COUNCIL ACTION FORM

2026/27 AIRPORT AIRSIDE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT (RECONSTRUCTION OF RUNWAY 01/19) - FAA REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENT

On July 14, 2026, City Council awarded the contract for the 2026/27 Airport Airside Improvements Project (Reconstruction of Runway 01/19) to Flynn Company, Inc., of Dubuque, IA, in the amount of $19,118,791. On September 14, 2026, Council accepted the first Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) construction grant, AIP 3-19-0004-036, in the amount of $7,810,900. On October 13, 2026, Council approved Amendments No. 1 and No. 2 with Bolton & Menk, Inc., for the AGIS design survey and construction phase services.

Several navigational aids on Runway 01/19 are owned and maintained by the FAA, not the City. These include the Runway 1 glide slope, the Runway 1 localizer, the Runway 1 approach lighting system (MALSR), and the FAA cables that serve them. When an airport project affects these facilities, the FAA requires the airport sponsor (the City) to fund the FAA's own engineering and technician time through a Non-Federal Reimbursable Agreement. The FAA uses the term “Non-Federal” because the agreement is with an entity outside the federal government (the City); it describes the parties to the agreement, not the source of funding.

Under the attached Reimbursable Agreement No. AJW-FN-CSA-26-CE-007525, the FAA will review the project design where it affects FAA facilities, locate and mark FAA cables, provide on-site technical support, take part in the contractor and joint acceptance inspections, and support flight inspections of FAA equipment. The City, through its consultant and contractor, remains responsible for designing and building the work, repairing any damaged FAA cable, providing schedules and as-built drawings, and correcting any items found during inspection. Facilities installed for the FAA become FAA property once accepted.

The FAA's estimated cost is $79,875.05, which the City must pay in advance before the FAA can begin work. At the end of the agreement, actual costs are compared with the advance payment and the FAA either refunds the difference or bills the City. Because the FAA is a federal agency, the payment is an intergovernmental pass-through cost rather than a purchase of goods or services, so the City's competitive procurement and sole-source requirements do not apply. However, Council authorization of the payment is still required. The attached agreement has been reviewed by Bolton & Menk and the City Legal Department.

The City applied for FAA grant AIP 3-19-0004-038 in October 2026 to fund the reimbursable agreement and the glide slope design at a 90% federal share. If that grant is awarded, the City's share of this agreement would be about $7,988, which is covered by the local funding already identified for the project.

The revised project revenues and expenses are shown below (the formatting of items in the table matches the FAA's):

*Federal grant reimbursement is based on actual eligible costs. Because lower eligible costs also lower the federal share, the actual local savings will be less than the amount shown. The Grant 038 application ($400,000 total; $360,000 federal) also covers FAA construction engineering and consultant coordination for the glide slope relocation that will be presented to Council separately.

1. Approve Non-Federal Reimbursable Agreement No. AJW-FN-CSA-26-CE-007525 with the Federal Aviation Administration for the 2026/27 Airport Airside Improvements Project (Reconstruction of Runway 01/19), in the estimated amount of $79,875.05, and authorize advance payment of the estimated amount to the FAA through Pay.gov, with final reconciliation adjusted for actual costs.
   
   
2. Do not approve the agreement. Without it, the FAA will not support work affecting its navigational aids, and the parts of the project near the glide slope, localizer and approach lights cannot proceed. This would put the 2027 construction schedule and the return of instrument approaches to Runway 01/19 at risk.
   
   
3. Refer this item back to staff for further information.

The FAA's participation is required for any work on Runway 01/19 that affects its navigational aids. Approving the agreement now gives the FAA time to complete its design review before major construction begins in 2027, keeps the runway reconstruction project on schedule, and protects the instrument approaches that airport users depend on. The cost is within the local funding already identified for the project and is expected to be eligible for 90% FAA reimbursement through Grant 038. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative No. 1, as noted above.