Councillor says area should help airport

Stephenville town councillor Cec Stein says the time is now to ask Stephenville's surrounding communities to contribute to the finances of Stephenville International Airport.

The councillor made the comments at the Nov. 30 meeting of council.

He said it would be prudent to ask now as budget time for each town approaches.

"We were fat cats," said the councillor of Stephenville's financial situation under Abitibi. "We didn't need to bother anybody, if nobody wanted to help us we'd do it on our own. That day is gone and the taxpayer of Stephenville is the highest taxpayer in Southwestern Newfoundland."

The Councillor said the airport may be located in the town, but is utilized by residents of the entire Southwest Coast. He said it was time the airport be supported not only by the taxpayers of Stephenville.

Mayor Tom O'Brien said that he and Deputy Mayor Mike Tobin raised the same issue at the last Southwest Coast Joint Council meeting, asking towns to think of the Stephenville Airport in preparing their budgets.

"We asked for their moral support and also just what you said," the mayor told Councillor Stein. "We're all now going into our budget time and we'd like to officially ask you to keep the airport in mind when you do your budget."

Councillor Laura Aylward said she was bothered that a business plan was prepared for the airport in 2004 and paid for by government, and that the new business plan is not yet completed. She wondered could information from the first plan have been used to complete the second.

"I know they had to get a lot of figures and stuff but there is a lot of stuff in that document that they could have availed of and I don t know if they did," she said.

Councillor Aylward asked the mayor why the plan is taking so long to complete and what the final cost of it will be.

Mayor O'Brien responded that the audited financial statements for the plan were to be available last week and that the plan cost $35,000 with an additional $10,000 or $15,000 for the preparation of audited financial statements.

He added that the company preparing the plan found adjustments in the audited financial statements.

"They're after finding enough adjustments and that to pay for themselves, that's what it appears to be now," he said.

Mayor O'Brien said the process of getting this new business plan done has been a cumbersome one but that it should be near completion.