Figuring the Warsaw Board of Aviation Commissioners would have some questions on them, Robert LaFayette, section manager aviation planning, CHA Consulting Inc., presented two task orders during their meeting Tuesday.
Task order No. 6 is for the corporate taxi lane, “E1,” rehabilitation and reconstruction, which he asked the board to approve. E1 is the designation of the taxi lane on the airport’s master plan. The total contract value is $171,220, which is fully funded by the state grant they’ve been discussing for the last few months.
“We anticipate that grant being awarded in September/October of this year. However, as it relates to task order No. 7, which is the taxiway ‘Bravo’ rehabilitation, which we will also need a board action for the approval of that task order, which is a total contract value of $211,470, and it does have a local share that’s being funded out of the bill allocation, and that local share is $10,573.50,” he said.
Since they know they’re getting the grant this fall, LaFayette said they need to move forward on the geotechnical pursuits so that they understand what they’re going to need to do on some of the projects, specifically E1.
Geotechnical pursuits refers to the investigation and engineering evaluation of earth materials including soil, rock, groundwater and man-made materials and their interaction with the airport infrastructure. It’s a study of what’s under the asphalt to support asphalt.
LaFayette said they have a written scope, but in order to line up some of the engineering and design aspects of the projects, they need a geotechnical ahead of time so they can stay on schedule, specifically with the state grant.
He said what they would like to do is get authorization from the commission to proceed with the geotechnical pursuits for task order No. 6 for $10,100 and for No. 7 for $21,900, for a total of $32,000.
“Now, there’s a caveat with this. We think by the time we have team mobilization and we actually get the team in the field to do many of the labor efforts associated and invoicing, most likely that timing will be with the grants in September/October,” LaFayette said.
He asked the commission to approve task orders 6 and 7, as well as moving forward on the geotechnical pursuits for both projects.
Airport Manager Nick King explained, “We’ve been working really closely with Robert and Nathan. We want to get these projects going. We’ve got this big grant (approximately $3 million) from the state, and we want to make use of it as soon as we can. And, so, we had set aside money to do some band-aid fixes on the corporate taxi lane this year. Since we got the grant from the state to fix it the right way, we had some money set aside, and so to push these projects forward and get the design of the two projects going quicker, we will use local money potentially upfront to get this” geotechnical pursuit going.
If the bill doesn’t come until after the grant, then it will be like any normal grant, he said. “However, we do have the money sitting in the bank right now, so that if we get the bills before the grant comes through ... the geotech has to be done either way, so this just allows us to get that part of the project going sooner rather than later,” King said.
The Board of Aviation Commissioners unanimously approved both task orders and the pursuit of the geotechnical pursuits.
LaFayette also reported:
• On the obstruction mitigation project, (task order No. 2) also known as the AEP power line lowering project, they’re finalizing the permanent construction airspace information for submittal to the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). The project is still on track for getting all the materials in early spring 2024, with construction beginning in the summer and completion in November 2024, potentially sooner.
• For the RSAD (runway safety area designation), task order No. 4, that project is ongoing. The quality control for the project took a bit longer than anticipated, so they’re looking at August, rather than the end of July, for FAA review and approval. Pending the FAA’s approval, the RSAD document is ready to go and will be submitted to King by Friday.
The project is looking at the intersection of the two runways at the southwest side of the airport.
“For the forecast that is related to this project, but not related to this contract, it’s pending the letters of support from DePuy, Image Air and Zimmer Biomet. The documentation and numbers are completed, but prior to FAA submittal, we need to have the letters of support from those operators to justify what we’re proposing in the forecasting and what we’re proposing in the forecast is a continuation of what’s called the critical aircraft, which is the Challenger 650, in order to maintain the existing infrastructure of the airport,” LaFayette said.
What’s remaining with the project is the finalized forecast, getting that submitted to the FAA; finalizing the draft for owner review and getting it to King, and then submitting it to the FAA and the Indiana Department of Transportation for review. Subsequent to that is the financial feasibility.
LaFayette asked the commission to approve an invoice totaling $13,610, which includes the local share of $680.50. The board gave their approval.
• For task order No. 5, the wildlife hazard site visit, which was approved by the commission in April pending FAA approval, the FAA gave the go-ahead but the grant hasn’t been awarded for it yet. Prior to any notice to proceed, he said they are waiting for the FAA to give them the grant first.
In final business, the board approved the purchase of a used Bronco Sport from Rice Ford for $34,995. The vehicle will be used as a courtesy car and replace the current one that’s over 20 years old.
The next meeting is at 5:15 p.m. Aug. 8.