The fact that cities, towns and counties throughout the country are asking questions about bankruptcy is a sign of the seriousness of this country's economic situation. It is, however, even more alarming that the trend toward actual filings of public bankruptcies appears to be gaining steam.

Governmental bankruptcies have been rare in the past...but they have happened. In fact, since 1937, there have been 627 instances of public sector bankruptcies. The largest occurred in Orange County, California, in 1994.

Vallejo, California, near San Francisco, was another highly visible bankruptcy in May 2008. The process actually dragged out until July of this year, when the city won court approval for a plan to exit bankruptcy protection.

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Reid says those who owe back taxes should not be exempt from law

Harry Reid

The on-again, off-again issue of a bill that would repeal a contractor withholding provision is on again, thanks to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The bill was passed in 2006 and is slated to go into effect in 2013. It would require federal, state and many local governments to withhold 3 percent from contracts if the contractor has overdue taxes on their books.

Reid will offer an amendment, scheduled to be heard this week, that he says will "still go after the cheaters," saying he wants to add penalties for contractors who owe taxes.

Reid previously announced that he wanted to ensure that repeal of the bill would apply only to government contractors who are current on paying their taxes.

The repeal legislation was overwhelmingly approved by the House and had the support of the White House. But Reid said those who are delinquent in their tax payments should not benefit from the repeal of the bill. He said those people should still have the 3 percent of their contract fees withheld.

One way being studied to make up the possible loss of revenue would be to change the 2010 health care law to include the nontaxable portion of Social Security benefits in the income definition used to calculate eligibility for government health care programs. The result would be that some people would be moved from Medicaid into subsidized coverage in new health insurance exchanges. Others would be pushed out of subsidized coverage. 

Contracting opportunities will be plentiful in all areas of state

Legislation seeks to combine five agencies into one new state office

Jason Murphey

As Oklahoma is in the throes of consolidation of five state agencies into one office, the state's Government Modernization Committee is preparing to meet Thursday to go over the progress of the project. Recently passed legislation calls for consolidating the Department of Central Services, the Office of Personnel Management, Benefits Council and the State and Education Employees Group Insurance Board into the Office of State Finance.

Some members of the legislature say consolidation and restructuring of state agencies will save the state $140 million in IT expenditures alone. Committee Chair Rep. Jason Murphey said he will list the state agencies that have yet to comply with the law and will also keep a running tab on how much money is being saved. He has long been a supporter of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services sharing a computer system needed to consolidate server space for other agencies. Murphey called the consolidation process "a really big deal."

The Department of Human Services is working with the Office of State Finance to consolidate IT services and officials there say information sought by chief information officers of the various agencies regarding consolidation has been provided.

Murphey said the next step following consolidation will be to examine each state agency's policy-based process performance through state audits of each agency. 

UCLA chooses site for on-campus hotel, conference center location

Gene Block

Plans to demolish the UCLA faculty club to make way for a new on-campus hotel and conference center have been scrubbed. The new location for the facility is the site of a current multi-level parking garage that will be razed. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said the change in locations was partly due to concerns of the faculty members and concerns of local business. The hotel is expected to include meeting spaces and 250 guest rooms. A $100 million donation made to UCLA included a stipulation that $40 million be used for the construction of the conference center and $10 million for its programming. The remainder of the $112 million in construction costs will be financed by bonds. The bonds will be repaid from revenue generated by the hotel and conference center. Once approved by the regents, the seven-story facility could be under construction in summer 2013, with a winter 2016 completion date.

LA Unified School District facing $30 million in accessibility projects

The Los Angeles Unified School District is facing expenditures of approximately $30 million for hundreds of projects to bring the 80 new schools built over the last decade into compliance with federal handicapped accessibility standards. The district is under a modified consent decree for its failure to adhere to all federal special education mandates - including ensuring that schools are accessible to all. Necessary projects to bring the school into compliance include everything from adjusting heights on hand rails to restriping parking spaces. Officials are expecting to get started on the projects early next year. The funds will come from bond program funds from the original money dedicated to constructing the schools.

 

Texas A&M approves new health, kinesiology department building 

Rodney McClendon

Vice President for Administration Dr. Rodney McClendon said the building will also include departmental offices and classrooms, activity rooms for dance, fencing, gymnastics, yoga, Pilates and self-defense programs. It will also have weight rooms and badminton courts that can be converted to basketball courts. "This will be an extremely flexible facility that will allow us to host everything from physical education classes to indoor tennis matches," McClendon said. The new building will support the Physical Education Activity Program (PEAP) Facility Project, where 25,000 students receive instruction each semester and thousands more use the current facilities for recreational activities before and after scheduled classes.

A new $21 million facility has been approved for the Texas A&M University Health and Kinesiology Department. The 110,000-square-foot building will include a multi-use gym that can be converted into indoor tennis courts.

 

Massachusetts city planning for new elementary school

A new $36 million elementary school is slated to begin construction in the spring after being approved for bond funding by the Westfield (Massachusetts) City Council. The city's School Department, located in the former Ashley Street School, is slated to move to Hampton Ponds Plaza later this month, at which time the building will be demolished to make way for the new 660-pupil school. The new school will allow the closing of Abner Gibbs and Franklin Avenue schools. The new school is expected to be completed in September 2013.

 

Colorado State planning new 600-bed student living facility

Jim Dolak

Colorado State University officials are going to build a new 600-bed "Academic Village North" that will increase student housing on the north side of the campus. The $57 million project will provide housing for undergraduates. An old apartment building will be razed to make room for the new facility. That structure houses around 120 graduate students and their families or roommates. Jim Dolak, director of housing and dining, said the university needs new beds "to meet the increased enrollment numbers for undergraduate students." The governing board of the university approved the project last month and university officials now are looking to borrow the funding for the project. It should break ground as early as next June, with an opening in fall 2014. Students are willing to pay more for amenities of new buildings, as indicated when a new residence hall on the CSU campus with 216 beds had all rooms reserved by students within eight minutes despite the fact that it cost more to live there.

    

For information about these and other contracting opportunities,

contact Reagan Weil at 512-531-3900.

 

San Diego County transportation projects total $200 billion over 40 years

The San Diego Association of Governments board of directors recently adopted a 2050 Regional Transportation Plan that would call for spending $200 billion over the next 40 years. The projects would be built out in 10-year increments. Among the proposals are the addition of more than 150 miles of new trolley service, 130 miles of managed highway lanes and nearly $4 billion for bicycle and pedestrian projects. The plan also calls for reduction of greenhouse gas. This plan will update the 2003 plan and takes into consideration the use of funds from a half-cent TransNet sales tax. The plan has not been without opposition, as some advocacy groups say it emphasizes highway construction over mass transit and active transportation projects.

California city readying for construction of new medical clinic

Ron Castle

Residents of Nipomo, California, are eagerly awaiting the construction of a new $7.5 million medical clinic recently approved by the county Planning Commission. The proposal provides for a 28,000-square-foot medical clinic to open in 2013. An existing clinic on the construction site will be converted to administrative offices. Funding for the proposed project is from a federal grant from the Affordable Care Act stimulus program. The clinic will serve residents from Arroyo Grande to Santa Maria. Community Health Centers of the Central Coast Executive Director Ron Castle said the clinic will provide 100 construction jobs and will allow for the expansion of pediatric, dental, obstetrics, gynecological and other services at the nonprofit clinic. CHS has more than two-dozen clinics in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

 

Rhode Island announces award of $2.7 million in energy project grants

Economic development officials in Rhode Island have announced that $2 million in grants will be made available for a variety of renewable energy projects statewide, creating a number of contracting opportunities. The grants will help fund 16 projects for businesses, municipalities and community organizations. Administered by the Economic Development Corporation's Renewable Energy Fund, some of the projects funded include a wind turbine project in Jamestown and the development of a former landfill into a solar farm. The grants are a result of federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to help states advance renewable energy development and assist businesses in lowering their energy costs. The Town of Coventry was awarded a grant of $325,000 for the installation of a 125kW solar photovoltaic system on the roof of the Town Hall Annex. The city of East Providence earned a grant of $100,000 for predevelopment expenses associated with the development of the city's proposed 10MW solar farm located on the former Forbes Street Landfill. The EDC's Renewable Energy Fund will administer the grants. To view a complete list of the grant recipients and the funding they received, plus a complete description of each project, click here and look under "Recent Reports."

 

Maryland county officials give go-ahead for expansion of county jail

George Erichsen

The building of an addition and renovations to the existing St. Mary's County (Maryland) Adult Detention Center were recently approved by the local Planning and Zoning Commission. The current facility is a little over 70,000 square feet and has a 230-bed capacity. The expansion would mean 86,000 square feet of floor space, of which 38,000 square feet will be on the first floor. The project also includes a 2,300-square-foot sally port. The second floor will include approximately 30,000 square feet, with five housing units that include 56 beds per unit for a total of 280 beds. The third floor or mezzanine level would add another 17,000 to 18,000 square feet. Program space will be expanded for food service, recreation and laundry. The renovation part of the project includes a new central control custody administration and upgrades to the public lobby that includes video visitation. The intake and medical services areas also will be upgraded and an armory added. Air conditioning will be added. "We're also going to upgrade the balance of the jail with state-of-the-art locking and securing mechanisms," said George Erichsen, director for the St. Mary's County Department of Public Works. The new construction portion of the project is expected to cost $20 million and the renovation price tag is about $4 million. The project is expected to take no more than 24 months.

 

For information about these and other contracting opportunities,

contact Reagan Weil at 512-531-3900.

 

Want to know who your competition is? Who was awarded the contract on a particular project? Below are listed some recent winners of major government contracts:   

• CACI International Inc. will provide a variety of communications technology to the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal agencies under a new three-year, $139 million delivery order under the Navy's SeaPort Enhanced (SeaPort-e) contract vehicle, with CACI providing designing, testing, and integrating mobile communications systems.
• Archer Western Corp. and HNTB Corp. have been awarded the contract to replace the Memorial Bridge that spans the two states by Maine and New Hampshire transportation officials. Archer Western had the highest bid at $81.4 million, but with the shortest completion time.
• Maximum Security Products Corp. was awarded a contract for $1.573 million by Westchester County, New York, to replace gallery fencing in two buildings at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York.
• Walsh Construction and Heery International, in a joint venture, have been awarded a $315,797,000 contract for the design-build new, multi-use state correctional facility in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
• Testa Construction Inc. was awarded a $773,100 contract by Monroe County, New York, to provide a fuel dispensing system for the Rochester Army Aviation Support Facility.
• New Britain Roofing Co. was awarded an $823,000 contract for repairing the dorm entrance canopy roofs of four buildings at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York. 
• HNTB Corp. has been awarded a $6 million contract by the Maine Department of Transportation to rehabilitate the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge.
• Morgan Construction Enterprises, Inc. of New York has been awarded a $28.5 million contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the construction of an addition to the Keller Army Community Hospital Clinic at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
• Geiter Done of WNY Inc. has been awarded a $106,000 contract by Monroe County, New York, to demolish two buildings at the Industry Limited Secure Center in Rush, New York.

New Jersey readying to partner with private sector, nonprofits on state park system

Chris Christie

Wharton State Forest in the Pinelands in New Jersey will be a pilot project as the state seeks to partially privatize its state park system as a way of dealing with a state budget deficit and with improving services at state parks. Gov. Chris Christie said although camping fees will increase, entrance fees for residents of the state will not and the public and nonprofit partners will help make the parks and camping experience even better. The state park system is operating under a $31 million deficit, but officials are hopeful the partial privatization will keep parks open and affordable. The privatization is a product of a state privatization task force that recommended privatizing at least some aspects of the park system. Christie has responded to opposition to the proposal by saying privatization will improve and expand services for the public visiting parks while making the park system more self-sustaining. Officials expect that by 2015, nearly 40 percent of the park system's budget would come from the private sector and nonprofits. That could result from leasing of golf courses, turning over concessions and making parks more energy efficient. It is also hoped that eventually two-thirds of the operating budget for the system would come from sources other than the state. 

Privately financed program in California aimed at energy efficiency

Sacramento businesses seeking to achieve more energy efficiency while saving money are looking to a privately financed program to help achieve both goals. The program will allow businesses to complete $100 million worth of energy retrofits on commercial buildings without paying any up-front costs. The money for the projects will come from private lenders and be repaid through a property tax surcharge on the businesses that participate. However, the reduction in energy costs, which experts say is usually a one-third reduction, would cover the temporary property tax increase. Mayor Kenneth Johnson's office also estimates that the program would result in $530 million in regional economic activity and create 1,500 construction jobs. A consortium of investors will put up $650 million in initial funding for loans. One of the investors, an energy fund, will be given exclusive rights to offer the upgrades and determine what upgrades are appropriate for each business. The projects may include everything from new windows and doors to solar panels. Once the upgrades are completed, the business pays back the loans.

 

Four Virginia universities in P3 for use of private company's technology

Alan Merten

They call it "4-VA." It's a partnership among four Virginia universities and an international company that designs and sells the latest technology in a pilot to share infrastructure and implement TelePresence technology. The project includes the private sector partner and George Mason University, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and James Madison University as well as Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Virginia Secretary of Education Laura Fornash. The technology incorporated into the program is designed to prepare students for the 21st century global economy as the universities collaborate on educational initiatives. George Mason President Alan Merten said his university will offer an advanced Chinese course in a TelePresence room that will also be available to students from James Madison and Virginia Tech through video capability. The Virginia General Assembly funded $3.4 million for the project, allotting each of the four universities a quarter of those funds. Officials hope the technology will improve access to academics, reduce the time it takes a student to graduate and reduce costs. Other 4-VA joint projects also are planned. 

 

State of Connecticut, medical laboratory to partner on Jackson Lab center

The State of Connecticut and the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine are firming up project details that will lead to the construction of a new $1 billion Jackson Laboratory research center. Plans include a 173,500-square-foot building on 17 acres of land provided by the state near the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington. The lab would initially employ 320 people and expand to 660 within 15-20 years. The Connecticut Legislature recently approved $291 million in bond funding to help build the lab. The $291 million will support the lab over 10 years for construction, equipment and research collaborations and Jackson will provide more than $800 million through federal research grants, gifts and service income. Once the details between the state and Jackson are hammered out, design of the building will begin. Construction is expected to begin in early 2013, with a completion date of late 2014 anticipated. 

 

Odds & ends

• The College of William and Mary has issued a Request for Proposals from experienced firms for a contract to provide computer repair and maintenance services, including furnishing all labor, material, equipment, supplies and resources to service college-owned Apple computers and personally owned equipment of some faculty, staff and students. Some of the services include setup of new computers, laptops and tables, setup of operating systems, data transfers, training, wireless, provide hardware and software support and more.
• The University of Virginia seeks a general contractor to provide construction services for the university for replacement of the heating and cooling system that supplies the pool area and the installation of new related supply and return ductwork.
• The University of Virginia is seeking a contractor to construct a new indoor football practice field. A full 100-yard field will be enclosed in this facility. It will be approximately 78,000 square feet (390' X 200') with a 100-yard field with end zones and five-yard overruns.
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is seeking a facility renovations program manager. The program manager will oversee and manage and inspect the work of pre-qualified designers and contractors for projects such as libraries, classrooms, research labs, auditoriums, computer labs, faculty and administrative offices, student residential facilities, dining and vending areas, gyms, parking lots and more.
• Henrico County is seeking bids for construction of Mountain Road Tank Drainage System, a project consisting of providing 24" and 30" ductile iron drain pipe and associated concrete structures to provide a drainage system for the Mountain Road Water Tank.
• The J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College is seeking bids for interior renovations of the student commons lounge, a conference room and storage area within the main administrative building of the Goochland campus.
• The Virginia Department of Transportation is seeking bids from qualified, licensed Virginia HVAC contractors to provide preventative maintenance and repair service for HVAC equipment in the Salem area including Montgomery, Pulaski, Giles, Floyd, Henry, Patrick, Carroll, Botetourt, Roanoke, Craig, Bedford, Franklin and the city of Salem. 

Pennsylvania

• The Pennsylvania Department of the Interior is seeking bids for interior rehabilitation of the Melrose House at Cheyney University, including the existing building interior spaces including associated HVAC, plumbing and electrical work. 
• LockHaven University of Pennsylvania is seeking bids for general construction work to replace approximately 37,000 square feet of existing multipurpose flooring in the first floor and mezzanine of the Student Recreation Center and installing 3,700 square feet of rolled rubber resilient flooring over the existing flooring in the adjacent weight room.
• The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is seeking bids for the upgrade of two elevators located in West Chester University Main Hall, 720 S. High St., West Chester, Pennsylvania.
• The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is seeking bids for the repair of slate roof and flashing around skylight, and installing new built-in gutter on the front of Old Science Hall at Bloomsburg University.
• The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is seeking bids for renovations to the Washington Crossing Historic Park sewage treatment plants at various locations at the park, including site work, demolition, general construction, electrical construction and related work.

New York

• Oneida County is seeking bids for electrical work to replace underground fire alarm communication cables at the Mid State Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York.
• Clinton County is seeking bids for plumbing work to replace a water line at the power house at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York.

For information about these and other contracting opportunities,

contact Reagan Weil at 512-531-3900.

 Are you a government official who has moved into a new position or to a new agency? Did you recently retire? Were you recently named to an executive-level position at a state-supported college, university or community college? Have you secured a new job as superintendent of a public school? If so, we'd like to hear from you - and so would your friends and colleagues - for our "Where Are They Now" column. Just drop us a line at editor@spartnerships.com and let us know about your previous job and where you are now. This week we feature Daniel I. Gordon.

Daniel I. Gordon

Daniel I. Gordon earned his bachelor's degree in politics from Brandeis University in 1972, his Master of Philosophy from Oxford University in 1974 and his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1986. Gordon worked in private law practice handling acquisition-related matters before joining the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 1992 as a senior attorney in the procurement law division. In 1995, he was promoted to assistant general counsel of GAO's legal services division. He served as associate general counsel from 1997-2000, as managing associate general counsel from 2000-2006 and as deputy general counsel from 2006-2010. He has held the post of administer for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) at the Office of Management and Budget since 2009, and was a member of the adjunct faculty at the George Washington University Law School before joining OFPP. Gordon recently announced that he will leave his OFPP job to become associate dean for government contracts law at the George Washington University Law School.

 

Armeather Gibbs (top left), executive vice president for the United Way of Rhode Island, senior vice president for a major bank chain and director of communications for Gov. Lincoln Almond during the last 20 years, has been chosen as the new managing director of urban finance and business development for the Rhode Island Economic Development Corp. Frank B. Ashley III (top center), former vice chancellor for academic affairs, has been named vice chancellor of recruitment and diversity for the Texas A&M University System and and Guy K. Diedrich (top right), a former managing director of Texas A&M University's Technology Commercialization Center and founder and president of a consulting firm, has been tapped to be vice chancellor for federal and state relations. Michael E. McLaughlin, who previously headed the Chelsea (Massachusetts) Housing Authority, has resigned his $360,000 per year job after Gov. Deval Patrick demanded his resignation after it was reported that his salary was underreported to the state and climbed from $77,500 since 2000. Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew D. Hurwitz, who has been on the Arizona high court for eight years, was recently nominated by President Barack Obama to a seat on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Kevin Hobbs, who has served as assistant superintendent for leadership and development in the Houston Independent School District since 2010, has been chosen by Wake County (North Carolina) school leaders as a new area superintendent for Central Wake, covering a number of Raleigh schools in and around the Beltline. John E. Frampton (middle right), who began his career with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources in 1974 as an assistant district biologist, and was later named regional wildlife biologist, Chief of Wildlife, Assistant Director for Development and National Affairs before accepting the agency director post in 2003, has announced his retirement. Rebecca Rodriguez (middle center), a former TV news anchor in Waco and Austin, Texas, and Seattle, Washington, and a former correspondent for CNN and Fox News Channel, has been chosen by the city of Arlington, Texas, as its new marketing communications manager in the Office of Communications. E. Wayne Gent (middle left), chief officer of administration for the Palm Beach County School District and former area superintendent for schools in northern Palm Beach County, has been chosen to serve as interim superintendent, taking over for former Superintendent Bill Malone until a permanent superintendent comes onboard next year. Paul Eldredge, who came to Brentwood, California, in 1997 as a senior staff engineer and moved up to assistant city engineer, assistant director of public works and assistant city manager, was recently named the city's new city manager. Tim Shearer, former city administrator for the city of Angels Camp, California, is now the city of Duluth, Georgia's first city manager, succeeding Phil McLemore, who was the city's administrator for the last 15 years before the title was changed to city manager. Capt. William McCormick, a 25-year veteran of the Avalon, New Jersey, Police Department, has been hired as the chief of police there, replacing former chief David Dean, who retired. Persis S. Drell (bottom left), director of Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) National Accelerator Laboratory since December 2007, has decided to resign the post and return to research and teaching at Stanford University after a decade in lab management. Retired Baton Rouge City Police Capt. Ronald Stevens (bottom center) is the new Southern University police chief, and will bring more than 30 years of law enforcement to his new post, including having commanded the Operations Services Bureau at the Baton Rouge P.D. Dr. Joyce Ester (bottom right), associate vice president for Student Services at Bakersfield College in Bakersfield, California, will be the next president of Kennedy-King College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago. Mary Ann DeMello, Weymouth's superintendent for three years and former assistant superintendent for the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District, was recently named new assistant superintendent in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, replacing retiring Mary Colombo. Attorney Amy Sneirson, who has worked at the Maine Center of Deafness since 2006 and was in private practice prior to that post, has been named executive director of the Maine Human Rights Commission, replacing Patricia Ryan, who retired in June after 32 years.