County delays vote on $102 million in upgrades at JWA terminals
Orange County Supervisors are considering $102 million in upgrades to two terminals at John Wayne Airport.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors delayed deciding Tuesday on a $102 million contract for improvements at two John Wayne Airport terminals.
Board Chairman Todd Spitzer suggested that because county leaders are still vetting candidates for the position of airport director the board should delay voting on the contract. The director oversees operations and activities at the airport.
The proposed improvements likely will appear on the supervisors’ Oct. 20 agenda but could be delayed again, depending on the board’s progress in selecting an airport director and negotiating the person’s salary, Spitzer said.
“[The airport director], who is going to be the point person, should weigh in heavily on the contract,” Spitzer said.
County staff will request that Swinerton Builders, which completed John Wayne Airport’s $48.5 million parking structure in 2010, extend its bids on the improvement project for Terminals A and B.
The bids are set to expire Oct. 27, but Spitzer said he does not believe that Swinerton, the lowest bidder, will want to miss out on the multimillion-dollar contract.
“I couldn’t imagine any business would not say ‘absolutely,’” he said of the request to extend the bids 60 days. “If the lowest bidder balks at all, we’ll start negotiating with the second-lowest bidder.”
Staff recommended that the board select Swinerton Builders to complete structural and non-structural seismic retrofits and upgrade lighting, electrical, heating and cooling systems and restrooms. Fresh carpeting, marble floors and increased signage also are included in the contract, according to the staff report.
The effort also is expected to make the terminals more accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the contract.
If approved, the project could take up to three years to complete.
The upgrades are part of a years-long construction plan for John Wayne Airport, which sits on unincorporated land adjacent to Irvine, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.
In 2003, airport staff began planning projects including a new terminal, a parking structure, a central utility plant, more dining options and improvements to Terminals A and B.
The terminal improvements are expected to boost safety and efficiency at the airport, which in August served 936,949 passengers, an increase of more than 12% from the same month in 2014.