Hancock County Board approves Port & Harbor budget amendment, authorizes property closing and limited airport fuel access

The Hancock County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 1 approved a Port & Harbor Commission FY26 budget amendment and several Port/airport items, including authorization for the board president to sign closing documents for the sale of 3310 Porton Harbor Drive to Adler Industrial LLC and a conditional authorization for occasional fuel-truck access to a short service road for a new hangar tenant.

Blaine Lafontaine of Fort Harbor asked the board to approve "the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission's FY 26 budget amendment number 1 in the amount of 203,625," and said the increase was driven by three factors: the employee health insurance renewal, a locomotive crankshaft repair, and expanded cleaning services tied to new facilities. "We just approved our employee health insurance renewal... about a 17% increase overall," Lafontaine said, adding that a locomotive repair cost "about a $80 to $100,000" and that ribbon-cutting activity required higher cleaning-service costs. The motion carried on a unanimous 5–0 vote.

Lafontaine also asked the board to "authorize the board president to execute any and all documents necessary to complete the closing of the sale of 3310 Porton Harbor Drive, Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi to Adler Industrial LLC," targeting a Dec. 11 closing; the board voted 5–0 to authorize staff signatures contingent on standard closing procedures.

Separately, the board discussed a temporary access authorization requested by WCF Aerospace, a proposed tenant at a hangar that is not yet aviation-accessible while apron and taxi-lane extension work proceeds. Staff said the request would allow a fuel truck to travel roughly 100 yards on the short access road "probably once a month" and "probably 12 times total over the next year" to refuel helicopters performing maintenance. Board members conditioned the authorization on documentation showing the fuel truck is a road-certified vehicle and on scheduling the deliveries outside school hours; that authorization also passed 5–0.

Lafontaine reminded the board of a ribbon cutting for the Tech Park and Jobel Tech facility planned for Friday at 10 a.m., noting Governor Reeves and federal partners were expected to attend.

The board's approvals are administrative authorizations and contract/closing steps; the Port director said staff will coordinate closing logistics with county counsel and the comptroller to complete required paperwork.