Tom Whitehurst

Sunday, July 16, 2000

Building a better airport

   We all know that buying a car part by part is a lot more expensive than buying the finished product.
   Wouldn't the same hold true for a new airport terminal? Opinions vary, and there are convincing arguments either way.
   The Hispanic Contractors Association last week proposed to the City Council that the $19.5 million airport terminal project be broken into as many as 15 separate contracts.
   Some folks, including City Manager David Garcia, think it's a bad idea, and they think the part-by-part car analogy fits. Others, including Councilman Arnold Gonzales, say it doesn't. Each contract would go to the low bidder, they say, as opposed to one big contract that requires the general contractor to be the low bidder, but doesn't require the general contractor to award subcontracts to the low bidders.
  
   Local participation
   The issue, though raised by a Hispanic group, is not Hispanic participation. It's local participation. Both sides agree on that much.
   Several people say that Fulton Construction is the only local contractor big enough to bid on the whole terminal, or perhaps B.E. Beecroft if that company partners with someone else.
   If neither of those gets it, then the job will go to an out-of-town contractor who may or may not use local subcontractors.
   Again, whether an out-of-town general contractor hiring a bunch of out-of-town subcontractors is a real threat depends on who you ask. Joe Fulton of Fulton Construction says it's highly unlikely. Members of the Hispanic Contractors Association say big contractors like to work with people they know, and that if they're from out of town, so will be the subcontractors they know and love.
  
   Arguing for competition
   Then there's the question of whether local contractors would win the smaller contracts. The low bidders on those could be out-of-towners. But that's a chance the smaller contractors say they're willing to take.
   "There's no guarantee that it's going to someone from here," says Eloy Salazar, a former contractor who's now primarily a real estate investor, "but at least it allows more competition."
   Whether that competition will lower the final cost is another subject of debate.
   "You might make the argument that there would be more competition because more people would be able to bid on smaller projects," says Sam Beecroft, president of B.E. Beecroft and of the local chapter of Associated General Contractors, "but typically smaller projects have a higher markup than larger projects."
  
   Raising questions
   The city manager agrees: "You pay a premium every time you pay for separate management."
   That makes sense, but so does the Hispanic Contractors' counter-argument that the subcontractors would be bidding on the same job, whether the bid seeker is the city or a general contractor, so why would there be a markup?
   Another question raised by some is who's going to ride herd on all those contractors. The Hispanic Contractors say a project manager could do that. Whether it's a project manager or a general contractor, Fulton says, it needs to be someone with unquestioned authority and an iron fist on the purse strings.
   "There's a lot of detail like who's going to clean up after every trade, who's going to tell them when to be there, who's going to referee disputes. If you have the authority to say, fellas, until you get straightened out we're not paying any more money - the general contractor has that authority."
   Yet another issue is whether a bunch of plans would have to be redrawn. Garcia says that's an issue and the Hispanic Contractors say the building's design won't change a bit. The separate contracts would be like chapters torn from the same book.
   Everybody sounds logical, all are refreshingly candid about their ulterior motives and everyone's arguments are persuasive.
   The airport project already has been divided into eight pieces totaling $26 million. The terminal is the biggest piece. The Hispanic Contractors didn't speak up sooner because they thought the project would be divided into more pieces.
   The project already is out for bid but the city staff has been directed to look into whether the terminal can be busted up into separate contracts. The report is due in a week.
  
   Project experimentation
   As soon as they get the talkin' part done, work can commence on a new terminal that needs to be finished by October 2002. Delays would push construction into the holiday season. The construction has been designed carefully around the airport's continued operation, so city officials see the construction scheduling as an important issue. The small contractors counter that they've completed jobs, on schedule, at buildings that were being used, such as schools while school was in session.
   The only way to find out if breaking the terminal into several contracts would mess with the schedule, is to try it and see. We'd also find out if it adds or cuts the total cost, if more local than out-of-town contractors are low bidders, and if several contractors with different responsibilities can work in harmony on the same job. Whatever City Hall decides, a lot is at stake. The airport project was a result of a deft lobbying effort more than a year in the making, by members of the public and private sectors who want better air service and an airport that improves rather than detracts from the city's image.
  
   'Can't wait too long'
   "This is our front door and we can't wait too long to be operating out of a temporary terminal," says Jerry Kane, chairman of the city's airport board. "We need to make it convenient not only for our own travelers out of Corpus Christi but for our guests here. The city has moved forward to design an airport we can be proud of.
   "I consider the timely delivery of this airport essential to the growth and the future of this community. Many today judge us by that very airport and it does not present this community well."
  

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