Concerned with the condition and size of the local Moose Jaw Municipal Airport northeast of the city, a group of local citizens is looking to create a local Moose Jaw Municipal Airport Authority to run and manage the current city-run facility.

Greg Simpson is CEO of Simpson Seeds and one of the people looking to spearhead the transfer. He explained why it's time for a change.

"The airport is managed by the City Engineers Department. But they do have other priorities - you can imagine right now with the cast iron project, water/sewer issues, snow removal in the winter, so they are really running this just off the side of their desk because they have so many other priorities."

On Monday night at City Council, The Municipal Airport Authority Bylaw was given its first and second reading, which would create an official Airport Authority to oversee operations at the Municipal Airport. It will go before Council for third and final reading at the next regular meeting of Council on August 13.

Simpson talked about what kind of changes are needed.

"Just the runway length - it's only 2,950 feet. When you consider all of the other major cities in Saskatchewan - Swift Current, Weyburn, Estevan, Prince Albert - they're all 5,000-foot runways and we're at 2,950, which is significantly short of what's required to fly safely with today's modern aircraft."

He says this organization would be made up of people using the airport.

"The airport authority will be made up of members of the aviation industry who have experience, but most importantly have a vision and a passion to see this asset being used to benefit the citizens of Moose Jaw and businesses in Moose Jaw and the surrounding area."

Back in November of 2017 along with the motion was approval of a $500,000 grant and matching loan that would be used to secure federal and provincial funding for upgrades. That funding was a concern to Councillor Dawn Luhning who said there are many other major infrastructure projects that need money and don't have it right now, questioning why the airport has become such a high priority.