Ervin Deck, manager of the Wiscasset Municipal Airport since 2008, has announced his intention to resign in a short addendum to the airport’s September report, included in the supporting material for the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen’s Nov. 4 meeting.
Deck has yet to submit an official resignation and stated in his announcement that he will “provide the town with ample notice and will assist as necessary in finding my replacement and conducting a thorough turnover.”
According to members of the Wiscasset Airport Committee, however, finding someone to fill Deck’s shoes will not be easy.
“We will sorely miss him,” Kevin Sprague, Wiscasset Airport Committee member, told The Lincoln County News. “He was awesome. He easily turned that airport around. It went from not making ends meet to actually making money.”
Wiscasset airport manager, a part-time position, is just one of the many titles Deck holds. After 29 years, Deck retired from the U.S. Navy with the rank of lieutenant commander and moved to Wiscasset with his wife in 1996.
He holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he occasionally teaches internet-based classes. He also works full time for Stantec Consulting Services and is a licensed flight instructor.
In September alone, Deck oversaw 783 flight operations (takeoffs or landings) and the sale of 6,412 gallons of aviation gas and jet fuel.
He has also helped guide the airport’s master plan through the requisite steps needed to obtain federal, state, and local approval, so projects such as the reconstruction of Runway 7-25 can obtain funding from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Maine Department of Transportation.
“It’s going to be a big loss,” Ken Boundin, chairman of the airport committee, told The Lincoln County News. “He knew a lot about how to get federal funding for the airport. It takes someone with a lot of knowledge to get us through that process.”
Deck declined an interview until his resignation is officially announced and the process for hiring his replacement is in motion.
