While town council is taking initial steps toward the closure of Osoyoos Airport, members of the Airport Development Committee say this would be a bad idea. From left are Rob Rausch, Diana Thomas and Dr. Jason Bartsch. Council passed a resolution on Monday to approve asking the provincial government to allow repurposing of the airport land to industrial use. Council is considering using the land to attract new industry while consolidating airport operations in Oliver. (Keith Lacey photo)
Three volunteers with the Osoyoos Airport Development Committee urged members of Town of Osoyoos council to consider upgrading and expanding the facility and asked that at least one member of council to join a steering committee to review all options.
Glen Harris, the developer who helped build the Watermark Beach Resort in downtown Osoyoos five years ago, Rob Rausch, a veteran pilot with Air Canada, and Diana Thomas, a former employee with Destination Osoyoos, made a presentation to town council Monday detailing their plans to expand the Osoyoos Airport.
Those expansion plans include spending roughly $1.5 million to bring the airport to standards that would allow it to handle regular charter flights, said Rausch.
Back in November, new Mayor Sue McKortoff stated she and council were looking at a proposal to close the Osoyoos Airport and use that land at the current site to expand the town’s industrial base.
Members of the Osoyoos Airport Development Committee – which includes Rausch, Thomas, Harris, Osoyoos dentist Jason Bartsch and Alberta business owner Tom McHale – went public with their opposition to the plan several weeks later and announced their plans to try and work with town council and senior administration to keep the airport open and consider several expansion projects.
A detailed engineering report indicated there is great potential for expansion of the current airport lands and a second report suggests there is a solid business case to make the airport profitable if expansion takes place, said Harris.
“There are now two reports in hand that say it’s viable and worth taking it to the next level,” he said.
McHale owns a company called Gemstone Logistics, which transports employees from across Canada to the oil and resource industry in Alberta and he remains convinced the Osoyoos Airport could act as a hub to bring workers from across the South Okanagan to Alberta if airport expansion takes place, said Harris.
Expansion plans would include purchasing 25 acres of land at the existing airport site and using seven acres to expand the runway and using 13 acres to expand the town’s current industrial land base, said Harris.
Much of the revenue needed for airport expansion would come from the sale of “airport homes” which would be sold to people who own airplanes and would love easy access to the airport and hangars, he said.
Having a member of town council on the steering committee would be very much appreciated, said Harris.
“We don’t want to pursue this alone,” he said.
Any suggestion it would cost $4 to $5 million to upgrade Osoyoos Airport, as was stated in a report to town council, is “pie in the sky” and the more appropriate figure in the neighbourhood of $1.5 million, said Rausch.
The current facility simply doesn’t allow for regular traffic by private airplane owners, said Rausch.
“We want to get it to the point that it’s usable,” he said.
That would include installing fencing, lighting, markings, tiedowns and expanding the runway, he said.
The goal would be to upgrade the facility to the point where larger aircrafts that carry between 15 to 25 passengers could use the airport, he said.
“Spending $1.5 million would get us to the point where there would be significant economic impact,” he said.
Companies like Gemstone Logistics would also be willing to invest money into airport expansion in Osoyoos, said Rausch.
“There are some very talented individuals who want to see this thing move forward,” he said.
Thomas said she has conducted some research and confirmed that many passionate small airplane owners would love the opportunity to own a home on or near an airport site in this community.
“My understanding is they would love to be near their hangar and would love to live here,” she said. “There are some towns where plane owners can drive right up to their hangar at the local airport.”
The recent announcement that the Area 27 racetrack facility on Osoyoos Indian Band land in Oliver is going to proceed is very good news for the entire region and would result in many wealthy car owners wanting to fly in and out of Osoyoos, said Harris.
The fact Mount Baldy ski area has reopened once again is also good news and could potentially result in increased airport traffic, he said.
McKortoff said what should be done with the Osoyoos Airport is “a hot button issue” and town council is committed to expanding the town’s industrial base.
Some of the land the airport committee would like to be used for possible expansion is located within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) and the province has indicated it usually isn’t open to removing land from the ALR for commercial purposes, she said.
Coun. C. J. Rhodes said he remains conflicted about what is the right thing to do for local residents when it comes to a decision between expanding the airport or closing it down to allow for expansion of the community’s industrial land base.
“Actually conflicted wouldn’t begin to describe how I feel,” said Rhodes.
The Penticton Airport operates at a loss of roughly $350,000 a year, which are costs taxpayers in that community are responsible to pay for, said Rhodes.
The fact the price of oil has dipped significantly and is impacting the economy not only in Alberta, but much of the rest of the country is also a concern, said Rhodes.
Rausch responded by saying that he didn’t want to offend anyone personally, but the Penticton Airport isn’t particularly well managed and is located on a huge piece of land, which means there are substantial infrastructure costs involved, he said.
That city has also not been successful in attracting new businesses to open on or near airport land and that would not be the case if Osoyoos Airport were to expand, he said.
He also expects the price of oil to rise again over the next couple of years, which would coincide with the opening of a bigger and better airport in our town, said Rausch.
The airport committee is also committed to a marketing campaign that would declare Osoyoos as one of the best places to live in the entire country and make it clear air transportation is easily accessible, he said.
“We want to market it as the best place to live in Canada … and that you can work anywhere, but we will make it easy to live here in Osoyoos.”
Rausch urged council to have a long-term vision for the community and support airport expansion over possible closure.
“You have to look at it as an asset that we will never get back … I’m asking you to have a 50 to 70-year vision of this community,” said Rausch. “It’s worth exploring. Give us the time to develop a detailed business plan.”
Coun. Carol Youngberg wanted to know who would pay the operational costs if airport expansion does take place. “I’m worried it will be town costs … this is a major concern in my thought process,” she said.
Rausch said the majority of the money needed for operational costs would be covered by landing fees and other user fees charged to private plane owners.
Coun. Jim King asked when a detailed business plan could be prepared for council to look at.
Harris said if council does support airport expansion, that business plan could be completed in as little as three months.
McKortoff thanked the committee members for their dedication and hard work and said council will be discussing the airport expansion issue in the near future.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
