Despite calls for action from the community as well as provincial – and now federal – politicians, for the past six months the Pemberton council has taken a careful approach to their ongoing airport saga.
But all that seemed about to change on Monday.
But as it turns out, the council has not decided to fully endorse either of the two candidates (Intrawest or Prime Air) vying to start an air service into Pemberton.
Nor did they announce that they were having their first public meeting about the airport or that they had made a strategic alliance with Whistler.
But the council did send out their first press release about the airport and it said:
"The Village of Pemberton recognizes that the airport has the potential of being a viable economic driver for Pemberton and the Region and Council is acutely aware of the impact any decision related to the airport might have on the community as a whole.
"Over the last several months Council has been in discussion with a number of interested parties and has determined, through these discussions, that there are many steps that must be taken prior to any decisions and that consideration must be given to the environment, the community and to the quality of life of the residents of Pemberton and the surrounding area. Public consultation will be part of the process.
"This Council is aware of the importance of the 2010 Olympics to the Sea to Sky Corridor and intends to move cautiously forward in order to be able to make an informed decision that will ensure that the development of the airport is sustainable for the future."
After Tuesday’s council meeting Pemberton Mayor Elinor Warner said the press release was meant to show that the council was not going to be pressured into anything.
This is the same thing she has been saying for six months.
Warner and several other councillors then indicated that there was lot of planning and research going on behind the scenes.
More news on who will be consulted and which companies will be doing what and when at the airport is expected after Sept. 17, which is when the council will hold further negotiations with Prime Air.
"There’s been a lot of press out there, and this is just to show that we’re not going to be rushed into any decision," said Warner.
While there was no major movements, councillors did pass a motion to apply for funding, which could result in $225,850 worth of upgrades at the airport.
The money would come from the Ministry of Transportation and a fund called the Transportation Partnerships Program, or TPP.
The TPP is a small fund that becomes available once every three to four years and it provides monies for minor upgrades to community airports around B.C.
Should the Pemberton council be successful in accessing the TPP funds then it will be used to repair the "cracks in the runway", extend the taxiways and runway aprons and construct a gravel road that would be more resistant to flooding.
Strahl not convinced by council’s approach
In related news, Pemberton’s MP Chuck Strahl will be in town next week and he has indicated that he is ready to talk more about the airport.
"When I talked to the mayor and council previously the one thing that they were adamant about was that they wanted to retain control of the airport," said Strahl.
"This situation is a little different to the ones I’ve been involved with at the Hope and Abbotsford airports.
"They (Hope and Abbotsford) made it work with the private sector and they let it be the generator of the dollars. In neither case was there a pile of money from the feds."
Strahl said there might be some federal money forthcoming for airport development in the infrastructure programs that the Liberals promised during the election, but he wasn’t convinced about the council’s approach to developing the airport.
"There may be something in this still-to-be-decided infrastructure initiative that the government is yet to give us any details on," he said.
"But I’m not convinced (council control is) the only way to proceed.
"It’s like a business, if you retain 100 per cent control on how it’s going to develop, you also retain 100 per cent of the obligations.
"But if you’re willing to give up some of it to allow the private sector to control part of the agenda then the private sector will also assume some of the risk.
"It’s just that there’s not an airport specific fund that there used to be many years ago. It doesn’t exist."
Strahl said in negotiations it was often better to push for control of the process rather than the entire situation.
"If you give up absolute control you can gain a bunch of money from privately invested sources and sometimes you have to do a bit of both.
"Sometimes if you can access a bit of seed money to gain control of the process and get it going that can be as good as controlling the whole ball and wax."
