Want to stay in better touch with ACEC California and vital association news? Register, follow or “Like” ACEC California’s various social media and profiles. We are active on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Blogspot and offer our members quick access to industry news, legislative updates, op-ed pieces and association updates.
On October 17-18, 2013, the ACEC Board of Directors met in Berkeley at the historic Claremont Hotel. Your Sierra Chapter members in attendance included Ted Hopkins, Steve Greenfield, Tom Blackburn, Eddie Kho, and myself. Below are some major highlights from the meeting:
Executive Director Search – Paul Meyer announced his retirement in July, and ExCom has hired a recruitment firm to help with the process. 37 resumes have been collected, and ExCom has selected 13 resumes for phone interviews. In-person interviews by ExCom will happen the week of November 11. The process should be concluded by the end of November, with the new Executive Director starting in January 2014.
Policy Platforms – The Water & QBS policy platforms are currently being developed at the ACEC California committee level. The Contracting Out and Infrastructure Funding policy platforms have been developed by ACEC California staff and are currently being reviewed. For the High Speed Rail and Alternative Delivery policy platforms, ExCom is soliciting volunteers from the Board and membership.
Chapter Award Program – There was a strong impressive response from the chapters this year, with nine chapters applying. This year, the Bronze Award was given to the following chapters: North Coast, San Diego, and Sierra. The Silver Award was given to the Los Angeles Chapter, and the Gold Award was given to the Orange County Chapter.
ACEC National PAC – So far this year, members of ACEC California have donated about $22,000 to the ACEC National PAC (which is separate from our state PAC). Our statewide goal is much higher ($83,000). The good news is ACEC California gets back more than we raise, but there is pressure to improve our statewide numbers.
ACEC National – ACEC national ended the fiscal year with a balanced budget, and membership has remained relatively constant. Major issues include engineering education, state licensure, tax reform, SEC registration, infrastructure finance, and the commissioning of a study about costs associated with contracting out.
Annual Conference Committee – The annual conference is April 7-10, 2014 in La Quinta. The theme is: “Ready, Set, Grow.” The conference committee is currently looking for break out session speakers.
Grassroots Committee – A Legislative “Call to Action” campaign has been implemented through the grassroots committee in an effort to engage ACEC California members (by sending local legislators individual letters when support is needed). There has also been initial preparation for the 2014 Legislative Visit Day scheduled for February 4, 2014.
Legislative Review Committee – The committee nominated Assembly Member Connie Conway for the 2013 Legislator of the Year award.
Next Board Meeting: February 3, 2014, Hyatt Regency, Sacramento.
Next Board Meeting: February 3, 2014, Hyatt Regency, Sacramento.
At the October 18th general meeting at Ancil Hoffman golf course in Carmichael, Jerry Way, the Director of Public Works for the City of Sacramento discussed the City’s current Big 5 projects:
The Delta Shores project will connect Franklin Blvd. to Freeport Blvd., and provide route continuity between SR160 – I5 – SR99 and will contain approximately 4600-5300 homes and commercial developments over 700-800 acres.
Intermodal: The City of Sacramento is transforming the downtown’s historic train depot (Sacramento Valley Station) into a transportation hub to serve all modes of travel to and from the station: passenger train, light rail, bus, taxi, rental car and bicycle. The Intermodal project site was once the western terminus for the transcontinental railroad and has been part of major railroad holdings in downtown Sacramento since the mid-19th century.
Bridges: Three new bridges are proposed in the downtown area; the I Street Bridge just north of the Tower Bridge over the Sacramento River, the Broadway Bridge over the Sacramento River, and the American River Bridge that will connect South Natomas to Sacramento Central City.
Downtown Arena: The City of Sacramento is working to develop an entertainment and sports center (ESC) in Downtown Plaza area of Sacramento. This $448 million venue will serve as a major economic development tool for the city of Sacramento and the Sacramento region.
Cool Stuff – Streetcars: The Cities of West Sacramento and Sacramento, the Yolo County Transportation District, and Sacramento Regional Transit worked together to successfully complete the Downtown/Riverfront Streetcar Feasibility Study. The Study determined that a streetcar IS a feasible option for this region.
Cool Stuff – Parklets: The idea of a Parklet originated in San Francisco and consists of removing one to two parking spaces at participating businesses and turning them into mini-parks with chairs, tables and possibly even some grassy areas with art. Parklets would be available for use by the public for free, but will be paid for by the participating businesses.
Cool Stuff – Bike Corrals: A bike corral transforms a standard parking space or sidewalk area into bike parking. By converting parking spaces, Sacramento can create more green space and encourage bicycling.
John Kingsbury, Executive Director of Mountain Counties Water Resources Association (MCWRA), will speak at our Chapter Dinner Meeting on November 20th.
The MCWRA advocates for the water interests of its members in all or a portion of 15 of the 58 California counties from the southern tip of Lassen County down to Fresno. John has been the Executive Director since March, 2011.
John has been in the water business for the past 25 years. Throughout his career, he has worked with statewide and regional organizations that monitor and influence regulatory and legislative matters of critical interest to the water purveyors and participated on various regional and statewide committees.
Prior to MCWRA, John worked for 10 1/2 years at the Placer County Water Agency located in Placer County as the Director of Customer Services and was responsible for planning, organizing and directing the 29 member Water System’s Customer Services Department. Prior to working at Placer County Water Agency, John worked in El Dorado County for 12 1/2 years at the El Dorado Irrigation District as the Customer Services Manager responsible for planning, organizing and directing the Water System’s Customer Services Department.
Since 1979, John has lived in the Sierra Nevada Foothill community of Placerville, which is located in El Dorado County, 40 miles northeast of Sacramento.
John will review current water issues relevant to our area and the State as a whole including:
Don’t miss this opportunity to review current issues that are relevant and important to us and to our clients.
If you didn’t attend our first lunch meeting/golfing event at Ancil Hoffman last month, you missed a great one! Everyone had a great time. The turnout was about the same as recent meetings, but we did have new faces and a different mix of attendees. The casual buffet lunch with tri tip was a hit too. I have to say that the long hiatus since I played golf last did not help my game any. I think I have firmly cemented my position as the worst golfer among Chapter Presidents of the last 6 years. In addition to a great presentation by Jerry Way, he provided me free advice – “Play more.” I will try to take Jerry’s advice and be ready for spring, when we hope to have another lunch/golfing meeting!
“…So-So Legislative Session for Business” was the headline of a recent article in the Sacramento Business Journal recapping the end of the legislative session. Of the 805 bill that were passed into law, many affect our industry’s business climate, both positively and negatively. And many of the bills signed into law are mixed, with both positive and negative aspects. One of note is AB 401, which authorizes state and local agencies to use design-build (DB) for transportation projects, but contains language specifying that Caltrans perform the construction inspection. I have spoken to those in our industry that support this bill because more DB projects are authorized (previous DB authority expires at the end of 2013). A recent email I received on behalf of Self Help Counties touts the passage of AB 401. On the other hand, a large contractor that I spoke with felt very pessimistic about the DB environment in CA as a result of AB 401 and planned to look elsewhere for opportunities. ACEC-CA and others opposed the bill because the construction inspection provision violates Prop 35 (which gives state and local public agencies the authority to use either public or private sector design services and that local agencies have that authority over local and regional projects).
ACEC-CA supported SB 743. Although primarily designed to streamline CEQA review of the proposed $450 million Kings arena, SB 743 provides some CEQA streamlining or other CEQA reform benefits to selected categories of projects. Projects benefiting from SB 743 include those in transit priority areas, urban infill projects, and environmental leadership development projects. Although a disappointment from the perspective of overhauling CEQA, ACEC-CA supported the bill despite the limited scope of CEQA reform.
I spoke with someone from a local transportation agency about the positive and negative aspects of AB 401. They felt that in California’s position, one has to be thankful for small gains. I suppose this is true, but to do my part to effect greater change, I have promised myself to be more politically aware, politically engaged, and politically active in the coming year. I hope you will too.
|
If you're interested in joining the Calmentor program as a Mentor or Protégé, please visit the following link for more information: 
|
