Argyle council discusses Yarmouth airport

Council says Argyle CAO could remain airport’s interim manager beyond March 31, pending airport board’s decision

Argyle municipal council has given the go-ahead for its chief administrative officer to continue serving as interim manager of the Yarmouth airport if the airport board wants him to stay.

Alain Muise, Argyle’s CAO, took on the position as the airport’s interim manager after the retirement late last year of Mike Fields.

Muise’s term as interim manager was to conclude at the end of March, with the airport’s board determining what to do next.

During his time as interim airport manager, Muise has stayed on as the Municipality of Argyle’s CAO.

At its committee-of-the-whole meeting of Feb. 27, Argyle council passed a motion that would pave the way for Muise to continue his role as interim airport manager, although it did not specify for how much longer, only that the municipality would provide two months’ notice when they would want to terminate the arrangement. Muise had asked council to consider letting him continue, pending airport

The municipality did not give a specific time when it would want to stop providing management services to the airport, saying only it would give 60 days notice for the termination of services.

board approval, until October.

The motion, which is included in minutes that are not official until they are approved at the Municipality of Argyle’s next regular council meeting, is that “council endorse 2018-19 management services for the airport at a rate of $4,000 per month plus HST plus applicable expenses incurred, pending ap- Alain Muise, Municipality of Argyle CAO and interim manager of the Yarmouth airport. proval from the airport board, and that the municipality provide 60 days of notice for termination of the services.”

The motion was passed unanimously.

In a report to council that was part of the agenda package for last week’s meeting, Muise noted he and Hans Pfeil, director of public works for the Municipality of Argyle, both have been engaged in management of the airport, with Pfeil overseeing the engineers’ work on lighting and runway needs.

The $4,000 monthly fee would cover any management services provided to the airport by the Municipality of Argyle.