Upgrades to runway at Boulder City airport in the works

By Dylan Scott

Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010 | 1:07 p.m.

A faulty application will force Boulder City to put a $1 million construction project for the city airport’s runways back out to bid.

The council unanimously agreed at Tuesday’s council meeting to deny a bid from Southern Nevada Paving after Granite Construction, the runner-up, protested the city awarding the contract to SNP. The city will rebid the project within the next 90 days.

At the same time, the council officially accepted a $970,000 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration that will pay for 95 percent of the project. The airport will cover the remaining costs.

The plan is to repave the east, west and northwest runways at the Boulder City airport and install safety improvements in the runway areas.

Brok Armantrout, the city’s director of community development, said the FAA grant is good for a year, so a second bidding shouldn’t prevent the project’s completion.

Rodney Wissenhunt, a manager at Granite Construction, pointed out that SNP had included the contractor’s license of its sister company, Frehner Construction, with its application and that documents were printed on Frehner Construction letterhead.

The city’s staff had suggested that the council accept SNP’s bid of $892,000 because Granite Construction’s protest, due five business days after the bids were accepted on March 16, was too late when it was received on April 8.

Wissenhunt said he sent an e-mail to the city on March 24, which is within the five-day deadline, that, while not an official protest letter, still served as his objection.

Council members Cam Walker and Linda Strickland agreed Boulder City shouldn’t set a precedent of accepting improper bids. They moved to reopen the bidding on the project and accept the FAA grant. Travis Chandler and Duncan McCoy joined in the final vote; Mayor Roger Tobler was absent.