Title
Approval of Amendment No. 1 to a Grant Agreement with the New Mexico Department of Transportation for Additional Funds in the Amount of $1,400,000 for the Airport Fuel Farm Project and Related Budget Revision
Recommended Action
I move that Council Approve Amendment No. 1 to a Grant Agreement with the New Mexico Department of Transportation for Additional Funds in the Amount of $1,400,000 for the Airport Fuel Farm Project.
I further move that Council approve related Budget Revision 2024-1 in the amount of $1,400,000 and that it be included in the minutes as an attachment.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council approve the motion as presented.
Body
On June 28, 2022, Council approved a grant agreement with the New Mexico Department of Transportation Aviation Division that awarded Los Alamos County $1,900,000 for the Airport Fuel Farm Project. Subsequently, the grant agreement was received and requires no County matching funds.
On June 23, 2023, the New Mexico Department of Transportation Aviation Division submitted Amendment No. 1 (Attachment A) to the airport manager, awarding the County another $1,400,000 of additional funding for the project. Similarly, this additional funding requires no County matching funds.
The Airport Fuel Farm Project is a project included in the 2013 LAM Airport Master Plan. Project design has been completed by WSP USA, Inc. through an on-call engineering services task order. The design includes the construction and installation of two 12,000-gallon above ground steel double-walled fuel storage tanks for aviation jet fuel and aviation gasoline and all necessary site work, traffic control management, utility infrastructure and connections, storm water management, spill containment and emergency shut-offs. The fuel farm will be located on the north side of the Airport property on the concrete apron east of the Airport terminal building. This location offers a convenient location to pilots while improving safety as it will be further away from the runway and nearby roadways than the current fueling facility. Once the fuel farm is commissioned and operational, the temporary fuel storage tanks that serve Classic Air Medical at the south side of the Airport near NM 502 will also be removed. Currently, jet fuel sales are not available at the Airport and the completion of this project will provide a self-service point-of-sale fuel dispensing system for both jet fuel and aviation gasoline. Adding jet fuel service will contribute to the self-sufficiency of the Airport and will be especially important for future emergency situations such as forest fires. Additionally, this service may improve visitation to the Los Alamos area and help make the airport more viable for any future airline service.
Design of the project is complete and shovel ready. Upon execution of the amendment, advertisement for construction bids will follow. The construction schedule will be shared subsequent to construction bid award and contract approval.
Alternatives
Council could choose to not approve the amendment with the potential of losing grant funds and delaying the advertisement for construction bids.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Planned Item
As grant funding is a reimbursement-based program, Budget Revision 2024-1 is required to increase the project budget in the amount of $1,400,000 resulting in a total project budget of $3,300,000. The grant requires no County matching funds. Construction and related project management services are eligible expenses for reimbursement under the grant.
The Public Works Department will oversee the contract work and administer the grant in cooperation with the County's Finance Division.
Attachments
A - NMDOT Grant Agreement Amendment No. 1
B - Grant Analysis and Financial Matrix Form
C - Budget Revision 2024-1