Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
Tupelo airport awarded grant to replace emergency response vehicle
By Taylor Vance
TUPELO • Federal officials awarded a $741,000 grant to the city’s regional airport to help the facility purchase a new emergency response vehicle for the site.
Cliff Nash, the manager of the airport, told the Daily Journal the he is grateful for the grant, which will be used to purchase a new rescue firefighting vehicle. Nash said the current rescue vehicle the airport has was purchased in 1995, and the airport
Nash said the grant will cover 95% of the cost of purchasing the vehicle, which will leave state government and the airport each paying 2.5% of the costs to cover the remaining 5%.
The grants will be awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration.
The grant awarded to the airport in Tupelo is a part of a series of grants that was distributed to several airports statewide.
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss, said this round of grants will help the state make important safety upgrades and purchase needed equipment.
“These large awards are a testament to the strength of their applications and their plans to improve their facilities for Mississippian,” Wicker said in a statement.
Likewise, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss, also said the round of grants will help support safety and infrastructure at the airports.
“Improving these facilities should increase their value as assets that broaden the appeal of each community as economic hubs in our state,” Hyde-Smith said in a statement. “I will continue to support transportation and infrastructure priorities that benefit Mississippi’s economy and its communities as we work on appropriations for (fiscal year) 2020.”
The Tupelo City Council voted to accept the grant at a council meeting on Sept. 12 where it was unanimously approved by the council.