Not all municipal services are attractive. Some are critical in nature, but not a good topic of conversation. Municipal waste disposal and the operation of solid waste landfills are services that fall into this category.

According to a recent study conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), municipal solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions caused by humans in the United States. In fact, landfills account for roughly 17 percent of the emissions that cause unpleasant odors, smog and pollution.

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California entities to get $487 million for 82 projects throughout state

Projects representing improved transportation, safety and mobility throughout California have been approved for funding by the California Transportation Commission. A total of 82 projects will share $487 million for construction projects. "These construction projects put people to work and improve the quality of life for millions of Californians," said Transportation Agency Secretary Brian Kelly (left).

Malcolm Dougherty (right), Caltrans director, said the state is investing in transportation infrastructure to "support regional job growth and improve the state's mobility for years to come."

The funding includes $169 million from Proposition 1B, a voter-approved transportation bond from seven years ago. The remaining $318 million includes money from other state and federal transportation accounts. Some of the projects funded include the following:

• Sonoma County - $10.578 million to replace the Laguna de Santa Rossa bridge.
• Los Angeles County - $1.928 million to upgrade a weigh station at the Castaic Truck Inspection Facility. The project includes replacing signs, closed circuit TV, public address system, electrical equipment, weight and height gauge equipment, signal lights, parking lights and a computer room cooling system. The funds also will provide for upgrades to plumbing, roof replacement, replacement of damaged concrete driveway and apron slabs and reconstruction of asphalt shoulders.
• Riverside County - $4.389 million to replace a bridge at Salton Creek.
• Shasta County - $27 million to rehabilitate 22.1 lane miles of roadway near Bella Vista.
• Fresno County - $7 million to repair electrical systems damaged by theft and vandalism to restore traffic operations including highway lighting, traffic signals, pumping plants and irrigation.
• City of Sacramento - $6.963 million to construct a bike and pedestrian overcrossing over the railroad tracks at Sacramento City College.
• Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority - $40 million to extend Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) from Warm Springs to Berryessa.

To view the complete list of projects, the amount allocated to each and a brief description of projects, click here.

Oregon may take on I-5 bridge replacement alone over Columbia River

New life has been breathed into the project to replace the Interstate 5 bridge over the Columbia River in Portland. What was just a couple of weeks ago a two-state project has now emerged as a one-state project, which is likely to be undertaken by the state of Oregon.

The original cost of the project was set at $3.4 billion, but when the Washington Legislature failed to fund its $450 million share of the project, it was thought to be dead. However, officials now are trying to keep the project alive by proposing a smaller price tag for the project - at $2.75 billion.

Instead of sharing the costs, the state of Oregon would be solely responsible for all the risks, including any cost overruns of funding shortages. But, the project is further complicated by the fact that it must have funding appropriated by the Oregon Legislature by Sept. 30, when the state's $450 million commitment expires if it is not matched by Washington state.

Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler (pictured) said the project involving only Oregon "raises some new and complex questions that would need to be carefully considered because it implies that there will be a higher level of financial risk for Oregon taxpayers."

Kansas Unified School District officials studying $90 million bond issue

Security improvements and technology upgrades are at the heart of a $90 million school bond issue being studied by the Topeka (Kansas) Unified School District 501. The project also would include construction of a new elementary school and addition of FEMA-standard storm shelters at various buildings. Other security measures would include panic buttons, bulletproof window film and other items. Deputy Superintendent Larry Robbins (pictured) said the district has a very high bond rating and the projects could be completed without raising local taxes. Robbins said additional safety projects include improved camera systems and exterior lighting, key-card access and fencing. The shelters will be built to standards to withstand tornadoes. Regarding technology upgrades, $26 million of the bonds would be used to purchase more laptops and tables, expand bandwidth and replace older devices. The new school would be a pre-K through eighth grade campus. If a bond issue is approved, it could be held as early as next April.  

State Bond Commission approves two new schools being built in Louisiana

New schools in both New Orleans and Lake Charles have been approved by the State Bond Commission. The commission oversees government borrowing for public projects. The commission recently approved $145 million in bonds for state construction programs, including equipment upgrades and renovations at the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Centers in East Baton Rouge and Tangipahoa parishes. Bonding approval was given for a project of the Orleans Parish School Board and Recovery School District for $18 million. The funds will be used to lease property and build an elementary school, which would likely open in 2015. The Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy Foundation was approved for an amount not to exceed $20 million for construction of a new 60,000-square-foot, 43-classroom school building in Lake Charles.

Budget surplus means additional funding for Virginia water projects

A budget surplus has allowed the Commonwealth of Virginia to invest an additional $31 million in the Water Quality Improvement Fund (WQIF). In addition to that funding, the General Assembly supported the $221 million water quality bond that will help fund wastewater treatment plants throughout the state, combined sewer overflows, a drinking water facility and an urban storm water investment program. The bond includes $101 million for projects in about 30 entities across the state for wastewater treatment and $35 million for a new storm water grant program for local entities. Among the projects to be funded are $30 million for the city of Lynchburg and $45 million for the city of Richmond for their Combined Sewer Overflow facilities. The Appomattox River Water Authority will get $5 million for upgrades and the Hopewell Wastewater Treatment Authority will also receive $5 million for upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant.

O'Malley announces $810 million allocated for Maryland transportation projects

About $810 million in state aid has been announced by Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (pictured) for transportation projects in Montgomery County and on the Eastern Shore. Among the $650 million in projects funded in Montgomery County are $125 million to construct a new interchange along I-270 at Watkins Mill Road; $25 million to build a relocated MD 97 around the Town of Brookeville; $280 million to complete right-of-way acquisition and final design for the Purple Line; $100 million to complete right-of-way acquisition and final design for the Corridor Cities Transit way, a proposed north-south bus rapid transit line from the Shady Grove Metro station to the COMSAT facility near Clarksburg; and $85 million in operating assistance for the County's Ride On bus system through fiscal 2019. On the Eastern Shore, $160 million in projects will be funded. Among those projects are $52 million to construct a new interchange at US 301/MD 304; $50 million to build a MD 331 Dover Bridge replacement; $42 million in construction funds to widen and dualize MD 404 from west of MD 309 to Cemetery Road (Phase 1B); and $3.7 million to start construction of a new roundabout at MD 822 and MD 675 near the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in Princess Anne.

City in Texas studying $3.5 million water project to meet demands

Officials in Rio Hondo, Texas, are studying a $3.5 million project to tie the city into the Harlingen water supply to help meet the city's water needs for the next decade. The project would be funded by a $1.08 million loan and a $2.5 million grant from the Texas Water Development Board. Mayor Gustavo Olivares said the projects that will be created by the funding will not only address immediate needs of the city, but will also improve the quality of life for city residents in the future with different water sources available. The project would connect Rio Hondo to the city of Harlingen WaterWorks supply in the event of an emergency. The project also would repair one of two water lines under the Arroyo Colorado and repair the city's water tower and storage tank.

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North Carolina seeks P3 for recruiting business, jobs to state

Officials in North Carolina are looking to a public-private partnership (P3) to handle many of the job recruiting chores currently handled by state employees. The private partner in the P3 will be a nonprofit created by the state's Department of Commerce. State officials have sought privatization of this service for some time, looking for a quicker, more streamlined approach to job recruiting and economic development. Once the nonprofit is created, it will be responsible for hiring "economic developers" who likely will be former Commerce Department employees or former regional economic developer employees who will recruit companies to North Carolina and help companies already in the state to expand. Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker (pictured) said she hopes to hire an executive director for the new nonprofit sometime in the next month or so. The Secretary noted that the job recruiters will not be the decision-makers in the effort, but that they could offer support and lobby on behalf of an interested client company. Unlike what is required of the Commerce Department, the nonprofit would not be subject to certain open meeting and open records laws that apply to state agencies. However, Decker assured that the workings of the nonprofit would be transparent and will impose its own rules about being subject to open records and meetings laws.

City in New York exploring possible P3 for solar initiative

A pair of council members in Utica, New York, are pushing city officials to enter into a public-private partnership that could save the city money through a solar project. Council members Jim Zecca and Frank Vescera are urging looking into installing solar panels on some city buildings. The two said photovoltaic panels installed on City Hall and the police department could be done at no expense to the city or taxpayers and still save the city money on its energy bill. The council members said the city could enter into an agreement with a private company that would install and operate the system and guarantee a set rate for multiple years. In addition to lowering energy bills, the two said the solar system also could reduce the city's carbon footprint. The council members said the city could advertise for bids for the project and then the company chosen could apply for tax credits and grants to help pay for the project. The energy produced would be sold to the city at a reduced rate. Officials said that installing 200 solar panels on the two city facilities would provide about half of the two buildings' needs. Although the immediate savings would not be substantial, both council members said savings in the long-term could be.

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 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 TL Cox.

TL Cox (pictured) earned a bachelor's degree in political science and communications from Southeastern Oklahoma State University and a Master of Public Administration degree from The University of Texas at Arlington. His first private-sector engagement was in 2001, when he was a part-time news correspondent for the Gainesville Daily Record in Texas. He later served as a manufacturing engineering technician and later as a program manager for Weber Aircraft LLC, as a trainer/technical writer for a staffing and recruiting firm and as a senior trainer for Interactive Response Technologies. Cox moved to the public sector in 2007 as an IT applications administrator/gaming systems analyst for the Chickasaw Nation Division of Commerce. He returned to the private sector in program management with Enviro Systems, Inc. from March 2007 to May 2008 and was named director of consulting services, e-solutions and senior consultant for the Waters Consulting Group, Inc., where he spent four years. Cox was hired in July 2012 for Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett's Management Review Office and took over for Police Chief Jonathan Brooks as interim IT director when former Chief Information Officer Tom Golliver retired last December. The IT veteran was recently named by Bartlett as the city's chief information officer.

Julie Baker (top left), one of the Houston Independent School District's highest-ranking officials after being named chief academic officer last August, is leaving to work for the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, leading a new literacy campaign in Houston. MaryFrances McCourt (top middle), who has served as interim vice president and chief financial officer of Indiana University since the departure of Neil Theobald to serve as president of Temple University, has been selected to take on the vice president and CFO position on a full-time, permanent basis. Dr. Katrice A. Albert (top right), former chief diversity officer at Louisiana State University since 2005, has been appointed to the position of vice president for equity and diversity at the University of Minnesota. Timothy Walsh, who as director of the New Jersey Treasury's Division of Investment has been in charge of investing New Jersey's $74 billion public pension fund, is leaving state government to return to the private sector. Juan Eduardo Cabrera, general counsel for an Austin, Texas-area school district and former attorney for several districts across the country, has been named the finalist for the superintendent job in the El Paso Independent School District. Craig Carter, a 21-year veteran of the Escondido, California, Police Department who has been promoted over his career to sergeant and lieutenant, has been named to replace former Police Chief Jim Maher, who retired. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has announced the appointment of two cabinet members: Deby Snodgras (middle right), executive director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, will fill the newly created cabinet post of Secretary of Tourism and Recreation and Robert Sommers (middle center), director of the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, is the state's new Secretary of Education and Workforce Development. The University of Houston-Victoria recently hired Mara Cooper (middle left), former director of student life, ombudsman and adjunct psychology instructor at the College of the Mainland in Texas City, as director of student success. The city of Yuma, Arizona, has chosen Ricky Rinehart, the city's operations administrator since February 2012, as the new deputy city administrator, with some level of oversight of all city departments. The Vineland (New Jersey) City School District has chosen Herbert G. Schectman, a Certified Public Accountant and former senior finance administrator in the Philadelphia school district, as its new business administrator, to replace Cherie Ludy, who resigned. The new city manager for the city of Miramar, Florida, is Kathleen Woods-Richardson, a 30-year veteran of municipal government who was most recently director of Miami-Dade County's Public Works and Waste Management Department. Martha Kanter (bottom left), Under Secretary of Education who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009, has announced she is stepping down to return to academe. New York University President John E. Sexton (bottom center), a former clerk to Chief Justice Warren Burger who has served as the university's president since 2002, has announced he will step down when his term ends in 2016. Col. Michael Teague (bottom right), former Tulsa (Oklahoma) District commander of the Army Corps of Engineers, has been chosen as Gov. Mary Fallin's Secretary of Energy and Environment, combining the secretary of energy post held by Michael Ming and the secretary of environment post held previously by Gary Sherrer. Former Nebraska Sen. Abbie Cornett has been chosen as the new city administrator for David City, Nebraska, replacing Interim City Administrator Joan Kovar, who will now resume her duties as city clerk. Frank Fernandez, assistant city manager for Hollywood, Florida, will now have a second title after being also named as the city's police chief, following the retirement in January of former Chief Chad Wagner and then was replaced by Interim Chief Vince Affanato. Stamford, Connecticut, Fire Chief Antonio Conte recently resigned and Public Safety Director Ted Jankowski, a former New York City firefighter, has been named acting chief.