PUBLIC PROJECTS | PRIVATE PURPOSE

There are lessons we learn from eagles. Lessons such as resiliency, listen keenly and softly speak, be swift and decisive, measure risk with reward – and notably loyal, reliable and responsible.

And like our iconic Bald Eagle, we expect construction to soar over the next three years through growth in the public sector, specifically in the infrastructure project types. We also expect, with the $550 billion dedicated to public projects and a slowing in the private sectors, an influx of commercial contractors and subcontractors not seasoned in public contracts. We witnessed this phenomenon during the last recovery (Stimulus Plan), and experienced a spike in construction claims, then. Now, we need to be vigilant, alert, prepared to assist our clients measure their risk and reward.

Don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs, but how high he bounces when he hits bottom ~ George Patton

We have weathered storms both physical and philosophical. Our industry recovers from the challenges of labor and material shortages, pandemics, economic retraction, inflation, social and civil unrest. Now we climb high after the descent. Like the eagle, we in the construction industry ascend strong and brave, lessons learned, garnering an innate assurance that through our efforts highways and byways, bridges, tunnels, airports, railways, water and wastewater, energy, communication, hospitals, schools and universities, industrial and manufacturing, commercial, cultural and residential communities are built – resilient and dedicated to the future.

IS DIASTER-RECOVERY CONSTRUCTION A NEW NICHE PUBLIC-CONTRACTS INDUSTRY? J Kimon Yiasemides, Esquire, PSP, PMP

Welcome to hurricane season! Is this the year your company starts to advertise its work in disaster-recovery construction as a new sector? Public contracting is not only the work of monumental public works, grand infrastructure projects and federal office buildings. Now, the work of rebuilding after disasters has become an increasingly large part of the federal government’s construction budgets. FEMA estimated its requirements for major disasters in fiscal year 2023 to be $16.74 billion. Year-after-year more money is allocated not just for disaster relief, but also for rebuilding and recovery efforts.

While none of us like to think about the worst of times, construction companies provide a vital service to the public good in being able to re-build when our towns and neighborhoods get knocked down. In light of year-after-year increases in damages due to natural disasters, shouldn’t construction contractors also consider how to provide services that help governmental efforts to rebuild and restore communities hit by such disasters? These costs are enormous and are on the rise. As such, so should construction contractors look to providing services that are tailored for these types of projects. Does your company have a rapid-response disaster team, or project management services that are at the ready for when the worst comes to the states in which you do business? If not, maybe it is time to do so. I appreciate the old saying, “those who can, do”, and in the worst of times construction contractors purpose should be prepared to do their best.

Please join the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law at the upcoming Fall Meeting in Washington DC.

Kimon Yiasemides ABA Forum on Construction Law John Marshall Cook Edward Gentilcore Keith Bergeron Cary Wright Catherine Delorey Brian Zimmerman Leslie King O'Neal