Department of Public Works

At a Glance

JAMES T. FLEMING, Commissioner

Jonathan P. Holmes, Deputy Commissioner

David J. O’Hearn, Deputy Commissioner

Established - 1987

Statutory authority - CGS Chapters 59 and 60, 4b-1 et seq.

Central office - 165 Capitol Avenue,

Hartford, CT 06106

Number of permanent full-time employees - 176

Recurring operating expenses - $47 million

Organizational structure - Office of the Commissioner; Construction Services; Legal Services; and Leasing and Facilities Management.

Mission

To be the leader in providing quality facilities and in delivering cost-effective, responsive, timely services to state agencies in the areas of planning, design, construction, facilities management, leasing, property disposition and security.

With our diverse, competent workforce, to partner with our customers and industry providers, to make the best use of the state’s resources.

Statutory Responsibility

The Department of Public Works (DPW) is responsible for the design and construction of nearly all major state facility capital projects, leasing and property acquisitions for most state agencies, facility management, maintenance and security of state buildings in the greater Hartford area as well as certain properties outside of the Hartford area, and the administrative functions of establishing and maintaining security standards for certain state facilities and surplus property statewide.

The department also assists agencies and departments with long-term facilities planning and the preparation of cost estimates for such plans.

DPW provides facility-related services to the majority of Connecticut’s state agencies and commissions. Many DPW services, such as security, parking and snow and ice removal, also benefit members of the public who visit the facilities. It is the policy of DPW to work in close cooperation with its client agencies to ensure that the finished product reflects the needs of the agency and facilitates the delivery of its services for their clients.

Improvements/Achievements 2003-04

Construction Services

During fiscal year 2003-04, DPW completed several significant construction projects including:

Ø A new energy center at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven at a cost of approximately $25 million

Ø An expansion of the Hartford Juvenile Detention Center at a cost of approximately $17 million

Ø A new parking garage at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain at a cost of approximately $15 million

Ø A new information technology center at Norwalk Community College at a cost of approximately $9.2 million

Ø A new learning resource center at Northwestern Connecticut Community College in Winsted at a cost of approximately $8.4 million

Ø A major renovation of the Police Academy in Meriden at a cost of approximately $7 million

Legal Services

DPW continues to focus efforts on the review of the construction and consultant selection processes, with emphasis on incorporating best practices, achieving transparency and ensuring integrity in each selection process. In addition to creating and staffing a legal unit to scrutinize each and every selection contract, a new objective rating and scoring system has been developed that exceeds the requirements prescribed by PA 03-215. Selection panel members are now chosen randomly and rotated. Panel members certify they have not communicated information with any proponent that is not available to other proponents, that their rating is not the result of collusion, the giving or promise of a gift, compensation, fraud or inappropriate influence from any person. Final scores are computed several ways as a crosscheck and balance. Selection processes are monitored to ensure compliance with the new procedures.

In an effort to achieve consistency, comparable changes are being introduced to all DPW selection processes. The improvements are being adapted to apply to any bid, proposal or qualifications submittal received from anyone seeking to work with DPW, including both consultants and contractors for both formal and informal projects, including special legislation and design-build projects, as well as property managers and lessors.

Leasing and Facilities Management

Facilities management continued its reorganization efforts to better serve its tenant agencies and improve performance related to environmental, safety, building inspections, capital project planning, preventative maintenance, and the management of property management firms. New processes and procedures for the selection of property management firms have been developed and successfully implemented.

During fiscal year 2003-2004, the leasing and property transfer units were combined into one unit with the administrator directly reporting to the deputy commissioner. Leasing and property transfer’s portfolio consists of approximately 2.8 million square feet for some 80+ state agencies with over 200 leases in place at any one time. The unit handles approximately 90 projects for leasing and approximately 50 projects per year for property transfer. The unit continues its process improvement efforts to enhance its services to tenant agencies.

The unit's updated draft Leasing and Property Transfer Operating Manual has been completed and is under review. In addition, a standard lease agreement approved by the Office of Policy and Management, the State Properties Review Board, and the Office of the Attorney General was instituted. The lease proposal outline (LPO) was eliminated. These efforts have decreased the amount of time necessary to process a lease by a minimum of six months. Reviews at several levels also have been instituted to ensure quality control of all documents. A training program for all of the unit's employees is approximately 75 percent complete. Finally, the request for space (RFS) approval form has been updated to better reflect an agency’s projected space needs.

DPW's statewide security unit continues its mission to improve the overall level of security for state employees, clients, visitors, and assets of the state of Connecticut in both state-owned and leased facilities. To date, 94 buildings in 29 cities and towns have had, or are in the process of having physical security improvements installed. Equipment and systems such as alarms, access control, video surveillance and access portals have been deployed to mitigate risks that were identified during comprehensive building security audits. Approximately $9,000,000 has been expended in support of this initiative thus far, and the program remains ongoing.

The statewide security unit, working in partnership with the state police and the various state agencies, also has continued its efforts to prevent occurrences of workplace violence. Procedures and protocols that have been in place for the past several years continue to ensure that a well-coordinated response to threats of workplace violence is available as a resource to all state agencies. Ongoing training programs for employees, supervisors, managers and human resources staff, as well as early recognition and reporting of potential issues, are the key components that ensure the continued success of this program.

Information Reported as Required by Statute

The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities approved the DPW’s Affirmative Action Plan on May 13, 2004. As of June 30, 2004, the department had 176 permanent, full-time employees: 62 percent males and 38 percent females; 18 percent minorities, 57.4 percent white males and 24.4 percent white females.

The agency continues its commitment to increasing the representation of women and minorities in the DPW workforce, providing upward mobility within the agency, and to promoting small and minority-owned businesses through a strong contract compliance program.