A building rehabilitation project at the Kenai Municipal Airport received a big boost this week when the Kenai City Council accepted grant funding eligibility from the Federal Aviation Administration for more than half of the project’s cost. At the same meeting, the council also awarded the construction contract.
The Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) building at the airport provides storage for snow removal assets and other airport equipment. Since a significant portion of that equipment is purchased using grant funds from the FAA, the City is required to meet certain criteria where asset storage standards are concerned. Hence, the ARFF building rehabilitation.
“Once we got the design, the FAA reviewed the grant application, and they’ve determined it to be 65% federally eligible,” said Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank. That leaves 35% of the cost to be covered by the city. With $557,447 having already been appropriated by the council to cover the cost of the project, the FAA grant means a portion of that money will be returned to the airport special revenue fund.
“So they provided us with a grant for 65% of that total that will allow the city to transfer back a significant portion of that $557,000 that we’ve already used for design,” Eubank explained. “Because they participate in the design costs also–[and the city can] transfer that back to the operating fund. But this will help us. It will accept a grant from the FAA for their 65% share.”
As for the project itself, several items will be replaced to keep up with FAA standards, including HVAC equipment, two boilers, and associated controls.
Since the project is grant-eligible, a grant application will be requested as soon as possible to meet the Federal Aviation Administration’s year-end on Sept. 30.
At the same time that the council approved the project’s grant eligibility, it also awarded the contract for the ARFF building work. Orion Construction was the lone bidder and received the contract award after a bid of $699,400.
To meet the deadline, the City issued the Invitation to Bid on Jul. 23, 2024, with bids due on Aug. 13. The City will review the bids, and the Airport Administration will submit a grant application with the lowest responsive bid by the FAA deadline.