Jul. 12—The Mason City Municipal Airport expansion is gearing up to make the project a reality.
The Mason City Airport Commission set opening bid date and public hearing date for its commercial terminal project on Monday. The fixed bid date for the terminal apron expansion and the terminal foundation package opens at the Aug. 8 regular meeting.
The Mason City Airport Commission is working with Foth, an engineering company, on the project. Foth presented the commission with plans and renderings on April 11 and the commission selected a floor plan in early May.
"This item and the next item are pretty much the start of the terminal in earnest," said Foth project engineer Adam Wilhelm. "It's becoming very real."
The expansion project is currently aiming to build an entirely new airport terminal. The goal is to modernize and expand the offerings compared to the current facility to accommodate increased ridership at the airport, and to potentially increase the flights offered in the future.
The proposed new facility would be located directly west of the current terminal, and would be constructed while the old terminal is still operational, allowing for business at the airport to continue as usual during construction.
Mason City Airport's proposed new terminal would be a significant expansion of the current facility, featuring a larger lobby, gate hold area, baggage area and security checkpoint.
The terminal apron expansion and the terminal foundation package have a fixed bid security of five percent for the total estimated cost of the improvements or amount of the bid.
The terminal foundation package had an additional element of an Alliant Energy gas line relocation, which was approved by the commission. Moving the gas line is a necessary part of the project and runs from the main building to the fire station according to chairman Gary Wattnem. The estimated cost for relocation would be an estimated cost of $17,800.
" Alliant Energy provided an estimate that once they get into it, if they run into any circumstances that may cost a little bit more because it's acquiring materials actually," said airport manager David Sims.
Sims said in May the budget for construction is $7.5 million, but furnishings and equipment will bring the estimated cost to approximately between $12 million and $14 million. Currently, the project is planning on using the $12 million in CARES Act funding.
The grant has a deadline for project completion in May of 2024.
Abby covers education and entertainment for the Globe Gazette. Follow her on Twitter at @MkayAbby. Email her at [email protected]
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