Members of the Farmville Town Council unanimously voted to approve a budget amendment that would add $381,533 to the 2018-2019 Fiscal Year (FY) budget for grants the town received to improve the town’s regional airport.

The amendment would be added to the town’s General Fund and appropriated for expenditure by the Airport Fund.

A public hearing for the amendment took place prior to the vote. No members of the public spoke during the hearing.

The town was awarded grant funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Virginia Department of Aviation to pave and improve the lighting at the Farmville Regional Airport in August.

“The state has allocated money to us that has to be spent by June 30 for the pavement and lighting rehabilitation for the runway, the design work,” Town Manager Gerald Spates said during the town’s December meeting.

According to documentation from the town, total grant funding came to $389,320. The FAA paid 90 percent, or $350,388 for the project, the Virginia Department of Aviation paid 8 percent, $31,145 and the Town of Farmville is paying 2 percent, $7,787, making the amended amount total $381,533.

The total FY 2018-2019 budget, following the vote by the council, changed to $29,000,305.80. The total budget was formerly $28,618,772.80 after budget amendments were made during the October 2018 meeting.

The town recently finished a project for the Farmville Municipal Airport that included repaving the apron area, or the section of the airport where airplanes park and taxi to and from the runway.