The District of Squamish and Squamish Airport tenants are set to negotiate possible funding to supply water to the facility, a move some councillors warn will open a can of worms.
The water connection is needed to address safety concerns, Neil Plumb, the district's real estate manager, told Squamish mayor and council at their Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday (Oct. 4). Airport tenants are on wells, which doesn't provide enough water to combat a fire. Even when battling a jet fuel blaze, water is required to mix the chemicals used to fight those fires, he noted.
Coun. Paul Lalli backed Plumb's position. Fire chiefs have told Lalli the safety issue at the airport is an important one, he said.
"God forbid something happened and we couldn't fight the fire because of the decisions that have been made," Lalli said.
But while the line is needed to fight fires, it's also needed for further airport development and to secure long-term leases for the airport's businesses - a move some councillors say would necessitate a broader discussion with the community.
In the past, citizens have spoken against such development, Coun. Corinne Lonsdale said. Tensions reached a high point in the mid-1990s. At the time, a Seattle-based air carrier wanted to introduce regularly scheduled service with Dash-7 planes between Squamish and Seattle. In 2000, the district held a referendum on whether residents supported the idea of allowing no more than 10 leases for airport-related businesses at the facility. It passed.
It may all be a moot point, Lonsdale warned. The airport sits in an area covered by the district's Cheekye Fan Terrain Hazard Policy - a document created using information from a provincial study that assessed landslide hazards from the 2.6-kilometre high, unstable slopes of Mount Garibaldi. The 1993 policy does not allow permanent buildings and rezoning or subdivisions in the risk zones until area-wide mitigation occurs.
A DOS corporate services report to Committee of the Whole stated that a 2010 Cheekye Fan hazard review prepared by the engineering firm Dayton and Knight, which incorporated more recent data, suggested that on-site mitigation could protect the airport.
Lonsdale questioned whether, if the water line were installed, the district would then be on the hook for a $900,000 localized deflection berm outlined in the report.
"I believe we need to go back to the public and see how the airport fits into the future before we have to build a $1 million berm," she said, noting that she has no faith that the Cheekye Fan situation is somehow improving.
Airport businesses provide jobs for Squamish residents and yet they run risks without water, Coun. Rob Kirkham said. He supported the idea of district staff and tenants exploring financial options to pay for the pipeline. However, he noted his skepticism about whether businesses would be willing to contribute.
"I can't picture businesses doing funding on a three-year lease," he said.
Airport tenants have been trying to get long-term leases for more than 20 years, said Colette Morin, Glacier Air owner. The airport was originally developed by community volunteers and the government paid for the runway, before the property was handed over to the district, she noted.
"The district has put minimal resources into the airport," she said, adding that communication between the facility users and the municipality are improving.
To get the long-term leases, the Cheekye Fan issue needs to be resolved and water must service the facility, Morin said. The district is asking the airport businesses to front the money for the line, but the companies cannot do that without a long-term lease, she said.
It's a bit of a Catch-22 situation.
With a year left on her current lease, Morin said if she wants to increase the size of her business and the airport's infrastructure, it would require at least a 30-year lease.
"Business have been operating here year by year by year. We are operating in good faith because this is our community," Morin said. "We don't want to move."
Committee of the Whole adopted a motion to allow staff to enter discussion with airport tenants about funding a water pipeline.
