An MAA/Airbus representative asked the Mobile City Council during its Dec. 2 pre-meeting to waive a fee the city would require as a condition of vacating rights of way in Lot 1 of the MAA ACDC Subdivision.

The speaker said Airbus has leased 40 acres, paid $9,000,000 for a long-term lease at the site, and that the company and partners had secured a $44,000,000 grant to build a new access road. The representative said the overall project is "gonna be a 250 to 300000000 dollar project," that Airbus "has a $5,000,000,000 economic impact in this community," and asked the council to waive what the speaker described as a roughly "$470,000, at a dollar $56.06 a square foot" fee because the project had already incurred $357,000 in demolition and permit costs.

Council members asked procedural questions about offering an amendment to the resolution (one proposed change would remove about 500 square feet of J Drive from Lot 1) and sought clarity on whether the item should be reintroduced or amended on the agenda. One council member said waiving the right-of-way fee "makes absolute sense for the taxpayer" when the project replaces a highly blighted property with development.

No final vote on the waiver occurred during the pre-meeting; staff and council discussed next steps and procedural options. The council also heard that the project experienced schedule delays while MAA obtained control of the property and that demolition and road work had already begun in anticipation of the development.

What happens next: The item remains on the council's agenda for further action; council members discussed an amendment and asked staff to clarify procedural steps for formally changing the resolution before a final decision is made.