Four Offer to Provide City Services to City of Central

CENTRAL — Four experienced national firms have submitted proposals to provide City Services in the City of Central.  The four are:

• Institute for Building Technology & Safety (IBTS)

• Severn Trent Services

• Central Municipal Services Group, formed by CSRS

• CH2MHILL, the current contractor

IBTS. For more information on the low bidder, IBTS, see separate story CLICK HERE.

To see the IBTS proposal, CLICK HERE.

Here is information on the other three bidders, based on their proposals:

Severn Trent Services has 35 year’s experience in contract services operations.  It began providing municipal services to the City of Weston, Florida, in 1978 and has long experience with privatization.

Formed as a governmental entity in the United Kingdom, Severn Trent was itself privatized and now operates as a for-profit entity.  It continues to provide water quality services for 3.7 million households in the UK.

Its combined companies employ 9,000 workers, serving 20 million consumers worldwide.  It is a $2.8 billion company. The company has an extensive resume.  For example, it provides municipal services in Celebration, Florida, an innovative planned community, and water services in Plaquemines Parish.

The Transition Manager for Severn Trent would be Ken Cassel, who would help select the Program Director, Public Works Director, and other key personnel.

To read the Severn Trent proposal, CLICK HERE.

Central Municipal Services Group is a creation of CSRS, a privately-held, Louisiana-based professional services firm with nearly 100 employees.  It is well known in the Baton Rouge area and has many governmental clients throughout the state.  For example, it manages the City-Parish’s Green Light Program.  Other clients include the Zachary school system, Amite River Basin Commission, Ascension Parish, and others.

CSRS promises in its proposal transparency and a seamless transition.  It has put together a consortium of firms to work on the project, including CSRS, General Informatics, SEMS, Inc., and others.

The proposed Program Director would be Peter Newkirk, P.E., former City-Parish director of Public Works.  Director of Operations and P&Z administrator would be Anthony R. Matheny, and director of Public Works would be David R. Cobb, CBO.

To read the CSRS proposal, CLICK HERE.

CH2MHILL is the Colorado-based $6 billion employee-owned international firm that has administered City Services in Central for the past three years.  CH2MHILL proposed two alternatives, one of which would provide more transparency in its operations.

CH2MHILL would continue with Roy Hutchinson as Program Manager and David Cody as Public Works Director.  It said it would build on its three years of hands-on experience.  The proposal said that the firm “when selected, will enter into good faith negotiations.”

The company said that it has a 98 percent completion rate on service call requests, completed 4,000 inspections in 2010, and issued more than 5,000 permits over three years.

To read the CH2MHILL proposal, CLICK HERE.