Council OKs start of first phase of control tower

HAMMOND — The City Council decided Tuesday to fund engineering studies and site selection for a proposed $1.4 million control tower at Hammond’s Northshore Regional Airport.

The council unanimously gave its consent to Mayor Mayson Foster to set up a professional services contract between the city and AJT Engineering Inc.

The engineering firm, which was retained for $57,047, will complete the first phase of planning for the airport control tower.

Foster said that the need for a control tower at the busy Northshore Regional Airport has become more acute during the past several years.

The Louisiana National Guard has airborne operations there, along with the U.S. Customs Service and several private aviation companies.

“All of this traffic dictates the need for the control tower,” the mayor said.

Foster added that the city anticipates winning grants for assistance with tower construction costs.

Construction of the tower could begin before the end of this year and the facility could be could be fully operational by mid-2013, he said.

Once completed, the tower would be manned under a contract now being negotiated between the Federal Aviation Administration and the Louisiana National Guard.

Other action included:

DANGERFIELD AWARD: The council established the Wilbert L. Dangerfield Award for presentation annually in memory of the first African American to serve on the Hammond City Council.

Councilman Lemar Marshall said that the award would be made each year in February as part of Black History Month.

Marshall said that recipients would be recognized for “Significant accomplishments that positively reflect on the city of Hammond and for actions that show that the recipient is willing to go the extra mile to make a positive impact on the community.”

BEE KEEPING ALLOWED: The council unanimously agreed to repeal an ordinance dating back to the 1980s that prohibited the keeping of bees in the city limits.

A large group of bee hobbyists, including students from North Live Oak Elementary, attended the council meeting and urged repeal of the ordinance.

The council replaced the old ordinance with a new, model ordinance on beekeeping that has been used in other communities.

Doug Weston, a beekeeping hobbyist, told the council that the bees would not be a menace to city residents but would enhance the cultivation of flowers, shrubbery and vegetable gardens in the city.