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California, Texas, New York facing highest cost for projects for next 20 years

Bob Perciasepe

Providing safe drinking water for America's 297 million residents will require a national investment of more than $384 billion over the next 20 years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A recent survey showed that California tops the charts in costs associated with repairing aging water systems over the next two decades. California costs would top $44.5 billion. Texas ranks second only to California with $33.8 billion in infrastructure needs, followed by New York, which ranks third nationwide with infrastructure upgrade needs of $22 billion.

 

The figures represent the state's needs in transmission and distribution needs and water source, treatment, storage and other water needs. EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe noted, "The nation's water systems have entered a rehabilitation and replacement era in which much of the existing infrastructure has reached or is approaching the end of its useful life."

 

The survey identifies investments needed over the next 20 years for thousands of miles of pipes and thousands of treatment plants, billions of gallons of storage tanks and water distribution systems. It is required to be submitted to Congress every four years. The results of the survey are used to assist EPA in distributing grant funds to the states from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. These funds help states provide low-cost financing to public water systems for infrastructure improvements necessary to protect public health and comply with drinking water regulations.

 

Nationally, the EPA survey shows it would take $247.5 billion to replace or refurbish aging or deteriorating water lines, another $72.5 billion to construct, expand or rehabilitate water treatment infrastructure and $39.5 billion to construct, rehabilitate or cover finished water storage reservoirs.

Bulk of funding would be allocated for highway, bridge projects in state

John Rafferty

Aging bridges and deteriorating roadways in Pennsylvania will benefit from a $2.5 billion transportation funding bill recently passed by the Pennsylvania Senate. The bill is now headed to the House. The Senate bill is up considerably over the proposed $1.8 billion plan supported by Gov. Tom Corbett.

The bill that passed out of the Senate, authored by Transportation Committee Chair John Rafferty, calls for increases in both driver's license and vehicle registration fees. It also adds a surcharge on motorists who violate certain traffic laws. It also lifts the cap on the oil franchise tax as a means of increasing revenue and reducing the tax per gallon at the pump by two cents per gallon.

"There will be no new additions to transportation in Pennsylvania, just maintenance," said Rafferty as reason for passing the funding bill. He said the projects that will be funded if the bill passes will also create jobs for many workers throughout the state. The bill would provide close to $1.9 billion per year for highways and bridges. Another $500 million would go to mass transit and $115 million would be allocated to be shared by airports, ports, rail freight and walking and biking routes.

UMass-Amherst will use grant funds for new research facility

A $95 million state grant will be used by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst to construct and equip a new life sciences research facility. The facility is expected to cost $157 million and will house three research centers that will work with private-sector companies to develop new products. The grant funds were announced by the governor and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. The center was created in 2008 and was expected to be the recipient of a $1 billion capital investment over a period of 10 years. The announcement also included the appropriation of a $5.5 million grant to the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute, which is a joint venture of the Baystate Medical Center in Springfield and UMass.  

Connecticut Legislature approves UConn construction funding 

Susan Herbst

One of the largest single investments by the state in the University of Connecticut has the university destined to become one of the world's most elite research universities. The legislature gave final approval of a $1.5 billion construction component that will lead to the construction of new scientific labs, advance equipment purchases and the addition of new classroom space and housing additions. "In an era of lagging state support for public higher education throughout the nation, Connecticut is going in the opposite direction by making extraordinary investments in its research university," said UConn President Susan Herbst. She called the legislature's investment in the university "incredibly bold, far-sighted and virtually unheard of" given the current economic climate throughout the country. She called the investment "transformational" for UConn. The investment is expected also to bring additional research staff to the university and will likely bring in more than $270 million in new research dollars over 10 years. That will be transformed to more than half a billion dollars in local business activity, translating to more than 4,000 permanent jobs and 30,000 construction jobs. Included in the initiative is the relocation of the Greater Hartford campus to a new downtown site and the investment of $15 million in the Avery Point campus to modernize classrooms and lab facilities and to address changes to the dock area and waterfront operations.

 
California schools to benefit from $520 million for construction
Ninety-two California school districts will benefit from $520 million that has been allocated for new construction, rehabilitation, modernization and overcrowding relief. Funding comes from bonds approved by state voters. Many of the projects are shovel ready and had to include matching funds and contracts in place already for at least 50 percent of the construction. Some examples include: Oakland Unified district in Alameda County - more than $14 million for new construction; Antioch Unified school district in Contra Costa County - more than $99,000 for rehabilitation projects;  Kern High School in Kern County - more than $9 million for modernization projects; Wiseburn Elementary in Los Angeles County - more than $1.5 million for new construction; San Bernadino City Unified in San Bernadino County - more than $3.1 million for overcrowding relief; and Carlsbad Unified school district in San Diego County - more than $27.2 million for new construction. A complete listing of the funding allocations is available.

University of North Florida planning construction of new Olympic-sized pool 

John Delaney

Facing $3 million in repairs for the current Andy Sears Pool in the UNF Aquatic Center, the University of North Florida instead has decided to build a new pool on campus. The facility will feature an Olympic-size, NCAA-regulation pool. It also will include a diving well. The new complex, like the old one, will be shared by both athletics at the university and by the recreation department, which serves student-athletes and the campus. The existing facility will be closed at the end of the women's swimming and diving season in March of the 2013-14 school term. It will be converted into basketball courts that will be used for recreational purposes. While the new facility is being designed and built, UNF athletes who use the facility will train and compete at a local high school facility. UNF President John Delaney said there may be some short-term inconvenience for students and athletes while the new pool and facility are being built, but added, "It's the best long-term solution for replacing the 26-year-old facility." University officials pointed out that there are approximately 30 public pools throughout the city of Jacksonville that can be used by the community while the new pool is under construction. There is also a YMCA organization and the Beaches Aquatic Center also is available for use.

Bidding starts in January for Massachusetts school construction
Voters in North Adams, Massachusetts, recently approved a $29.7 million bond issue that will lead to renovation of Conte School. Bidding for the project is expected to begin in January 2014. If the current schedule is followed, the project could be completed by September 2015. Of the $29.7 million bond, the school district will be reimbursed $23.2 million by the Massaachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). The project manager said there will be an "extremely aggressive" construction schedule to get the school completed on time. The architect said the next few weeks will be spent meeting with school staff and city department heads to begin finalizing plans for the design. Each design must be approved before being submitted to the MSBA. The design phase is expected to take about eight months, ending next January. At each phase of the approval of designs, including developmental state, 60 percent design completion and 90 percent design completion, the plans will be sent to two cost estimators. Beginning in September, to meet the requirement of the state to have prequalified bids on projects of more than $10 million, the prequalification process will begin. Bidding will begin in January and it is hoped that the bidding process will be completed by March 1, with a groundbreaking to follow.

 

City in Kansas gets $1.2M grant to rehabilitate train depot

Currently serving Amtrak passenger trains, a 1950s depot in Lawrence, Kansas, is in line for major rehabilitation after receiving a $1.2 million federal grant. The grant is expected to cover 80 percent of the cost of renovating the Santa Fed depot that serves the twice-daily Amtrak Southwest Chief. The depot already has undergone upgrades to its boarding platform, thanks to $1.5 million in funding from Amtrak to make the platform ADA-compliant. This additional $1.5 million, awarded by the Kansas Department of Transportation, will further the rehabilitation.

County in Ohio to issue $5.5M in bonds for new ER facility

Residents of Meigs County in Ohio will soon see construction of a new emergency room facility in Pomeroy. County commissioners recently approved issuing $5.5 million in industrial development revenue bonds to finance the acquisition, construction and equipping of an ER facility. The project includes a 13,000-square-foot building that will house a free-standing emergency department on a seven-acre plot of land. It will be located near the new Family Healthcare Facility and the future Meigs County Emergency Operations Center. The bonds for the project will be paid by the Meigs County Community Improvement Corporation, which would own the property. The facility is needed in the community because it has been without an emergency health care facility since the local hospital closed in 2002.

Anchorage looking for project management team for port expansion 

George Vakalis

Officials in Anchorage are trying to get the Port of Anchorage expansion project back on track. They are drafting a Request for Proposals for a project management team to oversee the stalled project. "All along we've planned to go ahead and hire a third party to help us with project management and all the other areas associated with the (port) construction project," said George Vakalis, municipal manager. Last August, state and federal funding totaling $439 million was allocated for the port project. The port project has been interrupted since 2010 following problems with installation of sheet pile support structure. The U.S. Maritime Administration has been in charge of the project since its inception on behalf of the city. A lawsuit followed in March against the former port project manager and design consultant and the engineering company that designed the sheet pile.  A resolution in support of hiring of an outside port construction management team was introduced at the May 21 general Assembly meeting. The Assembly will cast the deciding vote on the hiring of a project manager after a candidate is chosen.

Kansas municipal airport in line for major rehabilitation
The Liberal Municipal Airport in Seward County, Kansas, is going to get some sprucing up. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently announced grant funding that will help the city pay for planned rehabilitation carrying a price tag of $4.4 million. The FAA will pay for 95 percent of the costs, with the city paying its share from the remainder of its revenue from a one-cent city sales tax. The city's share of the funding will be about $200,000.  Bids for the projects are expected to go out in February of next year. The FAA funding will fund projects that are part of the 10-year airport capital improvement list presented by the city to the FAA earlier this year. The funds will be used to rehabilitate parallel Taxiway A and Taxiway C. Airport officials said the runway will be taken down to its bases and started again from scratch. If bids go out as planned in February, the work could be completed late next year. The design and bid process will begin first and once the bids are received and approved, the FAA will make an offer of the grant, which will be required before the commission can approve bids and accept the grant.

Wastewater treatment plant improvements approved for Ohio county 

Brant Luther

Commissioners in Stark County, Ohio, have approved $88.6 million in improvements to the local wastewater treatment plan. The project will be the largest in the history of the county. The plant, located in Canton, will get upgrades required by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Based on usage by population, the county will pay 47 percent of the costs, or $41.6 million. The city of Canton will pay for a little over 50 percent of the costs of the upgrades and North Canton will pay for 2.51 percent. Stark County Administrator Brant Luther said the project not only will serve the needs of its customers, but will also create new jobs. County officials said project agreement was reached after countless hours of labor by the sanitary engineer and work sessions that involved the commissioners. One commissioner noted that there also needs to be some talk about water bill rate increases. He cited this project as well as upcoming projects in the city of Massillon that will cost the county about $9.5 million and $1 million for upgrades for the upper Tuscarawas treatment plant, as having the county paying about $61 million in improvements for water treatment.

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Skidmore College seeking solar panel display installation

Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, is seeking the installation of 7,000 solar panels to help provide power for the college. The solar farm would be located on college land and would be expected to produce approximately 12 percent of the energy needs of the Saratoga Springs campus. The land is located in Greenfield, so it will require approval by that city as well. Part of the project would be funded from a $2.35 million state grant. It would be operated by a developer that would sell the electricity generated to the college.   

University of Iowa seeks P3 for home for school's art collection 

Doug True

After flooding of the University of Iowa's Museum of Art building during the flood of 2008, university officials have given the go-ahead to seek a public-private partnership to find a new home for the university's $500 million art collection. Both the lower level mechanical and electrical systems suffered damage during the flood. Because the facility cannot be insured while it sits in the floodplain, a new location is being sought. In the meantime, the university has approved $2.5 million in repairs to the former museum building, including repairing or replacing some of the mechanical and electrical systems and replacing doors and drywall. Since the flood, the university's art collection has been housed in the Figge Museum in Davenport. A technicality kept the university from qualifying for a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) appropriation. University Senior Vice President and University Treasurer Doug True said the new museum will be funded with a combination of university funds and donations. However, he added that a public-private partnership could mean private-sector funding initially with the investor recouping its investment once the facility is complete. He said a P3 partner might also build a museum on land not owned by the university. True said it is not yet known if a new facility would be built or the museum housed in an existing facility. True said the university is seeking public input to get the "best thinking from anybody and everybody in the community about how to do this." If a P3 agreement is in the future for the university, it will be the second for UI. The first was with a Dallas company to build new student apartments.

Gary/Chicago International Airport moving forward with project
A joint city/airport committee wants to make it clear - it is not seeking to privatize the Gary/Chicago International Airport. But, it is seeking potential investment groups for a public-private partnership. Officials are hoping to develop a P3 model which retains public ownership of the airport and benefits from private-sector innovation and access to capital. The committee recently released a document seeking private sector expressions of interest and qualifications. The document is anticipated to test the market to see the level of interest and also solicit recommendations from would-be partners regarding the airport.  It asks potential partners about their previous successes and asks questions to potential investors such as what services could they provide and what are expected outcomes. It also asks how their recommendations would affect current employees and what steps the investor would take to ensure the employment of local residents, minorities, women and veterans. A proposed agreement is expected to be reached by September. A $166 million runway extension is under way. Officials see the airport and its surrounding area as providing a wealth of investment opportunities connected to Chicago's transportation network, including the Gary/Chicago International Airport. Officials are seeking a partner with recommendations regarding the investment potential of the airport, the city of Gary and that region of the state.

Parking experts provide process presentation

(To view these stories, click here and look under "National News.")

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 Michele Robinson.

Michele Robinson

Michele Robinson earned a Bachelor of Science degree in information systems from the University of San Francisco. She also earned several professional credentials including Certified Information Systems Security Professional, Certified Information Security Management, Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States and Certified Information Privacy Professional/Information Technology. She has served as the Chief Information Security Officer and Privacy Officer for the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, where she was responsible for oversight of the board's compliance with privacy and information security laws, policies and procedures and implementation of its Risk Management and Information Security Awareness programs. Robinson joined California's Office of Information Security (OIS) in 2007. From 2007 to 2010, Robinson served as Assistant Chief Information Security Officer and managed the statewide enterprise incident management program and developed several significant policy initiatives. Robinson served as deputy chief information security officer from 2010 to 2013, managing daily operations and the statewide information security program. In February, she was named acting director following the departure of Keith Tresh. In that position, she served as the liaison to federal, state and local government on cybersecurity policies and issues. On May 30, Robinson was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown as the director of OIS within the California Technology Agency.

Jennifer Pahlka (top left), founder of Code for America, is joining the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as deputy chief technology officer for government innovation under federal CTO Todd Park. Elaine Mays (top center), who served one year with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and 20 years with the Texas Department of Public Safety in a variety of IT roles, has been named chief information officer for the Texas Juvenile Justice department.Tom Stinson (top right), the Minnesota state economist whose budget forecasts have shaped tax and spending decisions at the state Capitol for nearly three decades, announced Monday he is retiring after 26 years on the job. Heather Hudson, who spent the last two years as the IT project manager in Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's Office of Information Technology, has been named Baltimore's first chief data officer. Freeport, Texas, City Council has appointed Interim Police Chief Dan Pennington, who has served in that position since January after a 28-year law enforcement career that includes having been a Pasadena police lieutenant, to the position of chief. Dan Tangherlini, who has been acting Administrator of the General Services Administration for more than a year and was assistant secretary for management and CFO at the Treasury Department, was nominated for the position full-time by President Barack Obama. Veronda Durden (middle right), an assistant commissioner at the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, has been chosen by Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner Kyle Janek to serve as commissioner of the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, replacing Commissioner Debra Wanser, who recently announced her retirement. Ohio State University President Gordon Gee (middle center) has announced he will retire on July 1, and Executive Vice President and Provost Joseph A. Alutto will serve as interim president. Rhonda Fleming (middle left), deputy assistant director of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Equal Employment Opportunity Office, has been promoted to Inspector General of the DPS, becoming the first female commissioned DPS officer to serve at this level of leadership in the Department. After 14 years of service, Community College of Philadelphia President Stephen M. Curtis will depart the university and the presidency in September. Palo Alto Police Department's leading technology expert, Charles Cullen, who has been serving as the department's technical services director since 2008, has been tapped by Gov. Jerry Brown to serve on the California State 9-1-1 Advisory Board, charged with improving California's emergency communications. College Station, Texas, Fire Chief R.B. Alley, who has headed the department since 2005 and started his career as a volunteer firefighter in 1973, has announced his retirement. After seven years as North Dakota's CIO, Lisa Feldner (bottom left) has stepped down to work with the state's University System as the vice counselor of IT and institutional research and will be replaced by Deputy CIO Mike Ressler, who will take an interim CIO position. Dr. Mel Kohn (bottom center), director of Oregon's Public Health Division, is resigning Aug. 1 after 14 years in the department, five at the helm, but will then become senior adviser to Dr. Bruce Goldberg, director of the Oregon Health Authority, to help smooth the transition to new leadership. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has named Debbie Cragun (bottom right) to head the state Human Resource Management Department, replacing former executive director Jeff Herring, who has accepted a position at the University of Utah. Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie has announced that he will step down at the end of next year rather than seek to be re-elected. Alfonso "Al" Flores Jr., a member of the New Mexico State University Facilities and Services team since October 2012, is the new director of facilities maintenance at the university. Dr. Ember Conley, Deputy Superintendent of the Maricopa Unified School District in Maricopa, Arizona, has been unanimously selected as the new superintendent of the Park City (Utah) School District, effective July 1.

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