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County tables airport change order; seeks 60-day extension on $150,000 ODAV planning grant while FAA review continues
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Summary
Josephine County’s airport director reported a change order from JB Steel for hangar soil remediation and asked legal to review possible liquidated-damages; separately staff will request a 60‑day extension on a $150,000 ODAV planning grant while the FAA completes an environmental determination.
Interim Airport Director Sheree told the Board of Commissioners that JB Steel submitted a change order for additional excavation and backfill at the new hangar at Grants Pass Airport after encountering adverse soil conditions. Sheree said the change order was not part of the original bid and recommended separating the change-order cost discussion from any liquidated-damages decision.
"This change order came about because of soil conditions, adverse soil conditions," Sheree said, describing excavation and backfill that incurred additional cost. She noted the contract included a $500-per-day liquidated-damages clause tied to completion dates and said the occupancy permit was dated Jan. 16 and units were rented Feb. 1, producing roughly 76 days of potential delay at $500 per day (more than $35,000), while the airport’s measured loss of revenue during the delay was roughly $3,000–$4,000.
Commissioners debated whether to pursue liquidated damages and whether that should be combined with the change-order negotiation. Sheree advised that the change order itself "does warrant the costs that were associated with it" and recommended legal review on the viability of a damages claim. The board agreed to table the matter and send it to legal for review and recommendation before taking further action.
On a separate but related airport item, Sheree outlined a $150,000 planning grant from the Oregon Department of Aviation (ODAV) for planning and design of a west-side taxi lane (ODAV cycle 2022) that has had multiple amendments and is set to expire May 1. She said the county can seek a 60‑day extension for the non‑construction planning grant but expressed concern that the Federal Aviation Administration’s environmental determination—an update to a 2014 assessment—was pending and may take longer than the extension provides.
"We have an environmental assessment on this back from 2014," Sheree said, "but FAA ... can decide that we need an update, and that's what they're requesting." The board directed staff to request the 60‑day extension while continuing to press for the FAA determination and to report back; commissioners also discussed the option to return the grant and reapply after the FAA update if the timeline makes the funds impractical to use.
The board did not authorize immediate legal action or litigation; it instead directed staff to forward documentation to legal and to return with legal recommendations on how to reconcile change-order payments and the liquidated-damages clause.
