Airport gains an extension to file for grant

The El Dorado Airport Commission has been given more time to close out documents on a federal grant that was awarded four years ago to install new runway equipment at South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field.

Airport manager Johnathan Estes notified commissioners last week that the Federal Aviation Administration had granted a six-month extension on the Period of Performance period for a grant agreement that was signed in July of 2017.

The grant from the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program funded the installation of two new precision approach path indicators (PAPIs) for runway 13-31 at Goodwin Field.

The Period of Performance for the grant has been extended until January 26, 2022.

The PAPIs were installed in 2019 but after an inspection, the FAA said additional work, including a land acquisition and tree-cutting, was required for the project.

Estes reached out to the federal agency in July and requested a deadline extension to finalize the grant agreement.

On Aug. 24, he received word from FAA officials that the terms of the grant were amended and the deadline for the Period of Performance was moved to January.

The amendment gives the airport commission and Garver, the commission’s engineering firm of record, a six-month window to close out the grant documents.

The new PAPI lighting system was installed to improve visibility for the approaches to runway 13-31.

FAA engineers did not sign off on the project in 2019, citing safety concerns, particularly the angle at which the PAPIs are set and and tall trees in the area.

“They said we really can’t turn these on because the PAPIs are set at a three-degree slope, which is what aircraft lands at on the runway,” Estes explained.

“They’re coming down at a three-degree slope so that it’s nice and smooth and the engineers said they’re going to hit a lot of pine trees coming down,” he continued.

The FAA’s concerns centered on Runway 13-31’s northbound approach, Estes said, adding that the southbound approach was safe to use from the start.

The El Dorado Airport Commission and Estes negotiated purchase prices for three parcels, totaling nearly 50 acres, on the north side of the airport property.

The acquisition involved three landowners and the final price tag came in at $477,238, which was covered by the El Dorado Works tax.

The one-cent city sales tax is designated for economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-life projects.

The amount was reimbursed to the city by a separate federal grant.

Taylor-Hendrix, LLC, of Hope, submitted the low bid of $280,534 for the tree-cutting.

“We cleared the trees and made sure that airspace was safe in order to be able to utilize that instrument (the PAPIs),” said Estes.

However, the FAA still needed to conduct a flight-check before giving the all-clear to begin using the PAPIs.

“That’s where the FAA brings in an aircraft and they fly multiple approaches to each end of that runway. Until they did that, we couldn’t close out that grant,” Estes said.

The flight checks were not conducted until July, having been delayed, as with other projects, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The total cost the project — the installation of the PAPIs and land acquisition — came to $575,967, representing an overage of $5,913.

The FAA grant that was awarded to the airport in 2017 will cover 95% of the cost and the remaining 5% will be paid by funding from The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020.

Estes said the cost to the city is $296 for that stage of the project.

For the FAA to conduct the flight check, the city was required to pay the FAA’s Flight Department an upfront cost of $11,823.

Estes said he recently learned from FAA officials that the city may be refunded approximately $4,000 from the flight department.

He added that all applicable documents have been submitted for the refund process, which could take up to four months.

The airport commission and Garver can then close out the grant documents, Estes explained.

Airport commissioners are also gearing up for another Runway 13-31 project that will be funded by federal dollars.

The runway will be re-striped this year.

The FAA has offered a grant of $87,380 for the project, which comes with a low bid of $44,238 from Axtell’s, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based construction company that services airports around the world.

Earlier this month, Estes told commissioners that the bid fell far below the $103,000 engineering estimate from Garver, noting that six bid proposals ranged between the low bid amount to $103,000.

He said the federal grant will cover construction and engineering costs.

Crews will remove old lines and re-stripe the runway with new center lines and 1,000-foot markers, said Estes.

The project is expected to get under way this month.