Houston County approves Olympic Builders contract for airport T-hangar while FAA grant remains pending

The Houston County Board of Commissioners voted to award the construction contract for a new T-hangar to Olympic Builders and authorized steps to allow the company to order the prefabricated building while the county waits for final grant offers from the Federal Aviation Administration.

County staff said the county has applied for FAA Airport Improvement Program funding and that officials expect the grant offers but that timing could take several months. "Houston County does have sufficient federal funding from the FAA to cover the entire cost of the project," said Silas (staff member). He said the FAA grant application was submitted on April 2 and that grant offers typically move through regional and national review, with award timing often in mid‑summer.

The move to award Olympic Builders lets the contractor begin ordering the building, a process the county was told takes about five to six months. County staff provided a contractor payment schedule and said the contractor expects an initial down payment of about $98,000 to get fabrication started and to place the project on the manufacturer's production list. "When they go to fabricate stuff, they have a payment of a hundred and seventy‑five thousand at that point," a staff member said, describing the staged payments in the contractor schedule.

Board members approved the contract despite the grant not yet being formally issued. Staff warned that, if the FAA grant did not arrive as anticipated, the county could be exposed to that initial down payment. "If the FAA does not issue a grant to the county, we could potentially be on the hook ... for that down payment," a staff member said, noting that county attorneys would need to address any liability questions. Staff also said FAA entitlement and special funding are dedicated to the county and that most of the project cost will be federally reimbursed once the grant offer is processed.

The motion to accept Olympic Builders' project was made and seconded and passed on a roll call with all commissioners voting in favor.

Board members instructed staff to continue coordinating with FAA program staff and to return information on any outstanding documentation requests. Staff reported they had provided multiple requested documents to the FAA and that the application is under regional review in Chicago before moving to Washington, D.C.

The county will proceed with contract execution and administrative steps now that the board has approved awarding the contract; the FAA grant paperwork and final funding timing remain outstanding.