Construction of the Airport Runway Extension Project at the Stephen A. Bean Municipal Airport started in October of 2018 and a ribbon cutting ceremony commemorating its completion was held in the fall of 2019. The total cost of the project was $12,233,074.63 with all but $6,492.00 covered by a federal Omnibus Grant awarded to the Town of Rangeley. The project contractor, Sargent Corporation, was issued five change orders totaling $746,066.63 as construction progressed.
The Town of Rangeley utilized the services of Dubois and King (D&K) as the airport’s consulting engineer. D&K worked with Town officials to prepare project change orders that were discussed at construction meetings.
The Board of Selectmen were presented a draft Federal Compliance Audit for the Town of Rangeley at their April 20, 2021 Selectmen’s meeting. Levi Robinson of the auditing firm RHR Smith & Co. noted that some of the airport project expenditure money would not be coming back to the Town. When Town Manager Joe Roach looked into this situation, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) informed him that the $746,066.63 change order total would not be eligible for grant funding.
The specified date of September 20, 2020 for amending the 100% funded grant for the airport project passed before the change orders were submitted. The Town had already paid Sargent Corporation out of the Town’s General Reserve account when the grant expired.
The Board of Selectmen and Town Manager Joe Roach have worked persistently to find a means to capture the $746,066.63 and replenish the General Reserve. In mid-January 2022 the Town received confirmation that Maine Department of Transportation will assume a 5% share of the completed runway project extension costs and issue the Town a check for $610,829.00. More recently Joe has been informed that he will be able to transfer $135,237.63 of the $150,000.00 that had been allocated for an Airport Master Plan Update into the General Reserve account, thereby recovering all of the change order money, pending any final calculations and approvals by the FAA.
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