At last night’s Council (16May2016) meeting two Heroes (Van Heesch & Vankoughnett) stood up to North Huron Staff and made passionate and articulate pleas to save the Wingham Airport. North Huron council forces us to pay for an Economic Development officer (Connie Goodall) and a Facilities Director (Pat Newson) to look after the Airport and develop it. Despite this we have lost at least three hangers and the revenue and jobs they create.
These Heroes took time to do research and stand in front of council to save our airport. It was made clear that losing Air Ornge could be devastating to our Community, as it has sadly been used frequently these past weeks. One business person stated he had to limit his helicopter business growth in Wingham due to the uncertain future of the Airport.
Most of Council was sympathetic to the Delegations, despite this situation being caused by the complete and utter failure of Newson and Goodall (Facility and Economic Directors). Bill “ss” Knott attempted to mislead the Public about the true financial status of the airport, and he virtually called one of the Delegations a liar regarding his presentation and financial impact. Bill was then put in his place by Council and Staff regarding the airport’s finances and past.
Bill “ss” Knott tried to put all the blame on the airport users. Yeah, you read that right!
Bill slammed the Delegations and stated his disappointed that they didn’t offer to take over running the airport, and was demanding council approve to sell/divest the airport immediately via rfp. Knott even mislead everyone about the financial health of the airport claiming it loses over $60,000/year when it only loses a few thousand. Knott took things poorly, and even told a member of the Public gallery to “Shut Up” while Council and Staff were putting Knott in his place.
Now you might be thinking that we can’t afford to spend $5,000 – $10,000/year to keep the airport open and just can’t afford that lose. The simple response is that the $2,000,000 worth of farmland is appreciating in value far in excess of those “on paper” loses, so technically it is profitable. If you have a loved one that needed airlifted to London, I have no doubt you would pay that out of your own pocket to save your child’s life, even if it bankrupted you.
The reality is it is next to impossible to gauge the true value of this airport. While the local impacts may seen obvious to some, such as future business development and accessibility to our area, most remain hidden to many. Numerous homes have been built in a developing country due to a fundraiser at the Airport. The lives of those Recipients have been changed forever, creating even more positive ripple effects. Everything is interconnected.
Thankfully these Heroes stepped up to protect our Community from Bill “ss” Knott and town staff and our Airport has been saved.