MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - Council has approved the purchase and installation of a base station radio for the Olds-Didsbury Airport in the amount of $2,500.
The move came by way of motion at the recent regularly scheduled council meeting, held in person and online.
During a recent engagement at the Olds-Didsbury Airport, Mountain View County Reeve Angela Aalbers, deputy reeve Greg Harris and councillor Alan Miller were told that the previous privately-owned base station radio at the airport was recently removed by the owner.
The radio was for individuals to communicate with arriving aircraft where necessary.
“This item (proposed purchase) was returned to the airport advisory committee for consideration and was subsequently recommended that council consider the replacement of the radio in the terminal building,” administration said in a briefing note to council.
Council also approved the purchase of equipment to upgrade the fuelling system at the county-owned Sundre Airport.
“During a recent audit of the Sundre Airport fuel system by the Alberta Safety Codes, there were multiple infractions identified that required remedial action,” administration said. “All of these actions have been completed with the exception of a requirement for dispenser hoses to be equipped with a retracting mechanism.
“This is further complicated as fuel hoses are only permitted to be 6.5 metres in length and are currently more than 15 metres in length which is required to distance themselves from the fuel tanks.”
As such, KS2 (which operates the Sundre Airport under contract) has reviewed potential solutions to resolve this issue and has recommended that the county proceed with the purchase of a hose cabinet, as is currently in place at the Olds-Didsbury Airport, council heard.
“This would accomplish the audit requirement of having the hoses securely stored with a retracting mechanism and also allow for the existing length of hose to continue to be used.”
The cabinet and installation cost is estimated to be $38,000. The purchase will come from existing contingency budgets, said the county's chief administrative officer Jeff Holmes.
County will apply for grant for rail crossing project
In other news from the April 12 meeting, the county will be applying for a Transport Canada grant to help pay for the upgrade of a rail crossing south of Didsbury.
The project at Township Road 310 between Range Road 15 and Range Road 20 would have a total estimated cost of $470,626, with the county’s portion of the cost being $94,125.
The upgrades would include the installation of flashing lights, bells and gates.
“The county as the road authority applies for Rail Safety Improvement Program (RSIP) with a potential 80/20 split and up to 80 per cent could be funded by Transport Canada, the remaining 20 per cent would be covered by the road authority,” administration said in a briefing note to council.
The Transport Canada funding allocation decision will not be made until 2024.
“A final decision on whether or not to go forward with this project can be made based on how successful the county is in the grant process.”
All council members attended the April 12 meeting, held in person and online.
