The Elkhart Board of Aviation approved a motion to advertise for bids on the Runway 9/27 joint replacement project, with the board asking staff and the engineer to include painting as an alternate bid item for cost comparison.

Staff told the board the project involves extensive joint sealing and replacement and that unit prices for joint sealing have risen; earlier three-year averages put joint sealant costs at roughly $600,000 for this scope. The capital request originally discussed with the mayor was about $550,000, but staff cautioned the board that the actual number may be higher once bids return.

The board reviewed schedule implications: staff proposed 25 daylight work days with daily runway closures from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. to keep some airport operations moving; fully closing the runway could shorten calendar duration but would reduce available airport capacity. Staff noted the project should not overlap the Runway 18/36 project to preserve usable runway capacity. Board members discussed potential funding sources including general appropriation, redevelopment commission (RDC) funds, and TIF, and agreed to advertise and collect bids to obtain firm costs before final appropriation requests.

On roll call the motion to advertise was approved (Bruce Shriner — yes; Amy Latimer — yes; Tom Schauff — yes). Staff said they will include painting as an alternate and present bid results and recommended funding approaches once bids are received.