Interest in, and activity around, public works and infrastructure projects has seen a boost in the last several years, as massive federal spending has flowed down to the local level and as local bodies work to accommodate growing populations and demands for services.
Attendees at this week’s BEX Companies Leading Market Series event, “Upcoming Public Works Projects,” held at ASU SkySong, heard from officials with three leading Valley municipalities as they detailed their plans and processes for both today and the next several years.
The panel was moderated by Jeff Hamilton—VP of transportation, business development manager for Sundt—and was made up of:
- Lance Webb, assistant city engineer, City of Mesa;
- Ryan Blair, capital improvements manager, Town of Gilbert; and
- Steve Scinto, director of engineering, City of Goodyear.
After brief opening remarks by BEX President and Founder Rebekah Morris, Hamilton quickly got down to business, giving the panelists an opportunity to summarize their municipalities’ current state of operations and planning and letting the audience know there are big things happening now, with more to come in the future.
The 10-year plan for Gilbert, for example, has a total of 421 projects with costs estimated at $4.88B in today’s dollars. In the fiscal year 2024 plan alone there are 135 active projects and 11 more budgeted, according to Blair’s introduction. Gilbert breaks projects down into eight separate categories. Leading the current pack is Water, with 48 projects and a total value of $603.8M, followed by Streets with 47 projects at $364.4M.
Scinto reminded the audience that Goodyear voters had approved a general obligation bond request last November, which included $135M for Streets & Transportation, $80M for Public Safety and $17M for Parks and Recreation. The City’s proposed five-year Capital Improvement Plan totals $570M.
In presenting Mesa’s update, Webb focused less on the hard numbers and more on the extensive range of projects the City is addressing in its across-the-board efforts to maintain and expand services and capabilities for residents. He noted Mesa generally has around 350 CIP projects in the works during any given year and shared with the audience that vertical projects have seen a significant uptick recently. According to Webb, vertical projects now account for approximately 25% of the City’s workload, with between 90 and 100 different vertically focused projects at the moment, compared to just a dozen 10 years ago.
Questions and Answers; Priorities and Challenges
Following the introductions and updates, Hamilton opened the program’s question and answer session. First off, he asked the panelists to describe their cities’ prioritization processes.
Scinto led off by saying Goodyear tries to plan out the next five years in detail and then focus on expected needs for the five after that, after which they take public feedback and engage in discussions with the City Council to set specific goals and timelines to best allocate political capital, public resources and development expertise.
Webb said contributors in Mesa are made up of 16 different departments, which his staff works closely with to prioritize and score. Proposed projects are evaluated in terms of need, timeline and potential future-versus-current cost estimates, and staff and department representatives work together to reconcile competing interests if they arise.
In Gilbert, Blair said, Capital Improvements is not the ownership entity for projects. As a result, the Town’s Office of Management and Budget meets with the various departmental stakeholders and assigns priorities between the two, which his section then works to implement.
Like their colleagues in the private development sector, public works leaders have been affected by market volatility in recent years. Hamilton asked the panelists to detail their most significant current challenges.
Webb said he has seen the major issues with materials availability start to even out, but that the currently overheated state of the labor market is presenting ongoing challenges. He said Mesa is trying to find a balance and level off those costs where possible, including locking in cost agreements where it can.
Blair said Gilbert is continuing to face struggles when it comes to materials with long lead times, such as concrete and steel. Speaking of the challenges in ensuring availability and successfully planning so as to avoid delays, he said, “You can’t buy time.” Blair added that he and his staff work closely with contractors and consultants across the process to understand risk factors to reduce and accommodate impacts where possible.
Scinto echoed Blair’s challenges with long lead times for materials, particularly steel and any components that have to be sourced overseas. He said scoping, scheduling and trying to understand every portion of the process and timelines as early as possible has become essential.
All the panelists agreed that, regardless of the delivery method, the traditional, linear approaches to design and execution no longer work well. Webb said the steps and components of a project have to be broken down early in the process and that procurements must also start earlier. He stressed that planners and providers need to ask themselves, “How can I change it up?” and that the design and construction providers need to be able to understand the components of a project, build in flexibility and be able to “explain the ‘why?’s.”
STEVE BOSCHEN
WENDY COHEN
ERIC FROBERG
