The committee voted 5-0 five months ago to close Trinca Airport, which opened in 1939 and uses a turf runway, effective Sept. 1.
Green Township bought the airport in 2002 for $2.28 million in order to held off a private developer’s plan for a large housing development at the site.
Phillips previously said that financial and safety factors drove the decision.
Green Township receives zero revenue from Trinca Airport, which is one of 42 public-use airports in New Jersey and does not charge for flying in or out. Annual expenses are $15,000, including approximately $6,000 for a part-time airport manager and maintenance, such as cutting grass on the turf runway.
While some pilots have expressed dismay at the airport’s impending closure, airport manager Pete Sklannik was at the meeting Monday and said that, even on weekends, it attracts little interest.
“The pilots need fuel. We don’t have fuel," Sklannik said afterward.
“This airport - it’s run its course. It’s not like there aren’t other airports in the immediate area,” Sklannik added.