Airport commission accepts $221,400 consultant fee, forwards $226,900 grant application for environmental review

The Gardner City Airport Commission voted to accept a consultant fee of $221,400 and to forward a $226,900 Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant application to Mayor Nicholson for city funding of an environmental assessment and obstruction analysis.

Commission members approved the measure after staff described differences between a third-party independent fee estimate and the consultant’s revised proposal. "The independent fee estimate came in at $245,550, and Gail's final numbers... came in at $221,400," the airport planner said, noting the two figures fell within FAA guidance for reasonable variances after revisions.

The commission's vote authorizes the airport to include the consultant fee, the independent estimator’s $4,000 charge and a $1,500 estimate for sponsor administration (public notices and meeting costs) in the total grant request. The presenter said those line items produce a grant total of $226,900 and described a proposed cost share where the FAA would provide the majority of funding and the state and city would each cover a small local share. "So what I need is a motion to vote on passage of…