ISSUE

St. Landry Parish needed assistance to obtain funding for the rehabilitation, restriping, and removal of obstructions along multiple runways, in addition to the construction of a perimeter fence at the St. Landry Parish Airport – Ahart Field. St. Landry Parish and the St Landry Parish Airport-Ahart Field (OPL) identified these safety improvements were needed to enhance operations at the airport and to draw additional economic opportunities into the Parish.

STRATEGY

The Picard Group worked with St. Landry Parish and identified this project qualified for federal funding as a Community Project funding request. The Picard Group and St. Landry Parish worked together to educate Congressional offices on the importance of making this funding a priority. Through our Congressional contacts, we were able to submit a project funding request to the House Appropriations Committee and get the project prioritized within Congress.

RESULTS

The project was awarded a total of $3.105 million in Community Project funding in the FY23 Appropriations bill, which provided for the completion of multiple safety enhancements at the airport.