By LOMI KRIEL, STAFF WRITER
NANTUCKET -When the biggest plane to ever land on the island touched down with U.S. Sen. John Kerry and his entourage, airport manager Al Peterson never imagined he would have trouble getting paid.
Kerry just raised a record-breaking $99.2 million in three months, and his personal finances reach the $1 billion threshold with his wife, Theresa Heinz Kerry.
But a caterer who bought food on the island for Kerry’s campaign jet ducked one bill and haggled over another.
“Apparently they don’t feel like he needs to pay fees to the airport,” Peterson said. “I gather the senator objects to that because his aide quoted him as saying that he already pays taxes on the island.”
Peterson is out $847 from the two visits Kerry has paid to the island since he became the presumptive Democratic nominee.
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According to Peterson, Lalka told him that he represented the Kerry campaign and the candidate did not feel he needed to pay the fees because he already pays taxes on Nantucket.
The airport has never had a problem with other passengers paying handling fees, Peterson said.
And it’s not that the cobbled streets of Nantucket are untouched by fame. The island has long been host to many a celebrity’s summer vacation including other political heavyweights like Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee. The island is also a getaway for actor Jim Carrey and crooner Harry Connick Jr.
“But everyone else pays a catering fee,” Peterson said.
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During most of the primaries Kerry flew on a succession of chartered jets, but he upgraded to the customized campaign plane now emblazoned with his name when it became clear he had secured the Democratic nomination.
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The Boeing 757-200 costs $26,000 per flight hour. The expense of the plane makes the dispute over such a small amount all the more curious. And exactly who is responsible for paying the bills in unclear.
Peterson and Tina Smith, the business operations manager for Nantucket airport, said Lalka represented himself as speaking for the candidate.
Smith explained the 25 percent handling fee is charged by the airport for all catering transactions.
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“It’s business for the airport,” Smith said. “We don’t take any taxpayer money.”
Commission added Normally the airport will pay the local caterer and the bill the plane’s owner with the 25-percent commission added, she said. Last year the commission added up to $27,500 for $110,000 in catering business.
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“The caterer told the campaign what the airport fee was and they called us and complained,” Peterson said.
Peterson said Lalka objected to the $400 fee and instead offered to pay $150.
“It’s like you don’t like the size of your telephone bills and you tell them what you’re going to pay,” Smith said.
