The McKinney City Council is set to decide Tuesday, Oct. 20, whether to accept federal money, if it is awarded, to rebuild the controller positions inside the air traffic control tower at McKinney National Airport.
A resolution on the 6 p.m. regular agenda would let the city manager or a designee take an estimated $750,000 from the Federal Contract Tower Competitive Grant Program, which the U.S. Department of Transportation runs.
According to the airport department's staff report, the money would pay to replace the tower's two existing workstations, add a third, and cover any other tower improvements judged to be in the interest of safety and efficient operations.
The staff report says no local match is required. If the grant comes through, the money would be added to the airport construction fund in the city's 2027-2031 capital improvement program.
Third award in three years
The airport has drawn on the same program twice before, the report notes:
- $294,000 in fiscal year 2025 for a system that controls and monitors airfield lighting.
- $502,084 in fiscal year 2026 to rehabilitate and replace aging mechanical and communications equipment in the tower.
