Aviators and/or Waterville Airport-Based Businesses must accept 14-Wing Greenwood relocation, or else.

This media release produced by myself, Councillors Patricia Bishop, Emma VanRooyen and Jim Winsor was sent this morning to several media outlets in advance of today's special council meeting at 5PM. The report referred to can be found at the link below. Please do not hesitate to call or email if you have questions or wish to discuss any point in more detail. 

AIRPORT RELOCATION STUDY

Four councillors of the Municipality of the County of Kings believe recommendations to be made by their leadership on Tuesday July 29 at 5PM are the end result of a flawed and prejudiced process. A report circulated by CAO MacEwan on Sunday afternoon calls for the Airport Relocation Committee chaired by Paul Easson to be disbanded immediately and the Request For Proposals for the Business Case Study to be pulled.

Councillors Patricia Bishop, Pauline Raven, Emma Van Rooyen and Jim Winsor have worked to ensure the aviation community is more fairly treated following the surprise vote on March 10 that called for the Waterville Airport to be closed in approximately 6-months, effective September 30, 2014.

Recently long after committing to the creation of the group, council populated its Airport Relocation Committee and things started moving forward, under Chairman Easson's direction, in early June.

“Now, instead of pursuing legitimate motions of Council aimed at receiving direction from the committee and considering the results of a Business Case Study, work not sanctioned by council has become the focus,” says Councillor Winsor.

According to Winsor this work recommends a relocation to 14-Wing Greenwood and closes down any examination by the public of other potentially viable, or more viable options. Winsor has 11 years of experience as a senior manager of airports in the North. Winsor says: “I've watched communities across Canada fight to retain or enhance civil aviation airports because of their value as economic engines but in Kings County I'm instead witnessing a process that's clearly mired in political quagmires.” According to Winsor the fight for good governance is about to be lost in Kings County if council accepts the recommendations contained in the report. “When legitimate motions passed unanimously by elected representatives are set aside between meetings it's clear to me that democracy is running amok,” says Winsor.

The report circulated by CAO MacEwan on Sunday provides an ultimatum to aviators that Raven describes as: “Agree with this analysis, ready yourselves for 14-Wing, or get nothing.”

According to Raven, the CAO's report "cherry picks" from the independent CBCL report commissioned in 2012 to make an argument for Greenwood as the only viable option. “He misses a crucial point, arguably the most important one in the whole report” says Raven. Raven is pointing to a statement located on page one of the executive summary. The authors' state: “While all sites are capable of being developed, the location of the Airport to a new site in the eastern portion of Kings County was considered the best option due to its proximity to Halifax as well as the ability for the airport operator to have ownership of the land and complete control over runway operations, which is very important for its continued success as an economic driver for the region.”

The concern of all four councillors grew as delay mounted and partiality emerged for Greenwood as the only or best option. Most were somewhat assured that the agreed upon decision-making process of both council, and the Relocation Committee was being respected when at the last week's Committee of the Whole Councillor Best provided verbal assurance that he “had an open mind.”

Media statements by Council's leadership, Warden Brothers and Deputy Warden Hirtle, were issued last week following the Committee of the Whole. In the July 24 Register both advocated for 14 Wing Greenwood. Neither mentioned Council's motioned support to place recommendations in the hands of an Airport Relocation Committee or Council’s commitment to complete a business case study to enable an informed decision making process.

“We have not treated the aviation community with the respect and dignity it deserves after decades of working with the municipality to keep a busy airport functioning relatively smoothly,” says Councillor Van Rooyen, adding, “The flawed process that council has followed to date has created unnecessary angst and divisions when the our focus should have been on building a strong partnership between ourselves, the community, the aviators and business people, including Michelin.”

Recent developments include litigation by several hangar owners and a movement by residents of Saxon Street to ensure that an airport would not spring up in their backyards, which are smack in the middle of the County's agricultural zone.

Councillor Patricia Bishop says the Warden, Deputy Warden and CAO may be overstepping bounds with the release of Sunday's report: “Council has not given any direction regarding the Greenwood option becoming the only option, nor have they requested any report in that regard.” Bishop asks: “Because there is no council endorsed direction to support this effort by our CAO, who is the CAO working for?”

Bishop, the only Councillor to vote against the closure of the airport, has continually stressed that Council must look to aviation experts with proven experience in establishing successful municipal airports to assist with council's decision making and a smooth transition to a new location.

“I am hoping that at our Council Meeting on July 29, this report will be rejected and that council will confirm its commitment to the Airport Relocation Committee as well as the business case study, that would represent a fairer, more transparent and more fiscally responsible process for everyone involved,” concluded Bishop.