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Planning and Building Department, Airports Division, recommending the Board take the following actions pertaining to the Pavement Maintenance Management Plan Projects at the Placerville and Georgetown Airports:
1) Provide grant award acceptance and advance approval of a Grant Agreement and Terms and Conditions of Accepting Airport Improvement Program Grants in an estimated amount of $107,000 for a four-year term for the Placerville Airport (Project 35401009) from the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration;
2) Provide grant award acceptance and advance approval of a Grant Agreement and Terms and Conditions of Accepting Airport Improvement Program Grants in an estimated amount of $92,000 for a four-year term for the Georgetown Airport (Project 35402013) from the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration; and
3) Authorize the Planning and Building Department Director, or designee, to execute all associated documents, subject to review and approval by County Counsel.
FUNDING: Federal Aviation Administration Grants (90%) and General Fund (10%). (Federal Funds).
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
At the recommendation of the County’s new airport engineering consultant, Brandley Engineering, Inc. (Brandley), and in accordance with Board Policy A-6, Grant Applications, the Planning and Building Department (Department) applied for two Pavement Maintenance Management Plan (PMMP) grants through the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP), one for the Placerville Airport for $107,000 and one for the Georgetown Airport for $92,000, which, if received, would fund ninety percent (90%) of the costs for each of the PMMP projects: $96,300 for Placerville and $82,800 for Georgetown. The County’s General Fund needs to fund the 10% local match requirement, which will be $10,700 for Placerville and $9,200 for Georgetown.
If awarded these two grants, the FAA will send two grant offers with two grant award letters and two grant agreements to the County (sponsor) for signature, and these will include a firm date by which the grant agreements must be signed and returned. This is typically a very compressed time frame and has been as few as one or two days to return the grant agreements. The grant agreements are standard federal grant agreements and the County will be unable to make any changes. Due to this compressed time frame for completing the grant agreements, staff requests advance approval and acceptance of these funds and requests that the Board authorize the Department Director, or designee, to execute the documents for the two FAA PMMP grants, subject to County Counsel review and approval, currently estimated at $107,000 for the Placerville Airport and $92,000 for the Georgetown Airport. Grant agreements from June 2021, which were administered under a similar process, are attached as an example.
Airports Division staff will forward the two grant agreements to County Counsel for expedited review, and upon approval, the Planning and Building Department Director, or designee, will execute the original and sponsor copy of each grant agreement, and staff will forward the grant agreements back to County Counsel for the required attorney certification on the grant agreements, which must follow the sponsor’s authorized representative’s signature.
These PMMP projects will include pavement section determination studies to identify all existing pavement sections and underlying subgrade soils, pavement condition surveys to identify surface deterioration conditions, and non-destructive load tests to be used with fatigue analysis methodologies to determine deep-seated distress and remaining pavement life. This type of comprehensive PMMP will provide the schedule and type of maintenance and/or reconstruction required to extend the life of the pavement sections at the airports at least 20 years using forecast traffic. The results of the PMMPs will also include estimated maintenance and reconstruction costs so that the County and the FAA can evaluate timing and type of reconstruction/rehabilitation and/or maintenance required to maintain the pavements in a safe operating condition.
The State of California Department of Transportation, Division of Aeronautics (State) requests that airports participate in its biennial California Aviation System Plan-Capital Improvement Plan, which is a 10-year planning document encompassing capital improvement and planning projects for publicly owned airports statewide and a requirement for State AIP matching grant eligibility. Staff is required to enter the County’s proposed list of AIP projects into the State’s Airport System Manager (ASM) online database every two years, last completed in January 2021.
Prior to completing the Request for Qualifications process and selecting Brandley as the County’s new airport engineering consultant, the two PMMP projects were not included in the County’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) or on the FAA’s Airport Capital Improvement Program (ACIP) project list or in the State’s ASM online database; however, Brandley recommended that the County apply for the two PMMP grants for the benefits described above. Because the two PMMP projects are not in the State’s ASM online database, the County is unable to apply for State AIP matching grants for these two PMMP projects and the County will need to fund the 10% local match requirement.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board could choose not to approve one or both of these grant agreements, which would result in the County not receiving FAA grants that will fund 90% of the PMMP project costs.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
N/A
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
County Counsel will review and approve the two FAA grant agreements and will provide the required attorney certification on the grant agreements.
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Funding for these two grant agreements will be provided by the FAA (90%), with the local match from the General Fund (10%). The Planning and Building Department programmed the Placerville PMMP project for $107,000 and the Georgetown PMMP project for $92,000 in the proposed 2022 CIP Book and in the Planning and Building Department’s FY 2022-23 budget request, with $96,300 in FAA funding and $10,700 in General Fund funding for Placerville and $82,800 in FAA funding and $9,200 in General Fund funding for Georgetown. If approved, the CAO's office will include the matching funds in the adopted budget in September 2022.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
1) Upon award of the FAA grants, the Planning and Building Department, Airports Division, will forward the two FAA grant agreements to County Counsel for review and approval.
2) Upon County Counsel’s approval of the two FAA grant agreements, the Planning and Building Department Director, or designee, will execute the two FAA grant agreements and staff will send copies to the Clerk of the Board.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Public Safety, Good Governance, Infrastructure
CONTACT
Chris Perry, Assistant Director
Planning and Building Department