State contracting with 20 firms for $415M law enforcement training project

BY: SAM STOCKARD - OCTOBER 12, 2023 

Tennessee is hiring nearly 20 contractors to build a massive $415 million law enforcement training center on state property in Cockrill Bend.

State officials broke ground recently at the 600-acre site, located near Riverbend Maximum Security Institution where Death Row inmates are housed in north Nashville, joined by law enforcement leaders from across the state. 

Department of Correction and Department of Safety and Homeland Security offices will be housed there, along with training facilities for state troopers and officers, including dorms, a driving track and K-9 kennels.

“This site represents one of the best examples of inter-agency cooperation Tennessee has ever seen,” Brandon Gibson, chief operating officer for Gov. Bill Lee, said at a recent ceremony. “It represents the future of law enforcement training in Tennessee, and this site represents the governor’s and the General Assembly’s dedication to law enforcement in this state.”

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, both members of the State Building Commission, supported the project, and Gov. Bill Lee credited their backing with helping fund it. Sexton noted it provides a “long-term vision” for the future of law enforcement training.

Lee said he started touring law enforcement training facilities statewide to check on conditions after he took office nearly five years ago.

“I remember walking through facilities where tiles were missing and 40-year-old bathrooms and bunk rooms that I wouldn’t want to stay in, and I got a vision that day, almost four and a half years ago that we needed to do something different,” Lee said.

Though the governor appeared to take responsibility for birthing the project, the Department of General Services started work on the law enforcement training center as early as 2017, if not earlier, before Lee won his first election.

I’m not a big supporter of it because of the nature of it, but I do support our police officers in training because I believe this is going to be a combination with the FBI.

– Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville

Only about five state lawmakers turned out for the groundbreaking ceremony two weeks ago, none of them representing Davidson County.

Democratic state Rep. Vincent Dixie, whose district contains the property, said he received an email blast inviting lawmakers shortly after the governor’s special session on public safety ended but that it wasn’t the normal protocol and he didn’t see it and, thus, didn’t attend. The governor’s office usually calls lawmakers to invite them to a special event in their district, he noted.

Dixie has mixed emotions about the project. He wants to avoid a “Cops City” such as the center built in Atlanta, and he believes officers should go through “cultural sensitivity” as well as technical training.

“I’m not a big supporter of it because of the nature of it, but I do support our police officers in training because I believe this is going to be a combination with the FBI,” Dixie said.

Besides the law enforcement training center, the Lee Administration put $150 million into a violent crime prevention fund, $60 million toward state trooper bonuses and funding to hire 200 more highway patrolmen.

A portion of the property lies within the floodplain of the Cumberland River, but the state doesn’t plan to construct any major buildings in those areas, and other steps are being taken to minimize the impact of a potential flood, according to Parks.

Contractors lined up

The state opted to go with multiple construction managers based on efficiency and risk management. It also hired several design firms because of the size of the job and specialized components such as housing, dining, infrastructure, and various simulated training areas that required certain knowledge.

Breaking the project into “smaller sub-projects” allows the state to evaluate designers and construction managers for each section, said Michelle Sandes Parks, a spokeswoman for the Department of General Services.

The method also allows the state to bring in the contractor earlier to help with design elements such as “constructability,” obtaining materials, putting together estimates and scheduling to minimize risks on timing and costs, she said.

Environmental consulting: $750,000

Environmental remediation: $1.5 million

Survey services: $475,000

Design and contingency: $19.2 million

Consultant services: $2.5 million

Commissioning: $1.5 million

Preconstruction: $1.08

State’s equipment: $9

State furniture fixtures: $17.25

Moving services: $1.02

Technology/phone: $8.3 million

Audio/video equipment: $3.37 million

Security: $4.65 million

Administration: $41.9

“In the end, there is no guarantee that a single construction manager or even the use of a different delivery method would cost the state less,” Parks said in a statement.

Kline Swinney Associates is slated to do the master planning and coordination for the entire project while EnSafe Environmental is conducting environmental studies and testing along with Smith Seckman Reid (SSRCx), which is involved in commissioning and testing.

The state is using what is called a construction manager method for the project, a situation in which the state negotiates a cost with a contractor, which then works with the designer to complete the job, taking on a bit more risk. Because of the project’s magnitude, construction managers are being used on every facet.

The construction cost is $287.8 million, but the total cost includes several other factors. (See box at right.) 

The state put $23 million in the fiscal 2021-22 budget and $355.6 million in the fiscal 2022-23 budget for the project. Another $5 million is coming out of Department of General Services operating funds and $31.5 million is coming out of a reserve fund.

The Department of General Services was unable to provide a breakdown for the amount it will be paying each contractor.

• AECOM and Barge Civil Associates will handle design for infrastructure and site work, and Environmental Abatement Inc. is doing demolition work. No construction manager has been hired for that part of the work.
• Kline Swinney Associates will design a firing range complex, and Reeves + Young was approved for construction management. The company was involved in work at the police training facility in Atlanta called Cop City, which has been under protest by groups opposed to building a large law enforcement training complex in a wooded area there.
• TMPartners is designing the training academy building, and Turner Construction is the construction management contractor for that part of the project.
• Earl Swensson Associates is designing the housing, dining and kennel building, and Hoar Construction is the construction management contractor for that part of the project.
• The Pickering Firm is doing design work for a track on which to train emergency vehicle operators. The construction management contractor hasn’t been hired.
• Anecdote Architectural Experiences will design the headquarters building, and Messer Construction will be the construction manager. 

Related Articles

61 “Stop Cop City” activists hit with racketeering charges, People's Dispatch

Cop City Protesters Arrested After Chaining Themselves to Construction Equipment, Common Dreams

‘People Have Been Protesting Against Cop City Since We Found Out About It’, FAIR 

Vigils For Tortuguita: Land Defenders Erupt In Solidarity, Progressive Hub

Originally published on October 12th, 2023, in Tennessee Lookout

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'We're Not Gonna Wait Around Forever': UAW Expands Strike to Ford's Most Profitable Plant

By Jake Johnson

"If Ford can't get that after four weeks on strike, these 8,700 workers shutting down their biggest plant will help them understand it," said United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain.

The United Auto Workers launched a surprise strike at Ford's most profitable plant on Wednesday evening, calling on nearly 9,000 members in Kentucky to walk off the job after the company did not come to the bargaining table with a new contract proposal.

Speaking outside of Ford's Dearborn, Michigan headquarters, UAW president Shawn Fain said that "we came here today to get another offer from Ford."

"Unfortunately, this offer was the exact same offer they gave us two weeks ago," said Fain. "They're not taking us serious. We've been very patient working with the company on this. At the end of the day, they have not met expectations, they're not even coming to the table on it. So at this point, we had to take action."

The walkout at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville brings the total number of UAW members on strike at the Big Three U.S. car manufacturers to roughly 33,000. The companies have laid off thousands of non-striking workers since the UAW's walkouts began last month.

Citing an unnamed source inside Ford's Kentucky facility, the Detroit Free Pressreported that "with little warning, thousands of workers left their jobs at 6:30 pm, just minutes after union officials walked through the plant, shut off the line, and told workers to walk out peacefully."

"We're not gonna wait around forever," Fain wrote in a social media post late Wednesday. "If Ford can't get that after four weeks on strike, these 8,700 workers shutting down their biggest plant will help them understand it."

Ford, which has seen its profits surge this year, expressed outrage over the strike expansion, noting in a statement that the Kentucky Truck Plant is one of the biggest auto factories in the world.

"The vehicles produced at the Louisville-based factory—the F-Series Super Duty, the Ford Expedition, and the Lincoln Navigator—generate $25 billion a year in revenue," the company said.

Chris Brooks, a UAW organizer, responded that "Ford just admitted they're losing $48,000 a minute in revenue while the Kentucky Truck Plant is on strike."

"That is how much value autoworkers at this one plant produce—and now they're showing Ford how expensive it is to not come to the table and pony up," Brooks wrote on social media.

Ford has offered UAW members a 23% wage increase over the course of a four-year contract as well as cost-of-living adjustments. The UAW has demanded a 36% wage hike and significant improvements to retirement, healthcare, and other benefits.

Reutersreported Wednesday that Ford and UAW negotiators "had been working to resolve differences on retirement security and union representation at the company's future battery plants earlier in the day."

Last week, the UAW announced that General Motors has agreed to include electric battery plant workers in its labor agreement, which Fain described as a "transformative win."

On Wednesday, according to Reuters, Fain and other UAW officials "called a meeting with Ford... and demanded a new offer, which Ford did not have."

"You just lost Kentucky Truck," Fain reportedly said in response. "This is all you have for us? Our members' lives and my handshake are worth more than this."

In his remarks outside Ford's headquarters on Wednesday, Fain said the company has only itself to blame for the strike escalation.

"They made it happen. This is on them, they have to own it," said Fain. "If the companies aren't going to come to the table and take care of the membership's needs, then we will react."

Originally published on October 12th, 2023, in Common Dreams

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Bland gubernatorial election threatens to suppress voter turnout

by Robert Collins

In Saturday’s (Oct. 14) statewide election primary, many voters seem uninterested. To project turnout on election day, political analysts examine turnout during the early voting period. According to the Secretary of State’s Office, at the close of early voting, counting both in-person and mail-in voters, 344,878 had voted. For comparison, in 2019 during the last gubernatorial primary, 386,468 early voted. While mail-in ballots will continue to trickle in until Friday, so far, this is a drop off of 41,590, or about 11 percent. 

In the 2019 primary, Black voters made up 97,990 of the early vote total. This year, Black voters make up 90,118, or about 26 percent of the early vote total so far. Black voters make up about 31 percent of the total electorate. Many are surprised that we have not seen stronger Black turnout yet, since one of the major candidates, Shawn Wilson, is Black.

In the 2019 primary, turnout was about 46 percent. Before the start of early voting, the Secretary of State’s Office projected a primary turnout of between 42 and 46 percent. However, based on the lower-than-expected actual early vote numbers coming in now, many analysts are projecting around 40 percent or lower. 

Low turnout elections may disadvantage Black candidates and grassroots candidates, because they lack the resources to broadcast their messages widely, so they depend on riding the tickets of like-minded candidates at the top of the ballot. In an election that lacks enthusiasm, there are no coattails to ride, so the richest candidates can win by virtue of money. 

High turnout elections tend to correlate with Black voters and young voters representing an increased proportion of the total votes cast, while low turnout elections tend to be whiter and older in terms of the demographics of votes cast. Low turnout elections generally mean large parts of the electorate might not have opportunities to have their interests represented. 

How did we get here? Louisiana was the home of such characters as Huey Long and Edwin Edwards, and the state has a history of colorful politicians. Voters here expect their politicians to entertain them as well as inform them. They expect politics to be fun. Simply put, the current gubernatorial campaign is not fun, and, as a result, many voters are not excited. Many are not engaged at all. 

This race has been stagnant for months. Most pundits believe that Republican Jeff Landry and Democrat Shawn Wilson would run first and second and make it to the runoff. All of the polls have reinforced this expectation. None of the other Republican candidates have been able to displace Landry, because of his huge fundraising advantage. A stagnant race is a boring race. 

And yet, in spite of no excitement at the top of the ticket, it is still important that Orleans Parish voters show up on election day. There are many important races on the ballot, including a hotly contested race for House District 91 between incumbent Mandy Landry and challenger Madison O’Malley, that could help determine how the much-maligned Louisiana Democratic Party looks in the future. There is also a House District 23 race, an open Criminal Court Judgeship, as well as two proposed City Charter amendments and a school board tax renewal.  

There also are elections for all statewide offices, and a list of four proposed constitutional amendments that deal with issues as varied as whether or not nonprofits can be denied a tax exemption if they allow their properties to fall into disrepair; to whether or not external nonprofits, such as the Gates Foundation, can be banned from spending money on get out the vote efforts. 

The message from the candidates to the voters should be: Go vote, because these elections directly affect your quality of life. And the message from the voters to the gubernatorial candidates at the top of the ticket should be: If you could figure out how to add some fun and spice and excitement to your campaign, that would help voter turnout a great deal. This is Louisiana after all. To stay engaged, we need our politics to be like our food and music, hot and spicy.      

This article originally appeared in Verite News on October 10th, 2023.  

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