The Nantucket Memorial Airport Commission on July 8 approved three contract actions: acceptance of a MassDOT reimbursement of $602,721.49, an engineering task order tied to a federal PFAS treatment grant, and a $4,174,000 contract award to Premier Fence for a south noise-barrier wall; commissioners deferred a Pearl Company change order pending clarification.

The votes came during the commission's review of pending leases and contracts. Commission staff said the $602,721.49 represents MassDOT’s portion of a recent project for items the FAA deemed ineligible, including noise monitoring units, airfield security cameras, Hangar 4 apron replacement, landside sewer manhole replacement, Runway 6/24 centerline mill-and-overlay and a Runway 6 fence relocation. Commissioners also approved a task order for McFarland Johnson tied to engineering on a PFAS treatment approach funded by an approximately $1,200,000 federal grant the airport received.

The Premier Fence contract covers construction of a 1,300-foot, 20-foot-high noise barrier (with a 3-foot, 45-degree-return) along the existing tree line on the south ramp; staff said work is slated to begin this fall with a target completion date of May 15 of the following year. During discussion commissioners asked staff and the airport’s consultant to confirm the liquidated-damages language; the commission requested the contract text be corrected to show a $2,500-per-calendar-day liquidated-damages figure rather than a per-year or otherwise ambiguous reference.

Commissioners asked that the Pearl Company change order be removed from the vote so staff could obtain more information from the contractor, project manager and designer about the overruns and the line-item detail. Staff did not move forward on that change order at the meeting.

Motion and vote details: a motion to approve the items described in the meeting exhibit was made and seconded; commissioners voted in favor and the chair announced the motion passed. The Pearl Company change order was explicitly held for further review and not voted on.

Why it matters: the MassDOT reimbursement returns local capital funds for recent surface and airfield work; the McFarland Johnson task order advances engineering tied to a federal PFAS remediation grant; and the Premier Fence contract begins construction of a sound-mitigation barrier that staff described as a community-benefit project. The commission asked for contract-language corrections and further documentation before final execution of the Pearl change order.