Airports gets over $30Million in grants: where has all the money gone?

Maybe the airport can buy some paint to touch up this sign which doesn't look as nice anymore.

During the 2011-2012 time period, the Laredo Airport raked in over 30 Million dollars in grants according to today's Laredo Morning Times.  The exact amount was $30,930,445. Hopefully, The  Times can get more specifics about exactly how these multi-millions were spent.

 Perhaps surprisingly, it was during these last two years that the city started looking at charging for parking at the airport. Obviously, it was not for a lack of funds.  On top of that the city recently sold off about 77 acres of airport property to the Laredo Town Center.  The nearly $10 million upfront money plus another promised $4Million are reportedly to be re-invested into the airport as well. 

Of the nearly $31Million dollars the airport received from assorted grants, approximately $5.2 million were designated for a "noise contour study" and for the federal noise abatement program. That still leaves about $26 Million for other improvements/expenditures.

Also, there was no mention of how much of this funding was obtained as a direct result of the city's lavish trips to Austin and Washington. That question continues to be asked by many Laredoans.  Good job LMT for this report and hopefully, you will soon be able to provide us with more details on how these grants were actually spent.