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AGENDA RECOMMENDATION |
Consent Calendar 6.F.
City Council Regular Meeting
- Meeting Date:
- 02/10/2025
Agenda Item:
Resolution accepting the Airport Architectural and Engineering Services Proposal for the Air Traffic Control Tower.
Recommendation/Action(s):
Recomend approval of the attached resolution
Summary:
Mankato Airport was accepted into the Federal Aviation Administration Contract Tower Program on April 19, 2022. To be admitted into the program, the safety and efficiency benefits of a tower must exceed its costs. The FAA is required to perform benefit-cost analysis (BCA) to determine eligibility for participation in the program, Mankato Airport’s BCA is 2.35.
Conditions of acceptance into the FAA FCT program are as follows:
The City Council authorized the City Manager to enter into a Master Partnership Agreement for Professional Aviation Architectural and Engineering Design Services for the Air Traffic Control Tower Project with EXP on August 12, 2024. The project is included in the 2025-2029 Capital Investment Program (CIP).
EXP submitted their proposal to provide professional Architectural and Engineering Services to the City for the design of the New Federal Contract Air Traffic Control Tower at the Mankato Airport on November 21, 2024. The scope of work was reviewed by the FAA and revised on January 8th, to better conform with the Advisory Circular guidance. The proposal for the work is a lump sum payment which conforms to the Master Partnership Agreement in the amount of $2,622,909.00.
Contracts over $100,000 require an Independent Fee Estimate (IFE) of which Garver was contracted (January 2, 2025) to provide at a cost of $6,000. Garver’s January 9, 2025 estimates for the scope of work were 11.26%, exceeding the allowable guidance of 10% of the consultants (EXP) proposal. When differences exceed 10%, the Sponsor, IFE preparer and Consultant should determine if there is a misunderstanding of the scope of services or level of effort required to complete the work. The group met on January 21, 2025, to negotiate the level of effort primarily around the Minnesota Sustainable Building Guidelines - Buildings, Benchmarks & Beyond (B3). Garver revised the IFE on January 21st, resulting in a 2.7% difference.
EXP anticipates the project schedule to be as follows:
Pre-Award Authority: Discretionary project costs must have been incurred after the grant execution date. The exceptions list does not apply to Air Traffic Control Tower Construction.
The green highlighted areas have been awarded.
Conditions of acceptance into the FAA FCT program are as follows:
- Five years from the date of the acceptance letter (April 19, 2022) provide a control tower that has successfully completed an Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI).
- Enter into an Air Traffic Control Tower Operations Agreement (TOA).
- Tower funding is subject to availability.
- If the Airport fails to provide a control tower that successfully completes an Operational Readiness Inspection (ORI) within the 5-year period, the Airport returns to Phase 1 (Interest Phase) and can reapply for acceptance into the FCT Program.
The City Council authorized the City Manager to enter into a Master Partnership Agreement for Professional Aviation Architectural and Engineering Design Services for the Air Traffic Control Tower Project with EXP on August 12, 2024. The project is included in the 2025-2029 Capital Investment Program (CIP).
EXP submitted their proposal to provide professional Architectural and Engineering Services to the City for the design of the New Federal Contract Air Traffic Control Tower at the Mankato Airport on November 21, 2024. The scope of work was reviewed by the FAA and revised on January 8th, to better conform with the Advisory Circular guidance. The proposal for the work is a lump sum payment which conforms to the Master Partnership Agreement in the amount of $2,622,909.00.
Contracts over $100,000 require an Independent Fee Estimate (IFE) of which Garver was contracted (January 2, 2025) to provide at a cost of $6,000. Garver’s January 9, 2025 estimates for the scope of work were 11.26%, exceeding the allowable guidance of 10% of the consultants (EXP) proposal. When differences exceed 10%, the Sponsor, IFE preparer and Consultant should determine if there is a misunderstanding of the scope of services or level of effort required to complete the work. The group met on January 21, 2025, to negotiate the level of effort primarily around the Minnesota Sustainable Building Guidelines - Buildings, Benchmarks & Beyond (B3). Garver revised the IFE on January 21st, resulting in a 2.7% difference.
EXP anticipates the project schedule to be as follows:
| Design Phase | Timeline | Revised Timeline |
| Full Design Contract Award | January 2, 2025 | February 10, 2025 |
| Concept Design Complete | January 31 | March 24, 2025 |
| 10% Preliminary Design Phase | March 14 | May 05, 2025 |
| 45% Submittal | May 9 | June 30, 2035 |
| 70% Submittal | July 3 | August 25,2025 |
| 100% Submittal | August 29 | October 20, 2025 |
| Final Submittal | September 30 | December 01, 2025 |
| Construction Notice to Proceed | December 2025 | February, 2026 |
Pre-Award Authority: Discretionary project costs must have been incurred after the grant execution date. The exceptions list does not apply to Air Traffic Control Tower Construction.
The green highlighted areas have been awarded.