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YORKTON — The rising costs to have facilities at the Yorkton Airport had Greg Ottenbreit before the regular meeting of Yorkton Council June 3.

Ottenbreit’s concerns were summarized succinctly in the opening line of a letter sent previously to Council.

“In light of the recent tax adjustments and the substantial increases in costs at the Yorkton Municipal Airport, I am requesting that Council pursue a reduction in the mill rate and/or the adjustment or elimination of lease and maintenance fees on the airport property,” he said.

The new assessment on property is a major contributor to the rising costs.

Recent assessments came in at 2.5 times the previous assessment, said Ottenbreit, who added in discussions with the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency the market valuation is not being questioned.

However, Ottenbreit did suggest the fees collected by the city for services and benefits to have property at the Yorkton Municipal Airport are already high.

“Any user of the airport, whether they own a hangar, rent a single spot in one of the hangars, or leave an aircraft outside for little or no cost, has the same access to the airport services and infrastructure. I would argue that building owners at the airport contribute substantially to the facility, its operation and viability,” he detailed in his letter.

Last year Ottenbreit noted charges by the City last year were approximately $4,000 for maintenance, $7,000 for lease payments and $10,000 in taxes.

“Recent tax notices for our property will increase taxes initially by approximately 60 per cent to nearly $16,000 per year and will increase to over $24,000 in 2028, up from approximately $10,000 per year.

“If lease fees and maintenance fees remain unchanged, we still see our annual fees to the City increasing from approximately $21,000 to over $35,000, which is unaffordable and unfair, especially for our properties which are predominantly personal and/or private with little opportunity for offsetting costs with income,” detailed the letter.

And, Ottenbreit questioned if the fees and taxes were providing a reasonable return to airport users.

For example, in his letter “The service provided by airport maintenance providers is very good at moving snow after storms, however at times we still find ourselves clearing snow on the taxiway and access road to the property, grading and/or dragging the access road, repairing and sweeping the taxiway, among other duties.”

In addition, Ottenbreit said users were promised improvements to the west taxiway in front of the private hangars when we began construction 9 years ago, however the only improvements that have occurred to date have been done by us personally.

“It should not be up to the airport building owners to maintain and improve the public infrastructure of the airport,” he noted in the letter.

The letter also detailed, “The west taxiway is virtually unusable during spring thaw without major work and effort on our part, however we do appreciate the City temporarily waiving the maintenance fees this year in consideration of this fact.

“There is no sewer, water or other infrastructure to access, so all properties must have water and sewer hauled. All utility service installations to properties at the Yorkton Municipal Airport Private Hangar Area have been at the entire cost to building owners, as lots are unserviced.

With the issues laid out Ottenbreit proposed;

* a reduction in the mill rate (and fees) to offset most of the increase

Or, if the mill rate is to remain:

* an elimination of the lease fees, as they are more than offset by the corresponding taxes collected because of the building and development

* an elimination of maintenance fees, as little or no benefit is provided for this fee

Council voted to file the presentation at Tuesday’s meeting.