The Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas, USVI Photo Credit: ERNICE GILBERT, V.I. CONSORTIUM.
The V.I. Port Authority Governing Board has approved several key measures related to infrastructure projects at the Cyril E. King Airport, including the retrofitting of the Air Alliance building and two major contract awards.
During the board’s recent meeting, members voted to retrofit the Air Alliance building to temporarily house VIPA's Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Unit. The decision follows an incident last January when a water leak led to black mold and mildew in the unit’s original building. Further assessments revealed significant structural damage, and it was determined that constructing a new building would be more cost-effective than attempting remediation and repair.
To prepare the Air Alliance building for its new role, VIPA received five bids for the retrofitting project. Energy Efficient Builders, identified as the lowest responsive bidder meeting all requirements, was awarded the contract. The board approved the recommendation from VIPA staff and authorized a contract award totaling $344,931.
In addition to the retrofitting project, the board approved a professional services contract for Kimley-Horn and Associates. The sole-source award, valued at up to $648,560, covers construction-based services for an upcoming project at the airport’s commercial apron. Preston Beyer, VIPA’s Director of Engineering, explained that Kimley-Horn was the designer of record for the project and had already completed some preliminary work.
“While Kimley-Horn does not have an active master services agreement with VIPA, at this time it has been deemed to be in the best interest of the Authority to utilize the designer's record…to prevent rework and conflicting designer's intent,” Mr. Beyer said. He also noted that funding for the project is largely covered by the Federal Aviation Administration, with FAA providing 90 percent of the funding and VIPA responsible for the remaining 10 percent.
The board further approved a change order for the Dale A. Gregory Transportation Center project, also located at the Cyril E. King Airport. AT Construction Solutions, the company managing the project, was granted an additional $488,215.76 to cover “additional scope of work items needed for the successful completion of the project,” according to Mr. Beyer. With this adjustment, the total value of the contract now exceeds $33.7 million.
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