Jackson Free Press

Robert Peck, U.S. general services administration's commissioner of public buildings touted 48 new jobs created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, during a press conference at the McCoy Federal Building today.

The GSA is investing $5.5 billion in ARRA funds to renovate federal buildings and build new energy-efficient federal buildings across the country. Last year, the city of Jackson announced an $87 million investment in the McCoy Building for renovations. Peck said construction on the McCoy Federal Building is ongoing for the next two years.
Peck predicted that retrofitting the building--which includes installing new air-conditioning units, smart meters and water efficiency plumbing--would save taxpayers 30 percent in fuel cost for the lifetime of the upgrades.

"This building is 40 years old, so a lot of the systems we're replacing were already overdue for replacements," Peck said. "Also, the work so far employs 48 people, but by the time it's done we'll have several hundred people employed over the next two years."

Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. pointed out that the $87 million project amounts to the largest single investment of ARRA funds in Mississippi.

"Not only is GSA spending $87 million on this building but they're also spending another $120 million a few blocks from here on the new federal courthouse. That's more than $200 million. It's a very significant amount of money to be spent. It will create a lot of jobs and that money will roll over from the construction industry into the community in the metro area as employees spend money," Johnson said. "We're very pleased to see this kind of stimulus here in the Jackson area."

Local companies are still bickering over some aspects of the renovation, however. The Jackson Free Press previously reported that Jackson energy consulting company Utility Management Corp. filed an October suit in Hinds County Chancery Court alleging that the Mississippi Development Authority favored Smartsynch Inc. for a $3.75 million contract to retrofit the McCoy Building and other targets of ARRA funded construction.

The MDA advertised a July 22 request for proposals to contractors looking to install smart meters, which identify and monitor a building's energy consumption. But Utility Management Corp. alleges that the Mississippi Development Authority did not give the energy services contract to the lowest bidder, and claims Smartsynch landed the contract through its connections with Gov. Haley Barbour, who appoints MDA officials.

MDA Executive Director Gray Swoope issued a 2009 decision to begin the RFP process anew three days after receiving Utility Management Corp.'s legal complaint in October, but Utility Management Corp. wanted the MDA to acknowledge UMC as the lowest and best bidder. Hinds County Chancery Court Judge William Singletary refused to grant UMC's request in February, and the MDA is moving forward with new requests for bids.

Previous Comments

ID

158048

Comment

Interesting fact: Gov't jobs accounted for 95% of the May job increases. Glad the private sector's taxes are subsidizing even more of the public sector.

Author

RobbieR

Date

2010-06-04T14:02:39-06:00

ID

158066

Comment

Not only that, but the overwhelming majority of those gov't jobs were workers hired for the census. Guess how long those "employment gains" are going to last?

Author

Mark Geoffriau

Date

2010-06-07T09:44:07-06:00

ID

158085

Comment

Mark, .....and your point is?

Author

justjess

Date

2010-06-08T10:51:53-06:00

ID

158086

Comment

I think it's pretty self-evident. Do you find there to be something mysterious about what I posted?

Author

Mark Geoffriau

Date

2010-06-08T11:01:41-06:00

ID

158088

Comment

Mark, I just think you're mysterious in general. ;-)

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2010-06-08T11:37:06-06:00