SHALIMAR — During Tuesday’s Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners meeting, the county approved a $5,517,191 construction contract with Whitesell-Green Inc. to construct shade canopies and refurbish existing walkways at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS).
Here’s what we know:
What’s coming to the airport?
Deputy Director of the Airport Department Chad Rogers noted that the primary benefit of the project would be to let passengers at the airport be covered and protected from the elements on what Rogers calls the secondary curb.
The secondary benefits will include passenger safety, with replacements to existing walkways and measures to divert traffic to the secondary curb to alleviate congestion near the terminal. This project also will rehabilitate the existing covered walkways that lead to the employee parking lot and other lots on property.
Will this project affect the planned parking structure?
Commissioner Nathan Boyles asked if the project would need to be altered if there was future expansion, such as the planned parking structure at VPS.
Rogers said that the project would not negate the planned developments at the airport. If the parking garage comes to fruition, walkways will be added to the existing infrastructure.
What’s the timeline?
Once construction work begins, the project is expected to take 210 days to reach substantial completion. Construction should be fully completed 30 days later.
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For each day the project is past the planned completion date, the contractor will have to pay $4,000.
How is this project being funded?
The project’s funding will mainly come from two sources: the FAA CARES Development Addendum and the FDOT Grant G1Z31. The FDOT grant will be split evenly with VPS with a local match of $693,565.58.
| Funding Source | Grant | Airport Cash | Total Contract |
| FDOT Grant | $693,568.58 | $693,568.58 | $1,387,137.15 |
| FAA Cares | $4,579,452.00 | $448,397.85 | $4,130,054.15 |
| Total | $5,273,020.58 | $244,170.72 | $5,517,191.30 |
The CARES addendum covers the local match, meaning that the project will primarily be funded from FAA and FDOT funds.
https://www.nwfdailynews.com/story/news/local/2023/09/21/okaloosa-county-approves-5-5-million-contract-for-vps-upgrades/70911748007/
