Agenda

Return

C. 5

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Director of Airports
Date:	March 8, 2022

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Acceptance of Federal Aviation Administration Grant Funding to Build a New Air Traffic Control Tower at Buchanan Field

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 03/08/2022

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Beth Lee, 925-681-4200

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: March 8, 2022
Monica Nino, County Administrator

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

AUTHORIZE the Director of Airports or designee to submit an Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant application to both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the California Department of Transportation-Division of Aeronautics (Caltrans) for approximately $20,700,000 and $150,000, respectively, to design, perform environmental analysis, and replace the Air Traffic Control Tower at Buchanan Field, Pacheco area (District IV).


APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to sign a Statement of Acceptance with the Federal Aviation Administration for up to $20,700,000 of grant funds to design, perform environmental analysis, and replace the Air Traffic Control Tower.

RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D)

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Director of Airports, or designee, to sign an acceptance of up to $150,000 of funds under the California Aid to Airports Program Grant Agreement-Federal AIP Matching Funds grant program to design, perform environmental analysis, and replace the Air Traffic Control Tower.

FISCAL IMPACT:

There is no negative impact on the General Fund. The total cost of the project will be approximately $23,000,000. This amount will be fully funded as follows: 90% ($20,700,000) by the FAA, 4.5% ($150,000 maximum or .72%) by Caltrans, and 5.5% ($2,150,000 or 9.28%) by the Airport Enterprise Fund.

BACKGROUND:

Buchanan Field Airport is an important regional transportation asset for the greater San Francisco and East Bay area of Northern California. Buchanan Field is a commercial service, reliever airport for the two nearby large and medium hub commercial airports: San Francisco and Oakland International Airports respectively. Further, Buchanan Field is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the United States and currently has over 400 based aircraft, including 22 jets, plus over 39 businesses. In the 2012 FAA report entitled General Aviation Airports: A National Asset Study, Buchanan Field was ranked as one of the 84 most significant airports in the United States, out of more than 2,952 general aviation facilities.

Although the current air traffic control tower (ATCT) was paid for by federal money when it was constructed 60 years ago and is staffed by federal employees, the ATCT is, in fact, owned by Contra Costa County.

The County has had a long-term successful partnership with the FAA to leverage the federal, state and local funds necessary to maintain the 73-year-old Airport infrastructure. The ATCT, however, is over 60 years old and there is insufficient local funding to bring the facility up to current federal standards (such as seismic, Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standards, and ADA/OSHA) and/or to perform major system or structural upgrades (such as a new roof and siding, plumbing, HVAC system, and the like).

As such, the ATCT is at the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced for the health and safety of the FAA employees and the Airport users. This project would further public safety and the public benefit by relocating the ATCT to a different location on the Airport which offers better visibility of the four runways and associated taxiways.

The FAA grant funding would be used to design, perform the environmental analysis and construct a new Air Traffic Control Tower at Buchanan Field. The FAA typically funds 90% of the cost of the project, the balance of the cost will be paid for through a combination of grant funding from Caltrans (in the amount of $150,000) and capital reserves from the Airport Enterprise Fund (in the amount of $2,150,000).

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

The County will not receive the FAA and Caltrans Grant funding necessary to replace the Air Traffic Control Tower at Buchanan Field, which will result in the project not being completed.