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Board agrees to back airport land purchase talks as Golden Triangle Airport seeks partners for industrial expansion
Summary
Golden Triangle Regional Airport officials told the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors they are seeking local funding partners to buy adjacent land for industrial development and to preserve sites for aerospace growth; the board voted to proceed with discussions and consideration of county participation.
Officials from the Golden Triangle Regional Airport—a hub for aerospace and related industrial activity—asked the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors to consider investing in a parcel of land adjacent to the airport to preserve industrial sites and enable future development.
Airport representatives said the authority has an FAA grant of $1 million and is trying to raise about $1.1 million more. The airport asked member counties and cities that own the authority to participate; the airport asked Oktibbeha County to consider a 20% share aligned with the county's ownership stake in the airport.
Joe (Golden Triangle airport representative) told supervisors the parcel under option is priced at $18,250 per acre and that similar nearby purchases have been at higher per-acre prices. He said the airport wants to hold the land to avoid incompatible uses on property that immediately abuts runways and taxiways and to preserve sites that can be leased to aerospace manufacturers.
Matt Dowell (airport official) said the plan is to secure a loan for $1.1 million at an interest rate target of about 6 percent, producing a fixed annual payment around $30,000 that would amortize the loan over a 10-year term. Officials said the airport hopes to leverage the FAA grant and local contributions to close the purchase and later lease sites to industry.
Supervisor Kramer moved to proceed with the airport's proposal and solicitation of Oktibbeha County participation; Supervisor Little seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
Airport officials said the acquisition would allow longer-term intermodal and industrial planning near runways and taxiways, and they stressed that the FAA and airport policy would restrict incompatible land uses on the parcel.
