Pincher Creek Airport Committee Needs More Time To Deliberate On Development

Pincher Creek Airport (CZPC) in Canada, a public use airport located a tad over 70 nm north of the Glacier Park International Airport (KGPI) in Montana, USA, has been operational since March 2005, and has a 6,600ft hard surface runway at an elevation of just over 3,900ft.

Presently, the airport is not staffed and does not provide much in the form of services, though self-service 100LL/JetA fuel is available. For the past year, the municipal district of Pincher Creek, municipality of Crowsnest Cross, and the city of Pincher Creek have engaged in discussions on developing the airport, to promote additional business which may help generate revenue from tourism or industrial concerns, thereby resulting in some positive economic impact for the area. Recently, the village of Cowley joined the group in the hopes of forming a ‘Regional Airport Committee’ (RAC), chief tasking of which is the solicitation of service providers on/for the airport that may operate as a non-profit entity.

However, it appears that council members are cautious to go full forward due to a lack of applicable knowledge regarding the operation of such a venture and the associated risks.

Progress was made in the form of the decision to have seven members on the RAC, one from each benefiting municipality/city, as was determining what will constitute a quorum and the participation of absent members. In the authors opinion, this seemed like a minor issue; there are smart(er) people out there with relevant experience whom I’m sure can be called upon or would gladly offer their services and a thorough reading/interpretation of ‘Roberts Rules of Order’ so that the committee can proceed with the improvement project.

However, in the process of finalizing that aspect is the matter of cost, knowing how much of an outlay is expected each cycle, and the means by which the RAC contributes to the pot to get improvement projects underway. There seems to be consensus that “the cash piece is an enormous one”.

As Councilwoman Sahra Nodge stated “given the extremely regulated nature of the trade…working the airport would require specialized data and can consistently be growth-oriented in regard to capital bills.”  Furthermore, she concluded that ““It really does make sense for us to enter a regional piece with it, however I’m not OK with going into what appears to be incomplete governance constructions that open up the city to danger and legal responsibility.” There will be more to come.

FMI: https://mdpinchercreek.ab.ca