Jones, Bill

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B ill J onesU nited  C onsulting  Engineers, Inc.Indianapolis, Ind iana[Editor’s Note—This paper—though submitted in outline form—makes its points quite clearly].T A K E S T O O  L O N G — T O O  C O M P L IC A T E DLocal Public Agencies (LPAs) do not thoroughly understand  the system and w hat it takes to work with it— neither does anyone else.M any agencies to deal with:FH W A , ID O H , D N R , C orps Engineers, local agencies, archaeo­logists, biologists, historical societies, public utilities, railroads. C on tinual changes in policies, p rocedures— some recent exam ples: Prim e farm  g round— Farm  Land Protection Policy Act Public Involvem ent Policy New A A S H T O  Design C riteriaV ertical curves, structure w idths, shoulder w idth encroachm entsEach phase of p roject needs special expertise and  holds m any uncerta in ties— always unanticipated  problem s:P rogram m ing— project m ay not be approved by ID O H  E nvironm ental A ssessm ent— archaeology reconnaissance, fish and wildlife hab ita t, wetlandsPrelim inary  E ngineering— public hearing  consequences Land A cqu isition /R /W — condem nations, relocations C onstruction  Inspection— shortage of qualified people F und ing— appropria tions, allocations, obligations/ceilings, etc. Review process involves m any people:M any personnel involvedEach is expert in own area but not othersPersonnel changes continuallyLarge volum e of work slows down processC om m unication /M ailing  slows process (worse if rem ote from SOB) Federal aid will always be a com plicated process. Not m uch LPA can do about it. Too m any agencies to deal with.LPA can do things to reduce the length of tim e involved:W hy Local Public Agencies Are NotU sing Federal Funds to M axim umPart I I I—C onsultant View127M ust have someone responsible to learn and work with the system. M ust work at it daily— everydayM ust know each activity and plan next move— anticipate problems M ust know the personnel involved in the review and talk to them  M ust have a p rogram  of projects:Prepare work p ro g ram — an n u a l— long range A nnual p rogram m ing— FA 2’s Funding  of local share A ppropriate fundsM ust stick to the projects in the program .M ust show an interest keeping the projects m oving and com pleting them  in a tim ely m anner.T hree ways to accom plish the above:LPA Forces—larger L P A ’s do this C on su ltan t— sm aller L P A ’s do this C om bination— best solutionC onsu ltan ts—can do all of the above but also can contribute to the com ­plication and slow down:O verloaded with workDo not thoroughly understand  the process W ork on projects where pressure is put Low fees/no profit— can be caused by b idding A nnual overhead factor approval by ID O H  Selection of a consultant:Follow approved selection procedures, all L P A ’s m ust have one. M ake sure all work items are covered. Save tim e for additional selec­tion process on o ther phases:Environm entalPE—utility agreem ents, perm its, D N R , Corps of Engineers, public hearing, R R  force account work, reim bursable utilities R /W  E ngineering— plans, legal description, title insurance, stake outR /W  Services— appraisals, review appraisals, relocation, condem ­nation , encroachm ents certification of R /W  C E — construction inspectionW hat will consultant do?/W hat will LPA do?— item for item? W hat is consultants experience on all items?Check their perform ance record:ID O H  rates perform ance Check with o ther L P A ’s Pre-proposal m eeting with ID O H  is required  M onthly  progress reports requ ired— w ritten Also ask for personal progress reports when needed Follow com pletion schedule per agreem ent128Show an interest in timely completion of the project. If LPA not inter­ested consultant m ay lag in progress.H old consultant accountableC O S T  T O O  M U C H — M A T C H IN G  SH A R E  L A C K IN GT ruly  costs more but you get safer, quality controlled, longer lasting,low m aintenace projects.Paying for all the extra work items to assure the project takes into ac­count the best interests of all parties involved.At 20-25%  (m atching share) LPA gets quality  project.At 80-75%  FH W A  pays for all the additional work not required  by 100% lcoal funded projects.Federal F unding  of projects is here to stay.In order for LPA to get their fair share they m ust be in position to pay the m atching share.O ther L P A ’s, ID O H , or worse, other states will get the funds if you d o n ’t use them .L P A ’s m ust find revenue for m atch.C um ulative fund, wheel tax, etc.W ork for larger share of M V H  W ork for reduction of m atching shareS U M M A R YPlan your work and stick to it. D o n ’t keep switching project each year.W ork your plan. Need someone to stay on top of all activities daily.Fund your plan (m atching share)Go for all the federal funds available to you.If you do all the things, the projects will begin to flow and the time will shorten and it w on’t seem so com plicated.W hen you see your projects under construction and open to traffic you will wish you had started  sooner.129

Why Local Public Agencies Are Not Using Federal Funds to the Maximum Part III - Consultant View

https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3513&amp;context=roadschool

Why Local Public Agencies Are Not Using Federal Funds to the Maximum Part III - Consultant View

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