Abstracts for Technical Presentations at Oregon APWA Fall 2002 Conference

Session 1

In Portland, street lights and traffic signals used to account for nearly 20 percent of the City's energy use. At this time last year, nearly all the traffic signals still used incandescent lamps. LED traffic signals had been analyzed year earlier and were thought to be only marginally cost effective. Revisiting the potential for Led traffic signals during the West Coast electric shortages last winter, the City found that there had been some significant changes in the economics of this project. The prices for LED signal lamps had come down dramatically. Utility incentives for LED conversions had been increased. And, electric rates were going up.

There was one other significant difference as well. Portland used a unique lease-option financing the project. That arrangement allowed the leasing company to take advantage of Oregon's Business Energy Tax Credit that the City couldn't otherwise qualify for. Because the leasing company was getting a 35 percent tax credit on their investment, they were able to pass a 20 percent savings back to the City through their lease agreement. The citywide LED conversion last year was completed in three months without any capital expenditure. The lease cost payments is roughly equal to the energy savings. And, with rebates of more that $700,000 from the local electric utilities, the project showed a new positive cashflow in the very first year. Now, the Energy Trust is offering a similar program for green LED signals for other Oregon traffic signal systems that are retrofitted this year.

This presentation will cover the basic types of claims raised by construction contractors on typical public works projects. The talk will present the $500,000 claim that was filed on a project that has an original low bid of $300,000. One may ask, how did a simple sewer job result in a dispute worth more than the bid price? This presentation is a short introduction to construction claims. The Oregon Chapter of APWA offer a two-day course in the Contract Administration each fall for people who need to know more about claims.

This presentation gives an overview of mobile computing technologies, industry trends, and applications specifically relevant for public works operations. Items that will be discussed are:

• Hardware;
• Software; and
• Various industry related applications.

Session 2

Greg has designed projects in 24 cities and 11 counties in Oregon. He will be presenting one of his most unique challenges, storm drainage detention facility, which operated automatically using discharge water levels.

1. Reason for the Project: Stop flooding of an industrial area
2. Method: divert flow and store it
3. Facility: 140 acre detention facility using existing topography and berms
4. Issues:
5. Fish passage: Low flow channel; water elevations to allow fish passage
6. Sediment Buildup: monitoring and removal
7. Wetlands: avoid as much as possible; mitigate for impact
8. Safe Operations: gate movement control; emergency operator error control
9. Fail Safe Operations: redundant controls; store gate at down position
10. 100-year and Higher Flows: bank stabilization and protection
11. Maintenance: when and how to maintain; Design for ease of maintenance
12. Emergency Operations: Safe easy to understand procedures; guard against operator error

Over the past two years, Bridge Inspections have indicated some alarmingly large cracks (primarily due to shear) in many bridges. The Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) directed ODOT to assemble an open task force to review the situation and report back their findings and recommendations. The OTC reviewed and accepted the task forces report at their June 02 meeting.

This presentation will provide some information on the task force recommendations, what ODOT has done to date, and what is planned for the future to address them.

Applications of Mobile Computing for Construction Management
Jeff La Croix
Xpio Corporation

This presentation introduces "InSite," a software system for the estimation, inspection, and project management of public works projects. InSite includes:

• Project Estimator

  Give your project planning and estimate team instant access to critical information, automate job costing processes and estimate production, and free up critical time and resources to absorb a larger workloadwith less work.

•  Mobile Compliance System

  Throw away the clipboard - Using handheld or laptop computers field staff can quickly and accurately track all relevant project information. Daily Work Reports and contractor pay estimates are automatically created from captured field data.

• Project Center

  The InSite Project Center is the central nervous system for managing construction activities. It is the window to the construction site from the office. The Project Center initiates, stores, and delivers all construction information that is used for field inspection and office reporting.

Session 3

Two key sections of the federal Clean Water Act relate to water quality standards and the permitting of discharges into waters of the state. While the Clean Water Act has been law for 30 years, elements of these two sections are just now coming to the forefront of implementation. These elements are Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and the permitting of smaller stormwater sources (also known as Phase II stormwater sources).

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is responsible for implementing both the federal Clean Water Act and state water quality laws within the State. DEQs program to develop TMDLs for applicable water ways in the state is well under way and the first round of comprehensive TMDLs are expected to be complete in about 5 years. The States program to permit smaller stormwater sources is newer and the first permits are to be issued soon.

Wastewater collection and treatment is fundamentally about protection of public health and the environment. The Wastewater Division for the City of Eugene, Oregon has developed an environmental management system (EMS) to improve its performance towards increasing the environmental benefits of its activities.

Environmental Management Systems (EMS) provide a framework for organizations to more effectively manage their environmental obligations, including compliance with applicable statutes and regulations, as well as a means for moving beyond compliance to improving overall environmental performance.

The Wastewater Divisions EMS is based upon the International Standards Organizations EMS framework (ISO 14001) and was registered as compliant with the standard in 2001. The Division provides operation and maintenance services under contract to a regional wastewater Commission that serves 250,000 customers in the Eugene/Springfield metropolitan area. Under this contract the Division operates and maintains a 49 MGD regional secondary wastewater treatment plant, a biosolids processing facility, a land application site for the irrigation of food processing wastewater, and 49 local sewage pumping stations. The division has about 80 employees, including administration, operations, maintenance, laboratory, and information systems staff and an operating budget of about $7.5 million.

The EMS is focused on the Wastewater Divisions core responsibilities of protecting public health and the environment, and clarifies the guiding policies, ensures integration of the different functional components of the regional wastewater program to optimize environmental benefits, and helps to establish and maintain an effective documentation system. The Wastewater Divisions EMS is also viewed as a demonstration project for other City divisions as a means to support the Eugene City Council's resolution on Sustainability of City functions. The presentation will address the fundamental elements of the EMS as well as the benefits which have been achieved as a result, such as improvements in decreased energy consumption, solid waste reductions, decreased paper use, and reduced fuel consumption.

An Overview of the Umatilla Chemical Depot: Past, Present and Future
Mary Alice Binder
Umatilla Army Depot

Ms. Binder will discuss the history of the Umatilla Chemical Depot dating back to construction in 1941.She will also discuss current activities at the depot including the state-of-the-art Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility and the role the depot plays in emergency preparedness.

The Umatilla County Emergency Operations Center was occupied in the spring of 1999. The center is co-located with the counties Criminal Justice Center. In addition to a 250-bed jail facility , the offices of the Umatilla County Sheriff and Public Safety Answering Point (911 center) are in the facility. Construction of the new EOC was funded in part by the Army through its CSEPP (Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program), the county contributing $1.5 M to the federal grant of $1.7M. Eleven full time emergency management employees staff the center. The Umatilla Communitys Joint Information Center is also housed in the building. The facility is state of the art: FEMIS, the Federal Emergency Information System provides us with the ability to track the plume of a chemical warfare agent from the Depot with D 2 Puff, we have access to aerial photos of Umatilla and Morrow counties and road mapping with GIS and project the maps so everyone can see, we can control highway message boards and alert the public to hazards from the Depot or a winter storm or some other highway event. From the EOC we can send alert messages to about 15,000 occupied structures in the area around the Depot and to the general population via the Emergency Alert System. We are connected to the Oregon State Police microwave network and linked with the State ECC in Salem and Morrow County in Heppner. We have an Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ham radio) station, video teleconference connections with the Umatilla Army Depot, Morrow County, and Benton County, Washington. The Oregon Department of Transportation is a key player in our EOC. ODOT is key to closing roads and traffic control in our plans.

Session 4

The purpose of the presentation will be to inform potential users of the joint construction specifications of how they are structured. New users of the book will become familiar with the new document and see how it will help them to put together contracts for the construction of public works facilities. Those familiar with the previous editions of ODOT Standard Specifications for Highway Construction will have an opportunity to see how the new book has changed.

The new joint APWA/ODOT Oregon Standard Specifications for Construction

have been crafted by representatives of the Public Works sector, ODOT, Associated General Contractors, The State Attorney General Office, and by construction materials suppliers. This new construction specification will replace the ODOT Standard Specifications and the APWA specifications. The edition includes both written specifications and standardized drawings that will be used by agencies throughout the state

High-Tech Irrigated Agriculture in Eastern Oregon
Fred Ziari,
IRZ Consulting & Engineering

Fred will discuss the irrigated agriculture, water usage from the Columbia River and its contribution to Eastern Oregon economy. He will discuss examples of high-tech water and energy conservation practices used by the irrigated farms in the Umatilla and Morrow Counties. Also the practical use of satellite imagery, aerial emotes sensing, Precision farming, GPS and GIS used in the management of natural resources will be discussed.

This presentation is a follow-up to our presentation last fall on the Tri-City Wastewater Treatment Plant Biosolids Upgrade Project. Last fall we presented on the project contract procurement process. This fall, the project is nearing completion. We will report on the project delivery process, quality of project and financial results. We will also cover lessons learned and ideas for future design/ build procurements.

Session 5

History on how Tualatin's Sidewalk and Street Tree program worked in the past. What the City Council discussed and why they decided to have the City take on a Million dollars worth of repair work. How the new program works. How we are paying for the service. How our customers like it so far. What we plan to do in the future.

The Concrete Advantage: Pervious Concrete
Bob Banka, Tony McCauley, Dave Fentress, Kevin Richardson
Concrete Solutions, Inc.

Pervious pavement allows infiltration of stormwater into subsurface soil layers and drastically reduces the volume and rate of stormwater runoff. For this reason, it is considered an effective on-site stormwater management tool.

Runoff in urbanized watersheds is caused by impervious surfaces such as roads and parking lots. These surfaces are covered with sediment, oil and grease from cars, and any other pollutants spilled or dumped on them. When it rains these pollutants are picked up by the runoff, taken to the nearest storm drain, and dumped in its receiving waterbody. The larger the impervious surface area, the quicker the runoff will travel and the more power it has to pick up and transport pollutants to nearby waterbodies. Pervious pavement can significantly reduce this problem.

The nationwide crisis in infrastructure finance finally reached the U.S. Supreme Court in the late 1990s. The Court responded by limiting the power of local government to exact infrastructure improvements from developers. Other financial pressures have further constrained infrastructure construction resources. How are cities, counties and special districts responding? Has Dolan changed the strategies employed by developers and the public sector? What are the pitfalls of various approaches? How have the courts in Oregon applied Dolan and what difference has it made? Lets discuss these issues and others that you are facing now.

Session 6

Washington County installs new street lighting in unincorporated areas of the County using a process much like that used for local improvement districts. Owners, usually developers, petition the County for installation of lights by the Service District for Lighting. A service area is established, assessments determined, Board approval obtained and lights are installed by PGE. Billing of customers is done on the annual property tax bills. An issue today is the increased cost of electricity -- how can the Service District conserve energy, and protect the interests of its customers? What cost cutting measures are practical? Come here the latest in techniques.

Abstract to come

Introduction

• ACEC OREGON
• Composition
• Partners
• Professional Contracting

QBS Process

• History
• Objectives
• Process Description
• Advantages

HB 2014

• Passed and signed 2001
• Application
• Expands previous legislation
• Limits

Next Steps

• Administrative Rules
• Education
• Model Process Guidelines
• ACEC- OREGON Website

More Information Sources

Q&A

Session 7

Abstract to come

Sewernet vs Trenchnet Robots vs Backhoes
John Adams
CA Botics Fiber Systems

Advances network capabilities and ultra bandwidth applications require buildout of optical fiber connectivity. How can this be done when outside plant installation are not possible using poles or existing ducts? The old way was to use backhoes to dig trenches through city streets -- expensive, dangerous, and disruptive. Sewers and storm drains can be used as alternative rights of way and robots can go in pipes as small as 8 diameter. Hundreds of miles of fiber cable has been deployed in Japan, Germany, Austria, and Canada and initial project have been constructed in U.S. cities.

The 2001 legislature mandated formation of a group to review current state rules on public contracting procedures. That group has been meeting since that time and has developed new draft procedures which change many of the current rules. Come find out what the proposed changes are, how they may affect you and why they are necessary.

Session 8

Abstract to come

History on how Tualatin decided on a Road Utility Fee, how we went about setting it up, the public involvement, the rate structure, a brief discussion on the Pavement Management system that set this in motion. The collection of revenue to date and what we have spent the money on. Some examples of what other are doing. What changes we have made in the 12 years we have been collecting the fee.

The 2003 legislative session convenes in January. It will face many substantive issues. Many of those are of concern to us in the Public Works business  transportation regulation and funding, PERS, water and other environmental issues, land use, public contracting, etc. Come and hear what the people who represent us in Salem, AOC, and LOC see in their crystal balls.

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