Weeks before the end of 2022, Mickey Murfee, chairman of the El Dorado Airport Commission, encouraged the commission's fundraising committee to start the new year with a "big push" to raise funds for a long-running effort to restore and renovate the terminal building at South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field.
More than two-thirds into the first quarter of 2023, airport commissioners are advancing those discussions as other projects take off at the airport.
Commissioners expect bids to be let within the next week or two for one component of a runway project.
During a meeting on Feb. 28, Johnathan Estes, manager of South Arkansas Regional Airport at Goodwin Field, reported that he had gotten word shortly before commissioners convened that the Federal Aviation Administration had signed off on an amendment to a project to improve Runway 4-22.
The estimated cost for the rehabilitation project is $4.2 million and the work will be covered by a mix of federal and state grants ($3.8 million and $207,000, respectively) and matching funds from the city ($172,200).
The overlay is divided into two components.
Schedule 1 calls for milling the runway, repairing cracks, installing reinforcement fabric, asphalting and applying markings and grooving.
Shoulder stabilization, repairing cracks and seal-coating 25 feet of the shoulders on each side of the runway make up the work for Schedule 2.
The estimated cost for Schedule 2 is an additional $230,000, which will be covered by grants, federal ($207,000) and state ($23,000).
Estes and project engineers from Garver, a North Little Rock-based engineering, planning and environmental services firm, have said that the federal grant will cover the overlay for 100 feet of the 150-foot runway.
Estes explained that the FAA has said that the 100-foot width fits federal runway standards and needs.
Therefore, 100 feet of the runway will be marked and the FAA has agreed to fund the seal-coating of 50 feet, 25-foot shoulders on either side, of the runway.
The seal-coat will help preserve the life of the runway and make way for a possible rehab of the entire span in the future, Estes said.
A separate federal grant that was awarded in 2022 will cover another component for improving Runway 4-22 -- replace upgrade the lighting system.
The low bid for the lighting project came in at $606,210 last fall -- approximately $100,000 lower than the engineering estimate and more than $200,000 less than the highest bid that was submitted for the project.
Two bids were submitted for the job. The Illinois-based Broadway Electric, Inc., turned in the winning bid.
Work for the lighting project entails the replacement of old, high-intensity lights and light fixtures for modern, LED lights.
Switching to an LED lighting system will also provide long-term savings on energy costs, Estes said.
Also included in the scope of work is the installation of new wiring.
Commissioners agreed last year to request permission to off on the lighting improvements in anticipation of being awarded grant funds for the runway improvement project.
The cost of the work would increase because the new lights would have to be taken up to accommodate the runway work and installed a second time after runway improvements are completed, commissioners said.
Estes said bids for the runway improvements are expected to be let within the next couple of weeks.
Fundraising
To help with the terminal restoration project, the airport commission has re-applied for a grant from the second disbursement of a $1 trillion federal infrastructure bill that was approved by Congress in November of 2021.
The bill includes $15 billion, which is available over 5 years, for grants that are applied to airport infrastructure improvements.
SARA was not among the 90 airports, including the airports in Texarkana and Northwest Arkansas, across the country to receive the first wave of grants that were awarded in the spring of 2022.
At the time, Estes said the city would have the opportunity to pursue a second round of disbursements that are scheduled for this year.
Murfee explained that the federal bill includes terminal buildings, whereas FAA grants for airports typically cover runways, taxiways, ramps, lighting and runway approaches and do not prioritize terminal buildings.
A comprehensive master plan for the terminal restoration project was drafted in 2015.
At the time, airport commissioners were exploring cost-effective measures to deal with ongoing issues at the terminal, including a leaky roof and other moisture infiltration in the building, problems with the HVAC system and more.
In 2015, CADM Architecture, Inc., per the request of the airport commission, drafted plans that included costs and feasibility assessments for options to restore the terminal or to demolish the existing facility and build anew.
Commissioners voted for new construction. Murfee was the only commissioner to vote no on the matter.
An update to the master plan in 2017 boosted the preliminary budget estimate from $1.9 million to $2.1 million for upgrades to the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and an internal face lift.
Proposed upgrades to the second floor of the terminal later brought the preliminary budget estimate to $2.3 million.
Today, the total estimate for the master plan is closer to $4 million and Murfee said last week that the estimate was included in the application for the grant for the federal infrastructure bill.
In 2017 and 2018, work was done to replace the roof of the terminal building.
The post-World-War II-era terminal was added to the National Register of Historic Places in August of 2018.
An engineering study that was completed in 2022 included recommendations to improve the HVAC system of the terminal building.
Last July, the El Dorado City Council waived the competitive bidding process to repair a portion of the HVAC system that had quit.
Because the situation made indoor temperatures swelter, the council deemed the situation an emergency.
Estes later said that another portion of the HVAC system went kaput soon after the first was repaired.
In June of 2022, airport commissioners and city officials learned that the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program had awarded a grant in the amount of $84,320 to cover "building envelope stabilization" for the terminal.
Two months later, Estes presented a funding request for the grant match to the El Dorado Works Board, which administers a one-cent city sales tax that is devoted to economic development, municipal infrastructure and quality-of-life projects.
Estes explained then that the grant would fund work to seal off the terminal building from outside, unconditioned air that permeates the terminal, particularly around the windows.
"And if there are any funds left, we'll repaint the terminal," said Estes said.
The EWB subsequently approved a grant match of $42,610. and the city council signed off on EWB's recommendation a week later.
The match was pulled from $1 million that had been approved by the EWB and city council in August of 2019.
The $1 million funding request was approved with the expectation that the city could potentially receive a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to renovate the SARA terminal.
City dollars would have been used as matching funds for the grant but the application with the USEDA stalled and the matching funds were placed on hold.
After El Dorado Works' funds were approved for the AHPP grant match, airport commissioners agreed to divide the restoration project into phases, with the building stabilization listed as "phase one."
On Feb. 28, Murfee said bids for phase one will be opened Tuesday.
Over the past few years, airport commissioners have explored various ideas to raise money for the master plan with little success.
One idea was to develop a promotional and marketing campaign for the municipal airport to drum up support for the project, include the history and photos of SARA and the terminal building and raise awareness about the poor condition building and the need for renovations and repairs.
In 2019, the commission reached out to the Diamond Agency, a local advertising agency, about the project.
The Diamond Agency returned with a proposal that came with recommendations on how best to explain the project to the public and tools for other potential funding sources.
"Nothing came of it," Murfee said last week.
He said he recently reached back out to the Diamond Agency to develop a brochure including information about the proposed restoration and facts about SARA.
The estimated cost to create and print the brochures is $2,500, said Murfee.
Within the past two years, the airport commission also formed a 501c3 nonprofit organization to be able to accept donations for the project.
A short-term fund -- The Fifty For the Future Airport Fund -- has also been set up with the Union County Community Foundation.
"Right now, there's $1,050 in it. That's not a lot of money but it's there," said Murfee, adding that the commission has the option of using the full amount or a portion of it to direct toward components of the renovation project.