SRQ airport authority breezes through $2.1 million in approvals

Following the lead of their chairman, members of the Sarasota-Manatee Airport Authority breezed through a thick bundle of action items in a single vote Monday.

At the authority's regular May meeting, Chairman Carlos Beruff asked that nine items representing a total value of more than $2.1 million in contracts, purchases and agreements be decided on a single approval vote. The six-member body voted unanimously to approve all items on the action agenda.

Beruff, a candidate for U.S. Senate and an appointee serving on several local government bodies at the behest of Gov. Rick Scott, asked that votes on the agenda items be combined to speed the meeting. He said he needed the meeting to end quickly so he could attend another meeting later in the afternoon.

The most expensive item on the list was a $1.02 million authorization to build 208 covered parking spaces at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport terminal. Vehicle Protection Structures, a Texas company, will do the work. The authority picked the company at its March meeting to do the work.

The next most-costly approval of the bunch was one for $566,927 that will pay to design an upgrade to the airport's electrical power distribution system. Undertaken to prepare for a $12 million project that will replace the airport's 13 aging aircraft loading bridges, the distribution design will be done by Aero Systems Engineering of Marietta, Ga. Aero was also selected in March as the designated contractor for the work.

The other approvals bundled into the vote included:

▪ The replacement of 49 airfield signs at a cost of $272,239. The airport and the Florida Department of Transportation will split the cost of the project.

▪ Mitigation of a portion of one of the airport's runways determined to have increased risk of runway incursions due to markings and design. The airport authority will pay American Infrastructure Development $126,188 to fix the problem.

▪ A wildlife hazard assessment and wildlife hazard management report to be prepared by Environmental Science Associates at a cost of $98,989. The assessment and report will be used to develop a strategy to eliminate any features at the airport that could attract wildlife to the airfield and other facilities.

▪ The design of a repair for a section of runway that has developed what airport officials have described as "potholes." EG Solutions will be paid $71,299 to investigate the pavement issue and design a solution.

▪ A contract amendment with parking company RPS that allows the company to install a new parking access and revenue control system. The authority also extended RPS' parking facility management contract by five years.

▪ A change in the ATM provider and management company at SRQ. The authority signed off on having Bradenton company Gameroom Superstores install two ATMs at the airport to replace the single US Bank unit currently in the SRQ terminal.

This story was originally published May 23, 2016 at 6:36 PM with the headline "SRQ airport authority breezes through $2.1 million in approvals."