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Special panel named to discuss public-private partnerships

Public-private partnerships may not have caught on as quickly in the United States as they have in foreign countries, and a special congressional panel has been organized to study why. The panel will look into the possible use of public-private partnerships (P3s) for transportation, economic development, public buildings, water and maritime infrastructure and equipment. The Panel on Public-Private Partnerships is an offshoot of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Chaired by U.S. Rep. John Duncan, the panel is preparing to examine the current state of P3s in the United States. The panel will discuss the role of P3s in delivering transportation and infrastructure projects, if and how P3s can enhance delivery and management of such projects outside either the public or private sectors working alone and how to develop and implement P3 projects while balancing the needs of the public and private sectors.

Rep. Bill Shuster (top) who chairs the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said that in spite of the private sector continuing to show interest in investing in infrastructure in the United States, "Aside from a selection of highway projects, utilization of P3s in U.S. transportation, economic development and water infrastructure has been limited." Shuster said the panel will study how P3s could be used effectively on such projects and "where greater opportunities may exist to leverage resources at the federal, state and local level." Shuster indicated that the findings of the panel could be used in future legislation.

Committee Vice Chair John Duncan (bottom) hailed the "unique strengths, advantages, and roles" of the private sector when it comes to transportation infrastructure. He said working together, the public and private sectors could increase efficiency and get the most bang for taxpayer bucks.

Committee and panel members agree that declining budget revenue has left many communities without the resources to address growing transportation needs. They are hopeful the panel can find ways for the private sector to work with government to help improve the country's infrastructure.

Washington State University is preparing to sell $60 million in bonds for a variety of on-campus projects. The general revenue bonds will be used to fund housing updates on campus, dining system upgrades and to construct a Clean Technology Laboratory Building (CTLB). The CTLB is designed to enhance the state of Washington's high-demand research and education priorities in clean technology. At more than 95,000 square feet, the building will be home to the science and engineering programs that are seeking to advance new technologies in air and water quality, sustainable design and infrastructure. It will include research labs. The total project budget is $52.8 million with construction costs of $32 million.

University of Kansas planning to build new $17.5 million apartment complex

Members of the University of Kansas basketball team in the 2016-17 academic year may find themselves living in new apartments. The KU Board of Regents recently approved a resolution in favor of building a $17.5 million apartment complex for university basketball players. Construction could begin as early as next year. The Fieldhouse Apartments will provide lodging for up to 66 students, half of whom will likely be men's and women's basketball players. Each apartment will have a full kitchen, living and dining rooms, lounges on each floor, team meeting rooms, tutoring space and a multi-purpose room. The project will be financed with both private donations and bonds. Rent on the apartments will be used to pay off the remainder of the debt. Theresa Gordzica (pictured), the university's chief business and financial planning officer, said between $9 million and $10 million will be raised through private funds. Some athletic staff and other university officials says the project will improve recruiting for the school's basketball program and provide better security for some high-profile players.

Bids due Feb. 12 for construction of Iowa emergency services building

Bids will be due on Feb. 12 for a proposed $3.1 million emergency services building that will be shared by the Forest City (Iowa) Fire Department and Forest City Ambulance Service. That would mean bids could be approved and a contract awarded to the low bidder at the Feb. 17 City Council meeting. Construction on the shared facility is expected to begin in April and be completed by June 2015. Although about $170,000 short on raising the money needed to construct the facility, officials are hopeful that the Worth County Development Authority will make a significant contribution toward the facility. And, since the building is not to be completed until 2015, officials will have from now through that date to raise the remaining funds.

• PGH Wong won a $54.2 million contract from the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) to oversee construction of the first 10 miles of the city's $5.16 billion rail transit project, from Kapolei to Aloha Stadium, and URS Corp. won a $63 million HART contract to oversee construction of the other 10 miles of the line from Aloha Stadium to Ala Moana Center.
• Phillips/May Corp. was awarded a contract for up to $1,979,240.83 from the Rowlett, Texas, City Council to be spent on the city's downtown improvement project that includes landscaping and sidewalk expansion, extension of Martin Drive from Coyle to Main streets and construction of a pedestrian plaza in the former location of the farmer's market.
• Ivey Construction won a $50.5 million contract from the city or Port Canaveral, Florida, for construction on Cruise Terminal One, a 187,500-square-foot facility, in Canaveral Harbor, Florida.
• Guy F. Atkinson Construction, LLC was awarded a $41.6 million contract from the Washington State Department of Transportation for construction of new ramps that will connect the existing lanes of State Route 99 to the north entrance of the future SR 99 tunnel.
• Lockheed Martin has won a $103 million contract from the U.S. Navy to develop automated test systems to increase aircraft mission readiness.
• Southwest Research Institute was being awarded an $11,151,506 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract from the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division to design, develop, test, integrate and demonstrate the System Manager and Link Manager Reference applications for the Telemetry Network System (TmNS) in support of the Major Range and Test Facility Base (MRTFB) Integrated Network Enhancement Telemetry Program Office.
• CDM Federal Programs won a contract worth up to $10.7 million from the U.S. Navy for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command utility inventory and risk assessment pilot.
• Madison Construction won a $5.9 million contract from Brazos County, Texas, for renovations of the county courthouse, focusing on the fourth floor, where all three district courts will have courtrooms, accommodations for juries and office space.
• Citygate won a $75,000 contract from the city of San Bernardino, California, to conduct a study to provide recommendations on fire department staffing and possible contracting out of fire services.
• Accenture was awarded a $45 million contract from the federal government for the Obamacare enrollment Web site.

University of S. Carolina partnering with private firm for apartments, office space

A $94.6 million apartment complex and a $25 million office building will be built at the University of South Carolina, thanks to a public-private partnership. The apartment complex will be built behind the Carolina Coliseum and the office building will be in the Innovista research campus. The university is leasing the land to an Atlanta-based developer. That private firm will finance and build the facilities and then keep most of the profit from both facilities. The apartment complexes will feature 878 beds and the first one is slated for opening in fall 2015. The second will follow in fall 2016. The two complexes will feature a pool and fitness center and some retail spaces. More than 680 parking spaces will be included. Four more apartment complexes are being planned to add 1,600 beds to keep up with demand. Some campus land will be sold to another developer to build 700 more apartment beds that should open in fall 2015. And, a $60 million, 800-bed complex is expected to open in August 2015. The planned office space will open in July 2017 and include 110,000 to 130,000 square feet of space. The university will be paid $72,600 in rent annually by the developer. The developer will recoup its funds through management fees.

Elmira Mangum (pictured) earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude from North Carolina Central University, one of the nation's historically black colleges. She later graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with two master's degrees, one in public policy and public administration and another in urban and regional planning. She earned her Ph.D. in education administration from State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo. She also is a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education Management Development Program and Cornell University's Administrative Management Institute. She completed the leadership program at the Center for Creative Leadership in North Carolina. Magnum began her higher education career as an instructor and professor. She was on the senior staff at SUNY at Buffalo from 1984 to 2001, serving as associate and assistant provost for resource management and as vice provost. Mangum was senior associate provost at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill from 2001 to 2009. In addition to her work in higher education, Mangum was a senior budget analyst and management analyst for the DeKalb County, Georgia, finance department. Mangum held an adjunct appointment to the faculty of the School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill and also held an appointment to the faculty of the Graduate School of Education at SUNY Buffalo, where she taught leadership theory and practice. Since 2009, Mangum has served as vice president for budget and planning at Cornell University. Mangum was recently chosen to become the first female president of Florida A&M University. She will replace former President James Ammons, who resigned in 2012.