Officials with the Town of Peace River are a little taken aback at the percentage of residents who voted in favour of handing over ownership of the Peace River Airport.
Out of 163 total votes, 82 per cent of ballots cast in a non-binding referendum Wednesday were in favour of the turnover of ownership and operation. That’s as long as a commitment to preserving current services such as Air Ambulance and Forestry services remains.
“I’m surprised it was so overwhelming to one way or another; I thought it would be closer,” says Peace River CAO Chris Parker.
Parker says the total number of voters in the non-binding referendum is about two per cent of the total eligible population. Even with the smaller sample size, he argues the town got a feel of what ratepayers want to do going forward.
The decision to hold the non-binding referendum came about after Peace River council sent out a request for proposals for companies or private entities to present plans on how they would operate the facility, with the question of are you or are you not in favour of having an independent non-profit organization hitting a ballot shortly thereafter.
Parker adds, from a municipal point of view, one of the major reasons Peace River town council put the question forward is due to the financial strain they’re facing. He says the town is essentially supporting two provincial ministries and they are looking at ways they can push those costs back to the provincial level.
“We basically feel like we’re puppets on a string by the provincial government, and we are dancing to their tune whatever it is. At a point, we have to see where can we save money, and this may be a point where we can save money,” Parker notes.
“71 per cent of the operations are due to provincial operations, two ministries, Alberta Health Services and Forestry, and yet, we get not one dime from them except landing fees which are minuscule.”
The municipality pays around $740,000 annually for the upkeep and maintenance of the airport.
Town of Peace River council will be holding a special meeting on February 11th to move the discussions further forward. Parker believes, one way or another, a concrete plan will follow soon after.