HYANNIS – Massachusetts Inspector General Jeffrey Shapiro says an audit determined that Cape Cod Gateway Airport was appropriate in its spending of nearly $20 million in federal COVID pandemic relief grants.
“This office, as well as many others, have identified numerous cases of fraud in the use of these funds. I think it is important for the public to know that, in most instances, those funds were used in the way the granting authority intended,” said Shapiro.
He continued, “The Office of the Inspector General found that the Cape Cod Gateway Airport’s use of the federal funds met the Federal Aviation Administration’s criteria for how the funds were to be used and the timeframe in which they were to be expended.”
This is the second time a Cape and Islands airport has been audited for federal pandemic relief fund spending. Last November, Nantucket Memorial Airport was found to have used over $10 million in grants, also appropriately.
The OIG says that they perform the reviews proactively.
Shapiro’s report on Cape Cod Gateway suggested the airport management should determine reimbursement status if it relocates, citing recent reports of a potential interest in a new combined commercial-military airport at Joint Base Cape Cod.
The Barnstable Town Council voted to ask MassDevelopment to conduct a feasibility study over concerns that the request implied a lack of faith in the existing Gateway Airport. Other Cape leaders including the county commissioners support looking at options to repurpose land on the base.
By Jim McCabe, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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