Public officials are finding that some of their scarce resources must be allocated to wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) networks. Free Wi-Fi networks are becoming commonplace in parks, recreation areas, public transportation areas and public buildings.

Government has been sent a clear message - citizens want to interact and communicate via their laptops, tablets, smartphones and other Wi-Fi capable devices. There is no doubt - this is the new norm.

Making free high-speed Internet access available is not all bad. Many good things come about as a result of it. Park usage increases when sufficient data and information is available to citizens. Public transportation is more efficient when there is adequate communication. 

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'All Aboard Florida' rail project may soon have some competition

Ananth Prasad

The proposed All Aboard Florida passenger rail project could soon have some competition. The project, which calls for a privately owned, operated and managed intercity passenger rail service, is planning to reach out to the more than 50 million people who travel between Orlando and South Florida every year. But now the state of Florida is opening the door to bids from other companies that might want to compete with Florida East Coast Industries' (FECI) All Aboard Florida proposal.

An RFP was recently issued by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to see if other vendors are interested in bidding on the project. The parties in All Aboard Florida announced their proposal in March, noting it would include a 240-mile system. The $1 billion train would use existing tracks owned by Florida East Coast Railway, a sister company to Florida East Coast Industries.

One of the keys to any proposal submitted, according to FDOT Secretary Ananth Prasad, is for bidders to not bring a request for state funding to the table. For the time being, said Prasad, "We are not putting any money into it." The state will, however, likely allow the project free use of land along the Beachline Expressway. FECI will also be among the bidders, as state law requires FDOT to seek bids to ensure the state gets the best deal before entering into an agreement with All Aboard Florida. If FECI wins the competition, the train could begin operating in 2014 and officials are hopeful it would compete with airlines that fly between Orlando and S. Florida. The trip would take approximately three hours, with top speeds of 125 miles per hour. The same trip by motor vehicle would take four hours.

Under FECI's plan, the majority of the $1 billion project will be privately funded and neither the state nor state taxpayers would bear any of the operating risks.

Major agencies use plan only 5 percent of time; could be saving billions of dollars

Darrell Issa

Federal agencies apparently are not taking advantage of a plan that could save the federal government billions of dollars. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reviewed the bulk-buying policies of the General Services Administration and the Departments of Defense, Energy, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs.

While these agencies account for 80 percent of the federal government's $537 billion purchasing bill, the agencies collectively are buying in bulk only 5 percent of the time. That 5 percent amounted to a savings of $1.8 billion. But that represents less than 1 percent of procurement spending, so a substantial amount more could be saved if the agencies adhered to a policy of cost-saving bulk purchasing.

The federal government seven years ago implemented the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative for purchase of bulk office supplies and services. It appears few are taking advantage of it. Officials say spending through the program remains low, both because the FSSI contracts are seldom used and because the initiative has not targeted the products and services on which the government spends the most money.

Rep. Darrell Issa of California has promised to file a purchasing reform bill that would make it mandatory to give strategically sourced goods and services purchases top priority. He points to the fact that the private sector has been using this system for more than 30 years and saving billions of dollars. He says it's time the federal government does the same.

Site preparation work on the first phase of a 400-bed student residence hall and dining facility at Worcester State University in Massachusetts is expected to begin this fall. The first phase of this project included relocating existing 635 feet of natural gas and 525 feet of water lines that run through the property where the hall will be located. A retaining wall will be built and an electric duct bank will be installed. That phase of the project is expected to take six to eight weeks. The actual construction of the residence hall and dining facility will begin next year, with a 12-month completion date. Plans are to have the facility ready for the fall 2014 semester. As the university enrollment increases, the new residence hall will help meet the demand for on-campus housing.

A 120,000-square-foot building that will be the home of the Environmental Science and Forestry College of State University of New York in Syracuse is being planned. The current site for the facility is a parking lot. The building (as seen in accompanying artist's rendering) will be built in two phases. The first will be a $44 million four-story building to be constructed. Phase two includes a six-story, $42 million building. The state is providing the funding for the first phase of the project, which should start next year and be ready for occupancy in summer 2015. Phase two would start after Phase one completion, but will not begin until a funding source is identified. The majority of the area of the new facility will be for research labs, but there will also be classrooms and faculty offices. The current home for the Department of Environmental Science and Forest Biology is currently housed in Illick Hall, which will be renovated and used for classrooms and offices that have been displaced as the buildings in which they are housed are under renovation. Because Syracuse University owns the parking lot on which the facility will be built, the ESF will enter into a land swap. Syracuse will give ESF the parking lot in exchange for a similarly sized block of land directly north of the parking lot.

The Laramie County School District 1 recently voted to hire a design team for construction of the new Okie Blanchard Stadium at Cheyenne East High School. The design fee is approximately $913,500. Three bids were submitted for the design and the lowest bid was accepted. The stadium project will carry a price tag of $12 million. Some $3 million of the funding will come from the School Facilities Department and the district's supplemental budget. The remainder will come from other sources and internal fundraising. The next step of the project will be design of the stadium. Officials expect the building bids will be sought in the spring of next year and ready for the school's first game of the year in 2014. The new stadium was the best option for the school, as the old stadium was in need of more than $1 million in repairs.

Narvel Weese

A student housing plan to increase and modernize campus housing has been approved by the West Virginia University Board of Governors. Officials also approved a $15 million upgrade to the Personal Rapid Transit system to ensure a reliable source of transportation for those on campus. "The housing master plan provides housing to support the recruitment of the best and brightest students," said Narvel Weese, vice president for administration and finance. The new housing will ensure students have housing within walking distance of classes on campus while cutting down on energy usage. Most first-year students on campus are required to live in university housing. The current available housing limits housing that is available to graduate and professional students, veterans and international students. The university reports that 73 percent of the space and 78 percent of the beds are in buildings that are more than 25 years old. The plan is expected to add some 1,555 new beds on campus. The new facilities also will provide more apartment and family-style housing, from 18 to 26 percent of current housing.

The Morgan County (Alabama) Board of Education has approved a five-year capital improvement plan that includes $43.1 million in projects. There are 18 projects in the plan, including two new high school construction projects that will cost $40 million. Another $1.1 million will be set aside for other projects during 2012-13. The design phase is already under way for a $27 million high school at Priceville. Also part of the plan is $15 million in additions and renovations at Falkville High School. The plan not only includes construction projects, but also information technology upgrades, including $100,000 for wireless technology this year. Officials said that amount of funding should be appropriated each year to keep up with changing technology needs for classrooms. Some other projects in the plan are replacement of roofs and addition of bleachers in the West Morgan Elementary School gym. Other needs are replacement of HVAC units throughout the school system, replacement of some sidewalks, removal of carpet and replacement with tiles, repairs to floors, field house renovations, construction of gymnasiums at two schools and construction of a new high school.

Ohio city approves $5 million sewer improvement project

Officials in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, recently approved moving forward on a $5 million sewer improvement project with the Cuyahoga County Board of Public Works and Olmsted Township. Council President Garry Thompson said the city has already secured $2.5 million in grants toward the project. "The $2.5 million is money we'll probably never see again," said Thompson. There was some opposition to the project because local resident feared the impact on historic homes that the construction might have. But officials told them that no homes have suffered irreparable damages in previous sewer projects that began as long ago as the 1980s.  

 

Construction to begin this winter on bridge in Nebraska

Thanks to a cooperative endeavor of the Lincoln City Council and the Railroad Transportation Safety District, construction will begin this winter on a bridge over Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks on Southwest 40th Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Transportation Safety District will provide $9 million toward the $12 million project, with the rest of the funding coming from city, state and federal tax dollars. Construction of the bridge has been an ongoing conversation for more than 10 years. Contracts have already been signed by the state and the railroad, and right-of-way has been purchased. Bids will be taken in October or November, according to city officials, with the project to be completed by summer 2015. Included will be the paving of 900 feet of Southwest 40th Street. Another $250,000 in city funds will be used for road, water and wastewater utility construction as part of development of an industrial park. That is the city's part of a required match, with the state putting up $750,000 in grant funds.

  

City of Thousand Oaks taking bids for widening of road in city

The Thousand Oaks City Council has voted to begin accepting construction bids for plans to widen Erbes Road in the city. The project includes 3,900 feet of Erbes between Thousand Oaks Blvd. and Falmouth Street. Construction is expected to begin by March of next year and be completed by early 2014. The widening project includes making two travel lanes, a center turn lane and two bike lanes, curb, gutter and sidewalk. The goal of the sidewalk addition is more safety for pedestrians and bikers. There will be 10 feet of improvements on each side of the road. Also included will be drainage improvements, underground utility additions and extension of an equestrian crossing. Bids for the project are to be opened in November, with a contract likely awarded by December. A total of $2 million of the $7 million project will be paid for from the city capital improvement budget. Another $4.2 million will come from federal grants and $328,900 from the Safe Route to School grant from the California Department of Transportation. Gas tax funds and developer fees also will contribute to paying for the project.

 

Maine to issue RFP for wholesale liquor contract for state

Sawin Millett

The State of Maine will soon issue an RFP for its wholesale liquor contract. The current contract ends in 2014. Financial and Administrative Services Commissioner Sawin Millett said the department will use the RFP method for contracting rather than a negotiated bid process. Millett said the department had studied the two contracting processes and determined "that the RFP approach would provide the most objectivity and fairness, with a clearly delineated appeals process defined by statute and rule." The state currently controls liquor distribution and pricing. But it faces a deadline in June for negotiating a new wholesale liquor contract. Millett and Gerry Reid, director of the state's Bureau of Alcohol Beverages and Lottery Operations, told a legislative committee that their first intent was to bargain competitively with interested bidders and if that process did not yield a solution, then the state would resort to the RFP system.

  

Minnesota city approves bonding plan for fire station, park improvements

Officials in Roseville, Minnesota, recently approved a $17 million bonding plan to help defray the costs of a new fire station and improvements to parks in the city. The approval of the projects was not without its detractors. But officials said the fire stations were "abhorrent" and that fire department staff deserve a state-of-the-art facility. Officials last October approved a three-pronged plan to allocate $27 million in bonds for a fire station and for a program to upgrade parks. Some $10 million of that was bonded in December and officials decided to merge the 2012 and 2013 parts of the bonding to take advantage of lower interest rates and to avoid paying for two rounds of bonding fees. City officials plan to spend approximately $8 million on a new fire station where the original fire house was located. Officials are looking at a completion date of fall 2013. The remaining $19 million would fund a 2010 four-year parks plan. Some $2 million will go toward new parks and another $2 million for improvements to existing parks and trails. The remainder of the funds will be used to update and replace aging park facilities, ball fields and tennis courts and for completing other projects. 

 

Oregon Metro issues RFP for administrator of contribution plans

Oregon Metro is seeking a third-party administrator for its 401(k) and 457(b) contribution plans and an RFP has been issued. The incumbent contract holder, Vanguard, has been invited to rebid on the contract. The firm that is chosen will be the sole provider for the two plans and will also be charged with providing administration, record-keeping, education, participation investment advice and investment management services for Metro's $47.9 million 401(k) Employee Salary Savings Plan and its $4.9 million 457(b) Employees Salary Savings Plan. Proposals are due Nov. 2. The RFP may be viewed on Metro's Web site here. 

 

Nebraska issues RFP for health insurance exchange solution

An RFP has been issued by the state of Nebraska for a contractor to build and operate the state's health insurance exchange. Every state is required to have its exchange up and running by Jan. 1, 2014, but by Nov. 16, states must have at least submitted a plan to the federal government to show how each individual state's exchange will be run. Those that do not submit a plan or have their plans rejected will have a plan created for them by the government. The Nebraska plan, administered by the Department of Insurance, would serve 100,000 to 300,000 people by 2016. The preliminary design phase of the Nebraska plan has been completed and state officials note they have in mind a Web-based solution proposal. The contractor chosen through the RFP would be charged with designing, developing and implementing a health insurance exchange, combining the individual exchange and the Small Business Health Options Program exchange into a single interface.  

 

Pennsylvania releases RFP for administrator for its 457 plan

With the current holder's contract expiring in June 2013, Pennsylvania has released an RFP for a third-party administrator for its 457 plan. The current holder of the contract, Great-West Retirement Services, will be invited to rebid on the four-year contract that begins July 1, 2013, and has sn option for a one-year renewal. Proposals are due Nov. 7. Officials hope to make a decision on the bids in December. The RFP is available on the state's Web site.

 

Check out these recent awards:

• Reid Planning has been awarded a $15 million government contract by the U.S. Department of Defense to provide architect and engineering services to the Navy and Marine Corps. The job calls for Reid Planning to prepare Navy and Marine Corps basic facility requirements and asset evaluations throughout the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic Area of Responsibility and the adjacent waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 

• C.E. Marler and Associates has been awarded a $290,900 contract by Rusk County (Texas) to construct five new hangars at the county airport.

• Studio Collaboration has received a $3 million contract from the federal General Services Administration for architecture and design projects in New Mexico and surrounding areas.

• Skanska construction and development company has received an $88 million design/bid/build contract with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct the third phase of the Lackland Ambulatory Care Center at Lackland AFB in San Antonio.

• Southwest Research Institute has won a five-year contract renewal valued at $76 million from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to operate the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses and for assistance and research support regarding the storage, transportation, reprocessing and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive wastes.

• KSQ Architects has been awarded a contract that is estimated at $12 million to $14 million by the town of New Canaan, Connecticut, for the renovation and expansion of the Town Hall, including the demolition of the auditorium wing of the building and replacing it with a new 20,000-square-foot addition with a smaller auditorium and various administrative offices and meeting rooms. An attached garage will also be razed.

• AVI Professional Corp. has won a $913,500 contract from the Laramie County (Wyoming) School District to design the new Okie Blanchard Stadium complex.

• GTECH has won a 15-year contract with the Indiana lottery, which will include a yet-to-be-determined management fee and a share of the lottery profits, to run the lottery's marketing, sales and distribution services.

• ICF International has been awarded a re-compete contract valued at $15 million by the National Eye Institute to provide communication services to the National Eye Health Education Program, including strategic planning, program development, implementation and evaluation, partnership development, formative research, earned media placements, social media and community-based training and capacity building. The contract has a term of one base year and four option years. 

• The Collage Companies have been awarded a $2.5 million construction contract by the city of DeLand, Florida, to build expanded locker room facilities as part of a $3.235 million expansion of the city's Spec Martin Stadium. The contract also includes expanding the press box.

Mary Scott Nabers (pictured), president and CEO of Strategic Partnerships, Inc., co-founder of the Gemini Global Group and author of Collaboration Nation, will be the guest for an upcoming interview on C-Radio, a live national talk radio show dedicated to business and personal finance news and information. Nabers, one of the nation's leading experts on business opportunities, will be interviewed by host Cynthia Nevels, Visa Practical Money Awards winner, author and entrepreneur. The program's theme will be "Public and Private Collaboration That Work." The interview will air live here at 11:30 a.m. (CST) on Oct. 16.

P3s could play role in bridging Port Authority budget gap

Public-private partnerships (P3s) could play a key role in helping build up the needed cash for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as it nears completion of the $14.8 billion World Trade Center. The agency recently released a report showing that it will have to raise tolls and depend on other innovative solutions such as P3s and advertising to bridge a budget shortfall by raising $150 million per year.

Charged with running the New York metropolitan area's airports, ports, major bridges and tunnels and PATH commuting system, the port authority is looking at $44 billion in expected capital needs and the capital projects planned for 2011-2020 total $26.9 billion. The port authority also is facing the prospect of needed repairs to its aging bridges and tunnels. Port officials say they have made significant changes in their operations since a report called the agency dysfunctional and they are planning millions of dollars in savings.

Port officials want to build two to three hotels for John F. Kennedy International Airport and are studying the possibility of exploring more public-private partnerships for bridges, airports and the World Trade Center.

Public-private partnership to help build Houston cultural center

John Nau III

The campaign to build a $40 million Center for Texas Cultural Heritage in Houston will include a public-private partnership. John Nau III, CEO of Silver Eagle Distributers LP and chairman of the board of the center, has begun the fundraising effort with an $8 million personal gift and will have the center named after him. The Nau Center for Texas Cultural Heritage project also got a boost from a $15 million contribution from Houston First Corp.The facility is expected to include a multi-story, 60,000-square-foot facility.

The facility is being designed by Bailey Architects Inc. in Houston, with groundbreaking slated for late next year. As part of the public-private partnership, Houston First will operate and manage the facility. Officials with Houston First estimate that the center could add $31.4 million in tourism revenue to the local economy, generate $95 million in industry earnings and increase state and local government revenue by $1.8 million, plus creating and supporting local jobs.

Missouri

• The Missouri Real Estate Commission is seeking bids on real estate exam services.
• The Missouri School for the Blind, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is seeking bids for homegoing transportation services.
• The Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Division of State Parks, is seeking bids for trash removal services for the Sam A. Baker State Park.

Ohio

• The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is seeking a contractor to provide the 2013-2014 Wetland Habitat Stamp inserted into a vendor-supplied, printed and numbered envelope and sealed.
• The State of Ohio is seeking bids for a vendor to provide independent quality assurance and independent verification and validation functions for the Integrated Eligibility and HHS Business Intelligence Project.
• The Ohio Department of Health is seeking bids for HIV Care Messenger training.

Delaware 

• The State of Delaware Office of Management and Budget, Government Support Services is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to serve as an Internet Service Provider. Bidders must supply prices for all equipment and unlimited, unmetered Internet Access via the high-speed connection selected by the State of Delaware.
• The Seaford School District is seeking bids for school additions and improvements, including construction of a 48,259-square-foot addition at the front of the building, construction of  2,831-square-foot agriculture science addition, an 8,173-square-foot Culinary Arts addition and various internal building improvements and modifications including a new sprinkler system and demolition and replacement of existing stadium bleachers.

Texas

New Jersey

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 Timothy P. White.

Timothy White

Timothy P. White made his way through all levels of California's education system. He attended Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, earned his bachelor's degree from Cal State Fresno (1970), his master's from the former Cal State Hayward (1972) and a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley (1977). He then spent two years as a post-doctoral scholar in physiology at the University of Michigan before starting his academic career at the Ann Arbor institution in 1978. From 1978 to 1991, White climbed the ladder in the Department of Kinesiology, from associate professor to assistant professor, to professor and then dean. White then moved to the University of California, Berkeley, where he was professor and chair of the Department of Human Biodynamics from 1991 to 1996. His next stop was Oregon State University from 1996-2004, where he was a dean, the provost and executive vice president and had an interim appointment as president. The longtime higher education expert spent four years, from 2004 to 2008, as president of the University of Idaho. He left in 2008 to become the eighth chancellor of UC Riverside. The Board of Trusteesof the University of California system recently announced that White has been chosen as the seventh chancellor of the nation's largest four-year university system with 23 campuses and 427,000 students. He will succeed Charles B. Reed, who is retiring after 14 years as chancellor.

 

Omar Garcia (top left), a vice president at the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, is leaving the post to head up a nonprofit, the South Texas Energy and Economic Roundtable (STEER), that will serve as the public face for some of the largest oil and gas exploration companies working in the Eagle Ford Shale. Eli Avila (top center), Pennsylvania Department of Health secretary and former deputy commissioner of health in Suffolk County, New York, has announced his resignation. Thomas Garcia (top right), superintendent of the Mora Independent School District in New Mexico for the last two and one-half years, has resigned following a no-confidence vote by school employees. Craig Clark, city administrator in Worthington, Minnesota, since 2008, has been selected to become the next West St. Paul city manager. The Marysville, California, City Council has hired former Palm Beach County, Florida, Director of Financial Management Walter Munchheimer to replace City Manager Steve Casey. The University of Maryland University College, the nation's largest online-focused public university, has named Javier Miyares, a member of the university's management team for 10 years and the acting president since February, as its president, replacing Susan Aldridge, who stepped down. John Ewald (middle right), former principal of College Gardens Elementary School in Rockville, Delaware, has been chosen the new superintendent of the Laurel School District. Officer Kelley McKethan (middle center) of the Bryan, Texas, Police Department, has been named public information officer for the department, replacing outgoing PIO Jon Agnew. Mark Kvamme (middle left), president and interim chief investment officer of JobsOhio, is leaving his state management job to return to the private sector, with John Minor, a managing director, named as his replacement. Phyllis Vroom, former professor of social work, dean, acting provost and acting president of Wayne State University, has been chosen as WSU deputy president to support the remaining eight months of President Allan Gilmour's contract. Oklahoma Ethics Commission Executive Director Marilyn Hughes has announced her retirement after 25 years in the post, effective Dec. 1. Ellis, Kansas, police officer Taft Yates has been named chief of the police department, replacing Randy Taylor, who is leaving to become chief of police in Clarkdale, Arizona. Stephanie Douglas (bottom left), former special agent in charge of the San Francisco Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has been named executive assistant director of the FBI's National Security Branch, succeeding Mark Giuliano, who has been named special agent in charge of the Atlanta Division. Richard Rosell (bottom center), who had a 27-year career as a New Jersey state trooper and was Springfield's public safety director for two years, has been named Dover's new public safety director. New Mexico State University President Barbara Couture (bottom right) has resigned her post and accepted a position as senior adviser for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. The board of the Massachusetts Port Authority has confirmed Thomas Glynn, former general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and former CEO of the state's largest network of teaching hospitals, as the new chief executive of the agency that oversees Logan International Airport. Michael Q. Roth, assistant superintendent for educational programs in the Nazareth Area School District, has been chosen as the next superintendent of the Salisbury, Pennsylvania, Township schools. Ray Coward, provost of Utah State University, has announced he will retire next year, with Noelle Cockett, vice president for extension, named to succeed him.