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Airport plans taking flight

Trail Regional Airport users will have an idea of what a new airport terminal will look like and cost early in 2015.

Trail Regional Airport users will have an idea of what a new airport terminal will look like and cost early in 2015.

Don Goulard, airport manager, says he has been working closely with the chosen architecture firm to iron out the details on what is needed for a new terminal building.

“The decision was made back in September to go with the Office of McFarlane Biggar (OMB) and MMM Group, a big airport division consulting firm,” he said, adding that the two companies were in town last week to survey the area.

“It was an intense 24 hours. They wanted to learn everything about the whole area as quickly as possible.”

Goulard gave the architecture firm a Feb. 1 deadline to have a concept plan and budget ready for him to present to Trail City Council.

“We (the consultants and Goulard) drove around, we looked at things and we talked about the requirements for the terminal building and everything outlined in the Request For Proposal (RFP) for what we should have in the terminal building.

“We were up late and back at it early in the morning.”

The two companies were hired for the project after Goulard put together an RFP last spring and around two dozen architects surveyed the site in the summer.

The airport isn't going to break ground on a new terminal any time in the next few months, but the project is continuing forward with input from affected groups.

“There is a process that we have to follow and now, we are trying to put together a stakeholder group of those who have a vested interest in being part of this planning,” said Goulard. “The mayor, council, people who use the airport, Pacific Coastal and Red Mountain, for example.”

Goulard says the discussion is ongoing with OMB and MMM making sure that every invested group gets what they want. For example, Pacific Coastal may need a certain number of check-in desks within the new terminal.

“We just had a one hour and 48 minute conference call (on Wednesday), just talking the details,” he said. “It is a real group effort here.”

After that, the next step is to find the money for the project, whether it is funding from outside sources or finding the dollars in the budget.

“There is a lot going on right now, and come Feb. 1, there will be the whole, 'where are we going to get the money,' or, 'how are we going to pull this off,'” he said, adding that council will be familiar with the information in the report.

“Council will also be working on this project throughout, so they will know what is in there. It will based on their input and the input of other stakeholders.”