The El Dorado Airport Commission is one step closer to resolving an issue regarding an expired ground lease for and the removal of an old hangar at South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field.
During a regular monthly meeting on Dec. 14, commissioners took action on the matter pertaining to the hangar that belonged to the former Long Brothers Oil Company in Norphlet.
They also discussed a proposal for a second hangar at the municipal airport.
Earlier this year, airport commissioners voted not to renew the ground lease for the Long Brothers hangar, per an option that is part of the lease agreement, saying that the lease had long expired and the hangar had become unsightly due to a lack of maintenance and repairs.
In July, SARA manager Jonathan Estes told airport commissioners that the hangar has to be taken down to its concrete slab foundation and two underground fuel storage tanks must be pulled from the site — work that has to be done in compliance with environmental standards and under the direction of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Commissioners officially voted to remove the hangar in November. Last week, Estes reported that the ADEQ mandated the use of a certified contractor to remove the 1,000-gallon fuel storage tanks, which belonged to an old, privately-owned fixed base operation at SARA.
Estes told commissioners the airport used Code 3 Services, LLC to remove the tanks; the company submitted a proposal to remove the fuel tanks for an estimated $12,277, explaining that work also entails ripping up concrete and backfilling.
Estes said the dirt to backfill the space will come from an existing stockpile at the airport, noting that a dirt mound is just southeast of the airport terminal building.
“I noticed that Code 3 did not say they were certified. Who is doing the real work and whose certification are they riding on?” Commissioner Aubra Anthony asked.
Estes said Code 3 named the Monroe, Louisiana-based, Perry and Sons, LLC, as the contractors for the project.
As part of the proposal, Code 3 agreed to furnish all equipment and supervision to empty and dig up the fuel tanks, backfill with dirt on-site and use SARA equipment to load fill dirt onto Code 3 trucks. The cost estimate includes disposal fees, transportation and breaking and hauling concrete.
“To cover our butts properly … you need a copy of their certification, hopefully, in Arkansas and Louisiana,” Anthony advised, referring to Perry and Sons.
“Depending on what was in the tanks, the certification may require that they go through a testing of the soil to see if there was any leakage. I guess you’ve got to haul off whatever was dug up,” he continued. “That may be part of the services that the company with the certification provides.”
Commissioners subsequently approved the proposal from Code 3. Following the vote, Murfee inquired about how the hangar will be razed.
“We have two options: the city can rip it down or there’s a guy who’s interested in reskinning the hangar and he said he can disassemble it for free,” Estes said, adding that either option would be of little to no cost for the airport.
With the option to reskin the hangar, Anthony said the commission should come to a clear understanding with the offeror.
“That’s so they don’t cherry-pick what they want out of the debris and then leave the rest for us to clean up. Either haul it away or don’t do at all,” Anthony said.
Estes said a general agreement contract could be drawn up to spell out the scope of work and binding the offeror to the deal.
Commissioner and former SARA manager Gary Harrell asked what recourse could the airport take if the other party did not adhere to the contract.
“The consideration is the material he’s getting. The exchange of material is enough of a duty on him to do it the way we want it. Even if he paid and doesn’t adhere to contract, we’d still have the right to go after him,” Anthony explained.
Harrell suggested that the commission consider the city for the job and Commissioner Trey Clark agreed, saying, “If neither one is a cost to us, it sounds like it may be safer to go with the city.”
Estes said he is looking to complete the work in early 2021.