Denver airport officials will face a big check on their power when they propose new construction contracts to get the stalled terminal renovation back on track, and City Council members sound increasingly eager to use their authority to force more accountability.

Vows of deeper questions and more scrutiny are being made both by recently elected Denver council members and by veterans who signed off two years ago on the massive 34-year public-private partnership deal, terminated by city officials on Aug. 13. The latter group includes at least three who expressed regrets or misgivings about that vote in recent interviews.

Several members say they want more public input and transparency this time.

“I can assure you, from talking to my colleagues, that we certainly hope to have a voice in how we move forward,” said Paul Kashmann, who is in his second term representing southeast Denver.

But it’s not clear how many avenues there will be for the increasingly assertive council, because most control over the high-profile terminal reconstruction project — originally budgeted at $650 million — still rests in the hands of Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration.

“Council’s role is to approve contracts or contract amendments,” Stacey Stegman, Denver International Airport’s senior vice president for communications, said after The Denver Post asked about how much input DIA planned to seek from the council. “The airport reports to the mayor on the rest. But we have held regular briefings with council on contractual issues, so they have been kept informed along the way.”

The implosion of the $1.8 billion overall deal with Great Hall Partners has raised tough questions for the council, whose members complained two years ago that they had too little time to consider the voluminous contract. Signed with companies led by Madrid-based Ferrovial Airports, it included four years of design and construction on the renovation and then three decades of oversight over expanded concessions in the terminal building.

Some council members say DIA officials missed what they saw as warning signs surrounding Ferrovial. And the turn of events has hardened others’ skepticism toward public-private partnerships, a tool that Hancock plans to use to finish the National Western Center project.

Calls for closer project monitoring

Going forward on the terminal renovation, “I think we have to have a lot more touch points with the council to be able to monitor the progress of the project,” said at-large Councilwoman Debbie Ortega, who cast one of just two votes against the Great Hall contract in 2017.

She is on the business and aviation services committee chaired by Kevin Flynn, who echoed her call for more scrutiny.

“What I want to see is a detailed plan for going forward and finishing the project as efficiently as possible,” said Flynn, who represents southwest Denver. “The condition of the terminal right now is so disruptive to the traveling public that we need to see, soon, a clear path.”

In announcing the termination just 13 months after construction began, airport CEO Kim Day said her hope was to get new contractors in place by early next year.

That sets up a quick-moving stream of decisions as DIA revamps the project to keep it from breaking the bank and runs a bid process to award new contracts. DIA officials have raised the possibility of hiring contractors with airport experience in the near term to finish out the project’s first phase — which was supposed to be done in May — while they pursue a larger contract to finish the rest.

But unlike the Great Hall arrangement, the new ones will be straightforward construction and design contracts, officials say, not long-term partnerships. Even so, at-large Councilwoman Robin Kniech said she would be looking for a strong construction management component.

Regardless, DIA will need the council’s sign off for some or all of those arrangements, including all new contracts valued at $500,000 or more.

Great Hall was supposed to finish the terminal renovation by late 2021. But in claims submitted shortly before its firing, the contracting team projected the project would take until February 2024, with cost overruns of $288 million. It blamed them on a now-resolved concrete strength issue and a litany of change directives from the airport, points disputed by DIA.

Several council members, including northwest Denver’s Amanda Sandoval, said they intended to hold Day to her pledge to keep the project to the original budget, even if that means reining in the scope.

Day was factoring in a $120 million contingency fund, which would mean a cost ceiling of $770 million.

Strong support remains for security revamp

Officials said a major impetus for the renovation of the 24-year-old terminal was to address vulnerabilities in the main-floor security areas by moving them to the upper level, while upgrading screening equipment. That move required consolidation of the airline check-in counters. Officials added other modernization components and the expansion of retail and food outlets.

All seven council members interviewed by The Post said they agreed with the purpose of the project, though some have shared public skepticism of the concessions expansion. Many of those spots would be located in the new post-security area of the main floor.

Stegman recently confirmed that the concessions plan could be in for a scale-down to save money, especially since Ferrovial no longer will be on board to oversee them.

“Frankly, I’m comforted that we are taking back over the concessions directly,” said Kniech, who voted yes on the Great Hall contract but is critical of the financing arrangement used.

Councilman Chris Herndon, a northeast representative who strongly supported the terminal project, expressed hope the coming discussion would key in on the project’s basics, including relocating security.

“Like most, I’m disappointed at where we are right now,” he said. “I want us to deliver a project that’s worthy of our airport, and that’s where the focus should be right now.”

So far, no council members have called publicly for management changes at DIA, where Hancock has voiced support for Day. Flynn is among those who say they are withholding judgment until she rolls out the new project plan.

But Sandoval, a newly elected member, acknowledged concerns.

“The fact we got ourselves into this mess, I do have some misgivings,” she said. “I hope we can learn from our mistakes and move forward. Like, is there 100% confidence (in DIA leadership)? I’d have to probably say no, because of where we are right now.”