Call to Order and Roll Call
The first meeting of the Capital Planning Advisory Board was held on Friday, June 12, 2015, at 9:00 AM, in Room 171 of the Capitol Annex. Representative Terry Mills, Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Members: Representative Terry Mills, Co-Chair; Senator Whitney Westerfield, Representative Tom Riner, Charles Byers, Jane Driskell, John Hicks, Sherron Jackson, Mary Lassiter, Dan Markwell, and Mark Overstreet.
LRC Staff: Shawn Bowen, Katherine Halloran, and Jennifer Luttrell.
Guests: Colonel Steven T. King, Construction and Facilities Management Officer and Larry Goode, Chief Warrant Officer, Department for Military Affairs; Tony Wilder, Commissioner, Department for Local Government; John Covington, Executive Director, Kentucky Infrastructure Authority; Jerry Graves, Executive Director, David Hamilton, Engineer, and Jennie Wolfe, Staff Assistant, Kentucky River Authority; Kristi Culpepper, Executive Director, and Lisa Collins, Administrative Specialist, School Facilities Construction Commission; Charles Harman, Director, Division of Budget and Financial Management, and Walter Hulett, State Supervisor, School for the Deaf and School for the Blind, Department of Education; Beth Brinly, Deputy Secretary, Fred Engel, Senior Director of Technology, Kentucky Educational Television, and Stuart Johnston, Chief Information Officer, Education and Workforce Development Cabinet; Katie Smith, Executive Director, Office of Financial Services, Economic Development Cabinet; Robin Brewer, Executive Director, Office of Budget and Fiscal Management, Transportation Cabinet; and Jeff Acob, Cemeteries Branch Manager, Mark Bowman, Executive Director, Office of Kentucky Veterans Centers, and Judy Solomon, Internal Policy Analyst, Department of Veterans Affairs.
Approval of Minutes
A motion to approve the minutes of the August 12, 2014 and the October 24, 2014 meetings was made by Representative Riner, seconded by Ms. Lassiter, and approved by voice vote.
Welcome New Members
Representative Mills welcomed two new members to the board. Senate Leadership has appointed Dan Markwell as a citizen-at-large member of the board. Jane Driskell is an executive branch appointee and was appointed to the board last October. Representative Mills also recognized and welcomed Representative James Kay to the meeting.
State Information Technology Survey – Program Review Committee
At the board’s August 12, 2014 meeting, staff from the LRC Program Review and Investigations Committee discussed an ongoing study relative to the state’s information technology resources. Because of the Capital Planning Advisory Board’s role in the capital planning and budget process, members were asked to participate. The overall consensus was that the capital planning process for information technology projects was appropriate, however, one member recommended that the list of state-funded information technology projects included in the capital plan be increased from ten to 15. With there being no objections, members were in agreement to increase the list of recommended information technology projects in the capital plan from ten to 15.
Overview of the Capital Planning Process
Shawn Bowen, Committee Staff Administrator, said over the next five months the board will meet monthly to complete its work in preparing the 2016-2022 Six-Year Statewide Capital Improvements Plan. From July through September, members will hear testimony from state agencies, postsecondary education institutions, and the judicial branch regarding their capital needs. Members will also hear reports from outside agencies that assist with preparation of the capital plan, including the Commonwealth Office of Technology, and the Council on Postsecondary Education. The last meeting, scheduled for October 20, will require members to vote upon the final draft of the plan.
Summary Information on Certain Executive Branch Agency Plans
Representative Mills said included in members’ binders was a list of state agencies, boards, and cabinets that are not scheduled to testify before the board during the planning period. These agencies utilize restricted funds for capital needs or they did not submit capital project requests.
Consideration of Agency Plans
The Capital Planning Advisory Board received testimony regarding ten state agency capital plans. The testimony included discussion of capital construction, information technology, grant/loan programs, and equipment needs for the period 2016-2022. The following state agencies testified: Department of Military Affairs, Department for Local Government, Kentucky Infrastructure Authority, Kentucky River Authority, School Facilities Construction Commission, Department of Education, Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, Economic Development Cabinet, Transportation Cabinet, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Department of Military Affairs:
Representative Riner asked if General Funds utilized for the National Guard Memorial project were needed for other capital needs. [The 2014-2016 Executive Budget included an appropriation of $300,000 in fiscal year 2014-2015 for a grant to the National Guard Foundation of Kentucky to support the National Guard Memorial.] Colonel Steven T. King, Construction and Facilities Management Officer, said the total cost of the National Guard Memorial was $1.6 million. The department received private donations and raised funds over a five-year period for the project, but it was the $300,000 grant from the General Assembly that allowed for completion of the project. Colonel King said from a historical perspective, the memorial was an outstanding tribute to those that have served and died in service of the state and the county. Representative Riner commented that state should focus more on planning and safeguarding the state’s infrastructure.
In response to a question from Representative Kay, Colonel King said the department’s federal fund request for the 2018-2020 biennium is significantly less than the other two biennia due to limited federal funding availability.
In response to a question from Mr. Hicks, Colonel King said National Guard units for personnel and human resources were initially housed in two separate buildings at Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort. The two units are now housed in one building, and the human resources building was demolished to accommodate the new aviation building. The remaining amount of leased space will be eliminated upon occupancy of the new aviation building.
Kentucky Infrastructure Authority:
In response to a question from Representative Mills, John Covington, Executive Director, said regional Water Management Councils are located in each area development district. The councils are comprised of locally elected officials and operators and managers of utility systems. The councils are responsible for developing long-range water supply plans, and prioritizing water and wastewater state-funded projects for their respective region.
Kentucky River Authority:
In response to a question from Representative Riner, Jerry Graves, Executive Director, said the agency has not taken measures to protect the dams from a possible terrorist attack.
In response to a question from Mr. Hicks, David Hamilton, Kentucky River Authority Engineer, said a substantial portion of the design work for the Design Dam 10 project, including the geotechnical work completed in 1999, is still usable. Mr. Hamilton further explained that some geotechnical work will be required, since the Corps of Engineers did not finalize the design for the dam in 1999. The original geotechnical work was completed by Mossbarger, Scott, and May Engineers. That company was eventually brought out by the current design engineer Stantec.
Responding to a question from Representative Mills, Mr. Graves said the Kentucky River Authority plans to issue bonds to finance the Lock and Dam 10 project. The bond issuance will require an increase in Tier II fees of approximately $0.11-$0.12 per 1,000 gallons of water used. The current cost per 1,000 gallons of water is $0.152. An average family of four uses approximately 4,000 gallons of water a month, costing them about $0.61 a month on their water bill. The cost after the increase will be about $0.262 per 1,000 gallons of water. The increase amounts to about 40%, or about $1.04 per 1,000 gallons.
Representative Mills said within the last year there has been some controversy about the use of natural gas pipelines to transmit liquefied natural gas. He asked Mr. Graves how this issue might affect the Kentucky River Authority. Mr. Graves said the Kentucky River Authority board would make a final decision if this were ever an issue. He said the Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers would be involved in the decision also.
Education and Workforce Development Cabinet:
Representative Mills noted the cabinet has several buildings containing vacant square footage. He asked what the plans are for the vacant space. Beth Brinly, Deputy Secretary, said the cabinet has completed a building assessment for the Covington State Office building. The cabinet plans to renovate the building and lease it out. The renovations are estimated to cost between $134,000 to $250,000. The cabinet must now determine if the work can be completed in-house, if not, a contractor will be hired. Similar building assessments are underway for the Louisville and Somerset facilities also.
In response to a question from Representative Riner regarding the placement of Kentucky Educational Television’s (KET) microwave radio towers, Fred Engel, Senior Director of Technology, KET, said he did not know the locations of the towers, but he would find out, and provide that information to the board. He added that most of the towers are in rural areas of the state situated on elevated ground to ensure better reception. Representative Riner said there has been some concern regarding the placement of these towers close to schools, and in Europe, the towers are banned.
In response to a question from Mr. Hicks regarding the availability of federal funding for the Enterprise Case Management System project, Ms. Brinly said the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet is committed to pursuing federal funding, and if funds do become available, they will apply for them.
Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs:
In response to a question from Mr. Hicks regarding the renovation of the Thomson-Hood Veterans Center from a traditional nursing facility layout to the federally-required community living concept, Mr. Bowman, Executive Director, Office of Kentucky Veterans Centers, said the new layout will reduce the amount of beds available to veterans from 285 to approximately 250. The unused space will be converted to real living space. He added that they will not lose the ability to care for veterans. The scope of work for the Thomson-Hood Renovation project includes the conversion of two 60-bed traditional nursing home wings, the Lincoln and Eisenhower Wings, to the community living concept. Currently, the bedrooms are double-occupancy and the nurse's station and gathering space is at the end of the hall. The renovations will include private rooms, centralized meal preparation areas, and comfortable gathering spaces for residents. The community living concept is now a requirement of new construction of nursing homes within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs grant-supported system.
Representative Mills said implementing the community living concept in veterans centers is more expensive than the traditional nursing home structure. He asked if a cost analysis for this project was done. Mr. Bowman said as they implement this design concept into veterans centers, they are finding ways to save money. The original model, which was implemented at the Western Kentucky Veterans Center, was structured in an inefficient manner. For the Thomson-Hood Renovation project, steps have been taken to save money and achieve economies of scale. The common areas, which include dining spaces, activities areas, and lounge areas/great rooms, and the bedrooms, will still have adjacent hallways that serve a higher number of veterans on that unit, unlike the Western Kentucky Veterans Center community living concept model, which has three separate buildings housing 12 veterans each. This type of model is inefficient because it requires staff to travel between three different buildings to care for patients.
In response to a question from Representative Mills, Jeff Acob, Cemeteries Branch Manager, said the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Central in Radcliffe opened in June 2007, and an expansion of this cemetery is the department’s number one priority. The expansion will open up approximately 3,500 burial plots, add 800 wall niches to the columbarium wall, and add 300 burial plots for in-ground cremations. Space for existing burial plots will be depleted by 2020 and space for in-ground cremations and the columbarium wall will be depleted in 2021.
Adjournment
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m.