Another $3 billion in federal funding is now available for state and local governmental entities. This funding was allocated in the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) legislation that passed in 2021 but it took this long to design the allocation process and the funding has only recently started flowing. 

The new revenue will soon create hundreds of new contracting opportunities and produce numerous and diverse types of public-private partnerships. The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), a division of the Department of Commerce, is charged with oversight. The funding is designated for initiatives that support and sustain America’s economic vitality through technology, manufacturing, innovation, and the creation of new jobs.

One of the divisions that selects funding recipients has $1 billion now to allot through a program called the Build Back Better Regional Challenge (BBBRC). The EDA says this program has the largest, nationally run regional economic development competition ever and every part of the country is expected to participate. Recently, some of the first awards representing up to $65 million were announced for economic development programs in a number of states. 

One recent award of $40 million went to the West Texas Aerospace and Defense (A&D) Cluster program. That initiative is being led by the University of Texas at El Paso. The goal is to create an advanced manufacturing district and the focus will be on delivering physical and cybersecurity infrastructure to small and emerging firms. An additional $40 million in funding has also been raised for this effort. This work will produce the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies, shorten supply chains, enable sustainable approaches to mass production, and support new jobs. 

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In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, the Texas Legislature approved $1.8 billion to assist in the region’s recovery and better prepare the entire state for future storms. The new legislation called for a statewide flood plan to be overseen by the Texas Water Development Board. A new “resilience fund” would help pay for flood control projects identified in the plan. In August, the San Antonio River Authority submitted a draft flood plan to the water board for Region 12, which surrounds the San Antonio River Basin, beginning in Bandera County and extending down to the Texas coastline.  

The regional plan offers a comprehensive look at existing flood infrastructure in the area, includes flood risk analyses, and recommends specific flood management actions. Around $1 billion is needed for an identified 214 flood control projects within the region, including parts of 16 counties, 49 cities, four river authorities, and at least 41 other entities with flood-related authority. It was prepared by representatives from the city of San Antonio, Bexar County, the river authority, local utilities, and other area water experts.  

A public hearing to receive comments on the regional draft plan was held September 15. Final regional plans are due to the agency in January of 2023. The water board aims to finalize a statewide plan by 2024. 

Dallas County is deciding whether to move the current jail and criminal courthouse and build a smaller, smarter version. A new county jail, by state law, would have to be within four miles of downtown. The useful life of the current 7,200-bed jail has about 5 years left, according to county officials. A new facility would be designed for violent offenders – not for inmates with addiction and mental health issues.  

The current jail was built in the 1980s. Keeping up with changing jail standards on how and where to house inmates has cost the county millions in renovations over the years.  

The Lew Sterrett Justice Center sits behind the Frank Crowley Courts Building at the corner of W. Commerce Street and Riverfront Boulevard on the western edge of the Dallas skyline. To the south sits the now abandoned state jail and a large surface parking lot. To the north is an empty lot that has gone undeveloped for years. 

County commissioners already agreed to form a committee to make a recommendation on what to do. Next month, commissioners will formally name the members of that committee. It’s likely to take up to a year for the soon-to-be appointed county committee to make a recommendation. 

If Dallas County moves the lockup and its criminal courthouse, it would return hundreds of acres of land downtown back to the property tax rolls and free up prime real estate on the western edge of the skyline. 

Jeff Archer

Executive Director

Texas Legislative Council

Public career and education highlights: After studying Classics at SWTSU, Indiana U, and The University of Texas and reading the law at UT Law School, I arrived at TLC as a baby drafting attorney in 1982. Working with legislators, colleagues, and mentors for a couple legislative sessions sold me on this work. I recently completed my 40th year at the council, and have had a hand in many exciting projects, from criminal law and state finance to redistricting and ethics. The privilege of supporting council staff as ED gives me a bit part in every accomplishment we achieve. Every day on this team is a career highlight for me. 

What I like best about my public service is: Working to achieve common goals with committed people in their various roles--elected officials, house and senate officers, our sister legislative agencies the LBB, SAO, LRL, and the Sunset Advisory Commission, outside agencies and stakeholders, and of course the council's own trusty staff. Multi-tasking is a must, and when the work day finally slows down after dark, the satisfaction of having whacked a number of pesky moles together is deep and reassuring.

The best advice I’ve received is: So much good advice from successful mentors… take responsibility for your own actions, treat everyone equally, don't jump to conclusions, complain up not down… but the key lesson I have absorbed is that everything is all about team. Individual credit or blame, success or failure, isn't a thing at TLC. How you work with others is as important to me as whether you excel at your technical skills.

My favorite way to de-stress is: I ride my bicycle to work almost every day, rain or heat wave. That 20-30 minutes each way is a great transition to work (you don’t need coffee the moment you reach the office!) and a chance for unplugged reflection on the way home, often long after the traffic has vanished. Beyond that, I find respite in a weekend volleyball match, enjoying my porch swing with my pets and a good book of poetry, a dip in the San Marcos River, or puttering in my ferns and bamboo.

People might be surprised to know that I: Grew up in the Central Texas countryside raising hogs, pulling calves, collecting eggs, picking beans, fixing fences, hauling hay, and visiting my neighbors bareback on my wild Appaloosa stallion.  

One thing I wished more people knew about the Texas Legislative Council is: We are not all attorneys or programmers! The council provides literally hundreds of services and functions behind the scenes, all year round, to support the Texas Legislature. Producing tens of thousands of legislative measures, from bills and proposed constitutional amendments, amendments, and resolutions of all stripes, along with producing dozens of publications and research projects, maintaining a complex computer network and dozens of websites, and supporting the IT needs of all our clients, requires a well-trained, highly responsible staff. Even after 40 years I am still discovering how complex our role is, and how amazing our people are.

The Texas A&M Health Science Center in McAllen has plans to build a $50 million Nursing and Research Education building to address the critical workforce shortage of registered nurses by offering the prelicensure Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing program in the Rio Grande Valley.  

Not only will the building meet local demand for registered nurses, which is at an all-time high, it will alleviate capacity issues related to student enrollment growth for the current Health Education Center building and expand the community-based research capabilities of the faculty. The completed facility will include up to eight flexible and technology-based classrooms; clinical skills and clinical simulation laboratories; facilities for standardized patients, faculty, and staff offices; student collaboration spaces; and 5,000 square feet of dedicated space for another Texas A&M University program. 

The Texas A&M University Office of Facilities Planning & Construction has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for the selection of an architect/engineer firm for the project. The due date for the RFQ is October 4, 2022, at 2 p.m. CDT.

Nancy Powell Bartlett joins the Strategic Partnerships, Inc. (SPI) Team with more than 30 years of experience, knowledge and expertise gained through a variety of roles across local, regional, and state levels of government. Her positions included serving as director of one the first Pre-Trial Release programs in Texas; acting as Organizational Development Consultant with the Governor's Center for Management Development; and overseeing a breadth of city operations in management roles.

Nancy’s work has focused on creating Accountability Cultures, leading organizations to high levels of performance, while saving millions of dollars and eliminating thousands of unnecessary work hours. She is an excellent communicator and presenter earning the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation from the National Speakers Association, which only 14 percent of speakers worldwide achieve. She has presented to organizations and conferences in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and the Philippines on leadership, accountability, process improvement, and best practices.  

Her education credentials include a degree from the Public Executive Institute at The University of Texas’ LBJ School of Public Affairs and she holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology and Corrections and Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University. Nancy has served several years as an Examiner for the Quality Texas Foundation reviewing performance levels of organizations based upon the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria. 

Sandra McQuain is a seasoned executive and joins SPI with over 30 years of experience in advising private and public sector clients on strategic planning, financial operations, business development, economic issues, public relations, coalition building and public-private partnerships.  

Sandra recently served as the Executive Director of the England Economic and Industrial Development District (EEIDD), a base redevelopment public agency, which includes Alexandria International Airport (AEX) among its four operating divisions. Before becoming the executive leader of EEIDD, Sandra worked in the private sector as Chief Operating Officer for a manufacturing company located in Louisiana, and as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Operations for a software development company located in Nevada.  

In her earlier career, Sandra provided business development, marketing, government relations and public relations counsel to professional service firms, governmental entities, and corporations.

In addition to the EEIDD, her government-related experience includes service to a Tennessee Governor, serving as State Director to a U.S. Senator (TN), and managing the Office of Press for a United States Attorney (TN). 

Sandra served on the Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry and was selected by Global Trade magazine as one of the Top 11 Women in Logistics. In 2020, Sandra served on the Resilient Louisiana Commission – Transportation and Infrastructure Task Force, an entity established by Gov. Edwards to address Louisiana’s response to the COVID crisis. She is currently Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Central Louisiana Chamber of Commerce.

The city of Bedford plans to renovate the Police Department’s former Detention Facility and make the space usable for police employees. The city has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) from planning, architectural, and engineering firms to assist the city in space needs evaluation and design services. 

The scope of services for this project is intended to provide a facility for the Bedford Police Department which can be put into operation immediately after acceptance by the city. 

The existing facility is approximately a 13,000-square-foot building. The needs assessment will include potential future needs of the facility. Some of the building amenities include locker rooms for male and female employees, fitness room, a training room for reality-based simulator, and renovation of existing locker rooms into a storage area. 

The chosen firm will: 

• Meet with city staff to gain a detailed understanding of the project requirements and general parameters under which the projects will be designed. 
• Based on discussions in the initial meetings, prepare to provide schematic designs, design development documents, planning documents, and any other forms required under the expectation of the projects for staff review. 
• Conduct two space programming assessments to determine the needs and requirements of the Detention Facility. This will cover a detailed space-by-space definition of the elements needed for both facilities based on current usage, desired new amenities, and potential future growth and needs. 
• Assist the city in developing a probable budget for both projects. 

The RFQ is due by September 29, 2022, at 2 p.m. CDT.

The city of Waco wants to transform the two-story Bledsoe-Miller Community Center into a STEM and arts cultural center. 

The 14,000-square-foot structure will house networking areas, industry training rooms, specialized labs with relevant equipment, necessary infrastructure, state-of-the art classrooms, and collaboration areas. A focus will be placed on creating modular adaptable labs and learning spaces that allow for hands-on, interdisciplinary, and project-based learning. 

The city has issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for design services for the renovation of the facility. The design firm will conduct the following tasks: 

• Assist in conducting public meeting(s) with the community regarding this project. This may include presentations of the conceptual design to the City Council, Park Board, and/or local community. 
• Evaluate and identify any opportunities to incorporate solar energy into the new construction. 
• Design a break room for education volunteers and staff, office space,  and adequate storage space for equipment. Also provide a catering kitchen that is easily accessible to the STEM and arts center space. 
• Provide a minimum of 4 classrooms that will accommodate a minimum of 35 people in each room. 
• Incorporate a large rental/exhibit hall space.  

The RFQ is due by October 12, 2022, at 2 p.m. CDT. 

The East Central Independent School District is calling for a $240 million bond election in November. The funding is needed to remedy traffic issues and help expand the infrastructure in the district to accommodate growth. 

The population growth is expected to double enrollment numbers across the district by 2029. An example of this growth is the need to bring back portables for students due to lack of space. In 2016, a bond helped eliminate portable classrooms, but the number of students has exceeded the space available within the campus facilities.  

 In the new bond, the district wants to add more permanent solutions. The $240 million dollar proposal, developed with community involvement, includes the following list of projects: 

• Create a new elementary school on the north and south sides of the district.  
• Create a new middle school.  
• Increase security and energy efficiency at schools.  
• Provide new or renovated support facilities and campus offerings throughout the district.  
• Create a career and technical education multi-purpose facility and shop.  
• Renovations to Heritage and Legacy middle schools.  
• Renovations at Oak Crest and Highland Forest elementary schools to make them comparable with the schools that received renovations with the 2016 bond. 
• Mitigate traffic issues outside district schools during drop-off and pickup.  

The community has agreed that taxes should be delayed until 2025 so that new residents can move into the area and contribute to the taxes, as well. The tax impact, beginning in 2025, would then equal about five to six dollars a month, or six cents per $100,000 in property value.  

Early voting for the bond runs from October 24 to November 4, with the full election day on November 8.  

Dallas is updating the city’s 2011 Dallas Bike Plan. With miles of bike infrastructure already installed, Dallas has made substantial progress establishing a solid foundation for a well-developed network city-wide. The plan now is to build upon this existing framework and grow a comfortable, safe, and direct bicycle network that serves the different types of people in Dallas who choose to, want to, and need to bike.  

By summer 2023, the city will have a new bicycle master plan that lays out future bicycle improvements needed for Dallas. To that end, this project will focus on achieving the following goals: 

• Updating the Bicycle Network to reflect existing conditions, priority destinations or connections, and desired facility types comfortable for a wide range of ages and abilities. 
• Identifying a Core Bicycle Network—those linkages that will form the spine of the bicycle network, connect to key destinations, and are critical to having a connected network. The Core Bicycle Network will be supported by an auxiliary bicycle network interconnecting the city. 
• Ensuring bicycle route feasibility based on city traffic engineering standards and specifications, safety, and public input. 
• Update design standards for bicycle facilities based upon identified national, state, and local best practices. 
• Updating the project prioritization criteria for funding and implementing bicycle facility improvements. 
• Creating a prioritized and phased implementation plan that identifies “quick win” priority bicycle facilities and establishes priorities for future capital improvement programs. The focus will be on what can be built within the next five years.

The city of Fort Worth has approved a design firm for the first phase of the renovation of the city-owned convention center. This phase is expected to begin construction in mid-2023 and be completed in 2026. 

The expansion project will take place in two phases and the facility will remain operational during both. The first phase includes constructing new state-of-the-art food and beverage facilities, demolishing the annex, realigning Commerce Street to create a site pad for a future convention hotel, and rebuilding the center’s loading docks. 

The convention center expansion, which had been planned for several years to accommodate larger conventions and group meetings, was about to begin with robust funding from hotel occupancy taxes when the COVID-19 shutdown began in 2020. After a pandemic-induced pause, the Fort Worth City Council approved $52 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds in December 2021 to support the first phase of planned expansion of the facility. 

The second phase of the project will include demolishing the 1968 arena and creating approximately 97,000 square feet of net new exhibit hall space, 48,000 square feet of flexible meeting rooms and a new 50,000-square-foot ballroom. There are also plans to renovate the current facility, which was expanded in 2003.

Our Future 35 is seeking public input on what residents want to see from the proposed caps and stitches, with an online survey open until September 25. Our Future 35 will then compile community responses and present its findings to the public in November, along with its draft vision, goals, and a preliminary look at possible design opportunities. 

Our Future 35 is a new, rebranded program led by Austin’s Corridor Program Office that aims to create new community spaces and enhance east-west connectivity along the I-35 corridor. The central tenant of the program is its “cap and stitch proposal.” Caps are deck plazas that can support buildings, green space, or other amenities, while stitches act as widened bridges that would stretch over the lowered I-35 highway and include widened sidewalks, bike lanes, seating, and green space. 

The program is in its early design phases and is actively seeking community input on what elements residents want to see included. Our Future 35 is separate from the work the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is doing with its I-35 expansion proposal, a nearly $5 billion project that would widen the highway via additional travel lanes and lower main lanes below ground level, among other components.

Whatever final design decisions made by TxDOT will be factored as input into how Our Future 35 constructs its caps and stitches.   

The North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) will host a virtual public meeting for the launch of the East Dallas, Kaufman, and Rockwall Counties Regional Transit Study, giving residents a chance to provide input on needs for existing and future transportation in the area. 

The study will focus on the development of a comprehensive public transportation plan for cities and areas that are not members of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) or served by STAR Transit. Efforts of the transit plan include strategic implementation and coordination with other area planning initiatives. 

This study will introduce the public to the purpose, overview, and outcomes of the project plan. Components of the study include identifying transit options, funding and implementation strategies, delivery of recommended services, and potential impacts on the community. 

Residents will be provided a chance to share input regarding issues that are important to them, as well as ideas to improve transit services as the area continues to grow. The Dallas-Fort Worth area is the fourth-largest metropolitan region in the country, with a population of approximately 8 million people. 

The meeting is scheduled for September 19 from noon to 1:30 p.m. and will be streamed live. A recording will be available after the meeting. 

Join us for a unique webinar, Leveraging Data to Reconnect Communities and Create a More Equitable Transportation System on Thursday, September 22 at 3 p.m. EDT. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation and other state and local officials will discuss best practices for leveraging data for a more equitable future. The conversation will be especially beneficial for public policy leaders, transportation planners, and those responsible for the Reconnecting Communities and Creating Links to Communities programs, but all others are welcome as well.

Register here. 

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) has announced that Dan Paschal will serve as the deputy commissioner for the newly created External Relations division. The division will include Communications (currently Public Affairs) and Government Relations (currently Agency Affairs). 

For the past five years, Paschal has served as a deputy commissioner for TDI’s Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC). While at DWC, he managed customer service, communications, and research. 

Before joining TDI, Paschal worked at the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas House of Representatives, and the Texas Governor’s Office. 

Sylvia Trent-Adams has become the seventh president of the University of North Texas (UNT) Health Science Center at Fort Worth. 

Her appointment was made formal this week by the school’s board of regents. 

Adams was selected by the regents as the sole finalist for the position on August 19. State law requires university governing boards to name finalists for a presidency at least 21 days before making a permanent appointment. 

Before being appointed as president, Trent-Adams served as the Health Science Center’s executive vice president and chief strategy officer. She succeeds Michael Williams, who became chancellor of the UNT System on January 1 and continued to serve as HSC’s president during the search process.     

The El Paso County Commissioners Court voted to postpone issuing $345 million in certificates of obligation until October for projects at the University Medical Center (UMC). Putting a hold on funds for the hospital expansion occurred because a submitted petition needs to be verified for signatures.

The petition is requesting that voters decide whether UMC can receive funding for the projects. If enough signatures are valid, the county would have to place the debt issuance on an upcoming election. 

Projects include an intensive care unit, nine additional operating rooms, a new Central El Paso clinic, a burn treatment center, a build-out of the eighth floor of El Paso Children’s Hospital with 26 additional beds, and a new cancer treatment center.

The plan was initially presented by UMC officials in June. The Commissioners Court at the time voted to start the process for issuing the debt but asked UMC to begin informing the public. Since June, UMC has held more than 70 community informational meetings. 

The Houston Housing Authority (HHA) is requesting proposals from qualified consultants with relevant experience for services in association with program policy, procedure development, information technology, quality control, and staff training. 

HHA continually reviews how services are delivered to applicants, public housing residents, and Housing Choice Voucher (HVC) Program participants. Ongoing initiatives include an expansion of its project-based voucher portfolio, a strong focus on serving homeless households, and developing a mobility program. 

In addition to these initiatives, HHA is exploring technological solutions that will transform, streamline, and economize its service delivery model. HHA’s goal is to transform itself from traditional, paper-based processing for its core functions to utilizing, where financially and technologically feasible, web‐based technology for all operational functions. A recent example of this is the online waitlist application process for the HCV Program. Planned technological solutions include enhancing the current owner portal and developing a tenant web portal. 

HHA provides affordable homes and services to more than 60,000 low-income Houstonians, including over 17,000 families housed through the HVC Program and another 5,500 living in 25 public housing and tax credit developments around the city. 

The contract term for the awarded consultant is one year with HHA having the option to extend the contract for two additional years in one-year increments. The due date for responses is September 29, 2022, at 2 p.m. CDT.  

TRIP - a national transportation research nonprofit: Keeping Rural Texas Connected September 2022