Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
July 19, 2017 3:44 p.m.
During its July 18, 2017 Regular Meeting the Fernandina Beach City Commission (FBCC) provided a Notice to Proceed on a 3-2 vote to F&G Construction for the building and site work associated with the General Aviation Terminal Building project at the municipal airport. Commissioner Roy Smith and Mayor Robin Lentz opposed the measure, but for different reasons. The award of bid to F&G Construction had been approved previously on a 4-1 vote (Resolution 2017-90), with Smith dissenting. The proposed funding described in the resolution (Resolution 2017-110) and provided below had previously been presented to the Airport Advisory Commission on July 13, 2017.
City Manager Dale Martin presented a series of slides detailing airport finances for the current and next fiscal years. He stressed on multiple occasions that the airport enterprise fund consists of money derived from airport user fees, not the city’s property tax (ad valorem) revenues. The city will finance $825,000 of the revenue needed for the terminal project—roughly 19 percent. “Non aeronautical events at the airport [car auctions, car racing, etc.] will bring in about $100K next year,” Martin said. By combining that revenue with operating revenue, Martin claimed that the airport enterprise fund will be replenished by $200K per year.
The bulk of the funding will come from the FAA, FDOT, and the Department of Economic Opportunity. Martin and airport consultant Andrew Holesko of Passero Associates also addressed airport capital projects that will be built between now and 2025.
City residents Andrew Curtin and Clinch Kavanaugh opposed the resolution. Curtin has been a vocal opponent of the current design and the plan to include the FBO in the general aviation terminal. He reminded commissioners that the city must maintain runway 13/31 without FAA or FDOT support. Holesko agreed, and in response to a question said that repaving that runway would probably not be needed until 2025.
Kavanaugh, a candidate for city commission, agreed with Curtin’s arguments, adding that the residents and businesses at the unincorporated south end of the island primarily use the airport. “We have to start getting the people who live at the south end of the island to pay city taxes. They pay zero,” Kavanaugh said.
Vice Mayor Len Kreger recapped the project going back to the establishment of the Airport Master Plan in 2014. He cited the work of citizens on various airport committees leading up to the current design. Kreger is the FBCC liaison to the Airport Advisory Commission and spoke to their involvement during the course of the project along with their positive endorsement. He reminded commissioners that on previous occasions the FBCC had approved both the
design and the contract award. “It bothers me,” Kreger said, “and I don’t want this to become another 20-year project, like we seem to get caught up in.”
Kreger moved to approve going forward, and Commissioner Tim Poynter seconded his motion.
Commissioner Roy Smith began a discussion of his issues with the current project, ranging from what he perceived to be a cost overrun from the initial construction estimates to the design and the city’s bidding and contracting processes. Smith expressed his opinion that the city is “setting itself up for a lawsuit” over issues relating to the bid and construction of “the nose and tail” of the design. He opined that it was a poor decision to bid that separately. “I’ve been in the low bid process all my life and I’ve never seen anything like this done [where part of the initial bid additive was ignored to be handled via separate contract]. You are abusing the low bid process, Smith declared. If I was a contractor, I wouldn’t bid in this city because of the way we do business. We have problems with every bid. I have particular problems with this bid.”
City Attorney Tammi Bach has verified that according to city purchasing code, the city is required to award bids to the “most responsible and the most responsive” bidder, not the low bidder.
Smith said he had learned that the design process to date has cost about $250K. “If we go to a simpler building, we can cut at least $2M out of the total cost,” he said. “And not have to borrow the $825K. . .. Everybody I talk to doesn’t like this design. I think we need to look at redesigning and rebidding this project. I think we’ve screwed the bidding process up once again. We’ve poisoned it just like we did [the waterfront consultant contract] Really, I’m ashamed of us at this point.”
Mayor Lentz followed Smith with questions regarding the future capital improvement needs for the airport and how they would be financed. Holesko said that FDOT funds projects like these around the state on the basis of 6-year capital improvement plans. The funds are plugged into their budget by year, and those plans then rely on state approval in the budget process. She also asked questions about funding needed to keep runway 13/31 operational. Holesko estimated that the runway, which would not be eligible for FDOT funding, would not need work until 2025 and that the last repaving cost $600K-700K.
Lentz said that although she liked the proposed design for the building, she was apprehensive because of the financing plan. Expressing concerns about future needs of runway 13/31, she said, “I’m scared to gamble that much money [on the terminal construction].”
Smith continued to express his concerns over funding the current design. “I think it’s a bad move,” he said.
When the vote was called, Smith and Lentz voted against proceeding, but the other three commissioners supported the motion.
Plans for groundbreaking and commencing construction have not yet been announced.
Editor’s Note: Suanne Z. Thamm is a native of Chautauqua County, NY, who moved to Fernandina Beach from Alexandria,VA, in 1994. As a long time city resident and city watcher, she provides interesting insight into the many issues that impact our city. We are grateful for Suanne’s many contributions to the Fernandina Observer.