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General Aviation
Meeting proposed for three municipalities regarding future of Saugeen Municipal Airport
January 15, 2024 By Pauline Kerr, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Walkerton Herald Times
BROCKTON – Chris Peabody, Brockton mayor and Bruce County warden, said that after an extended break for the holidays, “it’s back to work – ROMA (Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference), budget and two county meetings this month.”
In an interview prior to the Jan. 9 meeting of Brockton council, Peabody spoke about a report that has come before council regarding Saugeen Municipal Airport.
As of press time, no decision had been made regarding a proposed meeting of the three councils – Brockton, Hanover and West Grey. Peabody said he’d go with council’s decision. However, he added that he’s not sure what the meeting would accomplish, especially since the group would have “no legislative authority to make decisions.”
As for Brockton, “Our position is clear,” he said. “I don’t see that changing.”
Brockton decided at its Nov. 14, 2023 council meeting that selling the airport to a private operator would be its preference in moving forward. Among the issues outlined in the staff report presented at that meeting were “significant unbudgeted legal expenses and upgrades to the fuel system that resulted in a deficit at the end of 2022.”
Peabody said in the interview that his personal preference would be for “Hanover to buy us out… we’ve been hearing the upside (of the economic benefits of having a municipal airport) for years and nothing has materialized for us or other airports in the area.”
Also on the Brockton council agenda is a presentation on Victoria Jubilee Hall.
“It’s definitely a good news story,” said Peabody, noting the many improvements that have been made to the historic building recently.
One issue that involves both Brockton and Bruce County is the MZO (Minister’s Zoning Order) for property in East Ridge, to allow residential development in an area previously zoned as employment lands.
Peabody said that prior to the holidays, he received news from the province.
“They (the province) were going to revoke it. We have four major investors up there,” he said.
The matter has since been resolved, in a large part due to the fact the apartment building presently under construction has water (the area has had water for years) and had the foundations in, Peabody explained.
“We’re pushing ahead.”
He noted, “A handful of them did get pulled, including in Southgate and Collingwood… It does point to the massive instability the Greenbelt issue has caused.”
