Leesburg council prioritizes Airport Tower in Future Funding

The Leesburg Town Council has prioritized funding for a permanent tower at Leesburg Executive Airport.
In passing its consent agenda at the council’s June 13 meeting, council members supported two
items related to the airport tower.

The adopted 2024 Legislative Agenda requests funding for a temporary mobile tower for Leesburg Executive Airport. The mobile tower began operations at the airport this week while the town moves towards the eventual construction of a permanent physical tower at the airport.

The town will pay $10,000 monthly rent for the mobile tower, while the Federal Aviation Administration will cover staffing costs for the tower. Both state and federal support will be sought for the design, construction, and staffing of the permanent tower.

The council also voted to amend the Fiscal Year 2024-2029 Capital Improvements Program by adding an Airport Control Tower project and appropriating $270,000 from the Unassigned Fund Balance to the Fiscal Year 2024 Airport Control Tower project budget.

This initial phase of funding will cover the costs of a siting study, to determine the best location for a permanent tower on the airport property. The siting study will also help to determine the overall cost of the tower project, which is expected to be largely covered by federal and state funding. Initial indications are that the overall design and construction cost of the tower will be around $15 million, and the project is expected to take five to seven years to complete.

“These two actions by the Town Council demonstrate the importance of continuing tower services at Leesburg Executive Airport. Since the FAA’s decision to end the remote tower program, we have been overwhelmed by the support of our federal and state legislators to maintain towered operations at the airport, and look forward to continuing to work with these partners as we move this project forward,” stated Airport Director Scott Coffman.