By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

City of Lethbridge to take over ownership of Lethbridge Airport

Mar 16, 2018 | 2:55 PM

LETHBRIDGE – After 22 years, ownership of the Lethbridge Airport will be transferred from Lethbridge County, to the City of Lethbridge on June 1.

A motion was made by Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman and seconded by County Reeve Lorne Hickey, during a special meeting between County and City Councillors on Friday, Mar.16. It was unanimously accepted by both councils.

The County and the City will now work together to draft all the formal agreements necessary to fulfill the intent of the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding), according to County Reeve Lorne Hickey.

“We’ll have to transfer actually the physical ownership of the property to the City, and transfer all of NAV Canada’s requirements and any of the airline agreements and documents to the City. And of course, anything from ACAP (Airports Capital Assistance Program) funding from before to the City, as well as we’re currently working on negotiating for funding for ACAP again and for a grant from the provincial government.”

The move comes after a 2016 airport study showed the airport needed more than $30 million in upgrades, a new ownership structure and a new governance model. It also recommended preparing an Airport Master Plan.

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Mayor Chris Spearman explained that under the City’s ownership, they can now apply for matching provincial and federal grants to make sure it is modernized enough to support more economic development throughout the region, to attract more airlines and eventually more connecting flights from other cities across western Canada.

“Our challenge now is to approach the provincial and federal governments for funding opportunities to lengthen the runways and to modernize the terminal.”

He also believes that ratepayers will be more comfortable investing city tax dollars in the airport. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there will be any additional tax hikes.

“We want to go forward basically with priority-based budgeting. So, we may have to say the airport’s more important than some other things when it comes to capital and operating budgets. We have to make investments in transportation infrastructure if we’re going to have a viable economy.

“Today’s economy demands next day service and delivery, and we have businesses in this city saying ‘that can’t happen right now if we have to bus everything to Calgary or ship everything to Calgary before it gets flown out to world markets.’ So, if we want to attract world class companies here that are exporting all over the world, we have to be able to fly out of Lethbridge and ship out of Lethbridge.”

There won’t be any immediate changes to the airport, while the City works to maintain operations, and continues to work with West Jet as the company prepares to begin flights in and out of Lethbridge sometime in June.

An upgraded, larger airport with more carriers and flights may also translate to more tourism dollars down the road, according to Lethbridge Destination Management Organization Executive Director, William Slenders.

“What we’re hoping for right now, is to try and see more international connecting flights from Calgary and get those international connections and join those into a regional flight down here… so essentially what we’re hoping to do is try to connect with the Chinese market… so they begin their journey here in Lethbridge as opposed to taking a bus from Calgary to Lethbridge or a rental vehicle from Calgary to Lethbridge.”

There will also be more work done on getting more information about Lethbridge and surrounding areas, and what they have to offer into other regional airports in Saskatchewan and B.C. to try and drive more interest and awareness back to southern Alberta.

The County has owned and operated Lethbridge Airport since 1997, after Transport Canada gave up control of regional and local airports.

The airport was built in 1938 as a municipal airport by the City of Lethbridge and was later leased to the Federal Government during the Second World War as a military and civil aerodrome. The Federal Department of Transportation assumed ownership of it in the 1960s.

The county will continue to operate the airport on a fee basis until the city determines a new operating and governance model.