An aerial view of Harriet Alexander Field, Salida Airport.
(courtesy photo)
During their Tuesday, March 12 regular session, the Chaffee Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) reviewed and approved two major contracts for improvements at Salida airport, Harriet Alexander Field.
Airport Fuel Farm Replacement
The BoCC first reviewed the contract and scope of work for the Airport Fuel Farm Replacement Project. Airport Manager Zech Papp explained that the airport’s Master Plan identifies and prioritizes infrastructure improvements for the airport facilities.
The current underground fuel farm tanks at Salida Harriet Alexander field (KANK) have been in use since their original
installation in 1978. They are over a decade beyond the usable life of the system and do not currently include important protections and containment to guard against unintentional fuel leaks, resulting in both high risk and high consequences if the tanks fail.
Because of the critical role of the fuel farm for airport operations, revenue generation, regional emergency services support, and transportation linkage, it is a high priority for the county and Salida to invest in upgrades for a new fuel farm system that will help prevent environmental hazards of a fuel spill and ensure safe and compliant airport operations, as well as future-proof bulk fuel management.
In January, the airport received a Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) EIAF grant of 1 million dollars to support the Fuel Farm replacement project, which is budgeted at $2.2 million. Beginning the project at the design/engineering/bid phase, this project component is estimated at $252,846, or 11 percent of the total estimated project cost.
That budget is covered by a combination of the DOLA grant (with a 1:1 match requirement) that will be cost-shared between the county and the City of Salida. The impact on FY24 budget for the county is $63,000 (half of the $126,423 portion not covered by the DOLA grant).
The first phase of the project will commence immediately to be complete by November 2024, with construction to begin in early 2025.
“This sounds reasonable,” said Commissioner Greg Felt. “If we don’t spend the money now we’ll have to spend more later.”
“I’ve worked on the risk and they outweigh the possibilities of problems,” said County Attorney Daniel Tom.
Commissioner Keith Baker made the motion to approve the contract, Felt seconded, and it passed unanimously
Airport Taxiway Alpha Extension
Next, the BoCC took up the scope of work and contract for KANK Airport Taxiway Alpha Extension Project, a contract with Dibble Engineering for a taxiway extension.
“Salida Airport has only a partial parallel taxiway,” says Airport Manager Zech Papp, adding that this Taxiway Alpha project is a priority for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If an aircraft needs to take off to the west, due to wind and weather, it has to go onto the active runway and back taxi for takeoff. This exposes the aircraft to the active runway for extended periods of time, a major safety issue.
(FAA) and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Aeronautics grant funding will be the primary sources of funding for this project. It is anticipated that FAA Entitlements, FAA Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), CDOT, and local funds will be used to fund design and construction.
This first planning and design stage had an FAA Pre-Design Kick-Off Meeting on January 11, 2024. The estimated, predesign construction cost is approximately $1.91 million and spans a 10-month design phase (April 2024 through January 2025). The bid phase is anticipated to occur around February 2025.
Baker made a motion to approve the first phase of the investment (just over $313,000) amending the general services agreement to approve the taxiway extension. Felt seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
The BoCC moved on to review the general services agreement for the renovations of the new office space for the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office (formerly the Salida Auto Sales building). The contract established the county’s use of an owner-representative to manage the renovation work.
Staff is recommending contracting with Dynamic Program Management Owner’s Rep for the remodel/renovation project. The group has expertise in law enforcement facilities. The Not to Exceed (NTE) arrangement has a ceiling of 172,454, broken out in project phases, commencing in March 2024, through Q1 2026.
“Using an owner rep, we haven’t done in the past, but we have confidence that he/they can handle this,” said County Administrator Don Reimer. “This is a big and important project and we want to make sure we have it right the first time.
Felt made the motion to approve the contract, Baker seconded, and it passed unanimously.
Before it adjourned into an executive session on land use code issues, a single item constituted the regular agenda for the day. It approved the staff recommendation to focus on improvements for the Chaffee County Fairgrounds as the county’s 2025 Congressional Directed Spending project support request submission.
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