Yorkton Airport Authority (YAA) chairperson Ron Evinou appeared before Yorkton Council at its regular meeting Monday to discuss the now completed Airport Development Plan.
"It's a completed plan that shows we know what the airport is, and what it can be," said Evinou.
Evinou was quick to credit City Council with much of the progress at the airport since the inception of the YAA in 2008. He said whatever has been added so far has occurred because Council has believed in the airport.
In the three years, Evinou said $900,000 has been spent at the airport, almost all of it on lighting, paving and safety measures. He added the YAA realized from the beginning safety had to be their initial concern.With work undertaken on safety issues, Evinou said the YAA started to look toward the airport's future.
"We knew we had to have a plan," he said, adding that a plan had to start from a foundation of knowing what was at the airport now, including what is under the ground in terms of the airstrips.
From there Evinou said they proceeded to initiate a five-year plan "with a 25-year purview."
The plan needed to include an assessment of current facilities, said Evinou, "of how long facilities would last and what it would cost to maintain it."
The plan does look forward to how land not needed for safe operations of the airport itself could be used for business development, said Evinou, although to spur that development he noted, "We need services there."
To that end he said the YAA is asking "subdivision plans be drawn up," said Evinou, with the idea of being able to provide business developers with "specific surveyed addresses."
The plan of course does come with a price tag, and Evinou said those costs are substantial. To simply redo the existing paved landing strip would cost $3.5 million.
To upgrade the gravel runway to pavement would be more costly, since it would require substantial work on the substructure and drainage.
Evinou said the YAA will also be looking toward the feasibility of regularly scheduled passenger air service. He said with the help of the local Rotary businesses will be surveyed to gauge their interest in such a service, including the price level people would be comfortable with, and what destination they would desire.
Going forward the airport is an asset which can connect Yorkton to the world, said Evinou.
"Time is money and our airport can save us a lot of time," he said.
Regular service could open access to federal funds, said Evinou, adding current federal dollars only flow to airports with a three-year record of 500 passenger departures and 500 arrivals a year.
"We believe it's time and that could be easily achieved," he said. He added, " I personally look forward to the day I can jump on a flight and connect to Air Canada in Winnipeg."
