ 

• 

• 

as well. The introduction to the RFP d~scribed these criteria as 

the "minimum information to be s.ubmi tte,d 'by candidates interested 

in becomi ng a full-service FBO." ·''Finally, the RFP' s stated goal 

was to foster responsible competition among applicants through the submission of proposals, creating in effect a fair bidding process . 

On July 5 , 1994, Norwood Air submitted to y0ur Commission a 

Commercial Aeronautical Operations Permit Application, in which 

it seeks permits to provide at least thirteen (13) different 

services at Norwood Airport. This application requests a permit 

for three out of the four permit categories. Therefore, Norwood 

Air has made application to provide all of the services that a 

full - service FBO is entitled to provide with the exception of 

fuel storage and dispensing, aircraft and avionics maintenance, 

and line se~viceu. Apprcving Norwood Air's permits would bP 

tantamount to awarding full-service FBO status to an applicant 

that did not submit to the rigors of the bidding process required 

of EAC and other full-service FBO applicants. 

Massachusetts law prohibits arbitrary treatment in awarding 

permits or leases, and requires that fair bidding procedures, 

such as those instituted during the 1988 RFP process, be 

maintained and applied in a non-discriminatory fashion. See , 

~~~ M. G. L.A. c.90, Sees. 51A-51N, and related cases. In our 

opinion it would be unfair and arbitrary to approve permits for 

Norwood Air that relate to such a wide array of services, making 

Norwood Air in essence a full-service FBO. 

Setting a reasonable limit on the number of services a non 

full - service FBO can provide would protect against such 

unfairness and would reduce the likelihood of arbitrary permit 

decisions. Moreove r, it is EAC's position that the needs of 

Norwood Airport simply do not warrant the creation of another full-service FBO. 

Ve ry truly yours, 

/-- rJ co--C, lJ 11 l --------- ~n M. Updegraph 

cc : Mr . Lawrence Egan , Chairman 

Mr . Joseph Barca 

Mr . Edward Morse 

~r. Edwin Page c/ 

Mr. Thomas Judge 

Mr . Allen L. Bishop