To: Board of Supervisors
From: Greg Baer, Director of Airports
Report Title: Approve Purchase Order for Purchase of Aviation Fuel; Approve Fuel Supply & Branding Agreements & Credit Card Processing Fee Schedule between County and Ascent Aviation Group, Inc.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent to execute purchase orders with Ascent Aviation Group, Inc., for the purchase of aviation fuel for resale at Byron Airport in an amount not to exceed $10,000,000 for the period of October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2036 and APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Director of Airports, or designee, to execute a Fuel Supply Agreement, Branding Agreements, and a Credit Card Processing Fee Schedule Agreement between the County and Ascent Aviation Group, Inc., for the purchase and resale of branded aviation fuel at Byron Airport. (District III, 100% Airport Enterprise Fund)
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Airport Enterprise Fund has budgeted for the fuel purchase costs, and the Airport will then resell the fuel to Byron airport users to generate income. (100% Airport Enterprise Fund)
BACKGROUND:
Contra Costa County Airports (County) is the fuel concessionaire at Byron Airport that currently provides 100 Low Lead (100LL) aviation fuel for its tenants and visiting aircraft. Additionally, the County will be adding an unleaded aviation fuel option at Byron Airport in the next couple of years.
Ascent Aviation Group, Inc., (Ascent) is the current supplier of aviation fuel to the County for resale at Byron Airport under a purchase order/contract that ends September 30, 2026. In anticipation of the purchase order/contract ending, the Airports Division undertook a Request for Proposal (RFP) process through the BidNet Direct system. The RFP had a deadline of July 15, 2026, and three proposals were received in response. Based on the RFP selection committee’s recommendation, Ascent was selected to supply branded aviation fuel to Byron Airport.
Currently, the brand of aviation fuel supplied by Ascent is Phillips 66 for 100LL. In order to purchase branded fuel from Ascent, Ascent requires the County to enter into the following: (i) a Fuel Supply Agreement, under which the County is agreeing to purchase fuel from Ascent for a 5-year term with one 5-year renewal option (October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2036); (ii) a Branding Agreement, under which the County is agreeing to sell only Phillips 66 100LL aviation fuel at Byron Airport and to purchase the fuel from Ascent, and (iii) a credit card processing fee schedule agreement, which summarizes the pricing and payment process associated with fuel purchases made by credit card. Ascent is currently working with Swift Fuels (Swift) to supply unleaded aviation fuel, as the FAA has recently approved Swift unleaded fuels as a viable option for many piston powered aircraft. However, because there is not a formal relationship in place between Ascent and Swift, there’s uncertainty with respect to future contract terms. To that end, the County will delay the inclusion of unleaded fuel as part of this exclusive branding and distribution agreement. Thus, this is expected to be a two-step process which will immediately facilitate the ongoing purchase of 100LL and then allow for future negotiations for the branding and distribution of unleaded aviation fuel.
The fuel will be purchased by the Purchasing Agent through a purchase order, in an amount not to exceed $5,000,000 for the first five-year period and then an additional $5,000,000 for the 5-year extension period. This authority level is intended to reflect the anticipated sales of 100LL, the addition of unleaded aviation fuel, and the variability in fuel costs.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If the agreements required by Ascent are not approved and if the Purchasing Agent is not authorized to purchase aviation fuel from Ascent, the County will no longer be able to buy Phillips 66-branded aviation fuel and will be prevented from transitioning to unleaded aviation fuel causing a disruption of fuel services at Byron Airport, as well as a loss in airport revenue.