LEESVILLE — City officials on Monday gave the go-ahead to plans to remove a hill at the municipal airport if more funding can be secured for the project.

The City Council earlier this month put off accepting the submitted project bids because they all exceeded the engineer’s estimate.

The Federal Aviation Administration will provide 90 percent of the funding for the project, which officials said would make the airport’s landing zone safer and more accessible. The state Department of Transportation and Development will provide the rest of the money.

Kyle Randall, a senior project manager with Pan American Engineers, told council members that if the agencies can’t allot more money, his firm would adjust the scope of the project to allow the city to move forward.

FAA and DOTD officials will meet later this week to discuss the funding question, Randall said, “and unofficially they’ve told us that Leesville has been waiting for so long for this project that it’s kind of at the top of the list.”

If additional funding isn’t available, the engineers will look for ways to cut costs, he said. Last month’s low bid was from Apeck Construction at $676,374; the engineer’s estimate was $605,000. The work would take about three months.(Special to the American Press)