Pontotoc Progress
Airport receives $30,000 grant from government CARES money
By Regina Butler
The Pontotoc County Airport received an unexpected boon from the government recently because of the Covid-19 virus.
“There were airports that needed extra cash flow,” explained Pontotoc County Chancery Clerk Ricky Ferguson, “and they said the fairest way was to give all the airports some money.”
The appropriation came through a request from Mississippi’s congressmen Cindy Hyde-Smith and Trent Kelly.
Pontotoc received $30,000. “This is an outright grant, so we don’t have to pay it back,” Ferguson noted. “We have up to 48 months to spend it and we can use it for operational expenses or spend it on some project.”
This will help in upcoming months at the airport is getting some much needed renovations that include eight more hangers with the same cargo space that were operational in 2018.
The new hangers will generate some $10 thousand more in rent revenue a year and will give each aviator their own space to store planes.
With a greater capacity the fuel sales will go up as well from the fuel that is sold on site.
Ferguson sees no trouble renting out the hangers once they get built. “Already people are calling to put their name in the hat, I believe they will be filled by the time we get them built.”
Ferguson said that in the future the beacon will need to be replaced as well as lighting.
In fact, Greg Jones with ESI was at the supervisors board meeting on Monday and said there was some Multimodal transportation funds available once more and sought permission to apply for the one percent matching monies for the airport.
“This will be roughly a $400,000 project you you will have to pay $4,000 for it.” The board granted him to the permission to seek the grant.
Ferguson said that monies that come from the government are going to be distributed to somebody, “and we might as well get it. The airport is important to other monies flowing our way as well, because any time we seek a government grant one of the first questions asked is do we have an airport. It also increases land values,” he noted. “This airport belongs to the people. It is an asset that will help us in the future.”