With a new year only a couple weeks away Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo has some plans for 2014 and the airport is one of his main focuses. The airport terminal was rebuilt three years ago but it might be time to make some more changes. Nolan Crane spoke with the mayor and you say he has some plans that could mean big bucks for Northeast Louisiana.
The mayor says the airport has an economic impact of more than $100 million a year on the Arklamiss but he says there is a way to increase that number. He just got back for Dallas, Texas where he learned how to change the airport and make it an airport city.
Although the airport looks nice, there is a lot of office space on the second floor that goes unused and if you have flown out recently you know that there is only one restaurant inside. He wants to make some changes to increase revenue and make the airport bigger. Most of the changes and improvements deal with all of the acres that surround the airport by adding retail business, hotels and other businesses.
“We want to make sure that we have some of the same amenities here within the airport, the air industrial park as you would see downtown or midtown or in some of the other areas throughout the city,” said Mayor Jamie Mayo.
The mayor doesn’t have a time table for when any construction projects will begin but they do have some blueprints for some projects. One is a ten acre park that would include an amphitheater, splash pads and a walking trail.
http://www.knoe.com/story/24170519/big-plans-for-monroe-airport