Bidding set for next week

Bidding for the latest capital improvement project at the airport is around the corner.

Jason Clearwaters of engineering firm Butler, Fairman & Seufert on Wednesday told Portland Board of Aviation that plans are to advertise for bids next week for the Portland Municipal Airport apron expansion project.

Clearwaters told board members Faron Parr, John Ferguson and Caleb Lutes, absent Clyde Bray, that 90% plans and specifications were sent to Indiana Department of Transportation on Wednesday morning. Plans call for advertising for bids beginning Tuesday, with a pre-bid meeting at 10 a.m. June 10 at the airport.

Bids will be due and opened on June 18, with Clearwaters to review them and make a recommendation at the board’s June 19 regular meeting. The board will be asked to vote on submitting a grant application for the project to the Federal Aviation Administration on the same day.

As part of the process, Clearwaters noted that an independent fee estimate is required for the Butler, Fairman & Seufert professional services agreement related to the project. (Such an estimate is required by the FAA when the agreement exceeds a threshold.)

The board subsequently approved contracting with Foth Infrastructure for the independent evaluation at a cost of $3,000. (Those funds will be reimbursed to the airport through the FAA grant for the project.)

Clearwaters also informed the board that the FAA has completed its review of the airport’s wildlife hazard assessment management plan.

The board also discussed the Aviation Indiana quarterly meeting, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. Aug. 10 at Portland Municipal Airport.

Clearwaters said the facility should plan for about 50 attendees. He added that the meetings typically open with remarks from the mayor and the airport manager.

The rest of the agenda is up to the local airport.

“It’s your event,” Clearwaters said. “You guys kind of set the agenda.”

He offered suggestions on potential speakers, including local business leaders talking about the impact of the airport and INDOT Aviation doing a presentation on the drone it uses to check for obstructions at airports. He added that he could offer a presentation on the facility’s runway extension project that was completed in 2022.

In other business, the board:

•Heard from Tavzel that in recent bidding for a 10-unit T-hangar at Randolph County Airport, the low bid came in at $978,000. He provided the number as a reference point for the aviation board, which has been discussing the possibility of adding a T-hangar. He noted that the low bid for a project he was involved in less than two years ago was $800,000.

•Learned the city is advertising for bids to lease 26.28 acres of farm ground on the west end of the airport.

•Heard from Tavzel that the airport sold 5,395.7 gallons of fuel in April for $26,110.22. That’s up from 4,891 gallons in April 2023.