Volume 10, Issue 30- Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Mary Scott Nabers, President/CEO, Strategic Partnerships, Inc.
Last week, President Trump held a National Security Council Meeting to discuss election security. The meeting covered Russian interference and the overall state of the country's election systems. Just the fact that this meeting was called is evidence of a problem and the realization that elections security vulnerabilities must be addressed. 

Earlier this year, Congress passed and the President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018. That statute includes $380 million in grant funding available to states for election security. While this funding amount is too small to address all problems, the appropriation is the first of its kind since 2010. A full list of funds distributed to each state can be found on the U.S. Election Commission Assistance website. 

These funds are specifically earmarked for projects that replace voting equipment, implement post-election audit systems, upgrade computer systems, facilitate cybersecurity training and/or fund other activities that will improve election security in some other way. 

While the bill appropriates funds, each state must contribute some matching funds. And, with midterm elections quickly approaching, many states are moving quickly to ramp up election security.  

In the U.S., there is no national standard for election security. The Election Assistance Commission and the Department of Homeland Security offer some resources and guidelines but states are left to set their own standards. That, of course, results in no conformity and there are huge gaps in the country's election networks.  

In 2016, two-thirds of U.S. counties used voting machines that were more than a decade old. Many of those machines had outdated software and old operating systems. Thirteen states still cannot produce a paper trail and that leaves no way to audit the final results.

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Maryland- Maryland transportation officials have released 15 design options for a plan to widen Interstate 270. This comes as part of Gov. Larry Hogan's $9 billion infrastructure plan to widen I- 495, I-270 and MD-295. Hogan's plan hinges on securing funding through public-private partnerships that could potentially finance both tolling and non-tolling components. 

Options for the Maryland Department of Transportation's plan include adding one lane, two lanes, managed lanes, bus lanes and eliminating shoulders. Due to the nature of alternative funding, Hogan's office expects this project to move forward without any input of control from the state legislature.
Washington, D.C.-The United States Department of Defense (DoD) released its final request for proposals (RFP) for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) Cloud program. The $10 billion RFP is slated to be signed with a single cloud service provider. Despite objections from industry, the Pentagon is sticking to the single award plan for the contract. The JEDI Cloud is being designed to speed the flow of data and analysis to combat troops. The contract covers 10 years with options. It launches with a two-year base ordering period, followed by two three-year option periods and a final two-year option period. 

The DoD has received more than 1,500 responses to the two initial draft proposals. The deadline for the current proposal is Sept. 17, and comments are due by Aug. 16. In a redacted Congressional report on cloud computing services, the DoD plans to spend about $82.1 million on nearly 50 commercial cloud service projects in fiscal year 2018, rising to $106.8 million in fiscal 2019. Another $147.8 million is expected to be spent on "other" cloud services for about 50 DoD projects in fiscal 2018, rising to $286.4 million in fiscal 2019.
Miami-Dade County Courthouse
Florida- A new downtown courthouse will be erected in Flager. The Miami-Dade County Commissioners have called for a public-private partnership (P3) to fund and build the new development. In the wake of a failed $390 million bond, a P3 offers the best opportunity to replace the current 90-year-old building that has been deemed unsafe and unhealthy by the legal professionals that frequent it. 

The new 600,000-square-foot courthouse would occupy land adjacent to the current location at 73 West Flager St. A developer is slated to be selected by September 2019 and construction should begin by summer 2020. The county is also seeking a developer interested in purchasing, restoring and repurposing the current historically designated courthouse.
North Carolina- The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) expects to award a contract in October and start construction next year on one toll lane in both directions on Interstate 485, from I-77 to U.S. 74. The $290 million project would also add one free lane from Providence Road to Rea Road. Construction would begin in 2019 and the toll lanes and new free lanes on I-485 are supposed be done by 2022. 

NCDOT has been holding public meetings for the project since 2015. The I-485 Express Lanes, as they're being called, are part of a network of toll lanes around the Charlotte area that NCDOT is using to help fund road improvements. These lanes are owned, operated and maintained by the North Carolina Turnpike Authority.
Courtesy Photo: Village of Scarsdale Freightway site
New York- The redevelopment of the Freightway site in Scarsdale has taken a step forward as officials have outlined a two-part process to find a developer for an aging five-story parking garage and two surface lots. In February, the Freightway Steering Committee presented a study of the 2.5-acre site. The report considered eight months of public input and research. The request for expression of interest (RFEI) calls for developers' conceptual plans and a description of how they should integrate a mixed-use facility that includes housing, retail, public space and parking. Submissions will be accepted until Oct. 15. 

The ideas outlined in the committee's report are estimated to cost between $52 million and $173 million. There are four different development suggestions from a feasibility study that was conducted earlier in 2018. The next step calls for creating a brief list of developers and a request for proposals, which will take into consideration ideas gathered from the RFEIs. The firms will then submit a proposal with development plans, which will be reviewed by village officials. It could take 9 to 12 months before a final developer is chosen for the project.
California- The city of Modesto has plans for a 300,000-square-foot justice center with no fewer than 27 courtrooms. The new Stanislaus Superior Courthouse is expected to cost about $262 million and will consolidate seven justice-related service bureaus that are presently in disparate locations throughout Modesto. All seven facilities currently have many inefficiencies and the new facility will address and improve all those inefficiencies especially as it relates to security updates. 

Modesto has already selected an engineering architecture firm. Working drawings for the project will be completed in 2018-19 with construction commencing in the 2019-2020 fiscal year. A construction manager has yet to be chosen, though a request for proposals has been issued. The state budget earlier this month earmarked funding for the project. The project was funded via Senate Bill 1407 - legislation that was signed into law in the fall of 2008 and launched a massive courthouse rebuilding program throughout California.
New York/New Jersey- The New York and New Jersey Port Authority Board of Commissioners announced that it approved a $170 million allocation to build a new, 3,000-vehicle rent-a-car facility and public parking complex at Newark Airport. This will consolidate the airport's rent-a-car facilities into a single complex next to the airport's soon-to-be-redesigned Terminal A. There are two versions of the consolidated rent-a-car facility (ConRAC) plan with a $40 million difference between them. 

The first would involve a private developer to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a ConRAC at the airport. The Port Authority's contribution to the project - which would include a public parking garage - would be capped at $130 million. If negotiations with developers are unsuccessful and a deal isn't reached before December, the Port Authority will move ahead with Plan B- build its own stand-alone garage at a budgeted cost of $170 million. Construction of the proposed integrated facility - which also allows for installation of a solar roof structure and electrical vehicle charging stations - could start in mid-summer 2019 and continue through the end of 2022, with the public parking elements completed by September 2021.
Delaware- The state of Delaware is taking steps to eliminate broadband internet gaps in rural areas. Gov. John Carney has announced that the goal is to achieve full connectivity within 24 months. This initiative would be funded by $1.3 million from the state assembly, $720,000 from the Broadband Fund and through future public-private partnerships (P3). 

The plan is to connect the 26 Delaware Electric Cooperative substations and design a network that would be custom built across the state. Carney's office has announced that a request for proposals (RFP) will be issued in August in hopes that could help solve the pressing issue of broadband gaps by 2020. Since 2015, the Delaware Broadband Fund has invested nearly $1.5 million, with Phase 1 focused on building out the fiber infrastructure. State funding leveraged over $30 million in private investment and 700 miles of fiber.
California- A measure asking the voters for $248 million worth of bonds to upgrade Gavilan College's main campus, as well as its Coyote Valley and San Benito County satellite sites, will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot. Possible targets for the bond monies, outlined in Gavilan's master facilities plan, include a new library and technology center and new performing arts theater at the main Gilroy campus. Other projects include the first phase of construction for the proposed San Benito satellite campus and expansion of classroom facilities at the Coyote Valley satellite campus. This is the second bond measure in the history of Gavilan. 

All the paperwork needs to be filed by Aug. 15 in order to have the bond proposition appear on the ballot in November. It will require 55 percent voter approval to pass. If approved, the $248 million debt would be paid off over the next 28 years through property taxes on the assessed value of homes in San Benito and southern Santa Clara counties.
Washington, D.C. - The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will make available $4 billion in loans for rural communities to finance improvements to their water and waste disposal infrastructure. The funds are available in the form of long-term, low-interest loans. A grant may also be combined with a loan if necessary to keep user costs reasonable. The USDA's Water and Waste Disposal Program has direct loans available to fund the construction, upgrade, or expansion of clean and reliable drinking water systems, sanitary sewage systems, solid waste disposal infrastructure, and storm water drainage in rural areas. 

Most state and local government entities, private nonprofits and federally-recognized tribes are eligible to apply. Projects must be located within a rural area with a population of 10,000 or less. The terms of the loans could be for up to 40 years, based on the expected lifespan of the improvements, at fixed interest rates determined by need and the median household income of the community being served by the project. Applications that are not approved by Sept. 30 will be considered for funding during the next fiscal year. For more information, visit here.
Virginia- The Henrico County Board of Supervisors has expressed interest in a public-private partnership to develop a new indoor sports facility. At the beginning of August, a request for proposals (RFP) will be issued for the project, which is envisioned to be a 194,760-square-foot, single-story building with 1,200 parking spaces. While no sites have been identified, the facility would demand 25 acres. 

The board has expressed that they would like to see development near the Richmond Raceway on East Laburnum Avenue. The county is seeking a partnership with a private entity that would own and operate the facility and is open to partially funding development. A partner will be recommended to the board by December 2018.
Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport
Washington State- The board of the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport expects September 2019 to be the timeframe to kick-off its runway project. The airport will shut down entirely for a month to realign a portion of Runway 6/12. The airport has received about $89 million in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grants and local matching and a $250,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation. The overall project is estimated to cost about $142 million; that's about $22 million more than initially expected, largely due to the cost of buying adjacent properties. 

Pullman also plans to submit an application for as much as $20 million in supplemental FAA funding later this year. If successful, that would allow the airport to accelerate work on a proposed $40 million terminal expansion, which is tentatively slated to be completed by 2022. The work will expand the size of the terminal from 8,000 square feet to about 50,000 square feet. The airport recently issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) for an engineering and design firm to assist with that project, as well as other work expected to take place over the next five years. The board could select a firm as early as next month.
Washington, D.C.- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award $770.8 million in airport infrastructure grants, as part of the total $3.18 billion in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding for airports across the United States. This third increment of funding provides 569 grants to 522 airports that will fund 949 infrastructure projects; including runways, taxiways, aprons, terminals, aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicles, and snow removal equipment. 

U.S. infrastructure, especially its 3,323 airports and 5,000 paved runways, increases the country's competitiveness and improves the traveling public's quality of life. According to the FAA's most recent economic analysis, U.S. civil aviation accounts for $1.6 trillion in total economic activity and supports nearly 11 million jobs. Airports receive a certain amount of AIP entitlement funding each year based on activity levels and project needs. If their capital project needs exceed their available entitlement funds, the FAA can supplement their entitlements with discretionary funding. Among the grant awards announced are: 

- Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Irving, Texas, $31 million - The grant funds will be used for the rehabilitation of Runway 17-C. Construction on 17-C is scheduled to be complete in 2019. 
- Ontario International Airport in Ontario, Calif., $8.7 million - Funds will be used to repair the Terminal 1 apron and the south cargo apron. 
- Augusta Regional at Bush Field in Augusta, Ga., $14.3 million - The grant will fund the repair of the air carrier and general aviation apron. 
- Ottumwa Regional Airport in Ottumwa, Iowa, $6.4 million - Funds will be used to repair Runway 13/31. 
- Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky., $10.1 million - Funds will be used to construct the federal portion of a new aircraft rescue and firefighting building. 
- Bangor International Airport in Bangor, Maine, $6.4 million - The aircraft sponsor will reconstruct Taxiway A with grant funds. 
- Lincoln Airport in Lincoln, Neb., $7 million - The funds will be used to repair a portion of Runway 17/35 and the runway lighting. 
- Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa, Okla., $12.3 million - The grant will repair a portion of Taxiway J. 
- Corvallis Municipal Airport in Corvallis, Ore., $7.6 million - The funding will be used to reconstruct portions of Runway 09/27 and Taxiway A and to repair the lighting for the runway and taxiway 09/27 and Taxiways A and B. 
- Grand Strand Airport in N. Myrtle Beach, S.C., $6.6 million - The grant will fund the repair of Runway 05/23.
- Tyler Pounds Regional in Tyler, Texas, $8 million - Funds will be used to reconstruct Taxiway F. 

 A complete listing of grants is available here.
Maryland- The Hagerstown City Council is interested in forging a public-private partnership to develop a new indoor sports complex. The city council has announced that they will issue a request for qualifications (RFQ) to build a facility on one of three proposed sites; Fairgrounds Park, the Municipal Stadium area or the municipal golf course called The Greens at Hamilton Run. 

After conducting phase one of a feasibility study the city decided to postpone funding for a second study and will reach out to the private sector. The initial study suggests developing a facility that would have one or two indoor artificial turf fields and four to six basketball courts, which could be converted into eight or more volleyball courts. While partnering with Washington County to fund the project is one option the city has considered, Hagerstown is also interested in alternative funding solutions through a private partner.
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Massachusetts- The city of Fall River will issue a request for proposals (RFP) by August or September to create a ground-mounted solar farm. The plan is to lease approximately 300 acres of land managed by the Watuppa Water Board for the solar farm. The city's goal from the solar farm project - besides additional funding for the water department, with hopes of offsetting continued water rate increases - is to raise money to purchase land on the Watuppa Reservation. The project will be a public-private partnership on multiple levels. 

The administration has been working on the plan since around early 2017. The plan involves two parcels of city-owned land totaling 58 acres, and 231 acres of privately-owned land off Blossom Road. The city would likely be seeking a 20-year lease with a solar company, of which the private land owner would receive a percentage.
Ohio- The House last week passed the $717 billion annual defense policy bill, keeping it on track to become law before the start of the fiscal year for the first time since fiscal year 1997. The House approved the compromise fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), sending it to the Senate for a final vote expected as early as this week. The National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base will get $182 million for its expansion, according to details released on the NDAA. 

NASIC will receive an appropriation of $61 million so construction can begin in fiscal year 2019. As national decision makers and others have demanded more intelligence, NASIC's workforce has increased by about 1,500 employees, or 100 a year between 2000 to 2015. The building would bring employees in six different locations into one facility. An expansion would add 900 seats to house intelligence analysts and engineers and add labs.
Courtesy Photo: Justin Scalera  
Seaside Regional Center
Connecticut- The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) will give developers until Aug. 24 to submit proposals to run a hotel at the former Seaside Regional Center in Waterford. The responses from developers will determine the future of the abandoned buildings and grounds on the Long Island Sound and will also be the first test of whether DEEP's plan to turn Seaside into a privately-run hotel on the state park property could be a success. 

The state's request, released in March, requires at least a 50-year lease of the buildings for a hotel with up to 100 rooms, and requires the developer to leave the rest of the park and beach open to the public. The ideal proposal would offer amenities such as dining, meeting space, and a spa, and make the site an attractive destination that works in harmony with adjacent neighbors, the community and nearby park properties. State-contracted architects have declared the buildings as stable and salvageable. The original structures and their additions have been vacant since 1996.
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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

- Joe Iannello, vice president and chief information officer (CIO) at the Capital Metropolitan (CapMetro) Transportation Authority in Austin, Texas, will retire effective Aug. 31. Iannelleo has been the CIO at CapMetro for seven years. CapMetro plans to post the job in the near future to replace Iannello. 
- Erik Litzenberg, who had been interim city manager in Santa Fe, N.M., since Brian Snyder's departure in late April, was tapped for the role full time earlier this month. Erik Litzenberg is a 21-year veteran of the Santa Fe Fire Department who became fire chief in 2013. Snyder is now an engineer supervisor in the water division. - Renee Riedel has been chosen as Clarinda, Iowa's economic development director. She succeeds John Greenwood, who is stepping down as part-time director. Riedel's tenure begins Aug. 6. For the past six years, Riedel has served on the Maryville City Council, including two years as mayor. 
- William Gross has been appointed as commissioner of the Boston Police Department (BPD). Gross will assume the duties and responsibilities of Commissioner William B. Evans who is set to retire from the BPD on Aug. 4. Gross currently serves as superintendent in chief of the BPD. 
- Penny Postoak Ferguson has been appointed as the county manager for Johnson County in Kansas. Postoak Ferguson has served various positions with Johnson County since joining the staff in 2010. After six months as interim county manager, she was appointed to her current position July 15. 
- Robert Garza, president of Mountain View College in the Dallas County Community College District, will be the next president of Palo Alto College. Palo Alto, one of the five community colleges in the Alamo Colleges District in San Antonio, Texas. Its current president, Mike Flores, will take over as district chancellor in October, after Bruce Leslie retires. Garza will assume his duties in September. 
- Eric Miller has been chosen as the senior vice president of economic development for the Greater Memphis Chamber. Previously, Miller worked for the South Carolina Department of Commerce where he helped recruit more than 50 new companies. 
- President Donald Trump has nominated James Paul Gfrerer as Department of Veterans Affairs assistant secretary for information and technology. Gfrerer would also serve as chief information officer (CIO). If confirmed, it would give the agency its first permanent CIO since Laverne Council stepped down in March 2017. Acting CIO Scott Blackburn stepped down in April 2018, and former Trump campaigner Camilo Sandoval has filled the role in the interim. 
- Carlos Rivero has been appointed as Virginia's first-ever chief data officer (CDO). Most recently, Rivero was the CDO and chief enterprise architect for the Federal Transit Administration. The move follows the passage of Virginia's Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act, which created the CDO position and tasked the person hired with establishing guidelines for data use and privacy as well as coordinating data sharing between pieces of the state government. 
- The Employees' Retirement System of the State of Hawaii has hired hedge fund and risk specialist Elizabeth Burton as its next chief investment officer. Burton is set to take over the $16.5 billion pension fund Oct. 1. She has spent the last two years with Maryland's public retirement system. 
- Toledo Fire and Rescue Department Battalion Chief Brian Byrd was named the department's next chief. He will take over for retiring Chief Luis Santiago, who announced his retirement last month. Chief Santiago will retire this week. Chief Byrd has been with the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department for 30 years. 
- Santa Barbara Airport Director Hazel Johns is leaving her post at the end of August. Johns began with the city in 1987 and was promoted 25 years later to airport director after Karen Ramsdell retired in 2013. 
- Justin M. Hartings has been chosen as the board president for the Maryland State Board of Education. Hartings was elected in 2008 and 2012 to the Washington County education board, on which he served as president for two years. The school system delivered the first public-private partnership school construction project in Maryland during his tenure.  
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