Annapolis Valley Flying Association - Task Force Meeting
26 April 2014 - Terminal Building - Waterville Airport
9:00 am - Chair: Christoph Both
(Agenda for the meeting attached below)
Minutes of 12 April Meeting - Move to approve (Bill Young) 2nd (Cyril Mosher) - Approved
Reports:
Ted Davison reported on visits to West Hants during the previous week - Chris B. gave officers an outline of airport operations at Waterville. The idea of putting an airport in W.Hants was received enthusiastically. But there are no funds and flat land in the undulating terane of W.Hants would make location difficult
Art Patton has talked to people at Stanley Airport. The airport is the property of N.S. Department of Lands and Forests and is an aerodrome. As a result there are restrictions as to what can be done there. eg. no business or selling of fuel. The people there are positive to moving in with them. There were also mention of the Colchester airport wanting more activity but that is too far away.
Walter Isenor mentioned that the Cambridge First Nations has land nearby and are interesting in expanding and developing a business plan similar to that of the First Nations near Truro.
Resources:
CBCL Report Facts:
Ian Patrick has been busy in the last two weeks by giving interviews with many radio stations in the Province. The basis of his arguments use fact from the Report by CBCL on the Reloction of the Waterville Aiport. Many people who claim to have read it have not and have missed the facts that the Waterville airport is shown to be a valuable economic engine for the county and region. Chapter 6 of the reportr has the meat the facts.
The council has recently created a background paper and put it on their website
http://www.county.kings.ns.ca/upload/All_Uploads/Main/News/04-25-2014-WatervilleBackgrounder%20(Public).pdf
This paper has cherry picked the CBCL report to justify the council decision to close the airport. They do not show any of the numbers or fact that show the value of having a Kings County Airport.
Ian urges member to use the information in the report. It is the most expertly done study available.
Of Note: The council has been talking to Michelin when they have no authority to do business with a foreign company. The Airport land was purchased with a $50,000 grant from the provincial govenment in 1975 so they could get Federal grants improve the airport.
Ian P. pointed out that Premier McNeil could cancel the decision of the MOK council on airport closure but hasn't. Once the airport is closed, it will be gone.
Politicians:
Bill Young reported that Councillor Bishop hopes to put forth a motion on May 6th to change the condions of airport closure . We need to convince the council to support the motions. The problem is that five or six of the council will not consider change and the council itself has been told not to talk about the airport. This later instruction is a perversion of democracy and disserve to the public. This is from the CAO of MOK who is an employee of the council.
Ian Patrick and the Goddards (Peter, Ann and Tom) have talked with Premier McNeil but he will make no commitment to the airport.
N.S. ERDT (Economic Rural Development and Tourism) letter to MOK states that there will be little or no money from the province for a new airport even if the business case is proven.
Greenwood:
There is no feedback yet from the information session with representives of the command at CFB Greenwood about using their facilities. Indications are that they have no money to provide facilities .
MOK Airport Business Case Study:
The Terms of Reference for this study have been written by MOK but without input from the Waterville Airport Coop. We should try to get a copy of these terms.
Publicity:
Nancy Sweeney has been very busy creating press releases, arranging interviews, setting up the open house in May at the airport, running the Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/groups/673426702704922/
Round Table Meeting:
The meeting between parties to be arranged by Keith Irving has not happened yet and there is no news.
This is taking longer that necessary. The MLA will only be in session for two more weeks.
Ann and Tom Goddard met with Scott Brison (MP) with no result. They also met with Greg Kerr (MP) and he could only talk jobs. More meetings are planned by the Goddards.
Transport Canada:
Art Patton talked with Transport Canada in Monction about the airport certificate. They stated that the only entity that can request a recinding of the airport certificate is the operator mentioned on the certificate. That is the WACL not MOK.
LNG at the Michelin Waterville Plant:
The facility at Michelin is to be a decanting station which does not have a storage facility. LNG is piped directly from the tanker trucks to be burned in the boilers of the plant. No news on its location. The existence of the airport restricts its location and when the airport is closed that restriction will be gone.
Motions:
by Peter Goddard "Request that Ann Goddard and Ian Patrick visit Premier McNeil to ask him to delay the closure of the airport" 2nd Ted Davison - Passed
Published Articles and Public Comments:
Concensus: The MOK background paper (mention and referenced above) needs to be countered with a more balanced view of the airport. Larry Bogan and Ian Patrick will create a new 'better' background paper. Deadline is in one week.
Chronicle Herald has published a couple of articles on the airport recently
We should add our comments since not all of the public agree with us.
Support from neighboring airports:
Some are not aware so various members agreed to talk to people at Debert, Yarmouth and Stanley,
Strategy:
There was discussion of starting a petition. Opinion was that it would be good thing to have but that it will take time we have very little to present it to the MOK or N.S. Legislature. The ideas for wording are at the end of the agenda circulated at the meeting. (see below) It was agreed to consider it more.
Bill Young proposed that Coexistence could be a successful theme for a strategy. We need continuity of operation at the airport and there is no reason the Waterville operation could not continue until such times as Michelin might need the airport land for expansion. If we could work with the MOK council and work out a method.
Another opinion suggested that WACL not take the $50,000 payment for operating costs since the CAO seems to keep using it as a tool. WACL would have to make that decision.
The concept of moving the runway to allow for an expansion as suggested by Art Patton and Peter Rouleau could work with the Coexistence idea but no one knows the size and placement of the building that would be put there.
Open House Planning:
The open house at CCW3 is coming on fast and we will have only one more meeting before then. Volunteers are urgently needed. Walter Isenor, Larry Bogan, Cyril Mosher and Nancy Sweeney will make a list of tasks to be done and solicit volunteers. This is to be done before the next meeting. A lot of volunteer help will be needed since there appears to be a good deal of interest from other airports to come for the open house.
Next Meeting: 10 May 2014 9:00 am at Waterville Airport
Adjournment: Move by Cyril Mosher 11:30 am
Tire Industry Information:
The website at http://Tirebusiness.com is an excellent source of information.
-- For example: the Michelin plants in South Carolina are much bigger and newer than those in Nova Scotia. They have been expanded many times in recent years because of their modular construction. Parts of these plants manufacture the same line of tires and the Waterville Michelin plant. It seems unlikely that Michelin would invest in an older plant when it would be easier there. This information should be given to the MOK council so they can consider how shaky their predictions of expansion here are.
Notes by Larry Bogan
Vice President, AVFA
=============================== AGENDA =========================
AGENDA:
Call to Order
Approving Minutes of last Task Force meeting, April 12-2014
Report West Hants New Airport (Ted/Christoph)
RESOURCES:
CBCL Final Report: Facts and Fiction: (Ian Patrick)
Province of Nova Scotia Financial commitment, NS Province: Letter ERDT March 27
Greenwood CFB Position: (Walter Isenor): Short/long term viability options
COTW Terms of Reference: Business Case Study: $75,000 Economic Viability Study
PUBLIC RELATIONS UPDATE:
Task Force PR Update (Nancy Sweeney)
POLITICIANS: MLA Keith Irving: Provincial Premier Round Table
MOK/CAO “All is Well” statement to stakeholders (LNG-Michelin Plant update)
Messages to MOK councilors (Ian Patrick)
Public comments on Chronicle Herald Article (April 22)
1) Printed News:
a. LOCAL: The Advertiser (?)
b. REGIONAL: Chronicle Herald (April 22)
c. NATIONAL: COPA, Globe and Mail (?)
d. INTERNATIONAL: Experimental Aircraft Association (?)
2) Radio/TV:
a. CBC Radio (Ian Patrick)
b. Global News, Halifax (Ian Patrick)
3) Online Activities, Blogs, friend’s networks etc.
4) Neighboring Aviation Association contact for support
DEVELOPING OUR MISSION to save CCW3:
1) Re-Drafting Existing Airport Resource for Future Use (Art Patton)
2) Mission Statement:
Needs and Desires for a New Airport (Final Report CH#3)
Advantages of Preserving Existing Airport Resource (CH#4 & CH#5)
A New Airport Governance and Management Model (CH#7)
Existing Airport- Financial Summary (APP-B)
A changed land use agreement
AVFA Waterville Airport Open House May 31: Proposed schedule of events (Nancy Sweeney)
NEW ITEMS:
Petition (see below)
MOTION to adjourn
==================== Petition for Discussion =======================
What is a petition? A petition is a document presented to the House of Assembly by an MLA on behalf of his or her constituents. It requests action by the House of Assembly or the government in power.
Why is petitioning important? Petitioning is a way for an MLA to get issues that concern his or her constituents into the public domain.
Who petitions the House of Assembly? Anyone can submit a petition through their MLA.
What is in a petition? Petitions contain a request for action (called a “prayer”). The request must ask the House of Assembly or government to do something that is within its constitutional powers. They can be either written or printed (not electronic) and signed by as few as one person. If there are three or more signatures, however, they must be on the first page with the prayer. The prayer should appear at the top of every page of a petition. There is no standard format. All petitions must bear original signatures. Photocopies of petitions or print-outs of Internet petitions are not acceptable. Similarly, boxes or bundles of printed e-mails are not accepted. The MLA presenting the petition is responsible for ensuring that its content is appropriate. He or she must also endorse the petition being presented to show which MLA tabled it, even if he or she does not agree with it.
How is a petition presented?
MLAs present petitions on behalf of their constituents. Usually petitions are presented in the House during the daily routine, then tabled, but they can also be filed directly with the Clerk at any time during a sitting. Once filed with the Clerk, petitions become part of the public record of the House.
MLAs are not compelled to present petitions and doing so does not imply personal support for the action requested.
OPTION 1:
We, the undersigned, petition the Province of Nova Scotia to interject in the decision made to close the Kings County Municipal Airport effective as of September 30, 2014 and strike the vote from record. A new vote would subsequently take place after the Municipality of Kings council members attend an information session about the CBCL report prepared for Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations dated May 22, 2013 entitled “Waterville Municipal Airport Relocation Study” and after a roundtable discussion with provincial government representatives, airport employees, airport user groups’ representatives and Michelin so that concerns regarding the closure are thoroughly discussed.
OPTION 2:
We, the undersigned, petition the Municipality of Kings council to revoke the vote cast in March 2014 to close the Kings County Municipal Airport. Subsequently, we encourage all council members to attend an information session about the CBCL report prepared for Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations dated May 22, 2013 entitled “Waterville Municipal Airport Relocation Study” as well as a roundtable discussion with provincial government representatives, airport employees, airport user groups’ representatives, COPA and Michelin so that concerns regarding the closure are thoroughly discussed. After the aforementioned actions have taken place, a plebiscite is posed to the residents of Kings County before any other vote to close the airport takes place.
OPTION 3:
We, the undersigned, petition the Municipality of Kings council to revoke the vote cast in March 2014 to close the Kings County Municipal Airport and conduct a new vote after the following actions have been taken:
1. All Municipal Councillors have read and understood the CBCL report entitled “Waterville Municipal Airport Relocation Study” dated May 22, 2013.
2. A roundtable discussion has taken place between the Municipality of Kings, the Province of Nova Scotia, Michelin, COPA, and representatives from airport businesses (i.e. Greenwood Flight Centre, Atlantic School of Skydiving, etc.), users (i.e. the Annapolis Valley Flying Association), the Waterville Airport Cooperative and property owners (i.e. the Hangar Owners Group).
3. A plebiscite is posed to the residents of Kings County asking the following question:
a. “Would you support the relocation of the Kings County Municipal Airport located in Waterville, Nova Scotia, if and only if, Michelin formally agreed to an expansion (i.e. puts it in contract form)?”
4. Each municipal councillor participated in a short flight over Kings County.
NAME--- ADDRESS ------------- SIGNATURE
