Governors Amend Design-Build Contract Expanding Scope of Airport Project

This architectural rendering provides a glimpse of what the new terminal and education building at Max B. Swisher Skyven Airport would possibly look like.

WARRENSBURG, MO – In its plenary session Oct. 29, the University of Central Missouri Board of Governors voted to amend the design-build contract for construction of the new terminal and education building at Max B. Swisher Skyhaven Airport. This decision will expand the project which previously had a projected $2.8 million budget to one that will cost approximately $5.1 million, and will enable the facility to better serve community and student aviation needs.

The university in October 2020 awarded a contract to McCown Gordon Construction, Kansas City, to provide all labor, materials and provisions to produce conceptual designs, final design, construction documents, permitting and constructing this 10,000-square-foot structure.  The scope of the original project included site work, the structure “shell” and some finished space to accommodate fixed-base operations at Skyhaven. Since this contract was awarded, however, available funding for UCM has increased significantly. This provides an opportunity to expand the scope of the project to encompass complete site work and finishing all interior areas including the aviation education center, along with facade enhancements. This work was initially expected to be done in later phases when funds became available.

In addition to initial donor funding of $2.8 million through the UCM Alumni Foundation, the state of Missouri has allocated $1 million in Fiscal Year 2022 funding for the aviation education center within the terminal building through the House Bill 19 capital reimbursement program. The university also will fund the balance of approximately $1.1 million utilizing a combination of university funds and financial support from federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF). The project is expected to be completed in Fiscal Year 2023.

In other action related to the airport, the board approved a contract with Crawford Murphy & Tilly Engineers & Consultants in the amount of $564,000 for completion of the airport master plan.  To comply with grant assurances and ensure receipt of federal funding for future development, the airport is required to have an updated, approved Airport Layout Plan on file with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The contract will be funded by the State Block Grant Agreement totaling $534,666 and $29,334 from UCM’s Harmon College of Business and Professional Studies. This action is instrumental as the university considers planning at the airport for the next 10-20 years.

After considering a proposal from the College of Education, the board approved a $25-per-credit-hour fee for all “COUN” prefix courses offered to graduate students within the School of Professional Education and Leadership. This will assist in meeting fiscal needs for the nationally accredited graduate programs to prepare graduates to practice counseling. The fee applies to all courses taken for graduate credit in the program regardless of modality – online, hybrid, or face-to-face, as well as location. It is essential to help the Master of Science in Counseling and Education Specialist in Professional Leadership-Counseling Option to remain viable and competitive, to support growing program resource needs, the higher cost of personnel necessitated by the need to meet accreditation standards, and create sustainability across delivery modes.
   
The board approved entering a five-year contract to purchase three new hosted Banner applications from Ellucian. Two of the applications will replace existing applications that are scheduled to be discontinued in the 2022-2023 timeframe, and one application will replace an existing home-grown application that will expand functionality between Banner and the existing Blackboard LMS application.  The total cost covers the initial purchase, implementation fees, licensing, and maintenance over a five-year period. Funds come from the Office of Technology (OT) reserves and the OT budget. These tools integrate data between various learning management systems that impact a wide range of areas such as admissions, financial aid, student accounts, housing and much more.

In another discussion about technology needs, board members authorized entering a five-year contract with Oracle to move the UCM Oracle servers and storage to Oracle’s Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). The total cost of this new agreement is not to exceed $1.35 million. The transition to OCI provides redundancy of servers and storage arrays, reduced backup costs, reduced workload on specific tasks, better disaster recovery options and features, reduced hardware costs, and locked-in rates for the term of the agreement.

Board members approved a contract with Garland/DBS, Inc. totaling $776,958 for the replacement of Panhellenic Hall’s 25,060-square-foot roof. The single-ply Ethylene Diene Monomer roof has exceeded its useful life expectancy. This project will include removing the existing roof membrane down to the concrete deck, installing new insulation, and adhering two-ply roof membrane with flood coat and gravel ballast to help prevent water intrusion.

A $412,500 contract was awarded to Westport Construction Company, Clinton, Missouri, to replace entry door systems at the Martin Building and W.C Morris Science Building. This project consists of removing existing entry door systems, precast concrete door surrounds and side lights; repairing existing surfaces and preparation for new and modified electrical systems; installing thermally broke storefront entry systems with insulated aluminum entry doors; and installing new door lighting into existing circuits. 

An initial one-year contract for digital marketing management services provided by Net Natives, Brooklyn, New York, was approved for the period, Nov. 1, 2021 to Oct. 31, 2022, with four additional one-year options. This contract, estimated at $76,000 for the first year, will provide knowledge, experience and technology that will allow the university to more fully integrate its digital marketing efforts with its Slate customer relationship management tool. This will help Integrated Marketing and Communications (IMC) and Admissions better coordinate efforts related to digital marketing strategy combinations that lead to inquiries, applications, acceptances and enrollment. It is expected to yield more and higher quality leads within the current overall digital marketing budget.