ROCKINGHAM — Maintenance at the Richmond County Airport will be handled by the N.C. Department of Transportation for the next three years.
The Richmond County Board of Commissioners approved during its June meeting a resolution for an agreement between the county and NCDOT that allows the department to use state workers or private contractors to perform various maintenance and repair projects at the airport.
Public Works Director Jerry Austin told commissioners that the NCDOT Division of Aviation provides Statewide Preservation and Maintenance funding to airports throughout the state.
Those projects include: joint and crack sealing; pavement repairs and patching; surface treatments; maintenance overlays; electrical; grading; drainage improvements; pavement markings; or other infrastructure maintenance.
If the county disapproves of a contractor selected by the department, then NCDOT will “engage in dialogue with the intent of determining if an alternative schedule or force or contractor is acceptable to both” parties. If no settlement is reached, the department will withdraw its offer to perform the work.
The agreement expires Dec. 31, 2028, and may be terminated by either party.
Commissioners later voted to award a contract to S&L Contracting out of Wadesboro for sewer improvements related to Energy Way Industrial Complex.
The recommendation was made by LKC Engineering, with S&L’s bid coming in at $4,494,001.40 — more than $1 million less than the next lowest bidder and more than $3 million below the highest bidder.
Earlier in the evening, the board approved an incentive agreement for a company then only referred to as “Blue Marlin,” which was later revealed to be Amazon Web Services, which plans to invest $10 billion for a 20-building data center complex at Energy Way.
County Manager Bryan Land recommended Vagas Jackson be reappointed to another four-year term as tax administrator, which the board approved.
Commissioners also approved the appointment of Melvin Ingram and reappointment of Cherri Bennett to the Richmond County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council.
