Colfax County approves Angel Fire airport contracts and hangar improvements under state grants
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Summary
The Colfax County Commission awarded contracts and approved related engineering services and scope for Angel Fire Airport projects, including a hangar-door replacement and fuel containment work funded largely by state aviation grants and House Bill 2 money.
The Colfax County Commission on July 15 approved contracts and engineering arrangements to advance several projects at Angel Fire Airport, including a hangar door replacement, canopy and fuel-containment work and on-call engineering services required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
County staff said state aviation grants and House Bill 2 funding will pay most of the work, but some items require county matches or fall within grant expiration deadlines that require prompt action.
In a progress report, a county projects staff member said contractors were building foundation work for an event-center restroom and that a new 6-inch fire-line would be required to extend protection to the building. He said design work and a pressure-reducing valve will add to cost estimates. The commission later approved an FAA-required RFP award and contract for an on-call engineer to Moles and Corbin, clearing the way for project design and oversight.
On a separate agenda item, staff recommended splitting the Angel Fire hangar solicitation into four bid packages so the county could finish high-priority safety items within the available grant. The commission accepted a recommendation to award work to Unified Contractor Inc. for the base hangar-door replacement (base bid $544,723) and two alternates — a canopy for fuel dispensers (about $86,000) and a fuel-containment pad (about $70,000) — for a combined award of $741,779.25, inclusive of gross receipts tax. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the award.
Staff told the commission the fuel-containment-pad grant expires in December; state aviation officials are “amenable” to extending that deadline, but the larger $1.2 million grant that funds the canopy and hangar door expires next June and is a hard deadline tied to House Bill 2 funds. County staff said the canopy and hangar-door work fit within that $1.2 million allocation but noted scheduling and procurement must proceed promptly to meet the expiration date.
The county also reported a separate state aviation grant would cover other portions of the project and that the bid for the door and two other items fell within the state grant budget. County staff said one of the bidding alternates — a new four-unit hangar — exceeded available funding and therefore was not included in the recommended award.
Commission discussion focused on moving the projects forward quickly to avoid losing grant funds. Commissioners voted to approve: the RFP award and contract to Moles and Corbin for on-call engineering services; and the recommendation award to Unified Contractor Inc. for the hangar-door base bid and the two alternates.
County staff said a preconstruction conference is expected in August and that additional design work, utility coordination and bid advertising for remaining projects will follow.
The action resolves procurement steps for multiple airport projects but leaves remaining design, permitting and scheduling steps to staff and the selected contractors.
