Airport taxiway re-pavement up for bid, again

At 6 p.m. on July 8 at Saratoga Town Hall, the Airport Board determined that a contract they have with a company to re-pave the taxiway will have to be terminated for re-bid after a contract technicality arose.

Dave Shultz, Engineer at Sage Engineering, explained how the gravel material that the company STC Construction was planning on using is insufficient for this project – because of the fact that the consultant did not specify in his contract that he would be using that material.

This base coarse gravel was independently tested and found to meet FAA requirements, but this material was not the type listed in their contract, leaving other companies who bid at a disadvantage.

“He went out and got the job, thinking he was going to get this base coarse gravel from a company he’s dealt with for over 25 years and over the winter they came to him and said ‘were leaving the area and sorry, but we can’t get you the aggregate.’”

Although STC offered to find the material needed to complete the project, it would mean that the town would most likely have to assist in the additional cost to find and import the material.

“So your options are to void the contract or try to come up with extra money to pay him so he can get the material.”

The Board decided to ask at the next town council meeting to approve the contract changes. They hope with the next contractor they can get them to complete this 20 day project between September 15, 2015 and June 15, 2016; depending on the weather and the contractors availability.

The next Airport Board meeting will be at 1 p.m. August 12 at Saratoga Town Hall.