As with all large cities, local transportation is a priority in Fort Worth.
At the Feb. 4 work session, the city council received a briefing on local transportation consultant and contractor capacity in relation to the 2014 and 2018 bond programs.
An update on the 2014 bond program includes:
*Design – 13, of which nine are mobility projects.
*Bid and award – 3, including a pair of arterials.
*Construction – 12 (arterials 5, neighborhood streets 4, mobility 3).
*Complete – 79, mostly divided between mobility (36) and neighborhood streets (32).
*On hold – 5, all mobility.
*Canceled – 4 (mobility 3, arterial 1).
As for the 2018 bond program update:
*Planning – 5 (neighborhood streets 3, arterials 2).
*Design – 51, of which 25 are mobility.
*Bid and award – 6, with neighborhood streets accounting for 4.
*Construction – 11, including a half dozen neighborhood streets.
*Complete – 5, all mobility.
*On hold – 1, arterial.
Minority/Women Business Enterprise awards from 2014-19 included:
*Construction – 65 total contracts, 10 M/WBE prime, 186 Minority Business Enterprise sub-contracts.
*Professional – 51 total contracts, 12 M/WBE prime, 111 Small Business Enterprise sub-contracts.
Moving forward, economic development strategies include capacity-building for minority-owned businesses by expanding the capacity of minority-owned businesses to secure contracts and achieve success.
“We’re retaining the (M/WBE) contractors we’ve used, but we’ve added more contractors in 2018-19,” said Lauren Prieur, Assistant Director of Capital Delivery, City of Fort Worth.
The fiscal year 2018-19 status highlights include:
*The Beck School of Construction Fort Worth graduated 14 MBEs in November.
*A M/WBE availability and disparity study is in progress, with final results expected by April 1.
*Hosted eight vendor information forums, three certification workshops, and three other workshops for M/WBEs covering requests for proposal, requests for quotation, invitation to bid, and best value solicitation.
*Structure of a mentor/protege’ program is being developed.
*A partnership with the performance office is in progress to create a business
diversity enterprise training, for all employees, in the Employee University training module.
Next steps include continuing to hold quarterly RFP, RFQ, ITB, and best
value solicitation workshops, along with:
*Launching the mentor/protege’ program this year.
*Increasing partnership efforts with advocacy agencies who promote M/WBE development.
*Conducting a Business Development Enterprise ordinance compliance online training class for project managers and buyers in the Employee University.
*Partnering with The Beck Group to host the Second Beck School of Construction Fort Worth for M/WBEs this year.
*Evaluating the roles of the city, the three chambers of commerce, and other associations, and identify what gaps exist.
*Implement strategies to address these gaps.
*Expand advocacy by hosting events in city community centers.