Officials want municipal airport to stay open but in private hands

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, July 29, 2003

[7/29/03]A month after regaining control of Vicksburg Municipal Airport, city officials have taken no action to close or fix the 55-year-old facility, but say they are looking for ideas.

On Monday, the mayor and aldermen tabled an agenda item to apply for the $650,000 state grant that would fund some improvements at the airport off U.S. 61 South. Later, city board members said they want to hold off on seeking the grant offered by Gov. Ronnie Musgrove to see if there’s a way to keep the airport open, but in private hands.

“We’re still trying to pick up some more information and some more clarification with regards to this CDBG money,” said North Ward Alderman Gertrude Young. “I want to make sure that we have some options and, with regards to this group (of airport users that sued the city), that they will have some place to go.”

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A court-ordered injunction was lifted July 1 after being in place since 1998 when litigation followed a 2-1 vote by officials in office to close the old airport in favor of a new facility at Mound, La. Members of this administration have said they may close Vicksburg Municipal but in favor of building a new community airport at the Ceres Research and Industrial Park.

Mayor Laurence Leyens said that one proposal the city is looking at is selling or leasing the airport to the 18 plaintiffs who are the main users of that facility. He said they are expecting a written proposal this week.

“If we don’t get a substantial offer by Friday, my expectation is that by Monday we’re going to act on it,” Leyens said.

Since July 1, the airport has been under a month-to-month contract with one of the 18 businessmen who sued to keep it open, but it was that group that commissioned a study showing the facility needs $650,000 worth of maintenance immediately and $3.3 million overall.

Young had cast the only dissenting vote in the previous administration voting to keep the airport open, but since seeing the study she has said she may change her vote.

South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman, who was not in office during the administration that previously voted to close the airport, said he doesn’t know how he will vote.

“If they want to vote tomorrow then my vote will be to keep it open, but if they want to vote in six months and we have some option then I’ll vote to close it,” Beauman said.

“I think its inevitable that the thing is going to close unless they can work something out with (the plaintiffs.),” he added.

It would be unusual to have a private facility receive public money and, according to most federal sources, federal dollars are not available since they were used to pay 90 percent of the construction cost of Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional, the 10-year-old facility at Mound.

Work suggested in the study by Neel-Schaffer, which was paid for by four of the plaintiffs, includes rehabilitating the airport built in 1948, taxiway improvements and land acquisition and clearing for safety improvements.

The board did vote Monday to approve payment of $3,413 to the VTR. Vicksburg is one-fourth owner of that 10-year-old facility along with Warren County, Tallulah and Madison Parish. Annual operating supplements have been costing each government about $20,000 per year, but have been declining. Capital work is funded separately.