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Committee backs Bombardier settlement, sole‑source operations contract and hears airport bond refunding plan
Summary
Committee recommended a $56.5 million sole‑source, five‑year operations and maintenance contract with Bombardier for the SFO AirTrain (annual base $11.3 million) as part of a linked legal settlement, and advanced a resolution to issue up to $2.54 billion in airport revenue refunding bonds to the full Board.
The committee considered two related airport items on Oct. 27: a settlement tied to Bombardier Transportation and a sole‑source waiver to award a $56.5 million, five‑year operations and maintenance contract to Bombardier for the San Francisco International Airport air train system; and a resolution authorizing up to $2.54 billion in revenue refunding bonds for the airport.
Airport Director Martin summarized the settlement and proposed contract, saying an external consultant (PGH Wong) evaluated comparable systems and concluded the proposed operations and maintenance cost is reasonable. The contract base amount was described as roughly $11.3 million per year with CPI adjustments and additional incentives; the budget analyst noted the proposed base would represent about a 31% increase from the airport’s current annual operating costs (previously around $8.0–8.6 million).
The committee recommended both the settlement and the sole‑source contract be forwarded to the full Board with recommendations and also endorsed advancing the airport’s refunding resolution, which airport staff said is intended to take advantage of market opportunities to refinance variable rate and callable fixed‑rate debt. Martin said the airport had used variable‑rate debt as part of a five‑year financial turnaround and that refundings were pursued to protect airport interests and lower costs where possible.
