11 - Runway Payment to TxDOT - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item No. 11 TO: Mayor, Mayor Pro -Tem & City Council Grayson Path, City Manager FROM: Paul Strahan, Airport Manager / FBO Operator SUBJECT: Runway Payment to TXDOT DATE: September 11, 2023 The City of Paris and TxDOT have been in negotiations for several years to perform a significant runway rehabilitation project together. Design for this project was approved in 2022 and is in the process of being completed. Survey site work and geotechnical investigation are both underway. Originally the City was told by TxDOT that the construction portion of the runway rehabilitation project would start the summer of 2023, this did not happen. We have now recently been informed that the construction portion of the project has been rescheduled for the summer of 2024. When asked why the schedule change, the TxDOT project manager said it was due to significant staff vacancies within TXDOT. Paris is not the only airport that has been rescheduled. STATUS OF ISSUE: The City has budgeted $275,000.00 in matching funds using ARPA for this project in FY22/23. The TxDOT timeline is not solid enough to know if the project will truly occur in the summer of 2024, and we have the understanding that ARPA funds will need to be dedicated for specific expense by late 2024. Therefore, given our match is significant and it would be difficult to recoup these funds but for ARPA, we have asked and TxDOT has agreed to receive our match now and hold it until the project begins. Should the federal and/or state ever inquiry about our ARPA funds, this should provide the necessary defense of their obligation and prevent them from being recalled should timelines continue to not work out. TxDOT is committed to seeing our project completed, however should that for whatever reason not happen, we will receive our funding back. BUDGET: The City has allocated $275,000.00 in ARPA funding for the 10% match necessary for this project. It should be noted that as time continues to go by, construction costs will likely go up, making our allocated amount insufficient to meet our 10% requirement. This is unfortunately out of our control and will have to be addressed when that time comes.