OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Budget Hearing – Airport Department – March 20, 2026

City Council — Friday, March 20, 2026
BodyDetroit, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateFriday, March 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:06:25

Transcript — Verbatim
0:09

Good afternoon, Council President James Tate.

0:11

Here.

0:12

Council President Pro Tim Coleman Young.

0:14

Here.

0:14

Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway.

0:17

Councilmember Mary Waters.

0:19

Member Waters is on her way.

0:21

She's tardy.

0:23

Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero.

0:26

Councilmember Miller.

0:28

Member Miller is tardy as well.

0:30

Councilmember Denzel McCampbell.

0:32

Present.

0:33

Councilmember Letitia Johnson.

0:35

President.

0:35

Councilmember Scott Benson.

0:41

We have quorum.

0:42

Thank you so much.

0:43

We have a quorum, which means we're back in session.

0:45

Thank you all for your patience, like for uh the airport department.

0:49

Home in a young international airport.

0:52

Come on, Dow.

0:55

Begin.

0:57

The budget presentation.

1:14

Again for another budget hearing.

1:17

Yes, sir.

1:17

Things have changed since your very first one.

1:19

I remember when that was.

1:20

Life was way different at the airport.

1:22

Way different, sir.

1:23

Yes, it was.

1:24

And congratulations to you.

1:25

Thank you.

1:26

And it was way different because it didn't have your leadership in in charge of it.

1:29

So thankfully you're here now.

1:31

I want to give you an opportunity to uh introduce yourself and your team, and then the floor is yours to begin the presentation.

1:36

Excellent.

1:37

Uh Director Jason Director uh I'm sorry, Airport Director Jason Watt, and then to my right, I have George Gray, uh who is my finance uh uh person, and then finance analyst, I believe is your title.

1:49

Account finance accountant, and then we have James George here from the office of the uh Chief Financial Office.

1:57

All right, so uh I guess we'll start with my presentation.

2:01

So uh our new our new initiative.

2:05

So this is our our our airport uh statement here.

2:07

It says in alignment with uh Mayor Sheffield's Rise Higher platform, the airport department is evolving beyond a traditional aviation hub to serve as a catalyst for neighborhood restoration and economic empowerment by prioritizing safety, community-centric capital investments, and expanded access to quality education.

2:26

The department is driving sustainable growth and opportunity to Detroiters.

2:31

Next slide, please.

2:35

So consistent with that, uh, these are the current initiatives in progress.

2:39

Uh first we'll talk about the Tuskegee Airman Historical National Museum.

2:43

Uh then we'll move into Friends of Detroit City Airport, the Civil Air Patrol, and then we have four ongoing capital projects.

2:52

So the Tuskegee Airmen uh received a grant uh for $750,000, I believe, uh about three years ago.

3:01

And since that time, they have expanded their programs dramatically.

3:05

The I think uh on top of all the programming that they offer, um uh which everybody can see on the slides.

3:11

The big thing in this slide is that uh the touch points of some 4,000 students.

3:16

So uh that's a metric that that we're very proud of at the airport, and they're able to uh to reach out to that many children.

3:23

In addition to that, they had nine students that graduated with their pilot's license, and that's uh that was free of charge to those students, and uh uh that's a just a huge opportunity, and they're increasing those numbers year over year.

3:35

Next slide.

3:38

Then we have Friends of Detroit City Airport, similar to the Tuskegee Airmen.

3:42

Uh this is another one of our community groups that is uh forward-facing to the community, and uh that you can see the ages of the uh type of children uh that they target, and then uh uh they approximately touch about 300 uh children a year.

3:59

And then the civil air patrol has uh currently 25 cadets in that program, and uh those children are just exceptional, exceptional.

4:07

Next.

4:09

All right, this is where it gets really, really exciting for me just because for years we did not have uh any type of development taking place at the airport, but I'm proud today to sit in front of you and say that has changed.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Technology and Innovation██████████████████████22%
Workforce Development████████████████16%
Airport█████████████13%
Aviation███████████11%
Youth Programs██████████10%
Economic Development██████6%
Zoning and Land Use█████5%
Airport Development and Noise█████5%
Aviation Safety and Security█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Budget Hearing – Airport Department – March 20, 2026

The Detroit City Council held a budget hearing for the Detroit City Airport Department on March 20, 2026. Airport Director Jason Watt presented the department's strategic initiatives, ongoing projects, and future plans, followed by questions and discussion with council members. No consent calendar items or public comments were noted.

Discussion Items

  • Airport Department Presentation: Director Watt introduced his team and outlined the department's alignment with Mayor Sheffield's "Rise Higher" platform, emphasizing safety, community-centric capital investments, and expanded access to quality education. He highlighted current initiatives including the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum (which received a $750,000 grant and served 4,000 students, with nine students graduating with pilot's licenses), Friends of Detroit City Airport (serving about 300 children annually), and the Civil Air Patrol (25 cadets).
  • Capital Projects: Four ongoing projects were described: an aft-flight facility ($6 million, completion mid-April with ribbon cutting in June); My Flight Tours facility ($3.5 million, completion in May); a new administrative facility (retrofitted after Detroit Public Schools leased the main terminal for Davis Aerospace Technical High School); and the Davis Aerospace Technical High School at the old terminal ($15 million, coming online in September 2026).
  • Strategic Initiatives for FY 2026-2027: Director Watt announced plans to establish an Office of Aeromobility, create an Aviation Education District, and pursue additional property development. The Office of Aeromobility would evaluate low-altitude air traffic management systems, including drones and autonomous aircraft, and coordinate with the FAA and city departments. Councilmember Pro Tem Young expressed strong support, noting the importance of setting "rules of the road" for airspace over Detroit and integrating with intermodal transit and autonomous vehicles.
  • Aviation Education District: The goal is to create a national aerospace talent and research hub, allowing students from age five through airline transport pilot licensing. Director Watt noted memorandums of understanding with school districts in Wayne County and ongoing negotiations with an unnamed entity for advanced training (e.g., Airframe and Powerplant licensing). He also mentioned a mobile trailer (funded by a state grant) with flight simulators and drones to bring aviation experiences to communities.
  • Economic Impact: The state of Michigan estimated the airport's local economic benefit at $554,561,245, a significant increase from $306 million two years prior and $20 million in 2011. Director Watt emphasized the airport's accelerating growth.
  • Revenue and Financial Questions: Councilmember Benson noted substantial investments (e.g., $15 million school, My Flight, AVLING facilities) without corresponding forecasted revenue growth in the budget. Director Watt explained that new facilities would start paying ground lease rates in July, and finance officer James George clarified that property and personal taxes are not included in airport-specific revenue. Councilmember Benson stressed the need to track total economic activity to show the airport as a revenue-neutral asset.
  • Former Runway Rezoning: The decommissioned crosswind runway (59.7 acres) has been cleared and received a MEDC grant for pre-development. Director Watt said zoning will remain industrial. Rezoning is only sought for the former DLSL high school parcel (from residential to light industrial) to support education-related development.
  • Workforce Development: Councilmember Callaway asked about partnerships with Detroit at Work. Director Watt stated the airport department is small but working with workforce development director Terry Weams; no formal tracking of job placements is in place yet, but he expects to provide numbers once programs are more defined.
  • Diversity and Inclusion: Councilmember Callaway requested an organizational chart and asked about women in executive leadership. Director Watt said his executive team of four includes one woman (Denise Vaughn, program manager), representing 25%. He affirmed commitment to hiring women and noted programs like "Women in Aviation" and "Girls in Aviation" in September.
  • Noise and Environmental Concerns: Councilmember Jones asked about noise mitigation and health impacts as the airport expands. Director Watt explained that FAA mandates hush kits and steeper climb profiles, and the airport will adhere to federal and local noise/pollution regulations. He noted that further development might require noise contour assessments and potential property acquisition if noise exceeds thresholds.
  • Emergency Response and School Security: Councilmember Jones inquired about emergency plans, especially with Davis Aerospace High School on site. Director Watt confirmed an airport emergency plan, exercises with police and fire, and 24/7 firefighter presence targeted. School access to the airside will be controlled with badge entry and alarms.
  • Federal Funding Concerns: Councilmember Santiago Romero asked about impacts of federal funding cuts on programs serving black and brown communities. Director Watt asserted that aviation standards are non-negotiable and the airport will continue to produce a skilled workforce regardless of federal funding changes.

Key Outcomes

  • Councilmembers expressed strong support for the airport's direction and thanked Director Watt and his team. No formal votes were taken during the hearing.
  • Director Watt invited all council members to visit the airport and attend upcoming groundbreakings (scheduled for June-July 2026) for the first new developments in 60 years.
  • Councilmember Callaway requested and received a commitment to provide an organizational chart highlighting women in leadership.
  • Councilmember Jones requested continued monitoring of noise and pollution impacts on surrounding communities.
  • The hearing concluded with the clerk noting the late arrival of Councilmember Waters and the transition to the next budget hearing for the Health Department.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, Council President James Tate. Here. Council President Pro Tim Coleman Young. Here. Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway. Councilmember Mary Waters. Member Waters is on her way. She's tardy. Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero. Councilmember Miller. Member Miller is tardy as well. Councilmember Denzel McCampbell. Present. Councilmember Letitia Johnson. President. Councilmember Scott Benson. We have quorum. Thank you so much. We have a quorum, which means we're back in session. Thank you all for your patience, like for uh the airport department. Home in a young international airport. Come on, Dow. Begin. The budget presentation. Again for another budget hearing. Yes, sir. Things have changed since your very first one. I remember when that was. Life was way different at the airport. Way different, sir. Yes, it was. And congratulations to you. Thank you. And it was way different because it didn't have your leadership in in charge of it. So thankfully you're here now. I want to give you an opportunity to uh introduce yourself and your team, and then the floor is yours to begin the presentation. Excellent. Uh Director Jason Director uh I'm sorry, Airport Director Jason Watt, and then to my right, I have George Gray, uh who is my finance uh uh person, and then finance analyst, I believe is your title. Account finance accountant, and then we have James George here from the office of the uh Chief Financial Office. All right, so uh I guess we'll start with my presentation. So uh our new our new initiative. So this is our our our airport uh statement here. It says in alignment with uh Mayor Sheffield's Rise Higher platform, the airport department is evolving beyond a traditional aviation hub to serve as a catalyst for neighborhood restoration and economic empowerment by prioritizing safety, community-centric capital investments, and expanded access to quality education. The department is driving sustainable growth and opportunity to Detroiters. Next slide, please. So consistent with that, uh, these are the current initiatives in progress. Uh first we'll talk about the Tuskegee Airman Historical National Museum. Uh then we'll move into Friends of Detroit City Airport, the Civil Air Patrol, and then we have four ongoing capital projects. So the Tuskegee Airmen uh received a grant uh for $750,000, I believe, uh about three years ago. And since that time, they have expanded their programs dramatically.

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