Will Sun Peaks pay?

By MARKUS ERMISCHStaff reporterFeb 04 2007 http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/

Asking resort for airport expansion help not ruled out. As Kamloops’ quest for federal cash to expand the airport enters yet another stage, the president of the Kamloops Airport Authority Society (KAAS) isn’t ruling out asking Sun Peaks Resort for financial help. “It’s not something that’s out of the question, but at the same time it’s not something we’ve pursued actively,” said John O’Fee. “That’s a bridge we haven’t crossed yet because we don’t know what our total numbers are.” Sun Peaks, which is enjoying increasing popularity and is a major economic generator for the Thompson-Nicola region, would be a primary beneficiary of an expanded airport as it would allow for larger planes carrying more passengers to fly into Fulton Field. In fact, the resort at the end of Tod Road is repeatedly mentioned in an impact analysis released in April 2005.

“Tourism operators like Sun Peaks Resort are fuelling job creation throughout the Thompson-Nicola region, but visitor growth is constrained by inadequate runway length at Kamloops Airport,” reads the first sentence of an executive summary of the impact analysis. O’Fee, however, said the KAAS would prefer to work within the proposed funding framework, which includes equal contributions from federal and provincial levels of government, as well as a local share paid for through an airport improvement fee (AIF). O’Fee pointed out that Big White Ski Resort near Kelowna did not contribute funds to the expansion of the Okanagan city’s airport.

But the proposed funding framework has proven ineffective. To date, only Victoria has contributed $4 million to the project. An application for $1 million of federal funds under the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Program remains to be adjudicated, and proceeds from the $5 AIF, charged since last month, are placed into a trust fund, which will be used to pay off any debt the KAAS may incur as a result of the expansion.

Enlisting four prominent Kamloops businessmen to lobby Ottawa for funds was the latest development in the airport saga. The Fulton Foursome met Thursday with representatives from city hall and airport manager Fred Legace to discuss plans. A first step would be to update the impact analysis, as most figures relating to construction costs and economic development are more than two years out of date. Once updated, the document will be distributed to Ottawa decision-makers, including Pacific Gateway Minister David Emerson, Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon and Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn.

O’Fee said Kamloops, like Prince George, should be “looking at [the airport expansion] through the lens of the pine beetle.” Last month, Prince George received $11 million out of a fund meant to diversify the economies of cities hit by the pine-beetle epidemic. Because the pine-beetle infestation is moving north to south, Kamloops has not been as severely impacted as Prince George, but, O’Fee said, “our time is coming, I think.” The Fulton Foursome are local businessman and lawyer Russ Cundari, Sun Peaks Resort general manager Darcy Alexander — who could not be reached for comment on possible Sun Peaks involvement in airport funding — lawyer Frank Quinn and former B.C. attorney general Bud Smith.