Port to Hold Special Meeting on Work Stoppage

From the Port of Orcas

You may have noticed that construction activity at the Orcas Island Airport has stopped, and that machinery has been removed from the construction site.

The original contract included a limited amount of unsuitable excavation and quarry spall replacement quantities ($11,300).  To date, completion of some unsuitable excavation and replacement with geotextile fabric and quarry spalls, and has already totaled in excess of $15,000.

The contractor has already spent several days attempting to minimize the amount unsuitable excavation needs by using a variety of earth-drying techniques, subgrade compaction techniques, and sub-base placement and compaction techniques.  Two solutions have been suggested by WHPacific.

Because estimates to finish this portion of the contract range upwards of $70,000, and the FAA is on furlough by the government, the port cannot receive a written or verbal approval on additional grant funding, which will require the FAA to issue a new grant to cover those costs.

The commissioners of the Port of Orcas have called a special meeting for 12 noon on Monday, August 1, 2011 to consider underwriting the attendant costs to proceed with this portion of the work, which would then reimbursable by the FAA at the 95% level in March or April of 2012.

Consideration of this concept is the only item on the agenda for the Monday meeting, which will take place in the port conference room at the airport. As always, this is a public meeting.