On Monday, August 27th, Kelowna City Council will be asked to increase the Kelowna International Airport's budget by 2.192 million dollars.
This would go towards several improvements at YLW that were unforseen when the 2018 budget was submitted, and were not included in the City's Financial Plan.
They include:
- A new chiller and cooling tower. Both broke down earlier this year, and the airport has been temporarily renting a chiller in order to regulate the terminal building's temperature. The cost for the new equipment amounts to $1.115 million, and would be funded by the Airport Terminal Reserve.
- Pavement improvements. This past winter, the pavement on the Alpha and Bravo taxiways had deteriorated to the point where repairs would be required sooner rather than later. These improvements would extend the life of the asphalt by five to six years. The cost amounts to $170,000 out of the Airport Airside Reserve.
- Glycol drain guards. The Airport is looking to purchase a second primary capture vehicle, as well as several new storm drain guards to prevent Glycol and other harmful chemicals from getting into the Airport's storm water system. This would cost up to $90,000 out of the Airport Airside Reserve.
- A new crossing to the polo field. During this year's freshet, part of the roadway on Scotty Creek that gave the Okanagan Polo Club access to the polo fields was washed away. The Airport wants to build a new culverted crossing at a cost of $155,000 from the Airport Airside Reserve.
- Increased security budget. The Airport is looking to increase its security expense budget by $122,000 out of the Airport Airside, Groundside, and Terminal Reserves.
- Increased maintenance budget. The Airport would like to increase its budget by $540,000, to be funded by the Airport Groundside Reserve. Part of this funding would go towards snow removal measures in the wintertime.
Airport officials will be presenting YLW's budget requests to Council at City Hall on Monday afternoon.
At that same meeting, officials will be looking to get approval for a new 20-year lease for Ironman Properties Ltd., which conducts ground maintenance on approximately 1,000 flights a month.