Following the recent passage of legislation allowing the Louisiana National Guard to use design-build contracts, the Louisiana Associated General Contractors hosted a meeting to discuss the military branch’s needs.

The legislation states that contracts must be awarded before Sept. 30. Otherwise, Louisiana would have to turn back funds not committed by that date, which would then be used by other states. The purpose of the meeting was to move the projects forward in the process, give attendees an outline of what was anticipated and to introduce them to representatives of the National Guard.

A total of $640 million was appropriated, and will be used to repair damaged National Guard facilities and to redeploy some troops. Not all of the work will be done through design-build, however. Contracts totaling $30 million will be awarded the traditional design-bid-build system, and projects under $10 million will not be designated for design-build.

Pre-design of up to 30 percent has already been completed on the design-build projects.

“This meeting was an excellent opportunity and an example of our efforts to forge new alliances, look outside the box in addressing the unique issues facing Louisiana,” stated Derrell Cohoon, Louisiana AGC CEO. “We’re most pleased to be able to work with the Guard on the legislation — ensuring that the legislation addressed open competition and transparency for the taxpayers, and making it possible to award the projects as expeditiously as possible. We are equally pleased to be able to facilitate the opportunity for these owners, the contractors and design communities to get together to discuss specific questions and issues, and to develop possible future partnering opportunities.”

Approximately 80 individuals, representing many of the state’s commercial construction and design firms, attended the meeting.

For more information, visit www.lagc.org.

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