The situation regarding the disposition of the Humboldt Aerodrome (aka the airport) has become more fluid following discussions with regional partners, the City, potential investors, and user groups.
The City of Humboldt’s administration had been directed to explore options other than the outright sale of the airport to private firms. The suggestion was made at the April 28th meeting of City Council to re-engage rural municipalities and stakeholders with the possibility of forming a regional airport authority to govern and plan for the future of the facilities.
At the June 23 meeting of Council, Public Works Director Peter Bergquist indicated that two meetings had occurred with partners agreeing to continue a dialogue around the potential for long-term upkeep and governance.
“On May 23, we had a meeting with the airport group that yielded quite positive results,” Bergquist reported at the meeting, “Including chip and sand seal treatments to extend the runway’s life by 10 to 15 years.”
Bergquist also revealed that STARS air ambulance service would no longer be landing at the Humboldt and District Health Centre for patient transfers, effective June 30, due to safety concerns given residential build-up. The landing site will revert to the airport, which ups the ante in usage and community need.
This was followed up by a June 19 meeting with the RMs of Humboldt and Wolverine to talk about financial and operational co-operation. Again, the meeting was deemed positive with the potential for ongoing collaboration and commitment.
The renewed interest in forming a regional airport authority was expressed. The report presented to Council acknowledged the need to generate increased revenue in support of required improvements. Preliminary estimates for chip seal and crack/patch work are $180,000. If CAP grant funding is secured, the local share would be approximately $90,000. The report advised revenue could be generated through long-term leases, future taxation, and revised fees to support the upgrades.
The recommendation went forward to reject all of the purchase proposals from private investors and work toward a regional governance and management model. Discussion by council members at the meeting leaned heavily away from privatization of the airport.
Consequently, the “on the books” motion to sell the airport to private interests was defeated. This led to the agreement for the Director of Public Works to continue pursuing discussions with partners, ultimately leading to a recommendation for further steps at an upcoming meeting.