Larry O’Brien

Please see below a press release I distributed this afternoon.

For immediate release:

Tuesday February 9, 2009

Improved Ottawa Option to bring greater competition and better results

OTTAWA - Improvements to the “Ottawa Option” procurement policy being proposed by staff will make it easier for the City to leverage the skills of the business community and could help save residents money in the process, Mayor Larry O’Brien said today.

“The Ottawa Option invites businesses to proactively approach the City with ideas that save money and deliver better results instead of waiting for City Council or staff to act,” said Mayor O’Brien. “It is an attempt to encourage businesses with good ideas to work with the City in a way that benefits both the business and residents.”

The Ottawa Option is a Council-approved policy that allows businesses to approach the City with unsolicited proposals. Last year, Staff were asked to review the policy, including an analysis of any weaknesses, as well as options to determine how to make it easier for businesses to bring cost-saving and innovative proposals forward.

Among the recommended changes are;

- Unsolicited proposals need to result in an improved outcome or reduced cost for the City.
- Council must approve the application of the policy for all instances where the value is estimated to exceed $500,000.
- Clear explanation of the steps involved in considering proposals and who needs to make the decisions.
- When the unsolicited proposal deals with a current or planned procurement process, it will not qualify as an Ottawa Option proposal. However, it can be leveraged by the City outside of the Ottawa Option policy, and;
- Final procurement phase will use the “best and final offer” process.

“The process has improved significantly to ensure there’s greater competition and better results. Under the revised policy City staff would evaluate the unsolicited proposal; if it meets the criteria then it goes to Committee and Council for direction,” said Mayor O’Brien. “When Council makes its decision the City will then encourage other competitors to submit superior counter proposals. Finally, the best value proposal wins.”

The full report will be circulated to members of Council today, available on Ottawa.ca tomorrow and will rise to Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee on February 17th.

On Tuesday I announced my intention to invite members of the National Capital Heavy Construction Association, the Ottawa Construction Association, the Ottawa Chapter of Consulting Engineers of Ontario and all other interested companies to participate in a roundtable to discuss how we can get federal infrastructure dollars working on creating jobs, stimulating our economy and leaving a lasting legacy on our city.

Today I can confirm this meeting will take place on Friday, Feb. 13.

The City’s objectives are clear. We want to ensure work can begin on Ottawa’s priority infrastructure projects as quickly as possible, we want to work with the industry to leverage federal infrastructure funding over the next two years and finally; while the City of Ottawa is ready to take full advantage of this infrastructure money, we need to make sure the local industry is as well.

I want to work with City Council and City Staff to make sure we do not create any complications and additional delays for our local industry in this time of global recession – we need to help them start working right away.

I look forward to hearing the valuable input of our industry leaders on how we can roll up our sleeves and get this work done over the next two years.

For more information on Ottawa’s priority list of infrastructure projects, please click here.

I will report back on the results of the meeting next week.

After a chat with Dr. Michael Binder, President of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), I felt better about the truck that was stopped at the U.S. border on January 29.

The truck was quarantined taking sludge from our sewage treatment facility for disposal in the U.S. and it set off radiation detectors at the border crossing. According to Dr. Binder, the likely candidate for the alert was Iodine-131.

Iodine-131 is a medical isotope used in a variety of tests and treatments in hospitals. It has a very short half-life of only eight days. This means it loses half of its radioactivity every eight days and for all essential purposes, potency is very short making it ideal as a medical isotope.

According to Dr. Binder when a patient uses washroom facilities it then ends up in our sewage system and can radiate the sludge. This sludge is fertilizer during the summer but contractors find other means to dispose of it during the winter. This particular contractor was taking it to a landfill in the United States.

By the time we get to test the truck in quarantine again, the isotopes will likely have decayed completely. Tests will confirm this in the next few days but according to the CNSC, there is no danger for the residents of Ottawa.

For more information on CNSC please click here.

Please see below a press release I distributed this morning.

For immediate release:
Feb. 3, 2009

Mayor wants to ensure local industry is ready to take advantage of federal infrastructure dollars

OTTAWA- Mayor Larry O’Brien is reaching out to industry partners to ensure work can begin on Ottawa’s priority infrastructure projects as quickly as possible.

Today the Mayor announced his plans to host a roundtable that will see local businesses and organizations work with the City to identify ways to leverage federal infrastructure funding over the next two years.

“Last week the federal government announced $4 billion in stimulus spending aimed at creating jobs and growing our local economy in a time of global recession,” said Mayor Larry O’Brien. “We must move forward quickly with our priority projects so we can take advantage of this opportunity to build a better Ottawa, create thousands of jobs in our community and leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.”

The Mayor will invite members of the National Capital Heavy Construction Association, the Ottawa Construction Association, the Ottawa Chapter of Consulting Engineers of Ontario and all other interested companies to participate in his roundtable, which will take place in the next two weeks. Senior City officials will also participate.

The discussion will not focus on specific projects, but rather on identifying opportunities and challenges.

“The City of Ottawa is ready to take full advantage of this infrastructure money and we need to make sure the local industry is as well,” said Mayor O’Brien. “I look forward to hearing the valuable input of our industry leaders on how we can roll up our sleeves and get this work done over the next two years.”

During last week’s Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee meeting, Mayor O’Brien put forward a motion requesting that staff develop a list of shovel ready projects. Today staff tabled this preliminary list that includes public transit, maintenance and repairs of roads, bridges and sewers, parks and recreation and social housing projects. The list will come before Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee meeting for approval on Feb. 17, 2009.

Full details of the Mayor’s roundtable will be released by Friday, Feb. 6.