Moose Jaw’s Airport Authority chair and vice-chair say they have succeeded in renovating the airport and creating an ongoing asset to the people of Moose Jaw, and announced the hiring of a consultant to streamline further expansions.
The Moose Jaw Municipal Airport Authority (MJMAA), an organization that manages the airport on behalf of the City of Moose Jaw, held its annual general meeting (AGM) at the Heritage Inn on Dec. 13.
The MJMAA consists of:
- Greg Simpson
- Jarrett Johnson
- Mitch Dougall
- Glen Blager
- Laura Lawrence
- Levi Wood
- Mayor Clive Tolley
MJMAA chair Greg Simpson said the board were pleased with the substantial construction completed in 2022, noting that when they formed there wasn’t much faith from city council that the airport could be a worthwhile investment.
Read about the grand opening of the Moose Jaw Municipal Airport runway expansion here.
“As you know, we have been stewarding an expansion at the airport of at least $3.75 million,” Simpson said. He pointed out that most of that money had come from grants at the federal, provincial, and private sector level. The City of Moose Jaw contributed $500,000 to the project, resulting in a net gain of roughly $3.25 million from the airport’s increase in worth.
“I think the City of Moose Jaw and the citizens of the City of Moose Jaw should be proud,” Simpson added. “If you were to say, ‘I’ll take a half-million dollars and turn it into four million,’ would you turn away that offer?
“I think it was a substantial improvement to our facilities, and certainly we were able to stretch those dollars significantly.”
Simpson said the MJMAA has also made a formal application to the Canada Border Services Agency to become a port of entry, which will allow international flights to land directly rather than going through Regina.
MJMAA vice-chair Jarrett Johnson emphasized that airport was an important economic asset and deserved support.
“Greg and I started lobbying the city council and talking to different entities around Moose Jaw in 2013, I believe,” Johnson said. “At that point, the airport, built in 1978, had never had any major reconstruction or expansion.
“(We realized) the need maintaining the asset that the city had, and the value of it, and there was a lot of people in council that weren’t seeing the value of the asset and had labelled it, rather pejoratively, as a ‘toy box’ and different things.”
Johnson said that after nearly 10 years, they had proved the value. The board has now been discussing what might come next, and have decided to hire a consultant to lay out a strategic, practical plan.
“We have 640 acres of land … how do we properly utilize and maximize the use of land?” he asked. The MJMAA are now working on a Request for Proposals (RFP) process in co-ordination with the City for a study they expect will cost about $25,000.
“They’re going to propose to us, through some site visits, looking not just at the airport but at the city itself, what’s going to benefit the city,” Johnson said.
There’s a risk now as the airport grows, Johnson continued, that in 10 years time they’ll regret the placement of new hangars or the direction of a potential cross-wind runway. The MJMAA wants to make sure they don’t create bottlenecks for themselves.
Other ambitions include a dramatic improvement to the organization’s website (cjs4.ca), better planning for snow removal, and hosting the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA) national convention.
Secretary/treasurer Mitch Dougall presented the MJMAA financial report. The audit of the non-profit was completed by Benson-Trithardt-Noren for the year ending Dec. 31, 2021.
Dougall, who is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), noted that he couldn’t provide information for 2022.
“What I can say is that the airport looks to be ongoing, and I think we can look forward to (the 2022) financial statements as well.”
