Revelstoke airport sale backed by regional district board

Arial view of the Revelstoke airport — The City of Revelstoke has been focused on reclaiming ownership of the Revelstoke airport in an effort to reduce the deficit the city pays 85 per cent of. **Photo by Aaron Orlando**

The city is one step closer to owning the Revelstoke Airport following a Columbia Shuswap Regional District board meeting on Thursday, June 18.

Staff were directed to compile necessary documentation to support the transfer of the airport from the Columbia Shuswap Regional District to the city after discussions with the chair, the electoral area director and Mayor Gary Sultz where “no real or substantive objections were identified.”

The regional district has owned the Revelstoke airport since 1980, with operating costs and any deficits split between the regional district and the city. The City of Revelstoke covers about 85 per cent through municipal taxes.

Transferring the airport back to the city has long been in the works, Natalya Melnychuk, board chair and Electoral Area G director said.

“It has been something that has been worked through to make sure that things are done with consideration for all the little nuances,” Melnychuk said, adding city council members have been lobbying her to support the transfer.

“I think it’s a good thing for the community and it actually takes the onus off the [district],” Sulz said during the meeting. District staff previously told Sulz and city staff that airport management has exceeded staff capacity, reducing the ability to upgrade and operate the shared asset.

“Our goal is to drive revenues to reduce the deficit,” Evan Parliament, Revelstoke’s chief administrative officer told the district board, explaining the city is working on an airport masterplan that would include review of fuel costs, lease prices and other opportunities.

The regional district would remain part of the discussion around any plans for the airport, Parliament added. Electoral Area B director David Brooks-Hill has a seat on Revelstoke’s economic development commission which will review the transfer and future plans.

“We still consider the [district] a partner, all we’re doing is just sort of flipping titles here,” Parliament said.

As the district will continue funding the airport for the foreseeable future, Brooks-Hill said he wanted the regional district to be kept in the loop for all future plans.

“If there is some idea of expansion, we would want some say in that,” he said, adding the regional district might not agree with city plans. “We’ll see what happens in the future, but for now, I’m in support of this.”