Update on the State of Recovery from the GNOCTF
NEW ORLEANS , LA (May 15, 2008) –
The leadership of the Greater New Orleans Construction Task Force (GNOCTF) continues to meet to discuss the state of recovery in the metropolitan New Orleans area and to look for ways to facilitate a more efficient flow of construction work in the area.
GNOCTF grew out of a contractors’ forum at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in downtown New Orleans in March 2007 and its membership is comprised of the following
associations: Associated General Contractors, Associated Builders and Contractors, New Orleans Black Chamber of Commerce, Homebuilders Association of Greater New Orleans, National Electrical Contractors Association, AFI/CIO, Mechanical Contractors Association of New Orleans, Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association and Gulf Coast Workforce Development Initiative.
The leadership of the taskforce is made up of Chairman Freddy Yoder of Durr Heavy Construction, Vice Chairman Pat Gootee of Gootee Mechanical and a nine member executive board consisting of: Jim Lewis, Kelly Commander, Phil Hoffman, Jimmy Frischhertz, Henry Heir, Keith Bienvenu, Arnold Baker, Art Lujan and Lance Albine.
"Our mission statement is very clear: by bringing the greater New Orleans area construction industry and its allies together as one voice, we will facilitate a more efficient flow of construction work in the regional recovery," said Yoder.
The GNOCTF has four primary objectives:
- to help remove roadblocks in the local, state and federal governments that restrict recovery or hamper efficient flow of the process necessary for expedient, timely and cost effective construction that is fair to all,
- to help government advance construction projects from design through completion and remove regulatory barriers that hinder construction start-ups,
- to help train and prove more plentiful and talented manpower for construction, and
- to allow for a smooth transition for funding, bidding and construction by working with local, state and federal government to put systems in place.
“What we proposed, and were successful in doing, was to bring together a cross section of associations in the construction field,” Yoder said, “Some of these groups had philosophical differences with each other and the initial reaction was that this has never been done before and the differences are too great to work.”
Doubters were quickly turned into believers when the leadership of the GNOCTF and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USA COE) signed a partnership agreement in January designed to facilitate a more efficient flow of construction work in the regional recovery.
In the signing ceremony, senior leaders of both organizations implemented a team building effort to enhance mutual trust and respect in construction and hurricane protection efforts. Both parties agreed on the need for team-building that will help eliminate road blocks in the recovery construction business.
The next thing the GNOCTF did was make a list of things that have always hampered construction in the past and decided to divide into various committees and try to break down these barriers.
These committees included USA COE Partnering, a City of New Orleans Permits and Inspections, Outstanding Monies Owed Recovery Contractors, Labor and Training and a general Roadblock and Logjam Committee designed to work with individual departments in government.
The committees have accomplished quite a lot since they were formed.
The USA COE committee has created a payment form to expedite timely payments on COE projects and both parties have agreed to put a time limit on negotiating contract modifications. Additionally, the two parties are discussing the possibility of the COE making conditional payments on modifications during constructions and payment on delinquent COE work have begun to flow.
This committee is also working on possible ways to create transparency in the RFP process and ways to reduce the excess duration of the job at bid time. The group also identified problems related to the insufficient number of Government Borrow Sites and the process associated with the approval of the Borrow pits. The current methods used for procuring property may be viewed as an unfair bidding process to some.
“On a positive note, the Corps has awarded several billion dollars in contracts since the storm and they seem to be moving quickly to fix the problems,” Yoder said. “The leadership at the Corps has been very receptive to listening to the taskforce’s concerns.”
The City of New Orleans Permits and Inspections committee has made great strides as well. Previously, the backlog time for review was 12 weeks and it has now been shortened to 2-3 week. The City of New Orleans has committed, as well, to reducing the time associated with reviewing permits to three weeks after receipt of the plans. This means projects can begin in a month rather then months.
The GNOCTF has met with and has the support of the Mayor Nagin’s office. Mayor Nagin has helped to coordinate a meeting with sewage and water board leaders and help recertify issues that may hamper reconstruction of the infrastructure. The group also met with members of Councilmen Felkow’s office to ensure that money is in the 2009 budget to increase the staff in the permit and inspector’s offices.
The committee is happy to report that Jefferson Parish is making significant strides toward training permit technicians and getting inspectors certified on the new building codes as well.
“I think the GNOCTF has accomplished quite a lot in its short lifespan and believe that we have only touched the surface on what can and will be accomplished in our industry,” Yoder said. “It’s a win-win for the industry and the citizens who live here.”