Apr. 12—SIOUX CITY — The Sioux City Council approved a resolution Monday to reject the bids for the SUX Aviation Center Project, after the low bid came in roughly 47% over the engineer's estimate.

There was no discussion about the project before the council voted 4 to 0 in favor of the resolution. Councilman Alex Watters abstained due to a conflict of interest.

In July, the council entered into a lease and development agreement with Oracle Aviation, LLC for the construction, lease and operation of a new hangar facility at Sioux Gateway Airport. The facility will be the home of the Oracle Aviation Center, which includes a flight academy established in partnership with Morningside University, as well as additional aviation-related operations.

According to city documents, three local contractors were contacted about the project. Two bids were received by the March 15 deadline. L&L Builders Co. submitted the the low bid of $12,950,584.50. The engineer's estimate for the project is $8,794,186.25.

RS&H Iowa, P.C., which provides architecture, engineering and consulting services, said in a letter addressed to Assistant City Manager Mike Collett that uncertainty over the post-COVID supply chain and energy prices due to the crisis in Eastern Europe, as well as a significant amount of work in Siouxland were contributing factors to the bids.

" RS&H Iowa, P.C. and city staff have reviewed the bids and feel that re-bidding the project with a change in the design would be in the best interests of the city," city documents state.

The new building was initially proposed to be 35,000 square feet and include two hangars located on either side of a two-level, 10,000-square-foot unfinished office facility. Site improvements were to include a new parking lot, taxiway, apron, landscaping and related amenities.

The project, which currently has an available balance of $9.7 million, is primarily funded using general obligation bonds. A $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration will also assist with the cost of construction.

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