There are some ominous questions circulating in the United States and we must answer them soon. How much longer will we neglect our critical infrastructure needs? Why are we lagging behind other countries? What will we do with public-private partnerships in America? What's so frightening about the concept of collaboration?

Whether it is a lack of political will from elected officials or resistance to change, the reality is this - our public officials must stop procrastinating and start leading. This country is suffering from neglect. Collaboration should be an attractive option. Government funding for large public projects is no longer available, so change must occur. What's the opposition to alternative funding options?  

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 Legislation expected to lead to more than 210 projects, close to 14,000 jobs

More than 210 projects creating close to 14,000 jobs will get under way in Illinois soon after Gov. Pat Quinn (right) signed two capital improvement bills that will result in $1.1 billion in road and bridge work statewide. This initiative is the sequel to Quinn's $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! construction program that covers six years.

Quinn praised the Illinois General Assembly for passing the legislation. "With this investment in our state's infrastructure, we are immediately putting people to work, making our world-class transportation system even stronger and generating economic development far into the future," Quinn said.

Acting Illinois Transportation Secretary Erica Borggren (left) called the program a "shot in the arm" that the state's transportation system and the state economy both need. She said after a harsh winter, many of the state's roads and bridges "are in desperate need of attention."

In addition to $1 billion for funding projects in the state's FY 2015-2020 Multi-Year Program, some of the funding also would be spent locally - $100 million worth for municipal and township governments to spend on their infrastructure needs.

Among the projects funded by the bill are:

• $28.7 million for the 47th Street to 55th Street bridge complex at I-55 in Cook County. The project includes widening and rehabilitation of the bridge, ramp modifications, addition of auxiliary lanes, lighting, new signage and more.
• $7 million for a resurfacing project in Dupage County for 63rd Street to the Cook County line in Willow Brook and Burr Ridge.
• $3.855 million in Lake County for intersection reconstruction at Fairfield Road in Lake Villa.
• $16.01 million in Gurnee in Lake County for bridge replacement, intersection improvement and retaining wall at ILL 132.
• $10.5 million in Channahon in Will County for interchange reconstruction at US 6 (Eames Street).
• $5.5 million in Knox County for bridge replacement on Henry Creek, south of the Henry County line.
• $6.1 million in Macon County for new bridge deck on Lake Decatur.

To view the complete list of capital bill projects click here.

Will provide much-needed private-sector funding for variety of rural needs

A "new approach" to supporting job-creation projects is in the works following the announcement last week of the U.S. Rural Infrastructure Opportunity Fund. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack (pictured) said the fund, announced during the inaugural White House Rural Opportunity Investment Conference, will provide another avenue of possible funding for much-needed infrastructure needs in rural areas of the country.

"USDA and other agencies invest in infrastructure through a variety of federal initiatives, but our resources are finite and there are backlogs of projects in many parts of the economy," said Vilsack. "We know where investment opportunities exist, so we are in a position to help promote these projects among investors." He said efforts will be made to encourage "substantial" private investment in projects in rural areas by partnering investors with projects.

The initial $10 billion to get the fund started comes from CoBank, a national cooperative bank serving rural America. Capitol Peak Asset Management will be charged with managing the fund and recruiting additional investors. The USDA and other agencies will determine which projects are worthy of receiving money from the fund.

The fund is geared toward rural infrastructure projects - either new construction or renovation  - that will include hospitals, schools and other educational facilities, rural water and wastewater systems, energy projects, broadband expansion, local and regional food systems and other rural infrastructure. Some financial investors who previously have not had access to these markets, but will be able to invest in this fund, are pension funds, endowments, foundations and other institutional investors. Officials say this additional financial partnering arm can lead to public-private partnerships and an increase of private funding in rural areas.

 Illinois school district approves bond issuance for school renovations

Bonds totaling $3.2 million were approved for issuance by the Shelbyville, Illinois, schools. The bond proceeds will be used to renovate the Shelbyville High School. The bonds will be repaid with revenue from a 1 percent sales tax approved by voters earlier in the year. Once the bond sale was approved, the board then approved a contract with GRP Mechanical Co. for $3.2 million to add new heating and air conditioning for the school. Other aspects of the renovation include new windows and doors to make the building more energy efficient. Officials said that the energy upgrades are expected to save the school district at least $10,000 per year in energy costs. The addition of air conditioning will be the first the school has ever had. The projects are expected to begin this summer and be completed by October of next year. 

School budget committee recommends $9M bond issue for projects

The Maury County, Tennessee, budget committee recently recommended that the county issue $9 million in bonds for a variety of projects, chief among them much-needed energy improvements. The energy improvements were suggested following an energy audit of county facilities. The audit found that all of the piping, chiller and boiler at Whitthorne Middle School needed to be replaced. A county official said that pretty much means a replacement of the entire HVAC system at the school. That would require $4.7 million of the $9 million bond. The remainder of the bond funding would include $2 million for the architectural design of a new Central High School and $1.3 million for major maintenance at other schools. Scott Gaines (pictured), assistant director of Maury County Public Schools, said the additional $1.3 million would be used to address top priority maintenance needs of a number of schools. Gaines said he was not sure how many projects on the priority list could be paid for with that amount of funding. "I wouldn't know what item on the list it carries us through," he said. "I just know it will carry us down through that list." The bond proceeds also will mean nearly $875,000 for energy improvements to the Maury County Courthouse.  

Ohio school district recommends $28.4M bond issue for repair projects

Voters in the North Royalton school district in Ohio will face a $28.4 million bond issue in November. The school board has recommended calling for a bond election, which they called a compromise solution, given that voters have three times said no to a proposed $50 million bond referendum. If it passes, the bond proceeds will mostly be used for critical repairs needed at North Royalton High School and the district's three elementary schools. Also planned if the bond issues passes are roof replacement at North Royalton Middle School and repairs to windows, lights, floors and sewers in all school buildings in the district. These upgrades would cut down on future maintenance needs, say school officials.  

Iowa community college to ask voters to approve $25 million bond issue

Voters in the Hawkeye Community College district in Iowa will face a $25 million bond issue in February. If successful, the bond issue would provide for new construction, including a single new facility to replace the Metro and Martin Luther King, Jr. centers. Other new construction would include a new health care program facility. Renovations and expansion are also among the bond projects. The high school career academies would be expanded and Grundy Hall would get much-needed renovations. College President Linda Allen (pictured) pointed out that the bond issue would not result in a tax increase. "We started the process in 2011, building a new master facilities plan," said Allen, speaking of the college about to come out of 2003 bond debt. The master plan had the input of staff, students, business leaders and other stakeholders. The first phase of bond spending would be a new $8 million Adult Education Center to replace the King and Metro Centers. Those two buildings, circa 1950 and 1962, would need extensive and expensive repairs and upgrades to continue to function. Another $500,000 of the bond proceeds would go toward expanding the career academies. The second phase would include a new $15 million Health Sciences Technology Center and the third phase would provide for a $1.5 million renovation and expansion of Grundy Hall, including technology upgrades and more modern labs and classrooms.

Check out these recent awards: 

• Dumey Contracting won a $10 million contract from the state of Kentucky for work in western Kentucky to reconstruct Kentucky 56 interchange near Sebree that will result in Breathitt-Pennyrile Parkway being designated as Interstate 69.
• AT&T Government Solutions won a contract valued up to $275 million over the next five years from the U.S. Department of State awarded for the Foreign Post Telephone Replacement Program task order under its GSA Connections II IDIQ (indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity) contract. The company will provide advanced and secure IP telephony systems to United States embassies and consulates worldwide.
• Accenture Federal Services won a $48 million task order from the U.S. Department of the Treasury for IT and financial management services to improve technologies and service levels across the Department's bureaus and offices. The work will include technology recommendations, acquisition support, IT strategy, systems security, financial systems, project and program management, enterprise architecture and development and support services.
• Atlantis Aquatic Group was awarded a $3.2 million contract from the city of Midland, Texas, to build a family aquatic center that includes several slides and a rock climbing wall in the pool, along with a volleyball net and a basketball goal.
• BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration, Inc. was awarded a $12,420,183 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of 249 Mode 5 Combined Interrogator Transponder Kits for the U.S. Navy and the governments of Finland, Australia and Switzerland.
• Northrop Grumman Corp. won a $205 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to continue providing mission logistics services in support of combat brigades training in the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California.
• CGI Technologies and Solutions, Inc. won nearly $90 million in computer contracts with the state of Michigan to build the state's Enterprise Resource Planning system. 

Corpus Christi requests proposals for new youth sports complex

Corpus Christi city officials recently requested proposals to build a new youth sports complex. The facility would be south on 50 acres of land owned by the city that could be donated to the private organization that builds and operates the sports complex in a public-private partnership.

The youth sports complex is designed to host regional state and national events for baseball, soccer and basketball and to increase tourism to the city, according to the director of the parks and recreation department for the city. City officials expect to evaluate the proposals by the end of October and reward a contract by the end of this year, said the director, who also said plans are to build the sports complex without using tax funds.

 County official pushing public-private partnership for port expansion

A county official in Delaware is supporting a public-private partnership for the expansion of the Port of Wilmington. New Castle County Executive Tom Gordon (pictured) points out that there is land not in use in an industrial park and additional unused land that was the location of a former General Motors assembly plant that could be used for port expansion. But, he said key in the success of such a project would be private investment of funding since the project would have a cost of $400 million to $600 million. 

Gordon would like to see that area used as a container ship pier. In fact, the county has already offered to buy the General Motors property for $9 million. Gordon says the project would attract the interest of shipping lines that could have access to both rail lines and major highways. 

The county executive said the next step would likely be conducting a feasibility study and then funding could be sought from the private sector. The port handles approximately 400 ships per year and cargo tonnage of about 5 million tons.

Tourism projects in Colorado would be public-private partnership

Regional tourism projects in Colorado may ban together to seek a Northern Colorado Regional Tourism Act (RTA) application. The RTA program was developed by the Colorado Economic Development Commission and accepts bids for large regional tourism projects. The RTA application being explored would include an 80-acre youth sports complex in Loveland, a new and expanded lodge at Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch and a Windsor convention center. The project would be a public-private partnership.

If an application is submitted and accepted by the RTA, the project would provide an innovative financing option and would allow the establishment of an authority and use of Colorado sales tax increment collected over the last three decades. Projects chosen, and there are only two left that will be funded in 2015, must show that they will result in a substantial number of new regional, national and international visitors to an area. Three potential private partners have already shown an interest in the projects.

Among the possible projects proposed are an ice rink that would possibly attract national hockey tournaments, a golf club that could host national events and a high-end RV park. Another project would include a youth sports complex, natural history and sportsmen's museum and a development that includes a new hotel and facility. 

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 Samir Saini.

Samir Saini (pictured) was recently chosen by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to serve as the city's new Commissioner for Department of Information Technology. Saini comes to the city after having spent the last 15 years working in information technology, data security and business operations. He was most recently chief information officer for the Atlanta Housing Authority. He has more than 15 years of experience in information technology, data security and business operations and in addition to his housing authority experience, has also worked in a variety of industries, including energy, hospitality and real estate. Saini's career kicked off with the General Electric Company, where he was an IT program manager. He moved up the ladder to enterprise resource planning director of GE Energy Services and then to vice president for corporate solutions at MGM International Resorts. Saini will be charged in his new job as Commissioner for Department of Information Technology with improving the city's use of technology to better serve both residential and business customers in the city and expanding Wi-Fi to public spaces in the city. Saini will take over his new post on Aug. 11 and must first be confirmed by the Atlanta City Council. He succeeds Michael Dogan, who has been serving as interim commissioner since 2011.