Commissioners approve Sandpoint Airport lease, award $313,922 obstruction-removal contract

The Bonner County Board of Commissioners approved a lease for Lot 33 at Sandpoint Airport and awarded a $313,922 contract to Selland Construction Inc. for an airport obstruction-removal project during a brief business meeting beginning at 9 a.m. (date not specified). The board voted to authorize the chair to sign the lease administratively and to award the construction contract after staff review and FAA concurrence.

The lease for Lot 33 includes a 30-year initial term with a 20-year option at the lessee’s discretion, and the Bonner County Airports Advisory Board recommended approval, Director Shook said. "The Bonner County Airports Advisory Board recommends that we enter into this lease," Director Shook said during the meeting. Officials said the advisory board will reconsider term lengths at a July 18 special meeting to reflect current market conditions.

On the obstruction-removal project, staff said five sealed bids were received; two were determined nonresponsive and three were viable. County staff recommended awarding the contract to Selland Construction Inc. as the low responsive and responsible bidder. "There are criteria for submission, and there are criteria for responsiveness to the bid itself. And if a bidder does not comply with all of the submission criteria ... they are considered nonresponsive," Bill Wilson said when explaining why some bids were rejected.

County staff told the board they had received concurrence from the Federal Aviation Administration on the award. Jessica, Bonner County comptroller, asked whether the award would pose a cash-flow problem before grant reimbursement; staff said design costs may occur earlier but that construction would not begin until the grant was in place and that reimbursement from the FAA typically follows quickly. "This project won't actually start until September ... aside from the engineer's cost for the design work, there's not going to be a significant amount of money spent until we are actually in the grant and able to reimburse," staff said. They added that FAA reimbursement often occurs within about two weeks of a county payment.

The board voted to approve both airport items; roll-call voting produced affirmative votes and the motions passed. The county also noted it may adjust lease terms countywide to help the airport become more financially sustainable and to encourage growth.

Ending: The obstruction-removal project is scheduled to start after grant funding is finalized; staff indicated the county expects the FAA grant to be offered by June and construction to begin in September. The advisory board and county staff will review lease-term lengths and related airport rates at future meetings.