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Last Saturday, L.R. Kimball held the 3rd Annual L.R. Kimball 5K Challenge at our Ebensburg office. Nearly 100 runners participated, raising $2,000 to benefit the American Red Cross and raising the total amount donated to deserving non-profit groups to $11,000 in three years.
A giant "Thank you!" to everyone who participated or made a donation.
This week, the 9-1-1 Resource Center released new National 9-1-1 Assessment Guidelines for public comment. The guidelines can be found on the 9-1-1 Resource Center at www.911resourcecenter.org/911Guidelines/.
These newly released guidelines were developed by the National 9-1-1 Assessment Guidelines Work Group (NAGWG) using a consensus process. They are intended to serve as a comprehensive benchmark for statewide 9-1-1 systems to measure their progress as a unique and important entity, and will help to facilitate a coordinated effort to advance 9-1-1 across the country.
The Guidelines represent high level functions that should exist within a statewide 9-1-1 system and they are intended to be used as the basis for statewide system assessments to assist states in achieving their best level of 9-1-1 service.
The NAGWG is comprised of 9‑1‑1 professionals that represent various segments of 9-1-1 from local and state government, national associations and the industry.
The 9-1-1 Resource Center, sponsored by the United States Department of Transportation, National 911 Program has a project underway to develop consensus-based universal guidelines to serve as the basis for a 9-1-1 statewide program assessment process.
Continue reading "New National 9-1-1 Assessment Guidelines Released This Week" »
Blog post by Monique Lewis and Lori Kleckner on June 17, 2011
In this multi-series blog posting on security at public safety answering points and public safety organizations, our first blog provided background on how and where we obtained our information and discussed how we will provide information to you in future postings as they relate to the NG9-1-1 Security (NG-SEC) standard.
In this blog posting, we will discuss the first section of the NG-SEC standard, security policy and its effects on PSAPs. At a minimum, the NG-SEC required the following areas to be covered in policy:
It is important that the senior management statement of policy identify an individual responsible for security. Additionally the senior management statement should describe the organization’s objectives and security goals in writing. We observed that many these senior management statements of policies do not exist among most of the 9-1-1 facilities we visited.
PSAPs have implemented functional policies in both formal and informal way among many PSAPs. Most PSAPs have solid hiring practices in place; authenticate passwords; and physical security policies implemented. Many PSAPs do not have wireless, remote, or incident response policies implemented at their facility. Although formal procedures seem to be a common practice among many PSAPs, we have discovered that informal procedures are just as widespread among the 9-1-1 community.
The 9-1-1 community should be aware that security policies are instrumental to an effective security program. Formalizing security policies into 9-1-1 facilities is the first step to getting the organization on the path toward mission success. Functional policies and procedures will aid in the prevention of the accidental release of sensitive information. Cyber security should be a part of everyone’s focus.
Our next blog posting will feature Information Classification and Protection.
Members and staff of the National 9-1-1 Assessment Guidelines Workgroup (NAGWG) and Laurie Flaherty of the USDOT will accept live feedback on the new National 9-1-1 Assessment Guidelines at next week's National NENA in Minneapolis, MN on Monday, June 20 at 1:30 PM.
During the panel discussion, Guidelines for Statewide 9-1-1 System Assessments: Coming to a State Near You, attendees will learn about the process and progress of the Guideline's efforts to advance 9-1-1 throughout the country as well as their thoughts, first impressions and concerns with the panel. The panel presentation coincides with the release of the Guidelines for public comment and all feedback released will be considered by NAGWG prior to submission of the final guidelines.
While the 9-1-1 industry has made significant progress in the advancement of technology for the betterment of 9-1-1 across the country, there is no comprehensive benchmark for State 9-1-1 authorities to measure the progress and status of a state's 9-1-1 system. It is the NAGWG's mission to establish that benchmark.
The guidelines are the result of a project of the 9-1-1 Resource Center, sponsored by the United States Department of Transportation, National 9-1-1 Program to develop consensus-based universal guidelines to serve as the basis for a 9-1-1 statewide program assessment process.
For many years, communities have been building an interconnected system of pedestrian and cycling trails stretching from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.
A critical segment of this 320-mile route through highlands and river valleys is the Great Allegheny Passage, extending 150 miles from Duquesne, Pa., to Cumberland, Md. As the City of Pittsburgh neared the celebration of its 250th anniversary in 2008, leaders in Allegheny County set a goal of helping celebrate the event by completing the passage, building a connection between McKeesport, on the south side of the Monongahela River, and Duquesne on the opposite shore.
The Riverton Bridge became the focal point for reaching this objective.
Owned by U.S. Steel Corporation, the 118-year-old bridge was carrying heavy Union Railroad train traffic on a regular schedule across the river. Officials had looked at other options in evaluating where to make the connection; but, for example, a proposal to use the sidewalks adjacent to the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge was determined to be undesirable because the sidewalks were too narrow.
Read about how L.R. Kimball created a critical link in this system in our case study, L.R. Kimball Converts Rail Bridge to Pedestrian Trail, Providing Missing Link in Great Allegheny Passage
Across the nation, local government agencies are finding their stormwater systems in disrepair and are fearing that they will soon begin to fail, causing back up problems at homes and businesses.
Managing these stormwater lines and paying for the necessary repairs is a challenge for many agencies that typically do not have a dedicated funding source for stormwater management.
To offset these challenges, local governments are beginning to form stormwater utilities or agencies that are responsible for enforcing stormwater rate structures and managing stormwater systems. These boards must meet stormwater management requirements mandated by state and federal agencies and provide the stormwater services needed for the municipalities, cities and counties they serve.
These utilities or agencies offer a new solution for local governments who are typically not prepared to address the critical needs of stormwater runoff. Stormwater utilities create a dedicated funding source by generating their revenue through user rates. “Use” of the system is the demand a property places on the stormwater system based n the stormwater runoff from the property.
Creating a stormwater utility board or agency may be the best approach for many communities; however it requires much collaboration and planning. L.R. Kimball recommends the following steps in creating a stormwater utility or agency:
Continue reading "Nine Steps Towards Creating a Stormwater Utility or Agency" »
Blog post by Dennis Buirge on June 6, 2011
As a general rule, a typical Owner/Architect agreement divides the project design work scope into 5 phases with the following corresponding percentages as part of the total remuneration: schematic design (SD) - 15%; design development (DD) - 20%; construction documentation (CD) - 40%; bidding - 5%; and construction administration (CA) - 20%.
It is in the construction documentation phase that various project documents are synthesized and finalized for bidding. Most documents used by the Contractor fall in the bidding and construction work phases; documents used in these two phases, in most cases, are not the same. Understanding the various documents for technical accuracy and related nomenclature are therefore important when preparing a deliverable to the Owner.
We recently released a new white paper for higher education leaders on how campus planning and design can help to maintain their momentum and strengthen their competitive edge.
Today's educational consumers are more savvy than perhaps any generation that has come before them. When they are down narrowing down their selections, there is often just one more critical issue they consider - how does the look and feel of the campus meet their needs and expectations?
In the past decade, community colleges and four year universities have invested significant resources to plan, design and renovate campuses to meet 21st century demands. For many, their investments have paid off in stable or higher enrollments, program expansions and successful faculty improvement efforts.
Download this white paper to learn how a four-pronged focus can help education leaders leverage progressive planning and design to prepare for the future and learn about how you can turn buildings inside out to craft open, welcoming and vibrant environments at your university or community college that make a powerful and dramatic statement for the institution.
Back by popular demand, we will be hosting our 2nd stormwater webinar focusing on stormwater utility boards next week!
If you are looking to learn how your community may benefit from a stormwater utility model, attend our upcoming webinar, Developing and Implementing a Stormwater Utility Board in Your Municipality, which will be held on Wednesday, June 8 at 2:00 PM EST.
During this webinar, we will present tactics that can help you resolve your stormwater headaches and develop a comprehensive stormwater quantity and quality program. We will also discuss:
To reserve your spot, register here.
