Hawkins County commission approves airport grant, radio purchases, appointments and multiple budget amendments

The Hawkins County Board of Commissioners at its Feb. 24 meeting approved use of federal and local funds for airport terminal renovations, authorized purchase of radios using opioid-abatement revenue, appointed a planning commission member for District 2, adopted the county's annual road list and approved several budget amendments affecting general and school funds.

The actions bundle together grant allocations, personnel appointments and budget changes the county said are needed to move projects forward. Commissioners also discussed marketing for the airport after approving the federal allocation and heard questions about timing and scope for emergency radio purchases tied to first-responder programs.

Most significant among the measures, the commission approved resolution 20250202 to accept and allocate $110,000 awarded through the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for airport improvements. The resolution allocates $62,100 for design of terminal renovations and $42,300 for professional construction services; both allocations carry small state and local matches specified in the resolution. The county mayor, Martin Whitley, was authorized to sign documents related to the expenditures.

The board also approved resolution 20250205 to spend $47,069.96 remaining in the county's opioid-abatement account on mobile and portable radios to support volunteer first-responder cardiac-response programs and interoperable communications with Hawkins County EMS. Commissioners discussed whether the state's planned transition to the…