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Looking Ahead: District Agencies Leading a Safer, Equitable and Sustainable Future

Keith Foxx, P.E., ACEC/MW Board Treasurer and event moderator, shares his key takeaways from the DC Government & DC Agencies Virtual Event.


Every year we welcome a large group of attendees to our annual ACEC/MW DC Government & DC Agencies Event.  Although virtual, this year's April 23, 2021 event was no different.  

On the virtual stage we were joined by an all-star cast of industry leaders including Everett Lott, Interim Director, District Department of Transportation (DDOT), Tiffany Moore, Interim Deputy Director, Capital Construction Division of the District Department of General Services (DGS), Jeffrey Seltzer, P.E. Deputy Director of the District Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE) and Salil Kharker, P.E., CMRP, Senior Vice President, Operations and Engineering, DC Water.  

Each presenter individually walked through informational PowerPoints and then collaborated toward the end of our event in a virtual round table discussion. Attendees submitted questions through the chat function. A common theme from the round table discussion circled around upcoming procurements, visions to improve the current infrastructure, sustainability, and equity in the roll out of these new investments. 

Jeffrey Seltzer's DC Water presentation included an overview of DOEE's vision and goal for DC to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. DC was the world's first city to become a LEED Platinum City!  The agency is focused on exemplifying how innovation in protecting the environment can also include inclusive prosperity and reduce unemployment in DC. DOEE is leading DC's effort to shift to cleaner energy including building retrofits, maximizing local solar efforts, and changing transportation modes from current fossil fuel choices. 

Tiffany Moore's DGS presentation focused on the vision for DGS and the goal to achieve operational excellence within the Capital Construction Division. Therefore, there is a heightened focus on data & analysis to improve efficiency. They encourage firms to partner with District businesses in solidarity with the Districts goals. DGS's real estate portfolio includes more than 35 million square feet of facilities.  Currently, they have more than 350 active projects totaling over $2.3B!

Salil Kharker's DC Water presentation started with an overview highlighting the footprint of DC Water which also includes counties in MD and VA. Their 10-Year Capital Improvement Plan is $4.9B, which supports improvements to their aging infrastructure. Their major investment categories are DC Clean Rivers, water main replacements, sewer infrastructure, and Blue Plains wastewater improvements.  DC Water's business plan has aggressive goals for business diversity and inclusion.

Everett Lott's DDOT presentation touched on the vast responsibilities of DDOT from street trees to streetscapes to bus and streetcar operations. He concluded his presentation with 2021 procurement opportunities.  Many of the agency initiatives focus on multimodal mobility from investments in trails, bike lanes and transit projects.  DDOT's 6-Year Capital Improvement Program is $1.6B!

In light of the recent infrastructure bill discussions, the panelists were all optimistic regarding the future of their capital improvement programs. The event moderators, Aaron Briggs and myself, had little work to do as the panelists were not short with their presentation details or the round table discussion questions. Thanks to Mac Cannon and Anna Seekins of ACEC/MW for setting up the event and preparing the panelists. 

You can find a copy of the presentations on the ACECMW.org website, as well as the list of attendees. To stay informed about other events sponsored by ACECMW, please follow ACEC/MW on LinkedIn and Twitter.




Keith Foxx, P.E. is a graduate of Howard University's School of Engineering. He has practiced as a civil engineer, a certified project manager, certified construction manager and program manager for infrastructure projects throughout the Washington, DC region. He is now Principal of FOXXSTEM, which provides planning, civil engineering design, construction management/inspection and program management services for transportation, water and energy infrastructure projects.  He serves on the Executive Board for the American Council of Engineering Companies of Metropolitan Washington (ACEC/MW) and is a Board Trustee for the Fairfax County Public Library System.

Comments

 
By: G.
On: 05/07/2021 14:17:48
Succinct, yet touched the key focus of each agency. Thanks, Keith.

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