YORKTON - A new airport terminal building at the Yorkton Airport was finally given the green light by Yorkton Council – but just barely.
“In 2022, City Council and Administration renewed efforts to replace the existing airport terminal building as it is past useful life,” explained Michael Eger, Director of Planning, Building & Development & Acting City Manager with the city at the regular meeting of Yorkton Council Monday.
“The new building is intended to update existing amenities, including a pilot lounge, reception desk, six leasable office spaces, airport superintendent office, runway electrical systems and building-related mechanical, and public washrooms. The new design also adds a 490 sq ft attached garage which will store the runway inspection vehicle and fire suppression foam,” he noted.
In August 2023 an Invitation to Tender was posted.
“Bid prices at that time far in excess of budgeted figures, and Council ultimately chose not to award. With the terminal building past its useful life and in need of replacement, we have continued to explore options that could yield lower pricing,” said Eger.
Industry feedback suggested that a January tender would result in more competitive bidding.
Separating the demolition and site work from building construction would also shorten timelines and reduce risk for contractors.
Costs could be further decreased by an estimated $212,000 to $262,000 by altering the roof design and removing solar panel readiness, reducing the number of windows, selecting cheaper interior ceiling finishes, reducing landscaping scope and designing a simpler HVAC system, along with a host of other minor changes, explained Eger.
“Having considered a revised bid process and price estimates for trailers units, modular design and reduced scope of the specifications, the Yorkton Airport Authority ultimately recommended re-tendering the project with reduced scope,” he continued.
The project was again taken to tender this January.
Six tenders were received with the bid received from SveinCo Developments Ltd. deemed to be best value as it met all criteria, was the lowest submitted bid, and indicated a satisfactory construction completion date, said Eger.
“The lowest bid, at $637 per square foot, is approximately 15 per cent lower than the per square foot price of the lowest bid in 2023, resulting in savings on building construction of over $300,000,” he continued.
With the project proceeding the City will separately procure contracts for airside fencing, relocating runway lighting to the new building, demolition of the existing terminal and parking lot paving. The cost of these items, plus design, permits, temporary utilities, contingency and PST are expected to total $691,000.
All costs combined the cost of the project will be nearly $2.317 million.
This is roughly $712,000 higher than the initial budget of $1.605 million, but is almost $400,000 less than was estimated following the 2023 tender process, noted Eger.
In terms of funding the project Eger said Airport Capital Reserves will be approximately $850,000 at the end of 2023. So, if the total terminal project is $2.317 million we would need to establish an internal loan of $1.467 million.
“After providing $100,000 annually to match potential Community Airport Partnership (CAP) grant funding, we can expect to repay the terminal building loan at a rate of $200,000 annually. Factoring for potential interest (we will be repositioning some of our internal debt to external loans as York Road progresses), it would take approximately eight years to repay the loan,” he continued.
“However, there may be additional/alternative funding streams available – starting in 2025, Administration proposes to allocate $400,000 of the annual capital budget to facilities. In 2026, the $650,000 payment that has been allocated to Fire Hall debt will become available for other uses. Future Council could use all or a portion of these funds, though it would obviously mean less funds available for other projects.”
Overall, “While still exceeding initial budget expectations, the revised process, timelines and design seem to have yielded significant savings when compared to the previous tender. The competitiveness of the bids is also indicative of real market value. Though the City will incur some cost uncertainty by separately procuring the remaining items, Administration is in favour of proceeding,” added Eger.
The dollars involved bothered Council.
While citing “a need” for a new terminal, Councillor Darcy Zaharia said the cost as proposed was “too high,” making a motion to not accept any tender.
That motion would ultimately be lost three-votes-to-two with Councillor Ken Chyz not in attendance and Coun. Duston Brears citing out the debate because of a conflict-of-interest.
Zaharia said he appreciates there is “a lot of traffic at the airport” the costs as presented was “quite exorbitant in my mind.”
Coun. Chris Wyatt said to his mind the scope and design was more than needed.
Mayor Mitch Hippsley called the project cost a “tough one,” adding all on Council understands the need for something.
Hippsley said he was also worried about kicking a long standing project need down the road yet again.
In the end, after Zaharia’s motion was lost, one to accept the tender to proceed with the project was approved three-to-two.
