LAWRENCE COUNTY – The Lawrence County Redevelopment Commission discussed the request from Virgil Grissom Municipal Airport Manager Jeff Lytton to help fund the remaining $184,075 for their runway project.
The commission spoke on ways they would be able to afford the balance through either TIF funding or other means from the Dunn Hospital Fund, which currently sits at $1,161,273. The request only requires a commitment from the commission to pay the balance in order to apply for the FAA Grant.
Typically, redevelopment funding comes solely from TIF Funding, however, the airport does not currently reside in a TIF District. One way to narrow the gap would be to amend the TIF District boundaries to include the airport with the Lehigh TIF.
Commission President Jeff Quyle mentioned that the purpose for including the airport in the TIF would not be to capture revenue, but only to designate the area for funding possibilities, including this request.
The Virgil Grissom Municipal Airport provides certain economic benefits to the county through on-airport activities including operations and capital expenditures, as well as off-airport spending by out-of-state visitors.
The airport includes employment for 34 jobs, $1,833,000 in labor income, $2,603,000 in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and a $4,824,000 output. In 2019 alone, the airport housed 40 airplanes and saw over 3,600 General Aviation occurrences.
Following the discussion, the commission approved a motion to use funding from the Dunn Hospital Fund with the drafting of a Reimbursement Resolution to return the amount used, and amend the Lehigh TIF District to include the airport to generate the funding.
