City Council selects contractor for new terminal at Cape Regional Airport

Cape Girardeau City Council members voted unanimously to approve a contractor for the new terminal at Cape Girardeau Regional Airport.

Councilman Robbie Guard was absent from the meeting.

Council members approved KCI Construction Co. to head up the new 20,000-square-foot terminal project following a lengthy, in-depth presentation from Jodi Cooper, program manager for Burns & McDonnell — a consulting firm hired by the city for the process.

Airport manager Katrina Amos said the new terminal will help with the "growth and development" of the airport. The project has been in the works since 2018.

"You have to have facilities meet the demand, you know, passengers have become accustomed to certain amenities and we want to be able to provide those amenities to our community," Amos said.

The Springfield, Missouri-based contractor was recommended by city staff and by a unanimous vote from the Airport Advisory Board during a closed session in November. The Federal Aviation Administration has also concurred with the recommendation.

The selection process has been a monthslong endeavor. Five contractors submitted bid proposals by the late September deadline. The list was shortlisted to three, KCI, Penzel Construction Co. Inc. and Robinson Industrial and Heavy Contracting Inc.

The remaining candidates participated in an interview Oct. 25 and presented pricing proposals scored by a group comprised of Amos, Advisory Board members Richard Knote and Jeff Brune, city engineer Amy Ferris, former deputy city manager Molly Mehner and representatives of Burns & McDonnell. Penzel received the highest score for that section.

Cooper and Amos said KCI's interview was far superior to others and provided a comprehensive, consistent overview of the project.

"We had a really good sense of, you know, the team that we would be working with," Amos said in an interview prior to the council meeting.

At the Advisory Board meeting in November, Amos said the scoring process for the proposals had taken longer than expected. Pricing proposals for the finalists were missing some key elements, Amos said.

KCI and Robinson Industrial far exceeded the maximum cost for the project. The city has $12 million to spend on a new terminal, which includes $8 million from the city's Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds and $4 million from the Capital Improvement Sales Tax. KCI's initial proposal was for $14.3 million and Robinson Industrial's cost $19 million.

Penzel's proposal was even with the price threshold but missed the desired June 2024 completion date — the deadline to utilize federal funds set by the FAA — for the project by five months.

The scoring group sent out a general letter to the three finalists noting some elements they felt were missing from all proposals. The shortlisted contractors were then given a week to make changes and present "best and final" proposals by Nov. 7.

KCI received the best score on the best and final proposals. The contractor lowered the cost of the project to $12,016,053, mostly lowering costs using cheaper material alternatives. Penzel shortened the completion time on its proposal, but, according to the meeting agenda, failed to provide an itemized list of the changes and expenses that would accrue from shortening the project timeline. Robinson Industrial lowered its proposal price by $2 million but didn't provide an itemized estimate in the offer.

Overall, KCI was deemed the winner of the bid process, receiving a composite score of 175.90 out of 200. Penzel and Robinson Industrial received 171.30 and 151.50, respectively.

The next step will be a design charrette, a process that will entail going through specific details from the project to finalize plans and costs. The goal is to break ground in the spring.