Clearview loses bid for airport

Clearview Township Mayor Christopher Vanderkruys announced at the August 13 council meeting that the municipality’s $3.5 million bid to purchase the Collingwood Regional Airport was rejected by the Town of Collingwood.

According to a township news release, Vanderkruys said that Clearview Township has concerns related to the evaluation process and scoring of the submitted bids. The Township’s understanding was that keeping the facility in public ownership would have resulted in favourable scoring. At this point, no clarification or communication of any manner related to the sale of the regional airport has been provided by the Town of Collingwood.

After it was announced that Winterland Developments Ltd was the successful bidder, Vanderkruys said officials have been in touch “with the purpose of starting informal discussions related to the successful and continued operation of the Regional Airport located within Clearview Township.”

“It has been encouraging to see the excitement and professionalism of Winterland Developments Ltd around the future operations of the regional airport. I have shared my views around the importance of the airport for both Clearview Township and for the County of Simcoe as a whole. In my opinion, Winterland Developments Ltd understands the importance of the regional airport as a key economic driver for our region,” said Vanderkruys.