Nov. 23—St. Clair County leaders on Monday approved a contract that is about $257,000 higher than the lowest bid for firefighting and security services at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport.
The Public Building Commission, which oversees the Mascoutah airport, previously had considered a contract that was about $1 million higher than the lowest bidder.
Details of differences between the proposed $1.8 million annual contract with Virginia-based Avports LLC and the one unanimously approved for about $1.1 million with Avports were not discussed by board members during the Public Building Commission meeting on Monday.
Airport Director Bryan Johnson could not be reached for comment after the meeting about the differences in the contract.
During the meeting, Johnson told the commission board members that negotiations had been held with Avports.
"This is something that we worked long and hard on," Johnson told the commissioners.
Johnson said changes at the airport include the new Boeing drone factory under construction and the planned expansion of the MetroLink system to the airport. And these changes call for "enhanced security" at the airport, Johnson said.
Johnson also told board members he expects the number of passengers at the airport to be a new record and construction work on the expansion of the terminal is continuing.
Avports will provide the airport's security and emergency response team beginning June 1 and the contract calls for Avports to provide the services for five years.
Johnson has said the contract with Avports would provide emergency response, airport operation area inspections, fire inspections at the airport, aircraft rescue and firefighting, and airport operations and security services, which are required by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Transportation Security Administration and the state.
The Public Building Commission was originally set to vote on Avport's bid at last month's board meeting, but Johnson asked for a delay on the vote citing changes in the contract, including consideration of adding more positions and changes in scheduling.
The lowest bid came from Wisconsin-based Pro-Tec Fire Services, which has held the firefighting and security contract at MidAmerica since 2008. Its bid was $842,500.
Johnson said the Avports bid is "right in the ballpark when you compare all of the services ... and all the competitors."
Airport parking
The Public Building Commission on Monday voted to increase the daily parking fee but also to increase the time airport visitors can park for free.
The daily fee will increase from $8 a day to $9 on Jan. 1.
However, visitors will be able to park for free for up to three hours.
Currently, visitors can only park for free for up to one hour.
Johnson said the additional free time would allow visitors to comfortably go into the terminal to buy plane tickets and not have to worry about whether they would have to pay for parking.
Terminal project
The board approved a contract change of $906,000 on a consultant agreement with CMT. This construction phase services work includes construction observation of the terminal expansion project.
This story was originally published November 23, 2021 5:00 AM.
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