2/28/2007
Contact:
Harry Lorick, P.E.
Lorick Associates Consulting
(310) 374-5777
hlorick@laconsulting.com
Neal Leavitt
Leavitt Communications
(760) 639-2900
neal@leavcom.com
Manhattan Beach, CA, Feb. 28, 2007 – LA Consulting, Inc. has been awarded four infrastructure maintenance and operations improvement contracts in three states - California, Florida, and Nevada. Harry Lorick, P.E., LA Consulting president, made the announcement.
The City of Irvine, CA, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Volusia County, FL, and the Truckee Meadows Water Authority in Reno, Nevada retained the firm to evaluate their respective maintenance and operations and identify areas where each can improve using best business practices and technology.
Irvine, population 171,000, is about 40 miles south of Los Angeles. The city was incorporated in 1971 and is one of the nation’s largest planned urban communities.
According to Irvine I.T. Administrator Jan Canevari, LA Consulting began the management systems evaluation about a year ago. The City anticipates it will take another year for implementation. The project encompasses 1,692 lane miles of streets, 297 acres of parks, 600,000 square feet of facilities, 286 traffic signals and 498 miles of stormwater facilities.
“We’re growing at an exceptional rate and this system will enable us to prioritize and track our assets accurately,” Canevari said. “LA Consulting has done a wonderful job in consolidating our islands of information into one database – we’ll be able, for instance, to have one GIS accessible database.”
Canevari added that LA Consulting will also assist Irvine in writing the RFP for maintenance systems management software and help implement the system and related business improvement throughout the City’s maintenance operations.
The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District is located in Los Altos, CA, about 40 miles south of San Francisco. The District purchases, protects and restores lands and has permanently preserved 50,000 acres of mountainous, foothill and bayland open space, creating 25 open space preserves, 24 of which are open to the public. The District covers an area of 550 square miles and includes 17 cities.
LA Consulting is evaluating 24 of these preserves and establishing best approach for managing and operating for open space and related facilities. District assets include 246 trail miles, 639 signs, two maintenance yards and 51,000 acres of open space. Key tasks include field trail inspection, crew observations, and evaluating business/management processes.
The Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA) is located in Reno, NV and was formed as a collaboration of the Cities of Reno and Sparks and Washoe County, NV to manage its valuable water resources. TMWA has 160 employees and serves more than 251,000 customers.
LA Consulting is evaluating the region’s water infrastructure, which includes water production, distribution and treatment. Assets include 1,743 miles of water distribution pipes, 39 production wells, six water reservoirs, 107 pump stations, 200 backflow devices, 31,740 valves, 7,900 hydrants, two treatment plants (75 MGD) and four hydroelectric plants. The evaluation includes reviewing work processes, document and process evaluation and generating a final report that includes a system baseline of work process outline and various findings and recommendations. LA Consulting is also assisting the District employees in implementing and utilizing systems to improve their management approach to maintaining their assets.
Volusia County is located on the east coast of Central Florida. DeLand is the County seat; Daytona Beach is one of its best known cities being a major tourist attraction for Daytona 500, Bike Week and Spring Break as well as famous tourist beaches. Volusia County has a population is 509,341.
LA Consulting is evaluating the Countys infrastructure and engineering functions, including roadway, traffic, water/sewer utilities, stormwater and mosquito control, solid waste landfill, and construction engineering operations. The assessment comprises 1,069 road miles, 414 traffic signals, more than 450 water and sewer miles, 15 sewer treatment facilities, 11 water treatment facilities, and a 3,400-acre land fill site.
LA Consulting, established in 1993, provides a wide variety of planning, systems and technology services applied to public agencies and municipalities, with an emphasis on systems implementation and technical support for public works operations and maintenance. Services include public works evaluation and review; management and operations systems assistance; infrastructure planning; maintenance management training; and maintenance systems (maintenance, pavement, and facilities). The firm’s corporate headquarters is in Manhattan Beach, CA, about 20 miles west of Los Angeles.