Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 9637 |
| Work Detail | Lake Charles Regional Airport Authority board members on Wednesday finalized bid acceptance on two improvement projects that will cost over $2 million dollars, and they moved forward on a number of other improvement projects. Executive Director Heath Allen said this is a sign that “good things are happening” at the airport, despite a strain on the industry caused by low oil prices. The two projects that made it past the bidding stage Wednesday were the $500,000 rehabilitation of an old aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle and a $1.6 million new taxiway lighting system project. Allen said the airport received a grant for the lighting system in August, but have yet to receive the funding. This will be the final phase in their initiative to update all airfield lighting to LEDs and get wiring in conduit. Both projects will be funded by state and federal dollars and won’t use any local funds, Allen said Wednesday. Allen said it has been a difficult year due to low passenger numbers. He said the low price of oil has caused air traffic at airports in this region to decrease. A second factor that he said has hurt passenger numbers this year is the fact that the airline industry is reducing capacity and going through a pilot shortage. “The industry’s going through a lot of changes, and when you add to that the downturn in the oil industry it’s just been a pretty tough year for us in terms of passenger numbers,” Allen said. He said this has hurt vendors inside the terminal who survive off selling food and alcohol to passengers. Board members discussed the plight of these vendors, but Allen said the airport’s hands are mostly tied until the market picks back up. Allen said the airport’s helicopter tenants who make their money off servicing the offshore oil and gas industry have also lost much of their business due to the drop in oil prices. But Allen said airport finances aren’t significantly affected by a drop in vendor sales or a drop in tenant business, because their financial model doesn’t depend on those revenue sources. He said the airport has managed to stay “in great shape” this year and that it’s well ahead on revenue. He also told the board that although the budget is in good shape so far, the airport looks slightly over budget in a couple areas, which include promotional travel expenses and janitorial supply expenses. Board members also approved a new bank account for a rental car wash and fuel maintenance facility that’s currently underway. They also approved a fee structure in which the airport would bill the tenants monthly on their use of the wash and maintenance facilities. Another revenue source the board approved on Wednesday was granting permanent right-of-way on 3.59 acres of airport property to Bayou Bridge Pipeline for about $170,000. The pipeline will pump crude oil through the southern portion of the state. A few board members voiced concerned about making a permanent agreement that would limit the airport’s ability to use the affected area. Allen responded the vast majority of the land affected by the pipeline was unusable anyway, and the motion passed. |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Airports & Aviation |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | http://www.americanpress.com/20160908-LC-Airport |
