Greenwood-Leflore Airport is expecting more than $250,000 in renovations to prepare for the closure of the Federal Aviation Administration flight service station located at the airport.
"This comes at a momentous time. Our application was prompted by the closing. I'm pleased we got this grant," Airport Manager Bardin Redditt said today.
Redditt made his announcement before the Leflore County Board of Supervisors Monday.
The service station is open 24 hours a day. It runs the airport when the airport's tower is closed at 6 p.m.The airport relies on the station to control the runway lights at night, Redditt said.
Earlier this year, the FAA announced it would turn over control of the station to airplane manufacturer Lockheed Martin in October. The company expects to close the facility in March or April.
To compensate for the loss, the grant will fund numerous updates, including the purchase of pilot controlled lights for the runway.
The grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will fund 95 percent of the $273,118 project. The remaining 5 percent will be equally divided by the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the airport's budget.
In other business, the board will begin discussion on the purchase of new voting machines during a work session Thursday morning.
The county must have updated voting machines by the beginning of 2006. Supervisors have until Aug. 15 to decide whether to take up the state's offer on Diebold Election System's voting machines.
A special election of a new south district justice court judge was announced by Edward Course, chairman of the Leflore County election commission.
Notices of the election will be posted in all the precincts of the district 90 days before the Nov. 8 election. Course said today that no candidates had filed yet.
Currently serving as judge is Carlos Palmer, who was appointed by the board April 11 to temporarily fill the position after the resignation of Larry "Blue" Neal.
Course said he expects justice court judge to be the only race in the special election, but he has yet to verify that with the Secretary of State's office.
Also, the board tabled the approval of the 2005 real and personal roll after an objection was presented to the board by Vernon Ricks.
Monday was the final day to file an objection, and Tax Assessor Leroy Ware said there had been no other objections up to that point.
"Normally, we have two or three objections filed each year. With an update like this year, I'm glad we only had the one," Ware said today.
He expects the roll to be ready for approval Monday.
The board also approved a memorandum of understanding between Viking Range Corp. and the county.
The memorandum defines the roles of the county and Viking in the construction of a dishwasher facility behind the company's distribution facility on U.S. 82.
The county will serve as a conduit for $3 million in state bonds provided by a Senate bill drafted in November.
The bill created the Mississippi Major Economic Impact Authority, and provides financing for projects investing at least $10 million and creating 250 full-time jobs.
Monday's memorandum included a new clause that clears the county from paying back the $3 million if the state asked for it back.
