Airport panel approves change order
The Fayette County Airport Authority approved a change order for a sanitary sewage line project recently completed and readied for the regional sewage project set to come through the area in three to four years. Dick Widmer of Widmer Engineering Inc. presented the authority with a change order of $5,371.20 for the project at the regular monthly meeting Tuesday.
The sewage project is meant to service every building at the Connellsville Airport.
Widmer said the lines are capped and await connection into the regional system, a project coordinated by the Dunbar Borough/Dunbar Township Sewage Authority.
Although that connection is not anticipated to be made for another few years, the project’s application is at the top of the list for funding through Rural Utility Services (RUS), according to Widmer.
Authority board Chairman Fred K. Davis said the sewage lines were installed to accommodate growth at the airport, while a holding tank was installed to prepare for the general aviation terminal. Airport Manager Sam Davis said the holding tank is in place, has been pressure tested and is ready for use.
Davis thanked Widmer for the job well done and for meeting the unique requirements to operate at the airport. Widmer expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to work with the authority. He said most time was spent in planning, looking at different options.
In other business, the authority heard updates on the general aviation terminal project from Richard E. Crimm of Michael Baker Jr. Inc., the engineering firm hired to oversee the project.
Crimm said the project will be 75 percent complete by Nov. 18, which is the scheduled completion date of the building’s metal siding – its “skin”- and the canopy roofing. The date is two weeks ahead of the date expected, which is a needed advance because of the weather, said Crimm.
The scheduled completion date of the entire terminal project, aside from final approval from local governing bodies, is Jan. 6, 2006, said Crimm.
Scheduled for the week ahead is the arrival of the fire suppression system, followed by a two-week installation period as well as the installation of a decorative wood ceiling taken from the original structure and refinished, said Crimm. The painting inspector will stop by on Thursday to monitor the work on the structural steel beams, he added.
Crimm said Ceiling Pro of Irwin was retained for the painting portion of the project, despite the authority’s recent complaints about the company’s performance.
At the monthly meeting in June, the authority assigned two unpaid volunteers to monitor Ceiling Pro’s work after board members cited painting problems such as spots that were not painted and rust spots showing.
Crimm said Ceiling Pro continues to use a Quality Assurance/Quality Control program that mandates the company correct the work, while a constant examination of the job has been implemented. Plus, Ceiling Pro hired new people to replace the original installers, said Crimm.
“They are proceeding accurately,” Crimm said.
The panel also accepted the 2004 audit report, voted to advertise for new airport auditors and entered into executive session for informational purposes.