States throughout the country are passing legislation that allows for the privatization of health care services for prison and jail inmates. Many private sector health care providers will likely compete for the opportunity to provide services because contracts will be extremely large. In Texas, for instance, the state spends about $800 million a year on health services for adults who are incarcerated in state facilities.

In North Carolina, health care for prisoners costs the state about $250 million each year. The state has made a decision to outsource its correctional medical services by 2013 and plans to contract with only one service provider. The contract will include all health-related services, including physical, dental, emergency, mental, program support services, personnel and other medical services for about 40,000 men and women located in jails and prisons throughout the state.

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Federal, state, local officials examine policies, rules, transparency

Fairness, equity, transparency and job creation are the buzz words relating to contracting at all levels of government these days. Contract-related legislation is being filed at the state and federal levels. Local governments are examining their contracting policies and rules. Among their goals - increased competition, encouraging small business to become more involved in government procurement as a way to ensure creation of more jobs and making sure the contracting processes are transparent, so taxpayers can ensure their tax dollars are being wisely spent.

Sam Graves

At the federal level, several bills have been filed that seek to reform small business contracting processes. U.S. Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri filed legislation that would increase the federal government's goal for small business contracting from 23 to 25 percent. "Government contracting offers a unique opportunity to invest in small businesses while also stimulating our economy," said Graves, pointing out that small businesses create the majority of jobs - 65 percent over the last 17 years. With the federal government spending $540 billion annually on contracts, raising the small business contracting goal by 2 percent would result in an additional $11 billion worth of new business for small companies.

In Washington State, where state government spends more than $1 billion annually on goods and services, the governor is seeking a consolidation that would put the new Department of Enterprise Services (DES) as the new authority for overseeing contracts and disciplining contractors. Officials are hopeful the move may create more competition. Contracts would have to be reopened to bids for significant amendments or change orders. There would be less central oversight of contracts that were competitively bid and more for no-bid or sole-source contracts, where officials say there is more potential for abuse. Many of the rules will be written by the DES director after the bill passes. Lawmakers also are considering giving the director authority to disqualify contractors from bidding for up to three years for poor performance, contract violations or criminal or ethical problems.

The City of Wichita, Kansas, is considering a policy change that would end awards of construction projects without taking competitive bids. Some say that no-bid contracts can destroy the public's faith in government and in future public-private partnerships. Even many contractors say that in the public sector, they understand government officials are charged with protecting the taxpayers' investment. All parties are in agreement that having the confidence of taxpayers is an important piece of the procurement puzzle.

In Kentucky, a bill is being considered that would require governments and those who contract with governments to use E-Verify to determine that all employees are legal citizens. The bill would mandate use of the federal verification system by both state and local governments to ensure that employees are legally in this country. Any employer who is caught hiring undocumented workers and has not verified that employee through E-Verify would be banned from entering into government contracts for one year. A second offense would result in a five-year ban.

Contractors turning toward collaboration

CalSTRS officials says fund will invest $500 million in roads, ports, other projects

Diloshini Seneviratne

A California pension fund has joined a growing number of similar funds to become investors in major infrastructure projects. The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) is investing $500 million in infrastructure including roads, ports and more through an Australian firm. There is an increase in interest in infrastructure investments by pension funds because it is "an asset class that provides diversification and is an inflation hedge," CalSTRS portfolio manager for infrastructure Diloshini Seneviratne told the Wall Street Journal.

New facilities, technology upgrades part of upcoming $17M bond
A $17 million bond issue for the Aztec, New Mexico, Municipal Schools is aimed at creating new facilities and upgrading the district's technology system. The school board hopes to spend slightly more than $6.6 million of the bond proceeds on technology items. The goal is for district-wide technology upgrades, a technology department storage unit, a new data center facility and planning for elementary school expansion. Approximately $5.8 million is likely to be spent on new construction, the majority for expansion for the Aztec High School Junior ROTC program and a multi-sport field house at Fred Cook Stadium. Close to $2.7 million would be used for safety upgrades, including smoke detection and alarm upgrades in the district offices and high schools. Other funds would be used for district-wide signage, keyless entry for all school facilities and new lighting for the Aztec High School baseball field.

Louisiana school board approves funds for academic, physical makeover 

Pat Cooper

An academic and physical makeover is in the future for the Northside High School following action by the Lafayette Parish (Louisiana) School Board. The academic plan includes more staff, which Superintendent Pat Cooper said will help get a turnaround started. He calls the group his "SWAT team" that will include a dean of students, additional counselor, a nurse, a classroom management strategist and a graduation coach. The school board also voted on $1.9 million in renovations and repairs and approved a nearly $363,000 plan that restructures custodial and lawn services at the high school and 10 other schools in the northern part of the parish. The three plans together total $2.4 million.

New school, other projects approved by Bossier Parish School Board
The Bossier Parish (Louisiana) School Board recently approved construction of a new Haughton Middle School at a cost of approximately $36 million. In addition to the construction of a new facility, the project will also include repairing the drainage system at the current middle school building at a cost of $2.5 million. The new school, which will house some 1,500 students, will be 210,000 square feet. Also approved was the construction of a new vocational and technical school for the district. There was some discussion about possibly using an existing building for the v-tech school. But they decided it would be better long-term to build a new facility. The cost of the school and renovation is expected to not be more than $25 million.

Worcester State University to build combination dormitory/cafeteria

Barry Maloney

A $40 million combination dormitory and cafeteria is planned for construction beginning in 2014 at Worcester (Massachusetts) State University. The dorm would feature between 300 and 400 beds and increase the number of undergraduates living on campus by close to one-third. It will be designed to serve existing students and should help address the current demand for on-campus housing. Worcester State President Barry Maloney said the cafeteria will replace the current one in the Student Center and that space used for something else. Officials say no tax dollars will be used for construction of the new residence hall. It will instead be financed by the Massachusetts State College Building Authority and be repaid by Worcester State with revenue from room fees. The university is also planning an athletic center and a $3 million project funded by the university to modernize the Learning Resource Building by putting a new skin on the exterior walls to address water seepage problems.

North Carolina leaders could turn to tolls to help finance road projects

Jim Trogdon

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is awaiting word from the federal government to approve its plans for a $4.4 billion makeover of Interstate 95, to be paid for by tolls. Officials feel toll projects can be done faster than with traditional financing. If the project is approved, the highway will be widened to at least six lanes. That project would not be the only one paid for by toll revenues. But Jim Trogdon, COO for the Department of Transportation, said it will be a difficult pill for some to swallow if an existing roadway becomes a tollway. But he said it will still give motorist a choice - pay extra for speed and convenience on their drive or choose alternative routes. "Basically, tolling is a way we can advance projects we couldn't advance under traditional financing," he said. The two-phase project would call for the widening of I-95 from four to eight lanes between St. Pauls and I-40 in Benson, followed by widening of the rest of the corridor to six lanes. Phase one would be completed in 2019, and then construction would begin on phase two. Tolls would be placed at 20-mile intervals and cost about $2. The project would be a pilot, with all toll revenue dedicated for improvements to the I-95 highway corridor.  

Numerous contracting opportunities available in Texas

There are a variety of government contracting opportunities available in the El Paso area. Among them are:

• The Socorro Independent School District is requesting bids for sheet metal fabrication and installation.
• The Socorro Independent School District is requesting bids for refrigeration and air conditioning maintenance and repair.
• The El Paso Independent School District is requesting bids for MS-5 soil erosion drainage improvements Phase 1.
• The Department of the Army, Army Contracting Command, MICC is requesting bids for Refuse Containers for Fort Bliss. This is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business set aside.
• The El Paso Independent School District is requesting bids for the construction of Guillen Middle School track and basketball courts.

Proposed public safety center taking on new approach for completion

The proposed 17-story Lightner Center, a $175 million public safety center under consideration in Raleigh, North Carolina, has taken a new twist. The center project (as seen in accompanying artist's rendition) could never seem to get enough stakeholders on board to begin the construction process. Instead, officials now are considering splitting the project into phases. That would result in some emergency services being located outside the downtown area. The proposed center, located downtown, would have housed the city's police, fire and 9-1-1 headquarters. The new approach would start with building the 9-1-1 center northeast of downtown. It would include space for an emergency operations center, an information technology data center and a police field office or district station. It could be expanded to house police and fire personnel. Some officials favor using the $600,000 previously set aside for the Lightner Center for the project.

Contracting opportunities available for variety of needs in New Mexico

A variety of contracting opportunities are available for contractors seeking to do business in New Mexico. Some of the opportunities include:   

• The city of Socorro is requesting bids for a compressed natural gas compressor station rebuild/overhaul.
• The city of Eunice is requesting bids for repairs to the Municipal Aquatic Facility Building.
• Nogal MDWCA c/o Livingston Associates is requesting bids for water distribution system improvements - water treatment plant building in Nogal, N.M.
• Dona Ana County is requesting bids for translation and interpretation services for the DAC Health and Human Services Department.
• New Mexico State University is requesting bids for comprehensive ticket marketing sales and service plan.

PennDOT announces list of road, bridge work projects for this year

A total of 168 road and bridge construction projects have been announced by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for this year in Allegheny, Beaver and Lawrence counties. Among the projects is the kickoff of the rehabilitation of Squirrel Hill Tunnels, which will cost approximately $49.5 million over the life of the projects. In addition to continuing on some projects already under way, some of the new projects include two resurfacing projects on Route 65, bridge replacements over Electric Avenue in Chalfant, North Braddock and Forest Hills, resurfacing Banksville Road from McFarland Road to the Parkway West and $19 million for repairs to nearly 20 landslides along state roads.

Check out these recent awards:

• NJVC won a $346.9 million contract from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for information technology/information services.
• Brooks Construction was awarded a $13.9 million contract by the Indiana Department of Transportation to build the new interchange on Interstate 69 at Union Chapel Road, featuring a roundabout at each end of the new bridge over the interstate, as well as signs and lights.
• J.R. Kelly Co. was awarded a $3.36 million contract by Purdue University to demolish the old varsity baseball diamond and install parking and other items outside Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
• Kettelhut Construction Co. was awarded a $1.64 million contract by Purdue University to provide for a mechanical room and heating/cooling systems at Heine Pharmacy Building.
• Sheehy Construction was awarded a contract for $6,583,300 by the Anoka County (Minnesota) Regional Rail Authority to construct the Ramsey Northstar Station platform, pedestrian bridge over the Burlington-Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks and the skyway connection to the municipal parking ramp.
• Wing Ridge Construction won a $181,205 contract from the Port of Tillamook Bay (Oregon) for work on the port's Building 18, to include new windows, carpet, plumbing, drainage, installing ADA access and other improvements.
• 2KG Contractors was awarded a $1.68 million contract by the Port of Tillamook Bay for work on Building 19, the port's main office, including a new roof and HVAC system, an interior reconfiguration to change the office layout, relocation and upgrade to bathrooms and increasing the size of the board meeting room.
• Pacific Timber was awarded a nearly $800,000 contract by the Port of Tillamook for upgrades to the port's septic system, including electrical and equipment upgrades to help with sewage processing.
• The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development won a $226.2 million contract from the General Services Administration for lease or rental of facilities.

Portland community college partners for huge ground-mounted solar array

David Rule

Portland Community College's Rock Creek campus is about to become the owner of what officials are calling the largest ground-mounted solar array in the metropolitan area of the city. The array is a public-private partnership among the college, with numerous partners. A Portland-based energy consulting firm will finance, own, build and maintain the system, which is valued at $25 million. The college will prepay $830,000 to the consulting firm and that money will purchase the college energy over a 20-year period, the life expectancy of the array.

But the benefits go further than just providing electricity, according to Rock Creek campus President David Rule. Rule called the project a "really solid grand slam" because not only will it provide electricity, but it will also allow PCC students to be on hand and watch and learn as the system is built. PCC also will rework its micro-electronics program to offer photovoltaic training for students to move directly into jobs in industrial occupations such as with the local solar manufacturing companies.

When completed, the 2,100-panel array will likely produce 500,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year, which would provide for the electricity needs of 40 average homes. The 35,000-square-foot array will cover approximately two acres and provide some 60 percent of the energy needs of the 72,000-square-foot building that houses students, administrative services and the school library. Funding for the project is from a successful $374 million bond measure in 2008. That bond vote also mandated that 15 percent of the value of applicable capital project be spent on solar initiatives.

Public-private partnership means more efficient bus service in Green Bay

A partnership between a private bus company and Green Bay Metro will ensure a direct transfer to the private bus as it heads out of town. The private company recently began a weekend service designed for University of Wisconsin-Green Bay students who are headed to Madison or other campus cities. Riders can now catch a private bus at the Green Bay Metro depot and embark on "seamless transportation" that allows riders to continue their routes across the state. The project is called "Campus Connect" and will have a route on Fridays and Sundays between Green Bay, Oshkosh, Appleton and Madison. The bus will leave Green Bay at 2 p.m. every Friday and return at 9:30 p.m. every Sunday. Not only do riders have a way out of the city now, but it is aboard transit that is an affordable and friendly means of transportation.

Port Everglades rail transfer station on track because of P3

John Rodstrom

A public-private partnership 15 years in the making will result in a new railroad transfer station at Port Everglades. The Broward Commission recently approved a 30-year lease and operating agreement with the Florida East Coast Railway to develop an Intermodal Container Transfer Facility with the port. The partnership will allow for the movement of freight between S. Florida and the southeast United States by rail. Officials are looking at the project becoming operational in 2014.

"This is a great public-private partnership that has been 15 years in the making and is expected to take less than two years to complete," said Broward County Mayor John Rodstrom, Jr.

The transfer facility will allow for the transfer of international containers between ship and rail within the port. In the past, trucks had to haul the containers to and back from off-port rail terminals.

Money sought for hotel, conference center in city in Maryland

Funds are being sought for a new hotel and conference center in downtown Frederick, Maryland. Although requested, the amount was not built into the state's budget. Delegate Galen Clagett will now seek a $250,000 grant for the project to match funding put up by the city. The $45 million project (excluding land costs) is being pursued in a public-private partnership among the Frederick Board of County Commissioners, the city of Frederick and the county's delegation to the Maryland General Assembly. The project would include a 14,000-square-foot hotel and conference center with 200 hotel rooms. Clagett is also sponsoring legislation to increase Frederick County's hotel-motel tax from 3 to 5 percent, with a portion of that dedicated to the hotel project. Once funding is secured, the city can put out a request for proposals from the business community and select a site. An opening date of 2015 is projected.

Some contracting opportunities from across the country

Orlando Riddick (top left), an experienced teacher, principal and district administrator and current Austin (Texas) Independent School District director of high school operations, has been named Houston ISD's chief high school officer. Leon Stanback (top center), former Durham, North Carolina, judge from 1989 until his retirement in 2009, has been appointed by North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue to serve as interim district attorney in Durham. Danny Werfel (top right), Office of Management and Budget and head of the Office of Federal Financial Management, has been chosen to also coordinate the administration's work on financial management, government contracting, information technology, personnel policy and performance management. Scott Springston, current superintendent of the Valley Center School District near Wichita, Kansas, and former principal in the Blue Valley district, is the lone finalist for superintendent of the Park Hill school district, following the retirement of current Superintendent Dennis Fisher. ML Gordon, who has 37 years of public service, the last 19 as city manager of East Palo Alto, has announced he will retire in March. Tom Korst, assistant superintendent of Havre Public Schools in Montana and former principal of Seeley-Swan High School and Seeley Lake K-8 Elementary, has been named superintendent of the Hamilton School District. Leonard Waterworth (middle right), former president and CEO of Dannenbaum Engineering Corp., a Texas-based engineering and consulting firm, has been chosen as interim executive director of the Port of Houston to succeed former executive director Alec Dryer. Assistant San Jose, California, Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed (middle center), has been tabbed as the new fire chief for the city of Oakland, becoming the first African-American woman to lead a major fire department. Former U.S. Secretary of Defense and former president of Texas A&M University Robert M. Gates (middle left) was recently invested as the 24th chancellor of the College of William and Mary, where he is also an alumnus. Ann Jeffrey, assistant vice chancellor for research at the University of California Berkeley and a 25-year employee of the university, has been chosen as chief of staff to Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance John Wilton. Charlie Nelms, vice president for Institutional Development and Student Affairs at Indiana University, will become the 10th chancellor of North Carolina Central University on Aug.1. Former head coach of The Ohio State University Buckeyes, Jim Tressel, who resigned from his coaching job after an NCAA flap at the university, has chosen an administrative route for the next step in his career, having been recently named as Vice President of Strategic Engagement at the University of Akron, where he held his first coaching job as a graduate assistant from 1975 to 1978. Howard Jordan (bottom left), a 24-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department who since last fall has been serving as interim police chief, has been appointed to the post permanently, replacing former Chief Anthony Batts, who resigned. Steve Cernak (bottom middle), who has served as CEO of the Port of Galveston since 1999, has been tapped to become the new leader at Port Everglades, replacing Phillip C. Allen, who retired earlier this month. Christine Hudson (bottom right), who has worked in law enforcement for nearly three decades and who has been serving as interim chief of the Clarkston, Georgia, Police Department since the retirement of Chief Tony Scipio in January, has been named the department's new chief. Aaron Gornstein, executive director of the Boston nonprofit Citizens' Housing and Planning Association since 1990, has been chosen as the new undersecretary in the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. John Fruetel in March will become Minneapolis' fifth fire chief since 2004, following the retirement in January of former Chief Alex Jackson, whom Fruetel served as assistant chief until 2010 when he took a job with the city's emergency preparedness department. Bishop, California, Interim City Administrator Keith Caldwell has been named full-time administrator, and will also continue his duties as community services director, a post he has held since June 2007.