CMAR is simply the model having been used throughout these few decades of CLINTON/BUSH/OBAMA which filled our local government agencies with massive frauds, corruptions, and racketeering. Our PUBLIC WORKS agencies were hit early with this when PRIVATIZED OUTSOURCING began.
We discuss often how city BOARDS OF ESTIMATE make this bidding process SO CRONY as to allow only a small group of people to attain contracts.
What happens in process is this: PRE=APPROVED CONTRACTORS-----are the only ones allowed to BID. PRE-APPROVED means they are CMAR-----ready.
Once a contract is awarded -----that winning contractor can load the first round of BID APPROVAL with any kind of fraud and corruption to PAD THE EARNINGS----knowing they will stay in this project through extensions.
CMAR says that original CONTRACTOR will control which SUBCONTRACTORS are included. Know what? When there is hundreds of millions of dollars in FRAUDS during early contract----that ORIGINAL CONTRACTOR simply creates new subsidiary businesses and says ----
THESE ARE DIFFERENT COMPANIES AND SUBCONTRACTORS.
'Cofferdam on the Cheap
As it turned out, WR&A vastly underestimated the costs of the storage tanks.
When bids were opened by clerks at the Board of Estimates in the summer of 2016, they ranged from $134.5 million to $155.9 million'.
'Finding a CMAR is different than finding a general contractor. To select a CMAR, there is a two-step process including a request for qualifications phase and a request for proposals phase. Also, the award standard for CMAR is “best value” and an owner can award the contract for CMAR services to the firm that provides the best value based on price and the technical proposal compared to lowest price'.
WHO is getting these 'over-charges is always the question-----feeling this is targeted.
Nov 11, 2013
City of Baltimore Awards Metering Installation Contract to Itron
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Business & Development
by Danielle Sweeney12:01 pm
Jul 13, 2015
Some still struggle with wildly inaccurate water bills from city
Exhibit A: Remington resident’s water bill, usually less than $200, comes in at over $65,000
'(It showed the agency overcharged more than 38,000 area customers in three years – and that customers who were over-billed were reimbursed only if they filed complaints with the city.')
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We look across several public works water projects and we see the same thing-------the BGE ELECTRIC SMART METER in my building was installed and does not work. The WATER METERS were installed and are not working. So, where is this CMAR MODEL for contract bidding efficiency and effectiveness WORKING?
The UNFUNDED MANDATE for public water had nothing to do with the criminal frauds with BALTIMORE'S water bills. These frauds happen because BALTIMORE PUBLIC WORKS is attached to GLOBAL VEOLA ENVIRONMENT CORPORATION.
Editorial Advisory Board: Baltimore’s water bill crisis
By: Editorial Advisory Board June 7, 2019
Baltimore city’s water bill crisis has several sources, among the chief ones a 2002 consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency. The consent decree mandated that Baltimore address its aging water infrastructure and make improvements. Regulations implemented by the federal government after Sept. 11, 2001, requiring water reservoirs across the country to have covered storage, ...
GLOBAL VEOLA ENVIRONMENT is controlling which contractor wins bid awards and those subcontractors are almost always SUBSIDIARIES of those originally-awarded corporations.
This is how the CMAR MODEL has worked these few decades of massive public work frauds and racketeering----global banking 1% are simply making it official that CMAR MODEL will now be used in all INFRASTRUCTURE projects.
These Baltimore global banking 5% freemason/Greek player/pols may be the black players---but they are working for global hedge fund JOHNS HOPKINS controlling economic development----my white 5% players-----both being the voices on PUBLIC SURVEILLANCE----HITTING me as being the BAD GUY.
Baltimore spends $13M more for water meter project
By Luke Broadwater
| The Baltimore Sun |
Mar 25, 2015 | 6:00 PM
Baltimore's Board of Estimates voted Wednesday to spend $13 million to perform "urgent" repairs to the city's water system infrastructure — the latest additional cost in the installation of new meters for the city's 400,000 water customers.
The board members, including Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young, voted 4-1 to award two contracts totaling $9.5 million to Metra Industries Inc. of Little Falls, N.J., for the work fixing problems discovered during the systemwide upgrade to wireless water meters. The other money will be used for administrative costs, city officials said.
WE GUESS BOARD OF ESTIMATES WILL HAVE TO DO THE SAME FOR THE NON-FUNCTIONING BGE ELECTRICITY SMART METERS NOT WORKING EITHER.
Comptroller Joan M. Pratt voted against the deal, saying she favored the low bids from Baltimore-based R.E Harrington Plumbing & Heating Inc. that would save the city about $1.5 million. That company was disqualified for using Wite-Out to make changes on its bid forms to the amount it planned to pay its subcontractors without getting the subcontractors to place their initials by the changes.
Rawlings-Blake said the city has to abide by its own rules that forbid contractors from changing bid documents concerning subcontractors without getting their approval.
"The fact that this stands to cost us $1.5 million more pains me," Rawlings-Blake said. "I would have liked for nothing more for that change to be documented correctly so we wouldn't be in this position. … But the answer isn't to ignore it or pretend like it didn't happen."
In 2013, city officials awarded an $83.5 million contract to Itron Inc. of Washington state to install meters for a wireless meter system to serve the system's thousands of customers in Baltimore and Baltimore County. Rawlings-Blake has said the upgrade is part of an effort to end "outrageous" water bill mistakes that have infuriated residents and forced the city to issue millions of dollars in refunds.
The Itron bid was about $100 million less than a competitor's. Young and Pratt said they planned to watch the project closely to make sure costs did not rise over time.
The Board of Estimates has already authorized $9.7 million more to hire contractor EMA Inc. to "ensure that the program moves forward efficiently and expeditiously," and $8.4 million to hire Belgian company Itineris to overhaul the water-billing system, which connects to the new meters. And, the city has alloted $36 million for the purchase of the new meters.
The latest contracts bring the total cost of the project to about $145 million.
Robert Fulton Dashiell, an attorney representing Harrington, said throwing out the lower bid on the latest contract is hurting minority contractors. He said it's common practice for subcontractors to sign their names to blank forms that the main contractor then fills in for them. He said main contractors don't always have quick access to their subcontractors to sign off on changes that amount to merely technical fixes.
"I recognize there is a rule," Dashiell said. "I also recognize that consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. … It's a matter of doing what's right."
City officials say additional contractors are needed to deal with time-consuming construction situations that are arising during the overhaul, thereby freeing up Itron to install meters. City officials want Itron to finish installing the new meters by 2017.
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We post below a second time the reasons given for using THE CMAR MODEL-------we are told it creates EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS in public work projects. Yet, here in Baltimore the amount of public taxpayer revenue lost to CONTRACTOR AND CONSULTANT frauds and corruptions are a BILLION-DOLLAR A YEAR -----RACKETEERING FRAUDS.
'A CMAR has a similar contractual agreement to general contracting. Like the general contractor, the CMAR holds all the subcontracts and is in charge of scheduling and overseeing work of the subcontractors'.
'It is preferable to work with a CMAR at the start of a project. CMARs usually participate in the design process and tend to be aware of and can identify construction challenges, budget constraints, material availability issues, scheduling concerns, and so on. Since the CMAR is familiar with the project from the start, problems can be reduced or eliminated during the project. CMARs aren’t directly responsible for design or engineering but may share responsibility for design issues'.
The US 99 % of WE THE PEOPLE are told over and over and over through national FAKE NEWS media that we have tremendous advances in TECHNOLOGY geared to PUBLIC WORKS----INFRASTRUCTURE-----as described below. UTILITY MAPPING has been discussed for a decade where without going underground they can assess the conditions in each utility---electrical, water/sewage/cable.
CHECKING UNDERGROUND UTILITIES DURING CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES.
'Utility mapping solutions help identify the precise location of an underground utility, thereby enhancing public safety, increasing the integrity of underground utility, and avoiding accidents & mishaps during the repair, maintenance, and new construction activities.All these factors propel the growth of the market in North America.
This growth can be attributed to the growing use of underground utility mapping applications for checking underground utilities during construction activities'.
What our local BALTIMORE CITY HALL and public works agency tells us below------as always-----the cost over runs and lack of efficiency are caused by an inability to asset the extent of damage UNDERGROUND.
So, we have a CMAR MODEL making public works more efficient ----we have UTILITY TECHNOLOGY making public works more efficient-----BUT WE DO NOT GET ANY EFFICIENCY OR EFFECTIVENESS or cost savings from eliminating FRAUDS.
Light Rail Could Be Closed For Weeks After Water Main Break In Downtown Baltimore
By Ava-joye Burnett
July 10, 2019 at 10:59 pm
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Problems are mounting in downtown Baltimore after a water main break and underground collapse earlier this week.
City officials said light rail service from Camden Yards to North Avenue could be disrupted for “weeks.”
The Department of Public Works said crews will be busy creating a bypass for a damaged 36-inch storm drain ahead of expected rain Thursday to avoid flooding.
A portion of a light rail platform on Howard Street near the intersection with Pratt Street collapsed Tuesday night.
WJZ was on the scene as workers used a crane and other equipment to dig debris out of the sinkhole.
The problems started Monday when a decades-old 12-inch water main broke, flooding the area.
A Department of Transportation worker became trapped underground while trying to turn off electricity. He remains in the hospital. WJZ has learned that his name is Troy Cook.
Cook was admitted into the ICU after the incident. He is out of the ICU now but remains at Shock Trauma.
“We continue to think about him and his family.” said public works department spokesman Jeffrey Raymond.
The flood also caused a CSX train to derail. Early Wednesday morning, CSX was able to remove that train and is now running trains through the Howard Street tunnel at slower speeds of 5 to 10 miles an hour, according to city officials.
Now, work to stabilize the ground is underway so repairs can be made.
Officials declined to comment on the cost of the repairs.
Officials believe they can reopen Pratt Street by Friday to vehicle traffic. But it could take weeks for the MTA Light Rail to reopen. At this time, there’s no exact timeline.
DPW Director Rudy Chow said they are working on restoring the area first and making it safe before they proceed to make actual repairs.
Crews will be busy creating a bypass for a damaged 36-inch storm drain ahead of expected rain Thursday to avoid flooding, DPW officials said.
Light RailLink service continues to be temporarily suspended between North Avenue and Camden Yards stations.
DPW engineers and inspectors are working with CSX, BGE and others to make sure the area is safe for workers to begin repairs. They are also making sure other tunnels, water and sewer lines and electric lines have not been compromised.
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Here is global banking 1% STOCK MARKET telling us these UNDERGROUND UTILITY MAPPING TECHNOLOGY BUSINESSES are booming. It is a billions of dollars industry.
People buying stock in these UTILITY MAPPING CORPORATIONS making some money as US FOREIGN ECONOMIC ZONES like Baltimore say they are buying this technology.
So, why was that LIGHT RAIL WATER MAIN BREAK in downtown Baltimore not DETECTED? Why after the disaster are the contractors still not able to assess the damage?
There are hundreds of millions of dollars going to CMAR contractor corporations-----there are hundreds of millions of dollars going to NEW UTILITY TECHNOLOGY CORPORATIONS----and our CITY OF BALTIMORE has the worst in the nation problems with PUBLIC WATER MANAGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION.
Is the problem in failure to use these technologies and CMAR MODELS correctly or does the PATENTED UTILITY MAPPING PRODUCTS not work? Like the CURTAIN for our RESERVOIR construction.
The underground utility mapping market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.0%
News provided by
Reportlinker Jul 16, 2019, 19:47 ET
NEW YORK, July 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --
The underground utility mapping market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.0% during the forecast period due to a rise in concerns over the safety of underground utilities.
The global underground utility mapping market size is expected to grow from USD 842 million in 2019 to USD 1.4 billion by 2024, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.0% during the forecast period. Rise in concerns over the safety of underground utilities, and government initiatives for the implementation of utility mapping tools are the major factors driving the growth of the underground utility mapping market.
The technological solutions segment holds a significant market share.
Over the past few years, the underground utility mapping technology has been growing and being incorporated into various verticals.Various utilities, such as electric wires, oil & gas pipelines, and water & sewage lines, can be detected, identified, and mapped using a variety of techniques to reduce the risk of potential damage to underground utilities during digging or excavation.
The underground utility mapping market, based on technological solutions, has been segmented into electromagnetic induction, GPR, and others. Other technological solutions include magnetic locators, acoustic pipe locator, and vacuum excavator.
Surveying & mapping segment is expected to have significant growth in the underground utility mapping market during the forecast period.
In surveying & mapping, technicians use the latest technology with expert methods to explore detectable features underground.
A suite of technology, including GPR and Electro-Magnetic Locators (EML), analyses reflected signals from structures, services, buried objects, and layers beneath the ground.
With statutory record plans, visual inspections of all lifted services covered on site, technicians create an accurate plan of the subsurface environment in multiple formats, including 3D. Surveying & mapping reduce project planning time, minimize risk, and comply with health & safety regulations.
North America is expected to have the largest market size, and Rest of the World (RoW) is projected to grow at a significantly high rate during the forecast period.
North America leads the adoption of underground utility mapping applications due to the increasing demand for enhanced surveillance and construction activities that utilize projection mapping to build advanced maps and models.The region has a highly stable economy, which gives it an upper hand over other regions in terms of the vast utilization of underground utility mapping applications in various fields.
Utility mapping solutions help identify the precise location of an underground utility, thereby enhancing public safety, increasing the integrity of underground utility, and avoiding accidents & mishaps during the repair, maintenance, and new construction activities. All these factors propel the growth of the market in North America.
The American Public Works Association has developed color coding systems that help to identify existing underground utilities such as electrical, gas, water, and communication lines. The US is one of those countries in which these systems are deployed.
Major countries contributing to the underground utility mapping market in RoW are Brazil, South Africa, and some countries in the Middle East.Brazil is a key contributor to underground utility mapping solutions and services in this region.
Factors driving the underground utility mapping market in RoW are market-friendly policies such as equal access to regional markets for non-resident investors and the government's Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) that promotes investment in infrastructure.In South Africa, underground utility mapping is used for electricity and infrastructure verticals and is expected to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period.
This growth can be attributed to the growing use of underground utility mapping applications for checking underground utilities during construction activities.
In the process of determining and verifying the market size of several segments and subsegments gathered through secondary research, extensive primary interviews were conducted with key people. The break-up of the profiles of the primary participants is as follows:
By Company: Tier 1 – 35 %, Tier 2 – 45%, and Tier 3 – 20%
• By Designation: C-Level – 35%, Director Level – 25%, and Others – 40%
• By Region: North America – 45%, Europe – 20%, APAC – 30%, and Rest of the World (RoW) – 5%
The underground utility mapping market includes various major vendors such as Hexagon Geosystems, GSSI, US Radar, Plowman Craven, Cardno, Sensors & Software, Vivax-Metrotech, and multiVIEW Locates.
Research Coverage:
The report includes an in-depth competitive analysis of the key players in the underground utility mapping market along with their company profiles, recent developments, and key market strategies. The report segments the underground utility mapping market by component (technological solutions & services), technological solutions (Electromagnetic Induction (EMI), Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), and others), services (professional [surveying and mapping, training and education, and consulting] and managed services), verticals and region.
Key Benefits of Buying the Report:
The underground utility mapping market has been segmented on the basis of component (technological solutions and services), technological solutions (Electromagnetic Induction (EMI), Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), and others), services (professional [surveying & mapping, training & education, and consulting] and managed services), verticals (Oil & Gas, Electricity, Government & Public Safety, Construction, Telecommunication, and Others) and region .
The report will help the market leaders/new entrants in the underground utility mapping market in the following ways:
1. The overall underground utility mapping market revenue stream has been estimated based on the revenues generated by vendors, offering underground utility mapping solutions and services inclusive of surveying and mapping, training and education, and consulting services, offered by professional service providers, including Managed Service Providers (MSPs). The report provides the closest approximations of the revenue numbers for the overall market and the subsegments. The market numbers are further split into regions.
2. The report helps the stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and provides them with information on the key market drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities.
3. The report will help the stakeholders to understand the competitors and gain more insights to better their market position. The competitive landscape section includes the competitor ecosystem, new product developments, partnerships, and mergers and acquisitions.
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Here is the PRESS RELEASE in Baltimore 2012------this is OBAMA-era INFRASTRUCTURE building. This press release uses this infrastructure development as a reason for raising water rates by SPECTACULAR AMOUNTS-----to $100 a month water bill for average family---or for a landlord rental building with 3 floors---like my building.
The costs of WATER MONTHLY in my building of 3-4 people---size of average family should be $100 a month. Only a decade ago that water bill was $20-40 a month.
The water bill rate hike started in 2012 today in 2019 ----several years later ---has our Baltimore water infrastructure a TOTAL MESS.
'Wednesday Jun 27th, 2012
Dept. of Public Works press release header
DPW to Greatly Accelerate Water Main Rehabilitation
Today the Baltimore City Board of Estimates approved a recommended increase of 9.0% for water/sewer rates and fees for Baltimore City customers. The increase is required to meet numerous unfunded State and Federal regulatory mandates; for rehabilitation of aging infrastructure; to provide preventative inspections of sewer and water lines as well as to replace our current metering and billing systems. The new rates will raise the annual water and sewer bill for a family of four by approximately $97'.