St. Paul – Work continues behind the scenes on a regional approach to the future of the St. Paul and Elk Point municipal airports, with a new governance structure potentially taking shape early next year.

CAO Steven Jeffery updated Town council Monday following recent airport committee discussions involving the Town and County of St. Paul.

“We had some really good discussion with the committee on regionalization of both the St. Paul and Elk Point municipal airports,” Jeffery said.

But he stressed the conversation is bigger than simply changing who’s sitting around the committee table.

“Not only the regionalization, but the future of both airports,” he said.

Bylaws expected before both councils

Jeffery said the County will begin drafting bylaws to establish a framework for a new regional airport committee.

Those bylaws are expected to come before both the Town and County councils later in 2026.

Jeffery said he and the County’s CAO believe the new framework could potentially be established during the first quarter of 2027.

“I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t be able to have bylaws in place at some point in the first quarter in 2027, which would kind of lay the framework for the new committee, which would then be regional,” he said.

The Town currently has a greater direct interest in the St. Paul Municipal Airport, but the regionalization discussions are considering both the St. Paul and Elk Point facilities and their long-term future.

No final decision was required Monday.

The next significant step will come when the proposed bylaws are brought forward for consideration later this year.