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City to upgrade lands near airport

Work will set the stage for development of city-owned porperty

Castlegar City Council, on August 15 agreed to follow a recommendation from the Department of Transportation and Civic Works to supply water and sewer service to 37 acres of land adjacent to the West Kootenay Regional Airport along Highway 3A.

A contract has been awarded to the lowest qualified bidder for the installation of about 400 metres of sanitary and water main and associated infrastructure across the Kinnaird Bridge.

The successful bidder is Acres Enterprises and the sum for phase one of the project is $2,056,549 plus HST.The related report outlines the fact that the airport is now served by a water well and septic system.

Upgrading in the manner agreed upon will set the stage for the type of future development the city plans for the area."We've looked at it over the past four or five years," said Mayor Lawrence Chernoff following the meeting.

"Finally we'll be able to have enough money in hand, with some of the grant money, to do that. That's the link to the airport lands. Phase two will cover either side of the bridge."We have 37 acres at the airport that we need to develop."

As for the project itself, the successful bidder, from Kamloops, was one of three to submit bids, the others were a local firm and one from Aldergrove.

According to the report, Acres Enterprises will be required to submit a traffic management plan to the City and Ministry of Transportation prior to construction. Traffic disruptions on the bridge will be minimized as much as possible.

Director of Transportation and Civic Works, Chris Barlow says phase one is intended to start in the second week of September and continue until late November.Phase two will be arranged next year, relating to the 2012 budget.