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County selects Hansen for advanced air mobility planning master service agreement at Smith Reynolds
Summary
The airport advertised an RFQ for advanced air‑mobility planning and selected Hansen professional services for a five-year master service agreement; staff said task orders will return for board approval as needed and the state requires qualifications-based selection for these services.
Mark Davidson briefed commissioners that the Federal Aviation Administration and North Carolina Department of Transportation encourage airports to prequalify consultants by qualifications rather than price to respond quickly to advanced air mobility (AAM) grant opportunities. The county issued an RFQ, received four proposals and the evaluation committee selected Hansen Professional Services as the best qualified for a five‑year Advanced Air Mobility Consulting and Planning Master Service Agreement at Smith Reynolds Airport.
Davidson said respondents included Sepper Sky LLC, Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering LLC, VHB Engineering and Hansen; Avcon, the airport’s existing master services consultant, did not submit for this specific AAM RFQ. He said the master services agreement is qualifications-based and that staff will present individual task orders to the board for contracts that exceed certain dollar thresholds. "This is more of a master service agreement to be able to use them in instances... when you have a short lead time for a grant proposal," Davidson said.
Davidson added that Hansen may partner with existing firms familiar with the airport’s infrastructure to provide continuity and avoid reinventing prior work. He said Avcon will continue under its existing master service agreement for other planning and construction-phase services; Avcon’s contract remains active for about two more years.
Why it matters: Prequalifying a consultant for advanced air mobility work positions the airport to pursue time‑sensitive grants and projects related to emerging aviation technologies; board approval of task orders will be required for specific work and costs.
Next steps: Staff will finalize the five-year master services agreement with Hansen and return task orders for board approval when required by dollar thresholds and state processes.
