b"OPERATIONS AZA55Our new air traffic control tower is going to serve as a catalyst for continued development, says ONeill. Without it, our older tower would have been a governor on what well be able to achieve. Change Agents FACTS&FIGURES The antiquated nature of AZAs former tower was never in question. At 120 feet, itProject: New Air Traffic Control Towerwasnt tall enough to meet controllers visual needs, and its 225-square-foot cab was only half the size of its eventual replacement. Beyond cramped quarters thatLocation: Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airportleaked during rare desert rainstorms, ONeill jokes that controllers enjoyed freeHeight: 200 ft. workouts when the elevator was inoperablewhich was often. Size of Cab: 550 sq. ft. With recreational pilots, flight schools, itinerant military aircraft and steadyCost: $30 millioncommercial and cargo operations, AZA is one of the busiest U.S. airportsFunding: $28 million from FAA; $2 million airport fundsfor movements. But even that status was initially not enough to overcomeDesign: Leo A. Dalyregulations limiting federal contributions for replacing its specific type of tower,Construction Manager at Risk: DPR Construction which is airport-owned but operated by contract controllers.Project Timeline: 3 yrs from design through constructionFour decades ago, leaders in Washington established the Federal ContractTower Activated: Aug. 2022Tower program, enabling private employees to direct aircraft movements on a contract basis in lieu of FAA-hired air traffic controllers. But with that flexibilityDigital Platform: Frequentis USA came a large chunk of red tapespecifically, a $2 million hard cap on AirportAirfield: 3 parallel runways; 260,038 flight operations in 2022Improvement Program (AIP) contributions toward construction of airport-ownedTraffic Profile: Active general aviation customer base; commercial contract towers. The AIP cap also applied to discretionary funding, so even ifservice by Allegiant; Flair; Sun Country; Swoop; WestJeta contract tower airport could qualify for enough AIP dollars to pay for its ownKey Benefits: Taller tower provides view of entire airfield; larger replacement tower, the law still prevented spending more than $2 million incabin with updated technology improves controllers workspace federally provided funds over the life of such projects. Noteworthy Detail: Airport rallied congressional supportEfforts to overturn that regulation began at AZA nearly a decade ago. ONeillto eliminate provisions that restricted federal funding forcredits his predecessor, former Executive Director Jane Morris, for initiating theairport-owned contract towers as part of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Bill. push that eventually ended the cap.Morris felt that the solution was to go to Washington and change the federal lawaSWEEP YOUR AIRFIELDstrategy that originally sounded a little bit far-fetched to ONeill. But Mesas mayor boughtBETTER, FASTER, SAFERin, and soon a lobbying team was formed. One early win involved inviting then-U.S. Sen.THE FOD*BOSS AIRFIELD SWEEPER IS THE CURE FOR John McCain for an airport tour. FOREIGN OBJECT DAMAGE TO AIRCRAFT, GUARANTEED.At the end, he looked us in the eye and Unbeatable performanceEfficient and fast, up to 35 mphsaid, You need a new tower, ONeill recalls. Removes rocks, nuts & bolts, luggage Works on all surfacesAlthough McCain died just weeks beforehardware, and sandLow cost, portable, and reliablethe cap was lifted, his efforts inspired other No motors, vacuums, or magnetsMaintenance freeArizona lawmakers. Support came from both Sweep widths 8', 16', & 24'10 year guaranteesides of the political aisle, including U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Independent who was previously a Democrat U.S. House member; and U.S. Rep Andy Biggs, a Republican now representing Arizonas 5th District.At first, I was skeptical, Biggs says. [The government is] spending all kinds of money on goofy projects. Weve got a project here and we cant spend any money on it, even though a good portion of the money wasANDY BIGGS Contact us to arrange a demonstration and see for yourself what makes our sweeperthere? It seemed absolutely irrational to me.truly exceptional at fodboss@aerosweep.com or visit www.fodboss.comThe FOD*BOSS system is subject to patents and or patent applications.AirportImprovement.comJanuary | February 2023"