Airport board to form committee for hiring construction manager

Texarkana Regional Airport Board members plan to have a committee assist in helping find the right construction manager for building a proposed new passenger terminal.

Board members agreed during their regular monthly meeting on Thursday to set up a five-member construction manager selection committee, with the committee being a part of the Airport’s existing Operations Committee.

Airport Director Mark Mellinger said the committee would be charged with reviewing the candidate applications and setting up candidate interviews and making final recommendations to the full board. The manager selected would also be the project’s lead contractor who would hire all necessary sub-contracting.

The manager hiring process would also include having discussions with the candidates on how they plan to do the work.

Last month, airport officials advertised for the position, which received a response from four construction firms—one in Texarkana and the other three in Little Rock.

The new passenger building is currently projected to cost an estimated $13 million, while the whole project—which will include the construction of both north and south aircraft taxiways, along with an aircraft parking apron—will cost an estimated overall $37 million.

The project’s engineering and design teams are presently continuing to finalize overall construction drawings and specifications— which include all structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing aspects. These plans are still projected to be complete by the end of this year.

Besides having a combined Operations and Manager Selection Committee, board members also agreed to combine the Finance and Marketing Committees into one committee.

In other business, board members approved the airport’s 2018 financial audit, which shows the airport finished last calendar year $60,215 in the black. The airport’s overall value— including all financial, land and other real estate holdings and possessions, is currently worth a total of $24,605,528, according to the audit.