Cambria commissioners approve nearly $1.3 million in bids for airport improvements

May 28—EBENSBURG — The Cambria County commissioners approved bids totaling almost $1.3 million in connection with the John Murtha Johnstown- Cambria County Airport Hangar 15 renovations project on Thursday.

The bids, which were submitted by Darr Construction Inc., will see $815,149 going to the general construction contractor, $173,000 to the HVAC mechanical contractor, $81,150 to a plumbing mechanical contractor and $179,500 to an electrical contractor.

The work will go to renovation efforts on Hangar 15 and Building 15-B at the airport. Upgrades will be made to the interior and exterior of the structures.

"It's a definite improvement and a vital thing for the airport," said Cory Cree, project manager for L.R. Kimball. "They're going to have a charter service in there. The condition that the hangar is in now, they're not useful. The hangar door is in desperate need of replacement, which will be done with this project, and it will be an asset to the airport."

Cree estimates that the construction end of the venture will take six months, hoping that it would be complete by the end of 2021 or spring 2022.

Money to cover the costs of the project will come through a $1.4 million grant.

"Any time that you get grant dollars, it stretches dollars," Cambria County President Commissioner Thomas Chernisky said. "I look at it as a big coupon. We fight hard for grant dollars, but we also think we spend it correctly. This is federal, state and local government working together. Good government getting things done."

The airport also received a $300,000 grant to improve the runway, which Chernisky thanked Congressman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Centre, for securing.

The Hangar 15 project also includes a building that can be flexed into office space rentals, giving the airport another way to build revenue.

"The office complex that we're doing, it is being used to where we now will be able to rent office space out to individuals on the airfield, aviation-related," said Larry Nulton, of Nulton Aviation Services. "There's a charter business that will be putting office space in there and possibly another airline service might want back offices there.

"It really increases the ability to create an economy and jobs on the field, which we've done.

"Over the past few years, we've increased almost 15-20 jobs on the airfield, so the more space we have and the more capability, the more economy we can build on the field."

Commissioners also approved a subrecipient agreement with the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority in the amount of $354,188 concerning a county-wide sewer lateral replacement program.

Renee Daly, Redevelopment Authority of Cambria County executive director, explained that the agreement is in conjunction with Community Development Block Grant funding that will provide up to $1,500 to low-income residents that fall under the Johnstown Redevelopment Authority's (JRA) sewer program.

"The JRA has started contacted those that they know could potentially meet the income eligibility," Daly said, "so they are reading out to them to get pre-qualified or at least send them to them the application to verify that they meet the requirements."

Daly noted that the City of Johnstown is excluded from this agreement, as it already has its own program. Eligible boroughs, municipalities, townships and sewer authorities within the JRA are Brownstown, Daisytown, Dale Borough, East Conemaugh, Ferndale, Franklin, Highland, Jackson/East Taylor townships, Lorain, Lower Yoder, Pegasus, Southmont, Upper Yoder, West Taylor and Westmont.

"This is providing funding excluding the City of Johnstown. They already have their own program. So this is helping the other residents who fall under the JRA's sewer program. excluding the city."

Other highlights from Thursday's meeting:

—The commissioners voted to approve a $25,000 proposal from CJL Engineering for engineering services for HVAC upgrades at the Cambria County 911 Center.

—The commissioners green-lighted a supplemental proposal of Keller Engineers for additional engineering services with regard to the Red Mill Bridge Replacement Project in Blacklick Township, in an amount to not exceed $16,579.96.

Shawn Curtis is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnCurtis430.