Will Small Businesses have a chance to access the opportunities ahead?
Yes. As this project is being built with public resources, we must follow the State and County’s Small Business requirements. There are going to be multiple opportunities available for small businesses. There will be opportunities for design, contracting, operations, and concessions. Some of the facilities are going to require parking garages.
Related questions
Blue Line Corridor & TOD Guidance (County Executive)
“Yes. Based on the involvement of the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA), a prevailing
wage chart for the project will eventually be generated.
(https://mdstad.com/projects/prince-georges-county-blue-line-corridor-sports-and-entertainment-facilities-feasibility).”
The Prevailing Wage law applies to any public work project including school construction where the contract value is $250,000 or greater and (1) the State or an instrumentality of the State is the contracting body and there is any State funding for the project; (2) a political subdivision is the contracting body and 25% or more of the money used for the construction is State money; or (3) a political subdivision is the contracting body for the construction of an elementary or secondary school and 25% or more of the money used is State money. (https://www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/prev/prevwagefaqs.shtml#1)
This project will be governed by the State’s prevailing wage requirements and duly negotiated labor agreements.
Clear and specific guidelines for sustainability exist in the appropriation of these public funds. Broadly, the Administration maintains that transit-oriented development is the County’s best strategy available in growing. Dense development allows for conservation in other parts of the county that protect watershed and basins and priority forests through credits that these projects could create. Density protects the environment and invests in proper and modern stormwater infrastructure in critical parts of the county.
Growing opportunity for the employment of the formerly incarcerated remains a strong priority of the Alsobrooks Administration. This part of the program remains under development. Early recommendations coming back are looking at the County’s past successes in integrating the formerly incarcerated, and those successes and best practices from around the nation. We plan to involve existing local organizations and other best performers in that space to implement quality programming in the community. There isn’t any mandate, but this is how we work together to make sure an opportunity exists.
We can point to Cheverly as an example of where we’re taking some extra efforts to ensure that minority businesses are engaged. Our hope is to continue those efforts on the Blue Line Corridor and other projects in the County. When we set the Economic Development platform for the County— the engagement of minority businesses was a key goal for us.
Yes—we want to bring new facilities and new amenities, but we specifically seek to accomplish this while keeping equity at the center of development