Kincardine commits two years' worth of Armow Wind grants to airport project

Fixing up the Kincardine Airport is going to cost about $2.2-million, and Kincardine council has committed two years' worth of Armow Wind community benefit funds to completing this project.

In committee-of-the-whole last night (Dec. 14), chief administrative officer Murray Clarke gave his report, as well as the presentation on behalf of WSP Canada Inc. (formerly Genivar Inc.) whose representative could not attend because of the inclement weather.

Clarke explained that, based on timelines in the 2013 Genivar report, the municipality is now trying to play catch-up to provide proper maintenance of the airport runways and terminal building.

Aug. 3, council endorsed Clarke's report, approving the main runway refurbishment project for 2017, estimated to cost $1.6-million. Since then, the scope of the project has expanded to include an extension of the main runway and electrical rehabilitation, as well as electrical work and paving of the two taxiways, edge-lighting, and rehabilitation of the Abbreviated Precision Approach Path Indicator (APAPI).

Clarke said the project has a tight timeline, with the tender to go out in January, awarded in February, construction to begin in May and completed by the Civic Holiday weekend in August.

He recommended a meeting with the stakeholders, including members of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA), to share this report. The consultants, WSP, would be on hand to answer any questions at that meeting.

“I'm not sure why you want to take it back to the stakeholders if we are going to approve this tonight,” said councillor Laura Haight.

Clarke said it's important to share this information with the stakeholders, but it's equally important to adhere to the tight timeline since some items, such as lighting, take four to five months to acquire.

“A big concern is sourcing the equipment,” he said. “In fact, we will be pre-qualifying the tender to ensure proper materials and equipment for the project.”

Referring to the WSP presentation, Clarke said the main runway was originally built in 1970 as a turf runway. A turf crosswind runway was built in 1973. The multi-purpose hangar, beside Highway 21, was built in 1975.

The main runway was paved in 1985-86, and the apron, and one taxiway were constructed. The air terminal building was added in 1987, and apron expansion was done in 1989. The north-south runway was built in 1992, and an extension to the main runway was done in 1994, along with the construction of the second taxiway.

Typical asphalt pavement lasts about 20 years, states the WSP report, meaning the main runway should have been repaved within the past decade. A visual assessment of the airport pavement in 2013 and 2015, showed significant deterioration and recommended immediate rehabilitation.

Councillor Andrew White asked if the new carbon tax was included in the report.

“No,” said Clarke.

“That is a known amount,” said Haight. “I have a real concern about approving this tonight. I don't want to look at this in isolation; it should be discussed during the budget.”

Clarke said there has been thorough stakeholder engagement with one more meeting just to share the WSP information with the group.

“The tender will come back to council for approval,” he said. “My original estimate was $1.6-million but that did not include engineering and contingency funds. Council knew this project was on the radar. If we delay this, we will miss the August completion deadline.”

“I agree, we have been aware of this project,” said councillor Maureen Couture. “We are using money outside the tax base, but I'm a bit leery of using two years' worth of community benefit funds even though I see the need.”

However, she agreed the decision cannot wait until the next council meeting, Jan. 11, 2017, or the next budget meeting Jan. 23, 2017.

“The main runway is in poor shape,” said mayor Anne Eadie. “We need to get this project done.”

“So, we're using that Armow Wind community benefit fund for 2016 and 2017,” said Haight. “So, there's no $600,000 in January or February of 2017, for other nice capital projects.”

Clarke agreed, saying $1-million is the dedicated Armow Wind funding for the airport, with the remainder coming from this year's and next year's Armow Wind community grants ($600,000 per year).

“The tender is coming back and we could look at removing part of the project, such as the apron resurfacing,” said White.

“Yes, that could be bid separately,” said Clarke. “The tender will definitely come back to the council table.”

Committee-of-the-whole agreed with the recommendation to move forward with the $2.2-million airport rehabilitation project, financed through the Armow Wind airport and community benefit funds. Haight and councillor Randy Roppel were opposed.

That recommendation was later approved by council.