By Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Your West Central Voice
EMPRESS – The Village of Empress council agreed to replace necessary bulbs at the municipal airport but balked at quotes for beacon maintenance. The decision was made at the Oct. 21 regular meeting of council.
Interim Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Carrie Loose presented councillors with quotes for airport bulbs and replacement parts at the local airport.
Quotes presented to councillors included both bulbs and the beacon.
Newly elected Coun. Mike Anguish stated that the beacon is the large rotating light visible at night that makes the airport easier to see for aircraft, especially if busy. Anguish noted that the Empress airport is always busy.
Mayor Dawna Martin, when looking at the quotes, reminded councillors there has been talk in the past about the airport’s future.
It was noted during discussion that some rules or regulations applied to the bulbs in question and that there was an obligation to use specific replacements.
Anguish interjected, however, that one replacement part by itself for the beacon was $22,000.
The mayor noted the substantial quote for beacon repair. “To me that’s why I wanted to double-check because that was not budgeted for whatsoever,” said Martin.
During discussion councillors noted vandalism seems to be a recurring problem at the Empress airport, that the airport is checked by staff on a regular basis but that the facility is unsecurable. It was also noted the beacon itself isn’t easily accessible as it’s located on a building’s roof but also that the beacon is “...very old.”
The mayor observed, “We’ve had vandalism before but this seems to be more frequent.”
Anguish suggested a 24-hour-a-day camera be installed at the airport to monitor for trouble, adding that increasing the amount of staff visits to the airport probably wasn’t realistic. Anguish stated that the price tag of cameras could at least be investigated.
It was noted during discussion that the airport covers a fairly large area and that one camera probably couldn’t cover the entire facility.
Councillors agreed they had no concern with the bulb quote and understood that the bulbs had to be replaced. They unanimously passed a resolution to do so.
However, they hesitated to make any decision on the beacon.