North Battleford is going to move ahead with a grant application to fix the runways at the airport.
City council unanimously approved a resolution that the city make an application for grant funding in the amount of $50,000 under the Community Airport Partnership program for the continued repair of transverse cracking on runways 12-30 and 06-24 at the Cameron McIntosh Airport, with the understanding that the City commits to fund 50 per cent of the cost.
Originally there had been no funding allotted to airport work in the city's 2012 budget, but the city decided to make some room for it after word came of WestJet's plans to launch a regional airline.
Directors at the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce have supported efforts to bring the regional airline here, and have also urged the city to continue efforts to upgrade the airport and keep it in good working order. Previous efforts had included repairs and upgrades at the terminal building.
Councillor Ron Crush was at the Chamber meeting where a resolution was passed supporting the WestJet efforts. He had been urging the city to look at reconfiguring its 2012 budget allocations so it could take advantage of airport funding opportunities while they are still available.
At Monday's meeting, much of the discussion revolved around which projects in the budget could be revisited to make room for the airport funding. City administration had looked as using amounts allocated to airport maintenance, lane maintenance, roadway restoration, sidewalks and engineering special projects.
But Councillor Trent Houk had a different idea, suggesting the City could look at using the savings from snow removal for this project, given the mild winter and the lack of snow this year. Administration plans to look into that possibility.
Crush welcomed the City's efforts to seeking funding opportunities for the airport on such short notice.
"This is an opportunity to obtain 50 cent dollars," said Crush. "Certainly whenever there's a grant available, and there's an appetite for that utilized in the community, I think we need to take advantage of this."
