Airport board backs Mel Clark Inc. bid for apron reconstruction using federal grant plus local funds

The Hurricane Airport Board voted unanimously to recommend that the city council accept Mel Clark Incorporated’s bid to reconstruct the apron in front of airport hangars, after staff described federal and local funding available for the work.

Staff member (speaker 6) told the board that “Hurricane Airport was awarded $759,000” under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, money the FAA has dispersed for airport projects. He said the board and consultants added the apron reconstruction to the capital-improvement plan, advertised the project, opened bids and reviewed results with the consultant team.

Staff member (speaker 6) said the low bid was significantly under the engineer’s estimate, stating the bid “came in 37% lower than the engineer's estimate.” He described three incremental bid schedules so the board could match work to available funds and said federal grant rules limited FAA-funded work to areas more than 50 feet from hangars. To cover the area between 50 and 15 feet from the hangar faces, staff said the board obtained an additional grant of $199,000 and the city agreed to pay the final 15 feet to make the project continuous.

During discussion members asked whether the bids covered the entire project or only portions; staff confirmed the bid documents included three schedules intended to allow staged construction as funds permit. A board member highlighted that the engineer’s estimate had been roughly $881,000 and that other bids had exceeded $1,000,000, making the recommended bid comparatively favorable.

A motion to recommend the award to Mel Clark Incorporated for the apron reconstruction passed unanimously; a board member stated, “That we recommend that the award goes to Mel Clark,” and members responded “Aye.” The board’s vote forwarded the contract recommendation to the Hurricane city council for final acceptance and any required procurement approvals.

Next steps: The city council will receive the board’s recommendation and determine whether to accept the contractor and authorize the city’s additional local contribution for the 15-foot area near hangars. The board and staff said they will continue coordination with consultants and the selected contractor on schedule and engineering oversight.