This is the final segment of the Project Plan Preparation Video Series.
In this video we will cover some general Project Planning tips to help you reach Project Plan
approval!
Firstly, it is important to be sure to contain plenty of detail on relevant information within
the Project Plan but also try to keep it concise.
Not every item in the Project Plan Preparation Guidance document is relevant to every project.
When issues are applicable, they should be addressed at a level of detail consistent
with its complexity and scope.
In some instances short descriptions are adequate, while complex issues require more detail.
When deciding whether to include an item, ask yourself: does this relate to the project?
If not, you likely do not need to include it.
There are certain sections of the Project Plan that require more attention than others.
Sometimes a Project Plan is missing pertinent information on Project Need, Alternatives
Analysis, Selected Alternative, Impacts, or Public Participation.
Its absence prevents the project from being ranked for funding or results in it being
unlikely to succeed in obtaining financing that fiscal year.
Be sure to spend a good amount of time developing these sections.
One thing that we love is a well-organized Project Plan!
Clearly labeled sections with tabs for appendixes is what we like to see and is very helpful
during the review of such a large document.
Sometimes, after a Project Plan has been submitted, you determine that you need to make some changes
to it.
You should immediately contact your Project Manager to discuss the changes and see what
you need to do.
If the changes are small and will not significantly affect the selected alternative you may be
able to just incorporate those changes into the submitted Project Plan.
However, if the change addresses a new need, if it significantly changes the selected alternative
or the location of the project, a Project Plan Amendment will likely be required.
This means a new round of public participation and your project will likely be delayed until
the next fiscal year.
For example, perhaps you were unable to get a permit to construct in an MI Department
of Transportation right-of-way so the location of your project needs to change.
This would mean you’d need to update your project plan with the new location and environmental
impacts, and again conduct a public hearing.
It can be difficult to figure out the timing for Project Plan development.
For this reason, we’ve developed two reverse timelines – one for Clean Water State Revolving
Fund, or wastewater, projects and one for Drinking Water Revolving Fund, or drinking
water, projects.
These timelines help you get a better idea of what you should start doing and when.
Many experienced consulting firms submit a draft Project Plan to our office a few months
in advance.
This is a great idea!
We are happy to review the draft Project Plan to help assure that the final will be ready
by the deadline and will not have any fatal flaws.
The submittal of a draft is very useful, but it is not required.
Within the Project Plan, you will want to propose a funding quarter.
As you can see, based on this Fiscal Year 2016 financing schedule, there are a number
of due dates to consider when determining which funding quarter works best for you.
Often, applicants use the third and fourth funding quarters.
Once you have submitted a Project Plan and are within the fundable range, a Project Manager
will help you make a final decision about the funding quarter and will negotiate a milestone
schedule to get you through the rest of the application process.
In this video series, we have referenced the Project Plan Preparation Guidance.
Here is how to get to it on our webpage.
First, go to www.michigan.gov/cleanwaterrevolvingfund or www.michigan.gov/drinkingwaterrevolvingfund.
At the bottom of the page there is a link called “Forms and Guidance.”
Click on that link.
Now you have all of our program forms and guidance documents at your fingertips!
There are two Project Plan Preparation Guidance documents, one for drinking water projects
and the other for wastewater projects.
Here I will click on the wastewater, or Clean Water State Revolving Fund, document.
For ease of navigation, you can go to the table of contents and click on a subject,
such as Alternatives Analysis.
It takes you right to that section.
This concludes our Project Plan Preparation Video Series.
We hope you’ve found the videos helpful and informative!
There are many guidance documents available on our website.
If you have trouble figuring out what you need please give us a call.
Early contact with the Revolving Loan Section will help you develop an excellent and approvable
Project Plan.
We look forward to working with you and hope that we can assist you in addressing your
infrastructure needs.