The Region of Queens will hold on to the South Shore Regional Airport after all.

Council voted 5-3 to retain ownership of the airport following a public meeting where supporters of both the South Shore Flying Club and the Nova Scotia Drag Racers Association made an argument for council to accept their purchase offer.

At $50,000 from the racers and $100,000 from the flyers, both offers came in under current market value of $565,000, which requires approval from six of eight councillors to be accepted.

For almost three hours supporters on both sides talked about the importance of the respective organizations and the value each brings to the community.

Director of the Nova Scotia Drag Racers Association Scott Sprague says it would have been great for his organization to have control of the airport so they could leave some of their infrastructure in place.

Sprague says 2022 has been a rollercoaster ride as the group moved from the need to negotiate a lease with a new owner in the spring to potentially becoming the new owner themselves.

While he is pleased both groups will still have use of the facility, he says the process has been frustrating.

“Certainly, to end up right back where we normally are, or were, after all this is hard to believe,” said Sprague.

As the process unfolded he said it was important for council to realize what each group contributed to the airport.

“Everyone was a little bit beaten and bruised from this and probably unnecessarily,” said Sprague. “I mean, the relationship was fine. We quite honestly didn’t really cross paths. In the sense that, we set up, we’re a temporary set up. That’s how it’s got to be if you’re going to have an airport too. So, we came and went.”

During the council meeting several of the councillors to the opportunity to apologize to both sides for stirring up bad feelings in a relationship that had worked so well for so many years.

President of the South Shore Flying Club Peter Gow appreciated the gesture.

“I think that speaks highly of anybody in a pretty stressful situation,’ said Gow. “And to acknowledge that maybe there were some things that could have been done differently.”

Many aviation group members spoke of the strategic importance of the South Shore Regional Airport and its location halfway between Halifax and Yarmouth.

The airport is used for pilot training, as landing for private aircraft, during emergency situations like forest fires, EHS air ambulance and search and rescue efforts, to name a few.

Mayor Darlene Norman acknowledged the essential uses of the airfield but expressed concern that all the aviation groups use the airport for free.

“There needs to be a way for the South Shore Fly Club [sic] to find a way to get revenue from all those people that claim the importance of the airport,” said Norman. “We heard from dozens today.”

Gow is hoping to see an expansion of hangars and services at the airport as it’s challenging for the flying club to raise funds from users.

“To try and come up with some ways to see if we can’t grow the facility at the same time maybe try and contribute financially. It’s tough, it’s really tough to do,” said Gow.

The drag racers and flying club will now look to sign new leases with the Region of Queens.

At the end of the day, both men said they are pleased to return to the status quo and look forward to finding their way back to the working relationship they enjoyed before this episode began.

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