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Hancock County approves Fort Harbor budget amendment, moves ahead on property purchases and FAA grant plans
Summary
The Board approved Fort Harbor Commission’s FY2025 budget amendment and a $1.18 million DACA claims payment, authorized planning for additional FAA grant-funded projects and discussed a pending purchase of a vacant industrial property the county hopes to redevelop for jobs.
The Hancock County Board of Supervisors on June 16 approved Fort Harbor Commission’s FY2025 budget amendment and several related measures, voted to pay DACA claims of $1,184,428.92 and heard staff describe expected FAA construction grant awards that will be included in a subsequent amendment.
Blaine, a Fort Harbor representative, told the board the amendment (recorded as Amendment 2) brings the commission’s adopted FY2025 budget to $66,105,010 and reflects a net increase of about $430,261 to the adopted budget. He said that a recent runway closure reduced fuel-related revenue and that lease renewals and changing port activity had produced offsets in adopted revenues. The board voted to adopt the amendment (motion moved by District 2, second by District 4; vote 5-0).
Blaine said Port Bienville has experienced lower production through late 2024 and early 2025 but that staff expect summer operations to recover toward historical trends. He also described a roughly $2.4 million increase in a charges-for-services line and a $400,000 increase tied to real tax-credit sales as part of the amendment’s revenue picture.
Separately, the board approved payment of DACA claims in the amount of $1,184,428.92 after Blaine asked for the commission’s approval. That motion carried 5-0.
Blaine said the commission is preparing a third amendment to reflect newly-awarded FAA construction grants — “about 1,900,000” — and will update the FY25 amendment package once those awards are formalized. He also said the county is finalizing a purchase-and-sale agreement to acquire a long-vacant property referred to in the meeting as the “Trash Doctor” site, aiming to close by June 18 and to redevelop the site to attract tenants and jobs; Blaine said the redevelopment could bring roughly 70–90 jobs based on prior comparable deals.
Why it matters: The amendment changes the county’s airport/port spending authority and revenue assumptions for FY2025 and signals additional FAA-funded construction work in the coming budget cycle. The planned real-estate acquisition and sale of a manufacturing facility were described as steps to promote local job growth.
What’s next: Staff said they will incorporate FAA awards into Amendment 3, bring finalized real-estate purchase-and-sale agreements back to the supervisors for approval as required, and continue FY26 budget planning for the airport, railroad industrial park and capital program.
