Category: David Pendered

By David Pendered

Even on the second round of bids, concessionaires who want a concessions contract at Atlanta’s airport had lots of questions about the process.

In fact, vendors submitted 157 questions. These questions provide a glimpse into the secret world of contracting that spans from local restaurants to global giants of the concessions industry.

The queries submitted by vendors indicate the level to which they are struggling to manage their way through the massive procurement process in a climate of heightened security and immigration compliance. In addition, some questions try to pry open the proposals that were rejected, possibly to learn more about the competition’s plans.

By David Pendered

The Chattahoochee, Flint and Savannah rivers have made the 2011 Dirty Dozen, a list of the worst offenses against the state’s waterways, according to the Georgia Water Coalition.

“This is more than a list,” Jerry McCollum, president of the Georgia Wildlife Federation and a founding member of the Coalition, said in a statement released Monday. “This is a call to action for Georgia’s citizens and its leaders. The sites populating this list are only poster children for the larger problem of a system that is failing to protect our water, our fish and wildlife and our communities.”

The Chattahoochee ranked fourth, the Savannah ranked third and the Flint River ranked seventh on the list.

By David Pendered

The construction of the planned streetcar system in Downtown Atlanta cleared its first big hurdle Wednesday at Atlanta City Hall.

The Finance Committee of the Atlanta City Council approved measures needed to start building the streetcar system. The committee approved plans to:

Lease almost two acres for a future parking lot and maintenance barn beneath the Downtown Connector, between Auburn and Edgewood avenues;

Provide a total of up to $10.7 million to relocate water and sewer utilities, and to add enhancements related to the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists along the streetcar route.

By David Pendered

The second round of proposals for concessions contracts at Atlanta’s airport looks a lot like those submitted for the first round.

The only difference is that one company, a joint venture that had been disqualified from Round 1, dropped out of competition for Round 2. However, half of that company did resubmit even more proposals with a new partner, city records show.

Atlanta also changed some reporting requirements concerning whether a company’s employees may legally work in this country. The reporting issue was one reason the city announced on Sept. 2 that it was throwing out all proposals and starting the bid process anew.

By David Pendered

By osmosis, Atlanta has absorbed Savannah’s port.

Atlanta’s mayor, Kasim Reed, has become the local face of the proposed deepening of the Savannah Harbor. Atlanta’s media seems to pay more attention to the latest twists in the two-decade process of deepening the harbor than to progress on the new international terminal at Atlanta’s airport.

The main news out of last week’s State of the Ports luncheon was the number of jobs the ports created in the metro Atlanta area. Meanwhile, one of Gov. Nathan Deal’s comments – concerning the transportation sales tax referendum – barely registered.

By David Pendered

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed outlined his vision Tuesday for the airport to greatly expand its role as a freight handler.

Reed said he can see the day when passengers use the airport by day, and in the wee hours the airport becomes a major freight-handling facility. Reed made the comment during a panel discussion at the third annual State of the Ports Luncheon.

“At midnight, the airport should be handling cargo,” Reed said, adding that he wants to see the airport join the ranks of the top 10 cargo handlers.

By David Pendered

All bets are off when it comes to guessing what entity state lawmakers will select or create to run metro Atlanta’s assortment of transit systems, as ordered by Gov. Nathan Deal.

GRTA would be a logical starting point, as some lawmakers suggested last week. On Monday, Sen. Steve Thompson (D-Marietta), who co-sponsored the bill that created GRTA in 1999 for then-Gov. Roy Barnes, said that role was part of the original vision for the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority.

The state Department of Transportation shouldn’t be ruled out as a contender. State law provides for GDOT to own – and operate – transit systems.

By David Pendered

Some of the wind seemed to have gone out of the sails of Occupy Atlanta by Sunday afternoon.

The crowd was smaller than that of Sunday a week ago. Those who were at Troy Davis Park, nee Woodruff Park, seemed a bit like the crowd who’d arrived at a hot party after it had peaked.

Mayor Kasim Reed may have contributed to the lackluster feeling. Reed has provided the group wide privilege at the city’s iconic park in the heart of the central business district. On Sunday, the mayor forbade an unpermitted concert and it was summarily cancelled.

By David Pendered

Atlanta remains on schedule to open proposals from companies seeking contracts for airport concessions next week.

Meanwhile, the city on Friday requested additional clarification on a saportareport.com story that appeared Oct. 18 about the concessions bid process.

Atlanta is conducting what it says is the largest airport concessions procurement process in North American history. The city is seeking private companies to manage all of the 125 food and beverage sites at the airport, plus 27 retail shops.

By David Pendered

This story has been updated.

Renee Glover will be gone from the Atlanta Housing Authority as fast as the lawyers can reach a deal, following a vote Wednesday by the AHA board of commissioners.

The AHA board elected Dan Halpern as chairman. Halpern, appointed to the board by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, has been a persistent critic of Glover’s management of the city’s housing authority.

The board adopted new procedures that require the board to vote on all firings; new contracts valued at $10,000 or more; and contract extensions of $10,000 or more.

By David Pendered

Gov. Deal’s task force to reform transit governance seems to be serious about getting something done.

The panel met in public for the first time Tuesday. One bi-partisan message that emerged clearly is that the committee intends to comply with Deal’s order that legislation establishing an entity to oversee regional transit in metro Atlanta be presented to the state Legislation in January.

Another clear message also emerged, this one delivered to transit operators – tell us what you want now; don’t wait until after we’ve written a bill and then tell us how to tweak it to suit.

By David Pendered

Atlanta’s chief finance officer is out, just 16 months after Mayor Kasim Reed nominated her with glowing remarks.

The departure of CFO Joya C. De Foor was announced to members of the Atlanta City Council in an email Monday evening. The email was signed by Reed’s chief of staff, Candace Byrd.

Peter Aman, Atlanta’s COO, said late Tuesday that he could not speak on the situation because it is a personnel matter.

By David Pendered

Atlanta’s clarification: See below

Botched paperwork by two corporations fueled the decision by Atlanta to rebid the entire concessions package at the airport, said to be the largest airport concessions procurement in North American history.

The new bids are due next week – on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26. Atlanta cancelled its airport procurement program Sept. 2 and required every company to submit new bids, regardless of whether their proposals were flawed.

One of the two companies is trying to break into Atlanta’s airport: Delaware North, one of the nation’s larger vendors. The other company is Great Atlanta Concessions, a new joint venture involving one of the country’s biggest Hispanic franchisees, and a company controlled by an Atlanta businessman with diverse interests including service on a board with former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young.

By David Pendered

No one thought they could do it.

Reaching concensus on a plan to build roads and transit across 10 counties in metro Atlanta was just too tough a task.

In the end, a retired Georgia Tech band director got 21 elected officials to play the same song. The region now has a 10-year plan to spend $6.14 billion to improve mobility. Voters next year will decide its fate.

By David Pendered

Occupy Atlanta showed no evidence of shutting down Sunday afternoon.

The group has until the adjournment of the Atlanta City Council meeting on Monday, according to an executive order Mayor Kasim said in an Oct. 12 statement that he signed. A copy of the executive order was not evident on the city’s website.

Here are photos and videos of some sights and sounds of the Occupy Atlanta event.

By David Pendered

Thursday was a day for celebration.

The elected officials who served on the Atlanta Regional Transportation Roundtable savored the moment after casting their final vote to create a $6.14 billion program to improve the region’s roadways and transit. Thursday was not the day to dwell on the task of convincing voters to agree to pay for the plan through a 1 percent sales tax.

“We’re not going to get bogged down in any of those issues,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said in response to a reporter’s three-pronged question: Whether to move the sales tax vote from July to November; the duration of the tax; and who will govern the region’s transit.

Here, in their own words, is a snapshot of Thursday’s celebration.

By David Pendered

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce has hired a seasoned transportation advocate to serve as executive director of a chamber affiliate that will focus on long-term transportation strategy – including passage of the transportation sales tax.

Doug Callaway will lead the Georgia Transportation Alliance. The state chamber formed GTA in April to promote a new effort to improve the mobility of freight and people through Georgia.

Callaway now serves as president of Floridians for Better Transportation. He joined FBT in 2003, following his work with Carter & Burgess, a national engineering consulting and management firm.

By David Pendered

In the end, there is no magic bullet that promises to kill traffic congestion, no gee-whiz technological solution to end gridlock in metro Atlanta.

The region’s transportation options will look a lot like they do today, even if the region embarks upon a 10-year, $6.14 billion construction program that would be funded by a proposed 1 percent sales tax collected in 10 counties.

If voters approve the tax next year, MARTA is to build its long-awaited rail line to Emory University; Cobb County is to provide express bus service linking north Cobb County and Midtown Atlanta; and Atlanta will install transit along the BeltLine. Scores of roadways and interchanges are to be improved in hopes of hastening traffic.

By David Pendered

When Atlanta reaches for money to help build the BeltLine transit system along North Avenue, the city intends to turn to one of its boldest methods for jumpstarting development.

Atlanta plans to use revenues from its tax allocation districts to help pay for the transit system. Atlanta is one of the few local governments in Georgia that embrace this financing method, which is used widely across the country.

The TAD money could help cover BeltLine costs that exceed the $602 million Atlanta is earmarked to receive from the proposed 10-county transportation sales tax, if voters approve the tax next year. Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said local funds, and perhaps other alternative sources of money, will bridge a funding gap.

By David Pendered

The question of how to pay for transit remains a central stumbling block facing metro Atlanta leaders as they assemble a transportation package they can put on a ballot next year.

As the issue now is framed, the question is whether to pay up to $80 million into GRTA bus service by shifting money from the amount earmarked to help pay for other transit programs: MARTA; Atlanta’s BeltLine; and two future transit routes – one to Cumberland Mall and one toward Emory University.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed urged the Atlanta Region Transportation Roundtable to delay any decision. He called on members to deliberate the prospect of getting the state to pay into GRTA.