Airport gets funding boost for snow clearing
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/11/2021 (1788 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
When the snow finally starts to fall regularly in Brandon this winter, the municipal airport will be ready to tackle it.
Brandon City Council voted Monday to approve the purchase of a new snow-clearing machine from Airport Technologies Inc. for $470,629.87, but the city is only footing a portion of the bill.
That’s because, according to Brandon Municipal Airport manager Greg Brown, the airport was finally successful in getting federal funding to replace its 22-year-old snowplow.
For the past three years, the city had its funding applications denied, but finally found out this summer that Western Economic Diversification Canada would be covering $422,750 of the bill for a new machine funded through its Regional Air Transportation Initiative.
The cost of a replacement machine with financial assistance was included in the city’s financial plan for this year with a grant contribution of $350,000 and a municipal contribution of $17,500.
However, with the actual price being higher than budgeted for, council needed to approve an additional expenditure of $30,379.87 from the city’s reserves.
“It’s a great opportunity, covering 95 per cent of the cost through other sources,” Mayor Rick Chrest said.
Coun. Jan Chaboyer (Green Acres) asked if the new snowplow would last as long as the one it replaced.
“I sure hope so,” Brown said with a smile. “One of the reasons it’s 20 years old is that we have to wait 20 years to apply for funding under the federal program. We have a lot of historical assets at the airport that we use regularly.”
“As long as we’re not borrowing the Tiger Moth from along the way at the air museum, we’ll be good,” Chrest quipped.
Council approved the purchase unanimously.
» The Brandon Sun