you - PBA Forms, etc.

A publication of the Pennsylvania Builders Association
PRIMROSE HOMES
An Outstanding Builder
in Pennsylvania
2 |
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
2012 Officers
President
Warren Peter
Vice President
Larry Eberly
Associate Vice President
Elizabeth Dupuis
Secretary
Kevin Coutts
Treasurer
Richard Clawson
Immediate Past President
Ray Venema
2013 Officers
President
Larry Eberly
Vice President
Kevin Coutts
Associate Vice President
Betsy Dupuis
Secretary
Peter Gallagher
Treasurer
Joe Harcum
Immediate Past President
Warren Peter
Keystone Builder
Official Magazine of PBA
Pennsylvania Builders Association
600 North Twelfth Street
Lemoyne, PA 17043
Phone: 800-692-7339 or
717-730-4380
Fax 717-730-4396
www.PaBuilders.org
Statements and opinions in thismagazine are the responsibility of
the authors alone and do not imply
an opinion on the part of the publishers. This publication is copyrighted and materials herein may
not be reproduced without written
permission.
President’s Message
by Warren Peter, PBA President
Let’s make 2013 about reshaping our future
My predecessors warned me that my one year as PBA president would fly by.
Boy, they weren’t kidding! Though many issues vital to our industry tend to
outlive the terms of your association president, I am pleased to report that we
have been able to accomplish quite a lot in 2012, despite some challenges.
• Successfully transitioned our new EVP, Jennifer Casey
• Held a very effective Legislative Social on May 1 – hopefully the first of
many
• Hired Melissa Longenberger, Membership Coordinator
• Hired Brent Sailhamer, Government Relations Director
Brent and the rest of the GA team have had a great legislative run in 2012.
Make sure to check out the GA update in this issue. I am confident that our staff
is talented, capable and committed and I’m very proud of the team that they
have become.
In addition to providing you with an efficient and well-run organization, our
priority going forward is to invest in the locals, work TOGETHER as a unified
team and begin growing this association again. We need every one of you to
help with this.
Membership is every member’s job and we must find ways to recruit new
members who can continue to steer this association and our focus in the very
best interest of our industry. We know how much this industry contributes to
positive economic growth in PA – help us tell that story.
You have an opportunity in 2013 to help reshape the future of PBA. Join a
committee or council. Get involved and share your ideas. Members who are
active and engaged are the lifeblood of this organization and will be its future.
Thank you for the honor of serving as your 2012 President. I want to thank
the staff, the executive committee and the membership for the opportunity. I
am very encouraged by the strength of the 2013 leadership team. I know that
Larry Eberly and his team are committed to doing great things! I look forward
to continuing to work with PBA leadership and with you, and wish all a happy
and prosperous 2013.
To view a digital edition of this issue please go to our
website www.BuildersAndAssociates.com
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 3
in this issue...
10 Feature Story Primrose Homes
An Outstanding Builder in Pennsylvania
3 President’s Message – Warren Peter
ADVERTISER’S INDEX
5 Publisher’s Column
Cardello Electric............................8
Allegheny Millwork........................7
Cranberry Supply Co., Inc.............7
6 Involvement Equals Victory
8 Collaboration at Work
10 Primrose Homes - An Outstanding Builder in
Pennsylvania
16 Veria, Greece | Remodeling and Old City
18 Scenes From PBA Meeting 2012
22 PBA Recognizes Affiliate Members
23 OSHA Exec and Congressman Advocate for PBA
24 A Look Back
Crescent Bath & Kitchens.............7
Lezzer Lumber...............................6
Norandex.....................................30
Old Republic National Title
Insurance Co...............Inside Front
Photography by Dimitri.Inside Back
PBA 2012 Gala Awards...............22
PUBLISHERS
Evelyn & Dimitri Ganas
Contact information:
Evelyn & Dimitri Ganas, Publishers
KB Magazine
146 Hospital Road
Gettysburg PA, 17325
(717) 334-2490
Fax 717-334-6628
26 Obama Wins Election
Health Care Reform Law Here to Stay
Photography
Dimitri Ganas
Gettysburg, PA 17325
29 How to Analyze the Performance of your Business
Printing
Marty Martinson
WizePrint Printing
Cortaro, AZ
4 |
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
From the publisher
A couple of months ago, Melissa
Etshied, PBA’s Director of Public Relations, contacted us about becoming
the publishers of Keystone Builder,
the official Magazine of PBA, and
here we are with the first issue.
Please let us introduce ourselves.
We are Evelyn and Dimitri Ganas,
with our home base in Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania. We are new to this
magazine, but certainly not new to
the building industry in Pennsylvania. I have been a member of PBA,
being a member of the Home Builders
Association of Metro Harrisburg,
and the B.I.A. of Lancaster County
since 1985, every year through and
including 2012. When I first joined in
1985 and until 2009 my membership
was listed under Builder/Architect
Magazine, the publication I did at that
time. For five years during that time
I also published Builder/Architect for
Philadelphia and during those 5 years
I was also a member of the Chester
and Delaware Counties Association,
and a member of HBAM when I
published Builder/Architect Magazine
for Baltimore. Dimitri came on board
as my photographer for the Philadelphia Builder/Architect in 1990, later
took over as photographer for the
Baltimore and Central PA Builder/
Architects. Dimitri was a member
of York Builders Association under
Photography by Dimitri for a number of years. I resigned as a Builder/
Architect publisher in November of
2009 and in January of 2010, Dimitri
and I came out with the first issue
of our own magazine, Builders &
Associates, a regional magazine for
the building industry in Central PA,
covering the area including Harrisburg, York, Lancaster, Reading, Berks
County, Chambersburg, Gettysburg,
and Hanover.
We are very excited about this opportunity to expand state-wide and
are really looking forward to making
new friends as we work to serve the
industry throughout the state.
Our first goal with this publication is
to make PBA happy by providing a
first class venue for their news. This
gives PBA the opportunity to make
sure that each and every one of their
members is totally informed about
important legislative issues that affect
each member as we are all striving to
promote our businesses. Dimitri and I
are not subsidized by PBA to produce
this magazine so we depend totally on
advertising dollars to make it possible
to print.
We want to take this opportunity
to thank Vicki Shannon of the McNaughton Companies, and Scott
Swartz, of Swartz Supply, for taking
their time to introduce us to a number of potential advertisers. Also we
would like to extend our thanks to
Jeff Martin of Primrose Homes for his
help in that regard.
PBA has told us that they would like
to have a spring and fall issue in 2013.
We already have a couple of companies that have reserved ad space for
those two magazines. If any of you
reading this column would like to
have your advertising message reach
approximately 6,500 key players
in the building industry throughout
Pennsylvania, please, contact us at
evelyn@buildersandassociates.com or
call 717-334-2490 and let us know. As
you see we have started off with this
32-page magazine, but if advertising
increases we will increase the number of pages in the magazine. Every
issue will be on our web page www.
BuildersAndAssociates.com with a
link between all ads and the advertiser’s web page.
We are very open to hearing from you
about what else you would like to see
in this magazine in addition to what
you see in this first issue.
See you at the Wyndham in Gettysburg in March,
Evelyn & Dimitri
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 5
Involvement Equals Victory
Brent Sailhamer, Director of Government Affairs
Despite the outcome of the election, consider the numbers:
• 5,117 get-out-the-vote (GOTV) locations in battleground states alone
• 1,792,261 newly registered voters
• 125,646,479 personal visits or phone calls to voters
More than 3.1 million individual donors
$1 billion in total fundraising
When you add the numbers up, you get a simple formula:
involvement equals victory. The same is true for any
organization;
“We must all hang together, or surely we will hang
separately.”
The true strength of any organization is its size. Whether
it results in purchasing power, cooperative benefits, or, in
the case of advocacy, a stronger influence, the power of
100 is almost always better than the power of 1. Subsequently, the larger the organization, the easier it is on each
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Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
individual to play a role in those successes. And when it
comes to government affairs, the same is true. For each
victory that PBA claims, there are countless hours that
many of our members dedicate to make sure efforts are
successful. For many members, it’s just an hour or two
here or there, but as an association, those hours turn into
days and weeks, which is where the true strength of the
organization is revealed.
Elected officials are acutely aware of their constituency and know who to seek out for advice, assistance,
and information. They also know what it takes to get
things done and the amount of work that goes on behind
the scenes. By getting involved, you not only identify
yourself to elected officials, staff, and other leaders as a
knowledgeable asset on builder issues, but also as part of
a statewide association that carries with it political clout, a
wealth of knowledge, and thousands of allies.
“All politics is local.”
When it comes to direct contact efforts, many folks, particularly those who have avoided the political process, are
hesitant to get involved. And understandably so – politics
always seems like such a headache, so why invite trouble?
But the secret is that direct contact programs, like PBA’s
Hammers & Gavels Club, is probably the single greatest
weapon in lobbying and advocacy and the reason for nearly every victory.
The strongest direct contact programs, developed in the
early days of labor unions, had enormous power. Just the
threat of such a program was often enough to produce results. Even today, elected officials know the capability of
direct contact programs – how they can shut down phone
lines, expose issues in local press, create a snowball effect
and force a backlash of public support – and how dangerous those programs can be.
The best part is that it’s incredibly easy (and FREE!) to
join Hammers & Gavels Club and the benefits are immeasurable. The biggest commitment is finding a couple
hours every year (that’s right, just a couple hours a year)
to help out. The process is also simple, and only three
steps: 1) Work with PBA staff to get a good idea of the
issues that we face, as well as some background on your
elected officials, 2) reach out to your own elected officials
a couple times a year and let them know that, as a voting
constituent, you are concerned about an issue, and 3) celebrate your victory!
In return, you’ll get access to all kinds of opportunities
and the best part? You choose your own level of involvement. Some members are happy just to make some phone
calls and see a bill pass because of their action. Others get
more involved and want to contribute, either to the Pennsylvania Committee for Affordable Housing (PaCAH) or
the Builder Victory Fund (BVF). And still others want to
play a stronger role, and choose to join the Committee of
75, an individual donor program for larger contributions.
Whatever role you choose, you’ll know you’re helping
“We built the kind of campaign that made people
want to volunteer.”
- Jim Messina, Campaign Manager
for Obama for America
thousands of home builders and millions of Pennsylvanians just through a couple hours a year.
“If you’re not actively involved in getting what you
want, you don’t really want it.”
Every second of time that our members commit to a legislative victory is essential to that success, so whether you
invest an hour or a day, PBA and our thousands of members statewide could not be victorious without you. But it
is essential to be involved somehow.
We have several ways to get involved. If you’re looking
to learn more about the process and how legislation affects
your business, then the Hammers & Gavels Club is for
you! It’s free and easy and you decide how much time it
takes. If you’re interested in becoming more invested in
the political process, then consider PaCAH. Every local
association and every region elect PaCAH representatives
to make decisions about political contributions, support,
and endorsements. If you’d rather just help out the cause,
you can always contribute to the Builder Victory Fund,
which helps raise awareness and fund issue-based campaigns. And finally, if you’re convinced that now is the
time to make a difference (and it is), then consider joining the Committee of 75, a higher level donor program
that makes a huge difference in who wins and who loses
elections.
In the end, the choice is yours. However you want to get
involved, PBA is here to help. But doing something is
better than doing nothing. Because by now, you know that
involvement equals victory and PBA is building the kind
of campaign that makes people want to volunteer.
and
Congratula�ons to Jeff Mar�n and all of
the Team at Primrose Homes!
Best wishes for con�nued success.
Call or visit Allegheny Millwork & Lumber
for all your Marvin Window needs.
1001 Muriel Street • Pi�sburgh, PA 15203
AlleghenyMillworkLumber.com
412·431·4224
HIC #PA025367
Congratulations to Jeff Martin
and everyone at Primrose Homes
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 7
Collaboration at Work
PennDOT and PBA. Positive change is happening.
Developers working in the industry
know that historically, the process
involved in Highway Occupancy
Permits (HOPs) could be trying.
Working together, PBA and PennDOT
have been able to implement positive
change for both land owners and
developers. Thanks to our volunteer
Committee Chairs on this project –
Mark Stanley and Mark McNaughton
- for their leadership and commitment to making a difference on behalf
of the building industry!
Highway Occupancy
Permits Background
Overview
Highway Occupancy Permits (HOPs)
are required by the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation (PennDOT) for any developer building
residential, commercial or industrial projects that requires access to
a state-owned road. Prior to recent
changes,the permitting process could
be onerous.
A traffic study, paid for by the developer, must be completed to determine
the transportation impacts that will
result from the project. The developer
is responsible for the costs to mitigate
transportation impacts (like an additional lane or installation of a traffic
signal) that are identified in the study.
If the study reveals an additional lane
or more signal lights are necessary to
handle added flows of traffic, the state
will require the developer to cover
those costs regardless of the amount
of new traffic the development may
add.
Although in the case of local municipal planning, the municipality and the
developer normally each pay a pre-determined “fair share” of project costs,
the state does not rely on the same fair
share standards.
Looking to Streamline
Processes and Get Back
to Work
Those in the home building industry that have survived the economic
downturn know that it is critical to
remove obstacles from the path of
recovery wherever possible. In 2011,
PBA members made it a priority
PBA Committee Co-Chairs Mark Stanley and Mark McNaughton, Michael
Dzurko, PennDOT Program Manager, Highway Occupancy Permits, and Glenn
Rowe P.E., Division Chief, PennDOT
8 |
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
to establish a committee focused
on working with PennDOT on the
Reform of the Highway Occupancy
Permit Program.
Key items to address were:
Access impacts and Indemnification
Fair Share
Fast forward to a year later, and
Meanwhile, Governor Corbett made
PBA’s Committee co-chairs both
reforming state government a key
couldn’t be more
priority of his adminpleased. “Right from
istration. This included
the start, PennDOT’s
cutting the size and
“We are lookwillingness to talk,
cost of government,
ing for ways to
listen, and address
ensuring efficient use
do
things
more
concerns set the
of taxpayer dollars and
tone for what came
re-examining how the
efficiently,”
next,” said Mark
state works with em- Glenn Rowe, P.E.
McNaughton. Mcployers and business.
PennDOT
Naughton gives a lot
“We are looking for
of the credit to the
ways to do things more
Department Secefficiently,” said Glenn Rowe, P.E.
retary Barry Schoch. “He was in the
PennDOT Division Chief, Traffic
private sector at one time and underEngineering and Permits.” Under
stands the business end of things. He
Governor Corbett, streamlining the
allows his staff to share his philosopermitting process through the use of
phy and be receptive to moving in a
technology became a top priority.”
more collaborative direction.”
In August of 2011, with the ePerRegarding the collaboration from Penmitting process already underway,
nDOT’s perspective, “It’s about being
co-chairs of PBA’s Reform PennDot’s a good partner, making the overall
Highway Occupancy Permit Program
process less onerous and supporting
Committee, Mark McNaughton and
economic development,” said Glenn
Mark Stanley, set up a meeting with
Rowe.
the PA Department of Transportation’s
Access impacts and
Secretary Barry Schoch and Deputy
Secretary, Scott Christie.
Indemnification
Certain instances may require a
PBA supports PennDOT’s role and
developer indemnify the Department
understands the need to have rules
as part of the permitting process. For
and a process in place to protect the
instance, if the developer proposes
infrastructure, ensure safety, and to
to construct a turn lane in front of
help minimize defaults and risks.
someone else’s property, the developHowever, PBA members wanted to
er is required to obtain the impacted
discuss ways to improve the existing
property owner’s approval. If they are
process and to work together with the
unsuccessful at securing approval, the
Department in support of economic
developer has the option to indemnify
development. The intent of the meetthe Department in order to proceed
ing was to discuss working toward a
with obtaining a permit.
more collaborative, less adversarial
working relationship with PennDOT,
As a matter of policy, PennDOT
and a streamlined process for Highrequired the developer to obtain perway Occupancy Permits (HOPs).
mission by way of a release form that
the impacted property owner signs.
The form releases the Commonwealth
from all suits, damages, and claims
that may arise as a result of granting
the permit. PennDOT was asked to
reconsider their policy because many
developers found it difficult to obtain
signatures.
Nine months after the initial meeting,
PennDOT issued a Strike-off Letter to
implement a more workable process
and form. Included in the changes are
an access approval procedure worksheet, which provides clear step-bystep direction to the applicant, and a
sample approval letter.
According to McNaughton, “The
new form makes all of the difference.
It encourages open communication
between the developer and impacted
property owners. Property owners
now understand what they are signing.”
According to Stanley, “One of the
significant changes to the Indemnification agreement was the narrowing
of the scope of the indemnification
that owners were asked to sign. Previously the indemnification section of
the agreement covered claims, damages and costs that could arise out of
the “construction, design or use of the
structure or facility that is the subject
of the Permit.” In working with the
Department, the PBA Task Force was
able to significantly narrow the scope
of the indemnification to claims and
damages that only identified property
owners could assert under the Eminent Domain Code. From a builder’s
perspective, these changes are significant for several reasons. First, the
potential claimants are limited to the
property owners identified on Exhibit
“A” to the Indemnification AgreeContinued on page 28
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 9
Primrose Homes
An Outstanding Builder in Pennsylvania
J
eff Martin, Primrose Homes, recently was featured in Pittsburgh
Magazine with his Home of the
Year, a 5,300 sq. ft. Victorian dream
home for a client in the Lake MacLeod, neighborhood of Gibsonia.
The splendid home has an infusion
of sustainable green design concepts
with all the style of a traditional older
Victorian home, including wraparound porches and distinct architectural features.
Jonathan Iams, owner, said, “The
detail in the fireplaces makes me feel
like I’ve been transported to a modern version of a 100 year old home”.
10 |
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
Upper Left Jeff Martin –
Owner, and Adam Stickle General Manager
Lower Left The Queen Anne
Victorian that was the winner
of BAMP’s Housing excellence awards in 2011 for the
best single family home in
Pittsburgh.
Upper Right Four level
Tuscan inspired home.
Winner of the best single
family home under $2 million
for the Builder Association
of Metropolitan Pittsburgh
Housing Excellence awards
Lower Right Period appropriate fireplace surround and
office trim build ups for this
Victorian Queen Anne home
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 11
The owners also said they enjoyed
working with Jeff Martin and his team
at Primrose, appreciating their positive approach and enthusiasm for the
project.
Primrose Homes is a design/build
company committed to delivering
a great value to all clients. Projects
range from luxury homes to large
renovation projects, to high-end office
build-outs. Jeff Martin says “When
building, we don’t build houses we
build homes. We are committed to
delivering value to clients by providing a highly professional team that
operates under the directive: Build
a home as if it were for your own
family.”
In 2011 Primrose Homes received the
Housing Excellence Award for Best
Single Family home over $1,000,000
and the Best Single Family Green
Home over $500,000.
Above and Upper Right The stunning custom kitchen cabinetry in all of these photos was created by Heart of the Home
Designs from the Meadville, Pa area.
Lower Right The lower level bar has a contemporary flare.
12 |
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
Primrose specializes in researching
the most cost effective building materials and developing an individual
style home for each client. Primrose
Homes utilizes the beautiful custom
cabinetry from Heart of the Home
Designs, in their exceptional homes.
Heart of the Home is owned and operated by Jeff Martin. The Award-winning home has a highly-efficient
geo-thermal heating and cooling system by Iams Consulting, LLC. The
system included domestic hot water,
geo-thermal derived radiant flooring,
high efficiency plumbing fixtures,
PEX piping systems, LED lighting,
LUTRON Homeworks lighting controls and a Creston home Automation
system. The house is 50% above code
for energy efficiency.
Pete and Melissa Blackwood of
Blackwood & Associates created the
interior design and landscaping for the
home. CornerStone Designs, a Seattle
based firm, with a niche for design,
created the design of the lovely Victorian-style home.
Jeff Martin started Primrose Homes 9
years ago. Prior to that Jeff’s entire career was in the steel business.
When close friends built a home, doing all of the work themselves, while
living with him, Jeff fell in love with
the process. Jeff and his wife decided
to build a home for themselves and
then founded Primrose Homes and
continued to build.
Primrose builds on the client’s lot or
buys a lot to build on. Primrose does
not get involved in creating developments. However they do build spec
homes. Primrose’s price range is in
the seven figures. Currently Primrose
has a $2,000,000 spec home for sale.
Primrose just finished a big home in
Ligonier and also does a lot of high
end remodel work in the three to
four million dollar range per project. Primrose keeps a staff of skilled
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 13
craftsmen on hand to handle their
jobs. Working with their sub-contractors on a long term basis also insures
consistency of quality on all jobs.
Some of these companies have done
every home that Jeff Martin has built.
Jeff’s sub-contractors and employees
are trained to work as a team.
Next year Jeff Martin will be president of the Builders Association of
Metro Pittsburgh. He is enthusiastic
about celebrating the 75th anniversary
of BAMP while he is their president.
To earmark their 75th anniversary
they will be holding a dinner dance
and interviewing each past president,
thus documenting their history in the
building industry. BAMP has a goal of
constructing a “Handicap” playground
in Mellon Park, if they can acquire the
necessary funding. Another community service project BAMP recently
finished was a remodel project for a
Marine vet, John Kasky, who completed a 2nd deployment to Iraq
and has four children. The remodel
included a new kitchen, bath, flooring
and garage doors.
Jeff Martin is also active in the Pennsylvania Builders Association, serving
on their board of directors. Jeff Martin has been at the helm of Primrose
Homes for 9 years and is proud to say
his company grew every year in sales.
Jeff’s son-in-law, Adam Stickle, helps
run the building company and is general manager of Heart of the Home
Designs, their cabinet company.
It is quite apparent that Jeff Martin
and Primrose Homes are among Pittsburgh’s finest. Our congratulations to
an “Outstanding Builder,” Jeff Martin,
Primrose Homes.
14 |
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
Upper Left Foyer area featuring several arched top openings that are
appropriate for that style of architecture
Lower Left A master bath shower that continues the arched top features.
Above The two-story great room offers amazing views of the lake.
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 15
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12
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| Keystone
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Builders & Associates
Magazine
Nov/Dec
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13
January/February
2013 • Keystone
Builder
| 1721
Scenes from PBA Meeting November 2012 at Cranberry Twp
18 |
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 19
20 |
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 21
PBA Recognizes Affiliate Members
Melissa Longenberger, Membership Coordinator
As many associations struggle to recruit and retain members and convert
them to active, participating individuals, PBA is opening the doors to
affiliate members throughout the state
to encourage the next generation of
our members.
Some local associations and NAHB
have recognized affiliate members
for years as a way to reach more
individuals at member businesses.
Many times the main contact - that
holds the membership - is the owner,
president or CFO, who may not have
the time to be actively involved in the
builders association. With an affiliate
membership employees can receive
the same benefits, access and involvement that the primary contact enjoys.
An affiliate member is any employee of a builder or associate member
of the same local association. If you
have employees that you would like
to see more involved in your local
association and Pennsylvania Builders Association, or are an employee
yourself, reach out to your local today
and ask if they recognize affiliate
membership.
2012 GALA Awards
Recognizing PBA’s Industry Leaders
- Builder of the Year
- Associate of the Year
- Best Local Newsletter
- Best Community Service Project (NEW!)
- Builders & Shakers Award (NEW!)
Easy, online nomination forms - �ind
the link at pabuilders.org
pabuilders.o
Deadline is January 7, 2013!!!
22 |
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
OSHA Exec’ and Congressman Advocate on
Behalf of PBA Members in Susquehanna Valley
Bombarded by reports of OSHA
staff exceeding authority and ethical
boundaries, EO Reva Dunkle enlisted
the support of Representative Tom
Marino, who has called for an investigation.
As Reva Dunkle, Executive Officer
of the Central Susquehanna Builders
Association (CSBA) started getting
complaints from members in her local
area about OSHA compliance officers
using intimidation,
inappropriate behavior, animosity against
their businesses, and
incorrect or falsely
charged citations, to
name a few infractions – earlier in 2012.
Dunkle listened to her
members, collected
information and documented everything.
CSBA contracted Dr.
Janine McCartney, a
23 year veteran safety
engineer, and ex-OSHA Consultation
staff, to teach construction safety
classes. McCartney was asked to look
at the complaints. She evaluated many
reports from contractors per OSHA’s
field operations manual and OSHA
directives. McCartney found clear
violations of both, and that inspectors
“have exceeded their authority.” Dunkle and McCartney have been working tirelessly, during this past year to
accurately document the historical
record of complaints, so one body
of knowledge would be assembled.
Dunkle also has formally instituted a
Hotline at CSBA to document complaints.
Marino (R-10) during two town hall
meetings. Marino, who has been a
tireless advocate for his constituents,
listened to his PBA member constituents and acted swiftly after learning of
the allegations.
On October 22, Marino called for action in support of home builders and
contractors in a letter to OSHA Assistant Secretary David Morris Michaels.
“I fully support the role of OSHA in
• An OSHA staff member left gifts
for management after an inspection, and detained employees
against their will in the OSHA
staffer’s personal vehicle.
On October 26, Rep. Marino’s office
put out a press release announcing his
call for an OSHA investigation.
“We received the letter, and we are
reviewing it,” a U.S. Department of
Labor spokesperson told The Sunbury
Daily Item. As of the
printing of this publication, we are not aware of
any official statements
from OSHA.
Dunkle and McCartney have
been working tirelessly, during
this past year to accurately
document the historical record
of complaints.
Dunkle was successful at getting
the attention of Representative Tom
reducing workplace hazards,” Marino
wrote in the letter, “but the reports of
misbehavior by OSHA inspectors are
stunning, and OSHA should immediately and thoroughly investigate these
incidents.”
Specific allegations include:
• Improperly documented citations,
such as issuing two citations for a
single act;
• Falsely reporting facts as the basis
for a citation;
• Unnecessarily prolonged and warrantless inspections; and
• Allegedly committing sexual
harassment for unwarranted and
unwelcome attention to a female
construction worker.
Without the assistance of
Representative Marino,
the PBA members would
have no hope of obtaining
justice. Much gratitude
goes to Representative
Marino and his staff for
stepping up to a government entity without hesitation on behalf of his constituents in
the building industry. “Tom Marino is
an honorable man and a great leader,”
said Ray Venema, PBA’s Immediate
Past President and a builder in the
Williamsport area.
PBA is also grateful to Reva Dunkle
for fighting on behalf of her members
and taking the right steps in a situation that was unprecedented, difficult
and very uncomfortable.
PBA will keep you informed on the
progress of this story as new information becomes available. Look for
updates via your PBA e-mail newsletters and social media, like Facebook,
twitter and LinkedIn.
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 23
A Look Back…
W
ith the 2011-2012 legislative cycle now at a close,
we can look back at one of
the most tumultuous and fast-paced
periods for Pennsylvania’s home
builders. While the past two years
have seen a continued struggle for
home builders to operate at the level
of days gone by, they also strengthened the unity of builders through
resolve and a cooperative effort to
fight back against restrictive government mandates that threatened to kill
the industry. We’ve highlighted a few
of the most notable successes that PBA members
helped achieve in the past
two years:
sylvania Construction Code was
the keystone victory for PBA this
legislative cycle. The Act removes
the sprinkler mandate that was
placed into the code by the automatic adoption process and also
made changes on how the adoption
process works. A huge win for
PBA members and builders across
the state, this legislation saved
millions for the industry and sent a
strong message about the need for
reduced government mandates on a
struggling industry sector.
(Act 52 of 2011) – After establishing the Home Improvement
Contractor Protection Act (HICPA)
in 2008, PBA and the legislature
worked to improve on the existing
law by creating the Home Improvement Account. This legislation goes a long way to help
improve the HICPA for retailers,
contractors and consumers, ensuring that customers are adequately
protected when undertaking home
improvement projects. More importantly, it establishes a process
for the Attorney General’s office to collect fees
in a restricted account
and use that funding
for enforcement. As we
move into 2013, the Attorney General’s office
will have the adequate
resources they need to
aggressively focus on
home improvement contractor enforcement.
While the past two years have
seen a continued struggle
for home builders to operate
at the level of days gone by,
they also strengthened the
unity of builders.
• Permit Extensions
(Act 87 of 2012) Act 87 addresses the
state’s Fiscal code, and
also extends previously approved state and
local building-related
permits until July 2,
2016. In days when
financing is tighter and
markets are sluggish, maintaining
approved building permits for projects is critical to home builders’
success.
• The bill maintains that the running
of any permit which was approved
or which expired between December 31, 2008 and July 2, 2013 will
be automatically suspended until
July 2, 2016. This extension includes erosion & sediment (E&S)
control permits, Clean Streams
Law permits, and Sewage Facilities Act permits.
• Sprinkler Mandate (Act 1
of 2011) – The removal of the
sprinkler mandate from the Penn-
24 |
• Data Quality Act (Act 60 of
2011) – Act 60 amends the Regulatory Review Act to make sure
state agencies use acceptable data
in developing new regulations.
Previous to its passage, agencies
relied on unverified evidence to
support the need for new and
proposed regulations, which often
resulted in unnecessary restrictions
on businesses, particularly homebuilders. As one of the industries
most susceptible to overregulation,
home builders worked to ensure a
fairer process, which now requires
empirical, replicable, or testable data.
• Home Improvement Account
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
• Municipal Abuse
(Act 154 and Act 155 of
2012) – A long-time focus of PBA
members, Act 154 and Act 155 of
2012 take the first steps to addressing continued concerns of municipal billing abuse. The bills protect
builders by allowing more time to
review and dispute invoices, establishing limits on required securities for public improvements, and
assessing penalties on municipal
engineers who overbill builders.
While more efforts will continue
in the future, the legislation sent
a firm message to municipalities
who financially exploit builders.
PBA also achieved a number of other
victories for the home building indus-
try, both through individual efforts
and cooperative efforts with industry
partners, including: defending against
DEP regulation of water well construction, allowing municipal joint
boards of appeal for building codes
concerns, defending against the application of sales tax on construction-related services, and requiring state
agencies to determine the financial
impact on small business before the
creation of any new regulation.
Around the Corner…
With 2013 comes a renewed opportunity to improve the climate for
home building in Pennsylvania. The
2012 elections did little to change the
makeup of the legislature in Pennsylvania – the House of Representatives
will remain in Republican control by
a 111-92 majority, while Democrats
picked up three seats in the Pennsylvania Senate, reducing the Republican
majority there to a 27-23 margin.
Pennsylvania also elected the first
female and Democrat as Attorney
General in Kathleen Kane. Kane has
pledged to focus on consumer protection issues, which is encouraging
for strong enforcement of the HICPA.
Other issues that will be of concern in
2013 and beyond are:
• Property Tax Reform – One of
the hottest topics in Pennsylvania
for the past four decades, property
tax reform advocates were led by
Rep. Jim Cox in 2012 with his
proposal, House Bill 1776. Unfortunately, the bill failed to make it
past the House, owing in large part
to its non-uniformity in its application of sales tax and its inability to
capture sufficient revenues to fund
Pennsylvania’s public education
system.
• In 2013, PBA will be a stronger
voice in the conversation on property tax reform, particularly due to
the recent work of the Property Tax
Reform Task Force. As always,
the goal will be to protect builders while advancing the cause of
improving the real estate and home
building industries by eliminating
or reducing this burdensome tax.
• Environmental Restrictions – An
issue of concern for nearly every PBA member, environmental
concerns affect every region of
With 2013 comes
a renewed opportunity to improve
the climate for
home building in
Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania. From mine reclamation and water well construction in
western Pennsylvania, to erosion
& sediment control and protected waters in the eastern region,
the environmental restrictions
on builders have many faces. As
the Commonwealth struggles to
comply with its commitment to the
Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy through Total Maximum Daily
Loads (TMDLs) and Watershed
Improvement Plans (WIPs), PBA
members are constantly working
to reduce its harmful effects on
business.
• In the coming session, PBA will
continue to focus on these issues,
particularly to loosen the overly
restrictive regulations of Title 25
Chapter 102, which governs erosion & sediment control. Coupled
with this will be PBA’s continued
involvement in monitoring and
providing feedback on the DEP’s
new Permit Decision Guarantee
Program, which will go into effect,
guaranteeing a definitive turnaround time for permit review.
• Municipal Abuse – With the passage of Act 154 and Act 155, PBA
sent a clear message that municipal
billing abuse was a concern for
builders and an issue that needs
resolution. In the coming session,
PBA will continue to work on
this issue, focusing on limiting
pass-through billing by municipal
engineers.
Because of the strong work that PBA
members did on this issue this year,
a coalition of stakeholders, including
PBA, the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, the
American Council of Engineering
Companies of Pennsylvania, and the
Pennsylvania State Association of
Boroughs, continues to focus on a
solution to this issue.
In addition, PBA will also be focusing
on a number of issues to improve the
business climate for home builders.
By working together with industry
stakeholders, we can advocate for
builder-specific issues as well as
larger issues that affect a wider range
of Pennsylvanians, including: home
mortgage protection and reform,
changes to the Planned Communities
Act, defense of buyer/seller contracts/
transactions, and transportation improvements.
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 25
Obama Wins Re-election
Health Care Reform Law Here to Stay
A
Brought to you by Pennsylvania Builders Insurance Program
fter hard-fought campaigns
by both candidates, President Barack Obama has been
re-elected for a second term in office.
Obama’s victory in the election, along
with last summer’s Supreme Court
decision upholding the health care
reform law, cements the Democratic
Party’s dedication to the legislation.
While opponents of the law have
called for its repeal, health care
reform’s supporters consider the
legislation to be the major achievement of Obama’s first term. Obama’s
re-election, along with continued
Democratic control of the Senate,
means that implementation of the law
will now continue without additional
roadblocks.
What Do Employers Have
To Do Next?
With the landscape of employer-provided health care potentially changing
over the next few years, employers
should consider their future plans related to their role in employee health
care. They may have to make some
big decisions about whether to continue providing coverage to their employees. The “pay or play” penalties
provide some incentive for employers
to continue coverage, since they will
be at risk for significant penalties if
they do not. However, employers may
decide that paying the penalty is more
cost-effective than continuing to pay
the ever-increasing costs of health
care for employees and their families.
On the other hand, uncertainty among
employees about the quality and cost
26 |
of individual health coverage continues to make employer-provided
health coverage an attractive recruiting and retention tool. Because of
these advantages, most employers
plan to continue offering coverage for
now. The additional uncertainty for
employers, with compliance obligations hinging on court decisions and
the political process, has made many
companies hesitant to make any largescale changes.
Whatever their future decisions may
be, employers that will continue to
sponsor group health plans for the
near future must prepare for upcoming deadlines. Significant health care
reform provisions with looming effective dates include:
• Summary of Benefits and Coverage. Health plans and issuers must
provide an SBC to participants and
Whatever their future
decisions may be,
employers that will
continue to sponsor
group health plans
for the near future
must prepare for upcoming deadlines.
beneficiaries that includes information about health plan benefits and
coverage in plain language. The
deadline for providing the SBC to
participants and beneficiaries who
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
enroll or re-enroll during an open
enrollment period is the first open
enrollment period that begins
on or after September 23, 2012.
The SBC also must be provided
to participants and beneficiaries
who enroll other than through an
open enrollment period (including
individuals who are newly eligible
for coverage and special enrollees)
effective for plan years beginning
on or after September 23, 2012.
• 60-Days’ Notice of Plan Changes. A health plan or issuer must
provide 60 days’ advance notice
of any material modifications
to the plan that are not related to
renewals of coverage. Notice can
be provided in an updated SBC or
a separate summary of material
modifications. This 60-day notice
requirement becomes effective
when the SBC requirement goes
into effect for a health plan.
• $2,500 Limit on Health FSA Contributions. The health care law will
limit the amount of salary reduction contributions to health flexible
spending accounts to $2,500 per
year for plan years beginning on or
after January 1, 2013.
• W-2 Reporting. Beginning with the
2012 tax year, employers that are
required to issue 250 or more W-2
Forms must report the aggregate
cost of employer-sponsored group
health coverage on employees’
W-2 Forms. The cost must be
reported beginning with the 2012
W-2 Forms, which are issued in
January 2013.
• Preventive Care for Women. Effective for plan years beginning on or
after August 1, 2012, non-grandfathered health plans must cover
specific preventive care services
for women without cost-sharing
requirements. Calendar year plans
must comply effective January 1,
2013.
• Employee Notice of Ex
changes. Effective March 1, 2013,
employers must provide a notice to
employees regarding the availability of the health care reform insurance exchanges. HHS has indicated that it plans on issuing model
exchange notices in the future for
employers to use.
• Additional Medicare Tax for
High-wage Workers. In 2013,
health care reform increases the
hospital insurance tax rate by
0.9 percentage points on wages
over $200,000 for an individual
($250,000 for married couples
filing jointly). Employers will
have to withhold additional
amounts once employees earn over
$200,000 in a year.
What Guidance Will We
See?
Regulations on a number of issues
remain outstanding. The regulatory
agencies responsible for implementation and enforcement of the health
care reform law—the Departments
of Labor, Treasury and Health and
Human Services—began issuing
additional guidance once the Supreme
Court upheld the law. Additional guidance is expected now that the election
is over.
Issues that will likely be addressed in
future guidance include:
• Employer Pay or Play Mandate.
The agencies are expected to, and
have indicated that they will, issue
more guidance for employers to
help them determine how to comply with the shared responsibility
provisions of the law.
• Automatic Enrollment. The Department of Labor is required to
issue regulations implementing the
rule requiring large employers that
offer health coverage to automatically enroll new employees in the
health plan (and re-enroll current
participants).
• Nondiscrimination Rules for
Fully-insured Plans. Under health
care reform, non-grandfathered
fully-insured plans will not be able
to discriminate in favor of highly-compensated employees with
respect to their health benefits. The
IRS delayed the effective date of
this rule for additional regulations,
which have yet to be issued.
government will step in and set up
exchanges for states that fail to establish their own exchanges. Many states
have delayed implementation and will
need to accelerate their efforts if they
want to run their own exchanges.
Challenges For
Implementation
As we get closer to full implementation of the health care reform law,
questions linger about whether the
framework is in place for all pieces
to be operational by their deadlines.
Insufficient staffing of the responsible
agencies is one potential issue, along
with employer and state government
hesitation or inability to implement
certain parts of the law. Compliance
efforts are likely to pick up now that
the election is over.
PBIP will continue to monitor progress of the health care reform law and
its implementation and will keep you
informed of important developments.
This PBIP Legislative Brief is not
intended to be exhaustive nor should
any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. Readers should
contact legal counsel for legal advice. © 2012 Zywave, Inc. All rights
reserved. EAS 11/12
State governments may also take
further steps to establish the health
insurance exchanges required by the
health care reform law. The federal
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 27
Collaboration Continued from page 9
ment. This was not the case under the
prior arrangements. Second, it allows
the builder to fairly and accurately
identify the parameters of its potential
exposure and make a business decision to proceed with a project or not.
Under the prior indemnification it was
fairly difficult to calculate the potential
financial exposure under the indemnification. With economic conditions that
all builders are confronting, this change
is significant and will have positive impacts on the industry moving forward.”
“Personal indemnification was a killer,”
said PBA committee co-chair Mark
Stanley. “What we have been able
to accomplish in nine months’ time
represents a significant and positive
change for owners and developers. It is
clear that from the top-down, the Governor recognizes how this industry can
impact the economy and these changes
allow for a more user-friendly process,
which gets business moving.”
Fair share
The Fair Share aspect of the agenda
will require some legislative work,
but the Committee and PennDOT
continue to communicate on this issue
and PBA’s Governmental Affairs staff
are working in conjunction with the
County Commissioners Association
to continue building the platform for
moving forward.
occupancy permits are now being
processed in less than half the time
compared to PennDOT’s old paper-based system, which means less
down time for businesses and faster
job creation.”
According to Rowe, “Until last October, permit applications were submitted by hand or mailed to PennDOT
Looking Forward
offices. Now the process is entirely
“Profound changes are happenelectronic and offers a great deal of
ing and the work is ongoing,” said
transparency. Applicants can easily
PennDOT’s Glenn Rowe. PBA and
check to see where in the process their
PennDOT will continue to work
together to affect positive change and permit status is, comments and attachments can be included in the review
business growth. Both parties agree
that working together allows them to process as well. Permits that used to
draw upon the others’ knowledge base take 30 – 45 days to review are now
by taking advantage of tools and skill being returned in 10 days.”
sets unique to each. Most important- PennDOT’s ePermitting system for
ly, collaboration is efficient, forms
Highway Occupancy Permits was
new relationships, and substantially
recently presented with a regional
improves the end result.
Best Use of Innovation Award from
ePermitting Saves Time the American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials
& Money
(AASHTO). Also, Governor Corbett
“PennDOT’s new ePermitting process presented the Governor’s Innovator
is a perfect example of my commitAward to two PennDOT employees,
ment to make state government more Glenn Rowe, and Roger Riley for
responsive and less bureaucratic,”
their roles in developing PennDOT’s
said Governor Corbett. “Highway
new electronic ePermitting system.
14% Increase in Building Permits, Year-to-Date
Pennsylvania 2012 Single Family Home Permits
Jan
739
Feb Mar Ap
May Jun Jul
Aug Sept Oct YTD
1036 1170 1350 1390 1382 1248 1211 1220 1349 12,095
Pennsylvania 2011 Single Family Home Permits
Jan Feb
1329 822
28 |
Mar
906
Ap
May Jun Jul
Aug Sept Oct YTD
1006 1062 1102 1015 1121 1158 1045 10,566
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
How to Analyze the Performance of
Your Business
By David Coffman, CPA/ABV/CFF, CVA
How is business? It is the superficial
question many people ask business
owners in lieu of the standard “how
are you.” Few really care about or
even listen to your response because
they know it is just meaningless chitchat. But do you really know how
your business is performing? That
means more than just sales growth
or profitability trends. Have you ever
done an in-depth analysis of your
business? Here’s how you can.
SWOT Analysis
A common and long-standing tool
is to list your
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
(SWOT). It is a
simple concept
that makes lots of
sense. Knowing
your SWOT is important and useful
information. Strengths and weaknesses measure internal performance
and competence. Opportunities and
threats assess the level of risk from
external conditions. There are many
articles about SWOT, but because this
type of analysis is so broad and each
business is so unique, it is difficult
to describe how to apply it to any
specific situation. One simple SWOT
method is to divide a sheet of paper
into four sections. Draw a vertical line
down the center and a horizontal line
across the middle of the page. Use the
top left section to list your strengths,
bottom left for weaknesses, top right
for opportunities, and bottom right
for threats. Then prioritize the items
within each section by importance.
Whether you should focus on fixing
the negative things or developing the
positive ones is a ‘glass half empty or
half full’ kind of debate that depends
on your attitude and perspective.
Either way a SWOT analysis really
doesn’t provide much guidance. Many
attempts at a SWOT analysis fall
flat when the enormity of the task is
realized. Where do you start? What
factors should be considered? Where
should you focus? SWOT analysis is a
great tool, but users need some guidance and structure to make it work.
fessionals. The Five Forces method is
basically a refinement of the external
part of a SWOT analysis. So it makes
sense to combine these tools to create
a hybrid method.
Factors to Consider
For any analysis to be worthwhile,
it must consider all aspects of the
business. There are many factors that
are common to virtually every type
of business. To insure that no significant factor is overlooked, the analysis
must be structured. Internally, five
business sectors should be analyzed:
1) management,
2) workforce, 3)
sales and marketing, 4) operations, and 5)
financial. Externally, each of the
five forces needs
to be evaluated. Since every business
is unique, the specific factors within
each sector must be tailored specifically for the business being analyzed.
Have you ever done an in-depth analysis
of your business? Here’s how you can.
Five Forces Analysis
In his books “Competitive Strategy” and “Competitive Advantage”,
Michael Porter introduced the five
forces of competition. They are the:
1) bargaining power of customers,
2) bargaining power of suppliers, 3)
threat of new entrants, 4) threat of
rivalry from existing competitors,
and 5) threat of substitution. The
five forces provide a framework that
makes external risks easier to grasp
and evaluate.
Combining SWOT and
Five Forces
Both SWOT and Five Forces are analytical tools that are widely used by
consultants, researchers and other pro-
Rating the Factors
After the specific factors are established, the business must be rated by
each factor. Each item should be rated
in two ways: 1) the importance of the
factor to the business, and 2) the business’s competence (internal) or risk
level (external). Rate the importance
using an alphabetical scale from A to
E, with A indicating very important
and E not important. Rate the competence or risk level using a numerical
scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being very
proficient or not vulnerable and 5
being deficient or very vulnerable.
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 29
Categorizing the Results
Using the dual rating system the
results can be categorized by priority. Important, but deficient or very
vulnerable (A5) factors may be life
threatening. Important, and proficient
or not vulnerable (A1) factors are core
strengths. The results between the
extremes are classified into: critical
flaws, moderate weaknesses, potential weaknesses, neutral, potential
strengths, and secondary strengths.
cially for owners whose expertise and
time lies in running the day-to-day
operations. The hybrid method, described above, provides a framework
that breaks the task into manageable
pieces, and automatically prioritizes
the results.
N
O
R
Analyzing your business will show
you how and where to improve its
performance. Then when someone
asks you,”how is business”, you will
have something worthwhile to say,
even if they aren’t listening.
David Coffman, Business Valuations
& Strategies PC, 717.234.7060
A N D E X
Plan of Action
Each category helps determine what
needs to be done and when. Life
threatening factors must be addressed
immediately. Critical flaws come
next. Moderate weaknesses aren’t
killers but correcting them can greatly
improve performance. Potential and
Analyzing your
business will show
you how and
where to improve
its performance.
secondary strengths should be evaluated to determine if it they are worth
developing. Core strengths are what
the business does best. Too many core
strengths indicate that either business
resources are being spread too thin or
the analysis wasn’t objective. Relying
too heavily on one core strength can
turn into a big weakness if the business environment changes in ways
that make the strength much less
important or even irrelevant.
From groundbreaking to breathtaking.
Visit one of
these locations :
749 Roble Road, Suite 2
allentown, Pa 18109
(610) 266-8640
(800) 950-9558
Fax (610) 266-8697
5247 d SimPSon FeRRy Road
mechanicSbuRg, Pa 17050
(717) 697-9209
(800) 252-4201
Fax (717) 697-9501
Conclusion
Analyzing the performance of a business is a tough task to tackle, espe-
30 |
Keystone Builder • January/February 2013
Your Norandex distribution center is fully stocked
with quality building products for the outside of a
home. But there’s something else inside that builders
fully appreciate. It’s the knowledge, experience and
caring attitude Norandex employees bring to the job
every day to help area builders better do their job.
For siding, roofing, windows, doors and more,
builders turn to Norandex for breathtaking results.
1090 highway 315
wilkeS-baRRe, Pa 18702
(570) 824-9879
(800) 955-9339
Fax (570) 824-9848
www.norandex.com
Architectural, Commercial
& Aerial Photography
Project by RF Hager Construction
Photo by Dimitri Ganas
Exteriors&
Interiors
Project by Carlson Construction, Inc.
Photo by Dimitri Ganas
Project by Garman Builders – Cabinetry provided by Swartz Kitchens & Baths
Photo by Dimitri Ganas
Call, and i will be happy to meet with you and discuss
how professional photography can help you.
717.334.2490
Fax: 717.334.6628
Email: dimitri@buildersandassociates.com
January/February 2013 • Keystone Builder
| 31
Project by RF Hager Construction – Cabinetry provided by Swartz Kitchens & Baths
Photo by Dimitri Ganas
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