Humboldt awarded millions in grants for city improvements

HUMBOLDT, Tenn. — For smaller towns in West Tennessee, federal and state funding can be a huge help for city improvements. Humboldt city leaders have been busy finding the money to give their city a face lift.

“We have been applying for a lot of grants and been very fortunate and we got them,” Humboldt Mayor Marvin Sikes said.

Sikes says the city has been awarded federal and state grants that will fund improvements across the city.

“We got our grant for airport improvement, and if you’ll come to Humboldt you’ll notice there’s a lot of dirt work being done there,” Sikes said.

That $1.1 million grant will cover airport renovations, including the construction of more airplane hangars.

“Between the things we’ve recently completed, under construction or recently announced, there’s about $3 million worth of work going on,” Humboldt Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lee Williams said. “For a city like Humboldt, that’s a really big impact on Humboldt, and we know it will be a big impact going forward for our citizens.”

The city also received more than $1 million to cover a two-part downtown enhancement project. New sidewalks and light posts on Main Street will be visible changes once construction starts. Those improvements are expected to start in the fall.

“To be able to do some revitalization downtown even more, the face lift on the streetscapes, it just continues to improve the value of downtown,” Williams said.

Mayor Sikes says grants are important for small towns to fund projects the city could not afford without raising taxes.

“So that way we can keep our tax rate low and not put that burden on our citizens of our city,” Sikes said.

Grants also were given to the city of Humboldt and Gibson County to make improvements to the county industrial park. That grant will cover the extension of a water main into the industrial park in Humboldt.