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Weekly UpdatesAstreak of nasty weather in southern Ontario is helping to build a case for a major repaving job at North Bay's Jack Garland Airport. Mayor Vic Fedeli expects it's going to be a tough sell to convince Transport Canada officials to part with $5.5 million to resurface the airport's 10,000-foot military-length runway.
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The city of 54,000 is blessed with a supersized runway thanks to the Canadian military.Jack Garland was once the home of a Canadian Forces fighter squadron flying NORAD missions during the Cold War before the unit pulled out in 1992.
However, under federal funding rules in the Airports Capital Assistance Program (ACAP), the city is only entitled to have 6,500 feet resurfaced, since the largest aircraft regularly using Jack Garland are twin-prop Dash 8s.
The remaining 3,500 feet would be torn up. The cost to go that route would be roughly the same, says Fedeli.
That's not an option to the mayor, who calls the federal policy "bureaucratic nonsense."
"We've been fighting this battle for four years."
As a regional airport for the Nipissing District and part of northwestern Quebec, Jack Garland employs more than 500 people, mostly in the private aviation business, and has a $70 million economic impact.
Though the runway remains in good shape, after more than 20 years, a new surface is needed to keep the entire length of runway intact. Fedeli would like to get paving next summer.
The city's campaign to secure the money begins this fall. A formal application will go to Transport Canada supplemented by letters of support from local aviation tenants, area municipalities and from major air carriers that use the runway as an emergency divert.
An engineering firm has been selected to provide the technical specifications for the application and the exact cost.
Jack Garland is one of 15 public airports in Canada and one of four in Ontario with a runway capable of landing any size aircraft, including heavy-lift cargo planes.
The city and local chamber of commerce say it's an invaluable piece of infrastructure that's worth protecting and maintaining.
They're making the argument that it's not only critical for existing and future economic development like attracting Russian air cargo, but there's also a tremendous safety benefit.
In recent years, the runway has been a godsend for pilots and air traffic controllers. Large passenger jets landed in North Bay during the September 11 terrorist attacks and it's been a temporary refuge when storms have closed down larger Ontario airports.
During May and June, the airport handled five Toronto and Ottawa-bound flights in as many weeks because of the severe weather in southern Ontario.
Having Boeing 767s and A-340s sitting on the apron has produced a kind of backhanded local spinoff of $50,000 per flight for the airport and local businesses in landing and terminal fees, overnight accommodations, meals and transportation.
Fedeli says it doesn't make sense to reduce a runway that has a real national benefit just to fit an inflexible government funding formula.
Fedeli has plenty of experience dealing with Ottawa on airport matters. Prior to becoming mayor in 2003, he was one of the founders of North Bay's Air Base Property Management. The all-volunteer group successfully secured hangars at CFB North Bay and built up a successful local aviation industry, attracting tenants like Bombardier Aerospace.
Like many other Canadian airports, the Jack Garland assets were downloaded onto the city by Transport Canada in 1998.
Fedeli says he has no intention of asking provincial funding agencies or neighbouring municipalities to help pick up the repaving tab.
"We don't believe that national airports should be paid for by local property taxpayers. We believe the ACAP funding is the right funding to do this."
www.northbayairport.com
By IAN ROSS Northern Ontario Business
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