| Contracting Opportunities in Louisiana |
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North Louisiana has been presented with economic development opportunities, in the absence of having many local minority firms with the capacity to answer the call. I need black owned and operated firms with a track record in the following areas, and who a open to partnering with local talent in the spirit of building local capacity:
Looking for firms with an appetite to do business in North Louisiana. Serious firms should contact Zazell Dudley immediately.
I. IMMEDIATE OPPORTUNITY The City of Shreveport just passed a bond totaling $175M. The attached pdf lists the projects in detail. http://www.shreveportbond2011.com/FinalProjects.pdf Here's a news release Mayor Glover sent Monday, follow the passing of the bond: City Officials Mapping Next Steps For $175 Million Bond Initiative Now that voters have opted to use $175 million in general obligation bonds to pay for numerous capital improvement projects, city officials today are laying the foundation for the next steps in the process. Propositions 1, 2 and 3 easily passed Saturday as voters showed strong support for the city’s plans to begin improvement projects for water and sewerage; public safety; parks and recreation; and streets and drainage. In addition to the merit of the projects, another major selling point to voters was the city’s strong financial position. Throughout the campaign, the city maintained that the bonds could be issued without raising property taxes and that message clearly resonated with voters. "I want to thank the voters, the Citizens Bond Committee, the entire city staff, Fire Chief Brian Crawford and the host of civic groups who came forward to advance this effort,’’ Mayor Cedric Glover said. "I also have to send a special word of thanks to the current and previous City Council members for their support and vision for this bond proposal.’’ "The voters have spoken and now it’s up to us to prove that we’ll be good stewards of these funds by establishing processes that are both effective and transparent.’’ Chief Administrative Officer Dale Sibley is meeting with department heads and other city staffers to review priority lists for projects and to go over standard operating procedures, including outlining project management responsibilities, fiscal oversight and confirming the timeline to issue the bonds. The first bond sale is likely to happen by late summer or early fall, after a process that includes the City Council passing a resolution during the April 12 meeting to declare the election results, direct necessary interaction with the State Bond Commission, discussion with rating agencies, investor presentations, securing a rating and acceptance of bids on the bonds. Once the first wave of projects is selected and the bonds sold, the bidding begins, the contractors are chosen and then the physical work gets underway. A status update at next week’s Council meeting will include information on the shovel-ready projects, projects requiring design work and projects that have legal requirements. II. IMMEDIATE OPPORTUNITY Northwest Louisiana Community Development Fund I has an opportunity with its Riverscape Parkway Mixed-Used Development, a 50-acre development on prime real estate (Phase I). Phase two adds an additional 30 acres. For more information on the project, please click on the link to follow: http://www.riverscapeparkway.com/images/forum_riverscape_news.pdf Looking for firms with an appetite to do business in North Louisiana. Serious firms should contact Zazell Dudley immediately. |