By Michael Gorman

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

The Yarmouth airport is $250,000 richer.

Yarmouth MLA Richard Hurlburt attended a meeting of the Yarmouth International Airport Corporation last week to present them with funds for a business development officer. The $50,000 for that position was announced last fall.

But during his presentation Hurlburt said that in consultation with his government an additional $250,000 was found in the surplus and it was to be earmarked for the airport. Hurlburt said the funds could be used as the corporation sees fit.

Bryan Smith, chair of the corporation, said the funds would go towards meetings with airline carriers.

"It isn't something for us to sit on, in that sense," he said. "We want something to happen."

For something to happen at the airport it's becoming clearer and clearer that the community and beyond will have to be active in making it viable. Hurlburt said he has met with fish brokers and other area business people in an attempt to underscore this point.

And while it might be a difficult sell to convince his government to outright subsidize the airport, Hurlburt said it's not that difficult to have them take a plane rather than drive when they come to Yarmouth.

"Every week of the year bureaucrats are travelling from Halifax to Yarmouth . . . for ever department of government," he said. "If we can get a reasonable carrier to come in here and it's going to be cheaper for the taxpayers for (government officials) to use the airline service (then) we're not subsidizing the airline, we're utilizing the airline and we're making better use of our employees."

Hurlburt continued to speak about the airport in an optimistic tone, adding that representatives from a European business would be in town in the coming weeks to tour the area.