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Council ratifies FAA grants for Hawkins Field and Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport; Hawkins apron repairs highlighted
Summary
The council approved multiple Airport Improvement Program and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grants cosponsored with the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority, including funding for apron joint and crack sealing at Hawkins Field; airport leaders said grants support general-aviation safety and that runway length prevents large jets at Hawkins.
The Jackson City Council on Aug. 12 approved a series of co-sponsorship orders with the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority (JMAA) for multiple federal Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law grants, voting 7-0 on the items presented.
Sam Washington, director of capital programming for JMAA, told the council the Hawkins Field project funded under the grants will focus on apron improvements: “We’re gonna do an apron improvement project where we’re going to seal the joints and the cracks in the apron ... so that the apron will be smooth and won’t be producing fog. Fog is a danger to aircraft because it can be sucked into engines,” he said, describing the safety rationale for the work.
Rosa Beckett, CEO of the JMAA, addressed neighborhood concerns about larger jets and local cleanup: she said the Hawkins runway’s length prevents larger jet aircraft from operating there and that the airport intends to maintain general-aviation operations. “Due to the length of the runway at Hawkins Field, larger jets cannot land at Hawkins Field, so our intent is to keep that airport for smaller general aviation activity,” Beckett said. She also said airport staff volunteer to clean nearby Laburnette Road and provided photographs showing past cleanups.
Council members asked about grant deadlines and documentation. Kimberly Carlisle, general counsel for the airport authority, said the FAA had provided updated grant documents and that two offers had been updated to an Aug. 18 deadline. City Attorney Drew Martin told the council that language ratifying already-executed grant agreements had been added to the orders so the council would ratify any documentation signed by the mayor and city attorney prior to the meeting.
The grants include multiple awards to support apron rehabilitation at Hawkins Field and several projects at Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport. Airport officials emphasized each grant reduces the city’s need to find alternate funding for critical safety and infrastructure work.
The council adopted each co-sponsorship order by unanimous vote; the mayor confirmed signed agreements where applicable and staff said they will proceed with grant acceptance and project implementation in coordination with JMAA.
