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Pitkin County staff say schematic design nearly complete, CMAR shortlist set for airport modernization
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Summary
Pitkin County staff told commissioners schematic design for the airport modernization is finishing and design development will begin in early summer; an RFP to shortlisted CMAR firms will issue this month and a financial feasibility update is due in June to guide phasing and funding decisions.
Pitkin County staff updated the Board of County Commissioners on April 14 about progress and near-term decisions for the airport modernization program.
Melissa Dumond, county communications staff, said schematic design is finishing and design development is slated for early summer, with community touchpoints planned: a task-force meeting April 28, a joint Airport Advisory Board–BOCC review in May–June, and a late-summer public open house to show renderings. “We are finishing up schematic design right now,” Dumond said, and the next phase will reflect task‑force input and prior common-ground recommendations.
Staff emphasized that the financial feasibility work will frame phasing. One county staff member told commissioners the county expects a financial-feasibility update in June that will include cash-flow modeling and debt-issuance scenarios to inform what can move forward. “We don’t have an exact date on it, but we know that that continues to come,” staff said.
Procurement for construction management-at-risk is advancing: staff said three firms have been shortlisted and that staff will issue an RFP this week with interim schematic plans; shortlisted teams will run design workshops in April and return constructability approaches and cost estimates by May to feed the feasibility study. “We’ve shortlisted 3 of the top firms for that,” a staff member said, and the CMAR inputs will inform phasing recommendations.
On operations and schedule, staff discussed enabling work the county expects to start this summer — drainage, minor utility relocation, and stockpiling — with the most visible work being movement of Owl Creek Road; staff said those activities can proceed without a full runway closure. Staff also previewed planning for the runway-closure period and outreach: an airport event with tours in May and a town‑hall panel on runway closure early in summer.
What’s next: staff will deliver financial-feasibility numbers in June; task‑force and AAB reviews are scheduled before any schematic-design approval; and the county will present phasing options informed by CMAR input and the feasibility study.
The work session included public questions about the status of a terminal grant application and an offer by a commissioner to contact federal offices to inquire about grant status; staff said there has been no grant decision yet.
