Sechelt’s airport runway resurfacing and extension project has encountered a bit of turbulence on the final approach.
Council heard at the Dec. 18 regular meeting that the project, which is based on a 700-ft. (213-metre) extension to the runway, is now expected to exceed the budget of $1,387,460, which was to be funded through a provincial grant covering 75 per cent with the remainder from the district’s gas tax reserve.
According to a report from the finance department, an engineering assessment and design work completed in October showed the need for “further earthworks required to meet standards,” which were not anticipated in the original budget.
Just how much extra money will be needed isn’t being made public. The page in the submission from Associated Engineering that includes the cost estimate was removed from the copy included with the council agenda.
“The tender for construction of the project is currently open for competitive solicitation and for that reason this report refrains from disclosing the estimated costs provided from the engineering consultant,” the finance department report says.
The finance department proposed council approve a new grant application under the BC Air Access Program “to request a secondary stream of funding.”
“The construction cost provided through the bid process will be used for the grant application,” the report said.
Manager of financial services Ben Currie told council that the district would also have to find money for the matching funds likely to be required under a new grant. If council wanted to use gas tax funds again it would have to move other projects down the priority list.
Coun. Matt McLean said he didn’t think council should follow that strategy, and pointed out that one of the reasons there was no effort to get money from the Island Coastal Economic Trust was that Sechelt does not have an “airport economic strategy.”
“When we started this project we were told that we could do the entire project with new external grants. Then in June we were told we need $347,000 worth of gas tax [funds]. Now we’re being told that we need more. How long is this going to go on?” McLean said. “I think we need to figure out what our plan is for the airport, and I’m not willing to commit any further funds to the airport until we have a long-term plan.”
Mayor Darnelda Siegers, who made airport expansion one of her campaign platforms, and Coun. Eric Scott, chair of the airport development committee, stressed the importance of moving forward.
“Airports are recognized as an economic benefit to communities,” Siegers said. “If we look around us and we look at Tofino, we look at Powell River, we look at Nanaimo, we look at Comox, we look at all these small communities that have actually invested in their airports and there’ve been huge economic benefits from it.”
Scott said while he doesn’t want to see the project scaled back, he is reluctant to draw more money from the gas tax fund. “I think we need to see if there’s any other avenues for us to pull money,” he said. “I think we have to take a look at the other governments on the Sunshine Coast that also have use and access to that airport and benefit from that airport being there.”
McLean and Coun. Alton Toth backed a motion to scale back the project to fit the current budget, which was defeated by the other councillors.
In the vote on the original proposal from the finance department, to file a new grant application and send a “letter requesting support” to Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons, only McLean was opposed.
