Public parks are important to every community and officials in large cities are finding innovative ways to fund them in spite of reductions in municipal budgets. Parks are listed high on any community's slate of local attractions. They enhance community life, improve public health, benefit children and attract visitors who stimulate the local economy. Declining budgets and competition for public funds, however, have left departments responsible for parks and public recreation without funding in most cities.

Public private partnerships (P3s) have become common types of engagements as public officials seek ways to save their parks. The P3 model provides a way for cities, especially larger cities, to develop, manage and maintain parks efficiently and successfully. The P3 engagements also commonly provide revenue back to the cities. 

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SAFE Bridges Act would use formula for dispensing funds to states

Help could be on the way for the nation's deteriorating bridges. Estimates are that more than 150,000 bridges across the country either are at or are nearing the end of their life expectancy. To combat problems with bridge deterioration, U.S. Rep Nick J. Rahall (pictured) has filed legislation to help reduce the backlog of bridge projects that need upgrades or rehabilitation.

Rahall's bill, the Strengthen and Fortify Existing Bridges (SAFE Bridges) Act, provides funding dedicated to the state to reduce that backlog. Rahall called the recent collapse of the I-5 Bridge in Washington State as a motivator for filing the legislation. That incident occurred when a large truck clipped part of the bridge, causing part of it to collapse and sending cars tumbling off the bridge into the river below. "The bridge that gave way was just one of thousands across the country that have exceeded their life expectancy and are in need of replacement," said Rahall. He said his legislation would give states the resources they need to start to reduce the number of aging bridges that pose a threat to the motoring public.

The bill would provide for the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to distribute funds among the states using a needs-based formula based on the number of deficient bridges in the state. These funds would be in addition to the federal highway program funding states already receive.

USDOT reports there are more than 66,700 structurally deficient and more than 84,700 functionally obsolete bridges in this country. Structurally deficient does not mean the bridges are in danger of collapsing, only that they require substantial upgrades and maintenance. Many of the nation's bridges are 50 years old and older. In fact, the average age of structurally deficient bridges in the United States is 65 years old. The Federal Highway Administration estimates repairs to those bridges would cost $76 billion.

City of New Orleans updates contracting program

Goal is to ensure that 35 percent of contracts go to small business owners 

The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program in New Orleans is getting new life. But, Mayor Mitch Landrieu (picturd), when he took office in 2010, attempted to turn the program around. The City Council recently approved changes to the DBE program that Landrieu says will "make sure that everybody who does business with the city of New Orleans is in compliance."

The program affects mostly disadvantaged companies, most of which are owned by women or minorities. Although the DBE program existed, it was not very effective in its efforts to ensure these businesses won government contracts. Program participation was not monitored, there were no records or data and there was a two-year backlog of companies waiting for certification.

The new policies are aimed at strengthening compliance rules and expanding the program's outreach. The city will now require greater scrutiny of public contracts and oversight to ensure developers are following DBE hiring regulations. And, if the lowest bidder on a project has not met the DBE requirements in its bid, a determination will be made if there was a good faith effort to ensure disadvantaged businesses were sought and hired. Contractors that fail to abide by the DBE requirements can be penalized.

The program is designed to include specific projects under the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority and to make a concerted attempt to guarantee that at least 35 percent of the city's contracts go to small businesses.

The Government Contracting Pipeline will be on vacation the week of July 1-5. There will be no edition on Wednesday, July 3. We will resume our regular Wednesday publication dates on July 10.

The offices of Strategic Partnerships will be closed on Thursday, July 4, in observance of the Independence Day holiday. We will reopen at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, July 5. Have a safe and happy Fourth of July.

Bid was $1.2 million lower than bid from Louisiana State University

A Texas firm has been awarded a contract for telemedicine services for prisoners in Louisiana, taking the contract away from the Louisiana State University health system. The move is part of Gov. Bobby Jindal's efforts to privatize university-run hospitals and clinics, including LSU's provision of health care services for prisoners.

Providing health care services via videoconferencing helps save money as well as decreasing the need for additional security in moving prisoners between health care facilities and jails. The Texas firm, US Telehealth, was chosen because its bid was $1.2 million lower than the LSU bid and was the cheapest of the five bids submitted.

"This was a competitive process," said Thomas Bickham (pictured), undersecretary of the Department of Corrections. "We've been given $50 million, and we're trying to act responsibly with it," Bickham said. "And if we can get the same level of service - if not more service - for a better price, I think it's our responsibility to do that."

Jindal wants to privatize operations for nine of the 10 LSU hospitals that care for the uninsured. One hospital privatization has been completed, with four others set to be completed yesterday.

School district in Kansas planning to build new high school

Officials of the Wichita, Kansas, school district are planning to build a new $54 million high school. The facility will be close to the current high school and is expected to be ready to be occupied by 2015. The new school will be paid for from 2008 bond funds. That bond election was to renovate the old school and build a new one. However, because state aid has been declining, school officials said they could not afford to operate two schools. Instead, the old high school will be converted for administrative offices and possibly for programs from Wichita Area Technical College.

University of Michigan planning renovations to classroom buildings

The University of Michigan is planning $10.1 million in renovations to two classroom buildings. Offices in East Hall will be converted into a research lab and support services for the psychology department's biopsychology and neuroscience programs. The cost of that transformation is expected to be $4.6 million. Additionally, the university plans a $5.5 million renovation to 21,800 square feet of West Hall. Once completed, the university's astronomy department will move from its current home in the Dennison Building to the newly renovated West Hall. The two projects are expected to be completed sometime next year.

Austin Community College eyeing $500 million bond election

An Austin (Texas) Community College (ACC) bond committee recently recommended seeking voter approval of almost $500 million in bonds to pay for 11 capital improvement projects to expand and improve campuses. Projects recommended by committee members include completing the second phase of construction at the Highland Mall campus by adding a health science/STEM laboratory, a workforce center and incubator space; developing a new campus in Leander; expanding Round Rock, Elgin and Hays campuses; and improving the campuses at Rio Grande and Riverside. Committee members also urged adding funding to the bond proposal to buy more land for further expansion. ACC trustees are expected to decide in late August whether to schedule a bond election in November and the projects to include in the bond proposal.

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Arizona city to use grant toward wastewater collection system

A $3.96 million grant will be used by the city of Sierra Vista, Arizona, toward development of a wastewater collection system that serves a 38-acre subdivision in the city. The funding is provided by the Environmental Protection Agency through the Border Environmental Infrastructure Fund, administered by the North American Development Bank based in San Antonio, Texas. Included in the project is the installation of 9,700 feet of gravity sewer lines and 154 residential sewer connections.

Virginia to invest $2.3B in bridges over next six years

Over the next six years, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) plans to spend some $2.3 billion to upgrade the state's bridges. "This isn't just about infrastructure. This is about ensuring the public safety," said Transportation Secretary Sean T. Connaughton (pictured). Connaughton said the state is spending an additional $564 million on bridge reconstruction and rehabilitation. The state is seeking to improve bridges so that the percentage of structurally deficient bridges in the state remains at less than 8 percent of its nearly 21,000 bridges and culverts. The current percentage rated structurally deficient is about 7.5 percent. The funding is part of the state's $17.6 billion allocation for transportation programs that begin this year and extend through June 2019. It is a six-year program and is $6.2 billion larger than last year's plan.

Check out these recent awards:

• PC Construction Co. is in line to receive a $25.6 million contract from the City of Raleigh for Phase 3 expansion of the Neuse River wastewater treatment plant.

• Maximus has won a $36 million contract from the state of Maryland to run its Maryland Health Benefit Exchange's consolidated service center, which incorporates a call center, fulfillment and command center services. The contract took effect June 3 and runs through 2017.

• M.E. Collins Contracting Co. was awarded a contract for $554,920 by the city of Wahoo, Nevada, for the 23rd Street Project, which includes building a street to connect the north end of Locust Street near Wahoo High School to North Chestnut Street.      

• Waisman Construction Inc. was awarded a nearly $1.7 million construction contract by the city of Thousand Oaks, California, plus a contingency of $167,300 for unanticipated expenses, for a renovation of the lobby at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza's Fred Kavli Theatre.

• Honeywell Technology Solutions was awarded a contract worth up to $14.2 million from the Navy for technical and analytical support services.

• Schindler Elevator won a contract for $1.2 million from the city of Amaraillo for the replacement of four escalators at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport.

• Automotive Resources won a contract from the General Services Administration worth up to $69.1 million for construction and building materials.

• Plote Construction, Inc. was the low bidder on two contracts of $73 million with the Illinois tollway for reconstruction and widening of westbound lanes of the Addams west of the Elgin toll plaza.

• Bayfirst Solutions was awarded a contract worth up to $2 million from the Department of Homeland Security for professional, administrative and management support services.

• Apple has been awarded a $30 million contract from the Los Angeles Unified School District to provide every student with an iPad.

• Bell Techlogix won a $318,940.80 contract from the Harford County (Maryland) Board of Education for the annual license renewal of Microsoft products, via the school system's participation in the Maryland Education Enterprise Consortium.

Another LSU hospital privatization contract issued to private firm

Privatization of yet another Louisiana State University hospital, this one in Bogalusa, was recently completed following action of the university's Board of Supervisors. Already operating four private hospitals in Louisiana, the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System will take control of LSU's Bogalusa Medical Center, which treats the indigent and uninsured and trains medical students. Bob Burgess (pictured), who will be in charge of the Bogalusa hospital operations, said adding the LSU hospital is an extension of the system's mission. The agreement is for 10 years, but there was little revealed about what services will be continued. This deal brings to eight the number of LSU hospitals that have been subject to privatization deals, thanks to the urging of Gov. Bobby Jindal. LSU board members see the privatization as a continued service to indigents and the uninsured, but will do so with a reduction of state and federal funding. Many believe the result will be better patient care and more efficiencies. The state will get a $5 million pre-payment toward its lease for the current fiscal year and a $5.2 million lease fee made every year of the contract. All of the hospital's employees will be laid off, but can reapply for their jobs.

 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 Col. Keith D. Squires.

Col. Keith D. Squires (pictured) earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice administration from Columbia College of Missouri and is master's degree in homeland security and defense from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. He also is a graduate of the FBI National Academy. Squires joined the Utah Highway Patrol in 1989 after having worked three years in law enforcement. He was an assistant superintendent of the Highway Patrol, director of the Utah State Bureau of Investigation and deputy director of the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. He worked his way up the ladder in the Highway Patrol, serving as a trooper, sergeant, lieutenant and captain. While serving as deputy commissioner of the department, Squires had oversight of the director of the State Bureau of Investigation, State Crime Lab, Statewide Information and Analysis Center, Division of Emergency Management and the Driver License Division. He established a Utah DPS Cyber Crimes Law Enforcement Unit in 2012, establishing a nationwide network of the state law enforcement agencies to investigate domestic cyber-crimes. Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert recently named Squires the Commissioner of Public Safety. He will replace retiring Commissioner Lance Davenport. In his previous role as deputy commissioner, the longtime law enforcement veteran assisted in the oversight of more than 1,500 Department of Public Safety employees and an agency with a budget of $190 million. Squires will take over his new post on July 1.

Missouri Southern University President Bruce Speck (top left), who has served the university in that capacity since 2008, has been removed from office by the Board of Governors, who gave no reason for the termination. Former Bastrop County, Texas, Judge Ronnie McDonald (top center) has been named executive director for Texas A&M AgriLife's community relations and strategic partnerships, where he will also serve as the executive director of the Texas Rural Leadership Program, Inc. and provide leadership as an ex-officio member of the board of directors. John Morton (top right), director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency since 2009, has announced that he will step down at the end of July to go to the private sector after heading the agency for four years.The Boston Department of Conservation and Recreation, which oversees state-owned parks and natural resource conservation, has named Jack Murray, who has been deputy commissioner, as the new director, succeeding Ed Lambert, who is leaving to become the University of Massachusetts Boston's vice chancellor of governmental relations and public affairs. Salem, New York, schools superintendent Kerri Zappala-Piemme is leaving that post to join State University of New York Plattsburgh's Educational Leadership Program, a graduate program that prepares students to become educational leaders. Robert W. Hall, Huntington Beach's current assistant city manager, will begin his new position as city manager in Fountain Valley, California, in August, taking over for Raymond Kromer, who retired in December. Jane Oates (middle right), who last month left a top post at the U.S. Department of Labor, has begun her new job vice president for external affairs, with a focus on workforce development, with the Apollo Group, the parent company of the University of Phoenix. The Cobre Consolidated School District in New Mexico has named Texas educator Robert Mendoza (middle center), former assistant superintendent in the Clint School District in El Paso, as its new superintendent, replacing interim superintendent George Peru. University of South Florida medical school dean Stephen Klasko (middle left) is leaving to become president of Philadelphia-based Thomas Jefferson University and president and chief executive of the university-affiliated hospital system. Mark Scott, current city manager in Fresno, California, and former city manager in Beverly Hills, Culver City and Spartanburg, South Carolina, has been tapped to become city manager in Burbank. Butler Community College in Kansas has selected Kimberly Krull, Cloud County Community College Vice President for Academic Affairs, as its president, succeeding former president Jackie Vietti, who retired in December. Kelle M. Maslyn, corporate affairs manager at Comcast of Arizona, Inc. in Tucson for the last 10 years, has been named director of community relations in Arizona State University's Tucson office. After an extensive search which included more than 45 candidates, the Orange City (Ohio) School District has hired Dr. Edwin S. Holland (bottom left), former superintendent of the Cuyahoga Heights School District, as its new superintendent, replacing Dr. Nancy Wingenbach, who is retiring at the end of July. The Rye City School District in New York has announced its appointment of Gabriella O'Connor (bottom center), Assistant Business Manager in the Central Administration Building since 2011, as Assistant Superintendent for Business and Dr. Betty Ann Wyks (bottom right), superintendent of the Riverdale Public School District in New Jersey,as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. After a national search, the City of Olivette, Missouri, has hired Barbara Sondag as city manager, effective July 29. The New York State Senate has confirmed Thomas F. Prendergast, former interim executive director who also supervised the Island's MTA bus service and the Staten Island Railway, to serve as chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The superintendent of Elba City, Alabama, Schools Rick Rainer has submitted his resignation to become the new principal at Auburn High School.