Posts Tagged ‘Seattle’

How To Get Your Small Contracting Business Considered for King County Public Works Projects

On November 4, 2010        

Not every public works contract is worth millions of dollars…and legislatures across the country (including the U.S. Congress) is interested in giving some public work to small and/or minority contractors.

An example of this public interest can be found in RCW 39.04.155, which establishes “small works roster contract procedures” for Washington counties.    This statute authorizes counties to create a “roster” of qualifying small contractors.   When a public works project fits the bill (is less than a certain amount of money), the county can submit the project to a contractor on the roster…as opposed to advertising the project and accepting bids.

This statute gives counties the authority to create a small works roster – it does not required it.

Relying on §39.04.155, King County has established a construction roster for small contractors.   Thanks to Mike Purdy’s Public Contracting Blog for pointing this out with his October 26th blog post:  County Establishes Construction Roster for Small Contractors.

The “Limited Public Works Roster” is explained on King County’s website here.   Here is a snippet that really explains how the roster will work in King County:

Public Works projects estimated to cost less than $35,000 may be awarded using the Limited Public Works Roster process in accordance with the Revised Code of Washington. These projects are not advertised in the newspaper. Instead where possible, a minimum of three contractors on the Roster are invited to bid for each project. These bidders are then rotated, so that all bidders in a trade category are invited to bid before any bidder receives a second invitation to bid.

Do You Qualify? The first question to ask is whether your company qualifies as a small contractor to get on this roster.    To be eligible for inclusion in the King County Limited Public Works Roster, a contractor must have either:  (i) gross revenues under $250,000 annually as reported on their Federal Tax Returns; or (ii) gross revenues under $1,000,000 annually as reported on their Federal Tax Returns.

So, what’s the difference between companies with less than $250k revenue and those with less than $1m revenue?

It’s not entirely clear.   As Mike Purdy explains:

It’s unclear to me how the County intends to use these two categories, especially since there doesn’t appear to be authority to restrict competition to contractors with revenues less than $250,000, but only to “encourage” these firms to submit bids.

How Do You Get On The Roster? This is easy.  You just provide all the information requested in the Limited Public Works Roster Application Form, which you can download from the King County website at this link.

Posted in:     Bidding, State & Federal Contracting, Washington  /  Tags: , , , ,   /   Leave a comment

Comment Period for Seattle’s New Construction Standards Expiring Soon

On November 2, 2010        

The City of Seattle has stuck with the same Construction Standards since 2008 (you can download the current standards in PDF here), and they are poised to publish a new edition in the early part of 2011.   What will these new standards look like?   That, for the time being, has not yet been completely determined.

You can take a look at the draft specifications on the city’s website.   The specifications are in a comment period until November 19, 2010, when it will close.  If you have a comment you can use the Comment Form on their website, or send an email to City_Standards_Engineer@Seattle.gov.

How is the proposed 2011 standards different from the current version?

The Ahlers & Cressman Construction Law Blog summarizes the changes as “following the trend of many public works owners…in transferring more risk to the contractor and away from the public works owner.”    Make your comments while there is still time, and we’ll see how it turns out.

Posted in:     Regulations, State & Federal Contracting  /  Tags: , , ,   /   Leave a comment

Explaining Seatte's New Energy Disclosure and Reporting Requirements

On February 10, 2010        

Building upon the “Efficiency First” SB 5854 signed into law last year by Washington Governor Chris Gregoire, the City of Seattle announced a new city ordinance that will require owners of large commercial and multi-family properties to measure its annual use of energy.

Why?  Seattle City Council Chair Richard Conlin explains in the city’s press release that “[y]ou can’t manage what you don’t measure.”

New Requirements in Washington & Seattle

In large part, the Washington bill and Seattle ordinance will require certain classes of private property owners to rate their buildings using Energy Star software, and disclose the information to prospective buyers, lessees and lenders prior to any closing transaction.

Here are some highlights of the new state-wide regulations, including information on how it may apply to you:

  • Non-residential buildings greater than 50,000 square feet must rate and disclose beginning January 1, 2011.   Buildings greater than 10,000 square feet required to rate and disclose beginning January 1, 2012.
  • Beginning January 1, 2010, public agencies may not lease or renew space in private buildings with Energy Star rating less than 75.

The Seattle ordinance adds a few wrinkles, highlighted as follows:

  • Multifamily buildings (5 units or more) are subject to disclosure requirements.
  • Rating date must be disclosed to current tenants, if they request it
  • Energy performance data must be reported annually to City of Seattle.   Multifamily properties must report beginning April 1, 2012.  Other non-residential property must report beginning April 1, 2011 if over 50,000 SF, and April 1, 2012 if over 10,000 SF.

Consequences for Failing to Report

Since the state law and city ordinance is so new and not even in full effect, it’s difficult to predict how aggressive the city and state will be in enforcing the regulations.   As time goes on and the challenges of the requirements are examined, these regulations may even be altered to aid in enforcement.

Seattle’s City Ordinance provides the city with the following remedies if a building owner fails to comply:

  1. Failure to Report:  $150 citation, and if not filed within 15 days of the citation, a $150 per day penalty for first ten days of noncompliance, then $500 per day for each day in violation pat the 10th day until compliance is achieved.
  2. Failure to Disclose:  $150 citation for first violation, $500 for subsequent violations.

The failure to disclose penalty is a lot less severe than then failure to report, which can become astronomical to a property owner if they try to ignore the ordinance.    As usual, the ordinance does provide administrative procedures to challenge and mitigate citations.

Related Links

Seattle Green Building Capital Initiative

Raw Text:   Seattle Ordinance 123226

Raw Text:   Washington Senate Bill 5854

This article was originally posted on Wolfe Law Group’s topic-specific Northwest Green Building Law Blog.

Posted in:     Green Building, Regulations, Washington  /  Tags: , , , , , ,   /   2 Comments

Starbucks Dreams About Taking the LEED

On June 29, 2009        

As the green building movement gains momentum in Louisiana, and across the nation, many have debated whether going LEED (or just going green) is worth the increased project costs.

While it certainly won’t put an end to the debate, a recent announcement out of Seattle-based Starbucks is interesting.  The coffee giant (with recent financial woes) announced the opening of a new LEED location in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, and very aggressive goals to get LEED certifications across the country, at its headquarters, and even at its roasting facilities.

What does this mean for green building in Louisiana?

It’s really too soon to say, but here are some possibilities:

(1)  Louisiana Starbucks locations may be among those getting LEED certification in the next few years;

(2) The move may influence other retail chains to build green;

(3) The committmenet from such a retail giant adds to the nation’s and Louisiana’s general green momentum.

It will be interesting to watch…but once again, as the demand for green building products and services increases, so will the supply.  From the supply perspective (architects, contractors, etc.), it’s important to ensure that your company is providing the services it promises, and protects itself from energy performance milestones that may be out of their control.

Posted in:     Green Building  /  Tags: , , ,   /   Leave a comment

Around Washington: Public Works Blooming

On March 24, 2009        

There is a growing fear that the construction market is dead – or at least headed that way. Recent figures indicate that overall building is on the decline and that, specifically, public contracting has falled at least 12% over the month of February.

Despite rashes of optimism that new building is up, the figures tend to tell a different story. Both private and public investment in new building are both on the decline. The drop off indicates that there is certainly a lack of funding and construction “players” who drive the industry.

But some states tell different stories. Some actors seem to be driven by falling costs in the construction market, and secured future sources of funding.

Take the State of Washington for example, who has recently experienced a bounding growth in publicly managed and publicly subsidized projects. Here is a peak at what is going on in the Northwest corner:

  • Pave Those Highways – Try to drive anywhere in the Seattle area and you cannot miss the traffic. Recent highway projects have taken over Interstate 5 with the intention of improving drive quality for commuters. The state estimates that over $2 billion of repairs are needed to improve I-5 in the Seattle metropolitan area. Unfortunately, the state has earmarked on a small fraction of that amount in order to complete reconditioning. Luckily, Department of Transportation administrators are not backing down, despite potential funding issues. DOT said that 2009 will be “one of its most intense and complicated construction seasons in its history.”
Posted in:     Construction News, State & Federal Contracting  /  Tags: , , ,   /   Leave a comment
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