January - Construction News

Transcription

CONSTRUCTION
™
2003
The Industry’s Newspaper
www.constructionnews.net
P.O. Box 791290 San Antonio, Tx 78279 11931 Warfield San Antonio, Tx 78216 (210) 308-5800 Jan. 2003 Volume 6, Number 1
Reservist honors employers’
acts of patriotism
Foster kids benefit from
your generosity
T
he San Antonio Construction News’
offices were transformed into a Construct a Kid’s Christmas gift-reception station on Fri., Dec. 6th. The San Antonio area construction industry rallied and
rose to the call by raising $35,000 in donations and gift certificates and over 800 presents! Together, we made a difference in
the lives of over 2,000 children who might
otherwise have gone without.
When Schultz Concrete Pumping and
Capitol Industries offered the use of their
heavy equipment to hold up the Construct
a Kid’s Christmas banner, they didn’t an-
ticipate a scheduling problem. As it became
clear their pump trucks would be tied up
on jobs, Mike Schultz reacted by making
arrangements with Contractors Building
Supply for two boom lifts to do the job,
thus saving the day! The bright red banner
was stretched out to mark the spot!
Friends of the Bexar County Child
Welfare Board and representatives from
Child Protective Services arrived early to
start setting up for the 10 am to 2 pm event,
the construction industry’s fundraiser for
continued on Page 5
L-R: Col. Russell, Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Beyer, Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Beyer, Mom & Dad Beyer,
Mr. & Mrs. Perry Beyer, Jr., TSgt. Kevin Davenport & Lt. Col. Elwin Rozyskie.
A
n unexpected turn of events caught
the owners of Beyer Mechanical
completely off guard as they celebrated the holiday season with their employees on Sun., Dec. 15th, at Pedrotti’s
North Wind Ranch.
After months of planning, one Beyer
Mechanical employee, senior technician
Kevin Davenport, decided to take matters
into his own hands by executing an emotional expression of gratitude and respect
for his employers.
The Beyer family’s annual Christmas
Party was interrupted at 8 pm, when the
drama unfolded. At that moment, everyone
was asked to stand as Lackland A.F.B.’
Honor Guard marched into the ballroom
with precision cadence to post the U.S. and
Texas flags. After the National Anthem was
played and the Honor Guard retreated, Col.
John Russell, commander of the 307th Red
Horse Squadron, accepted the microphone
and asked brothers Perry, Jr., Patrick and
Jeff Beyer to come forward. Lt. Col. Elwin
Rozyskie, Senior Air Reserve Technician
(ART), assisted him in his endeavors.
As the three brothers joined Col.
Russell, he produced and read a formal
continued on Page 31
The $20,000 check from ASA, ABC, NAWIC & PHCC-SA will
fund a happier Christmas for foster kids.
Better Built Enterprises has recipe for success
W
ith a project portfolio that includes extensive fast
food and full service restaurants, Better Built
Enterprises is nearing completion on Mama
Margie’s Mexican Café , at 9950 IH-10. The project is an
adaptive re-use to convert an existing dinner house to its
new function as a casual dining facility, complete with
double drive-thru lanes. The approximate contract cost is
$500,000.
Established in 1979, Better Built Enterprises is co-owned by president Jim Srp and
vice president Robert Rathburn, who joined
the firm in 1981. The owners combine their
offices, construction yard and mill shop at
one northside San Antonio location.
“We work predominantly with private
owners, but we have completed some public
work for schools, prisons and TxDOT facilities,” Robert explained. “On this particular
project, we started with selective demolition
of the roof elements, followed by a complete
interior demolition.”
The project required construction of new
restrooms, new kitchen and dining rooms, a
separate meeting room and an outdoor patio dining area.
Utilizing conventional wood framing, the exterior features
stucco, brick and faux stone.
“The interior will have a festive Mexican décor, accented with aged woods, tile, and stucco,” Robert continued. “We are working on a four-month schedule, and anytime you remodel a structure there will always be a few
surprises. Some, fortunately are pleasant, some, not so
This month in Focus
Engineering
pleasant. Each must be addressed as to balanced design,
as well as budget and project timing.”
Of superintendent Arlen Cantu, Robert said, “Arlen
is an excellent craftsman with an ability to adapt architectural design to field implementation.”
Stehling Management, Inc., of Taco Cabana fame,
owns Mama Margie’s Mexican Café . Pat Stehling selected
Better Built Enterprises based on the contractor’s vast experience, previous work history together, and ability to deliver a quality project on time and within budget.
As Pat said, “Jim and Bob have worked with us for
about 20 years on restaurant construction projects, and we
rely on them for input in design, layout, building materials, finish-out materials and theme development. We have
always turned the exterior of the buildings over to them to
P.O. Box 791290
San Antonio, Texas 78279-1290
Change Service Requested
create an attractive curbside appeal and get people in the
front door. Then, it’s our job to serve delicious foods and
deliver quality hospitality. The relationship between us,
and Better Built, has been a good marriage, a combination
of talents to produce a recipe for success.”
In the past 24 years, Jim Srp estimated his construction company has built and/or remodeled no less than 500
food service establishments throughout
Texas. Taking that into consideration, they
have developed an expertise and mastered
the learning curve.
“We know which subcontractors perform
best while working together within a relatively small footprint,” Jim said. “It’s very
fast paced and requires some good choreography. Our experience enables us to foresee
problems before they become problems. As
a contractor my focus is not limited to putting nails in boards, rather in understanding
how the other side of the counter functions
and what we can do to make their job easier.
Working with people like the Stehling’s is a
delight, and every time we finish a restaurant for them I know I’m on the right side of the counter. I
understand how much work those people go through to be
successful. The recipe for success is in building a more
maintenance-free building that will endure, for a reasonable price.”
Professionals participating on the project included:
PRSRT. STD.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
SAN ANTONIO, TX
PERMIT #4043
Page 2 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2003
QuadTech preps Witte for
arrival of National Archives
T
S
an Antonio’s Witte Museum is one
of only eight museums across the
country slated to receive a very special exhibit from our nation’s capital. The
National Archives Exhibit, scheduled to
open in San Antonio on May 31, 2003, is
making a limited tour, and its most important document, the Emancipation Proclamation, will draw thousands.
In order to receive and display the treasured and historic archives, special construction activities had to occur in a very
short amount of time to prepare the
museum’s environment for the sensitive
documents.
Enter QuadTech Engineering, Inc., a
mechanical and electrical engineering firm,
charged with creating a gallery environment
that can reliably maintain, around the clock,
a 70 to 72 degree temperature, and a relative humidity of 45 to 50 percent.
San Antonio Construction News spoke
with the principals of the firm, president
William “Bill” F. Rickrim, P.E., mechanical engineer, and vice president David E.
Hobza, III, P.E., electrical engineer.
“The ‘Changing Gallery’ within the
greater Witte Museum was the focal point
of our work,” Bill began. “Originally a six
room configuration, through further investigation the contractor and structural engineer were able to recognize which walls were
not load-bearing walls, and those were targeted for removal. The Witte has been converted and reconfigured so many times
through the years, any existing drawings
available were inadequate. We worked
closely with Browning Construction, the
general contracting firm that performed the
interior demolition and subsequent interior
finish-out. By converting the ‘Changing
Gallery’ to one large space, it offered the
Museum greater flexibility in their displays.”
L-R: William “Bill” F. Rickrim, P.E.,
and David E. Hobza, III, P.E.
Once the space was defined, the new
air conditioning system and electrical upgrade commenced, beginning with the removal of most of the existing ceilings, HV/
AC and electrical components.
“When the contractor was going
through the walls and ceilings we really
didn’t know what we would find on the
other side,” David added. “Luckily, there
were only three or four surprises, nothing
we couldn’t deal with.”
It became clear that the roof would
have to be structurally enhanced before
placing the new rooftop air conditioning
unit, which features state-of-the-art capabilities to humidify and dehumidify the air.
Structural engineer Jaster-Quintanilla
San Antonio, LLP designed the steel used
in shoring up the roof in preparation for the
HV/AC unit. Kim Monroe, Lake Flato Architects, who was responsible for specifying the new ceiling and roofing work required, assisted the design team. The mechanical contractor was A/C Technical Services of Castroville and the electrical contractor was Klecka Electric of San Antonio.
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Faulkner/Landmark merge to
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wo Austin-headquartered companies, Faulkner Construction Company and Landmark Organization,
announced Dec. 10th a merger that establishes FaulknerUSA, an entity primed to
become one of the nation’s leading construction and development companies.
With combined 2002 revenue totaling
more than $300 million, the deal marries
Faulkner’s 40-year general contracting and
construction management experience with
Landmark’s design-build expertise and nationally-recognized reputation for trendsetting development innovation, particularly in the
realm of
publicprivate
ventures.
Principals of FaulknerUSA are Chairman Emeritus Royce Faulkner, founder of
Faulkner Construction Company, CEO
Mark F. Schultz, co-founder of Landmark
Organization and President Curtis Cline,
who joined Landmark this summer as president and who was previously with Faulkner
Construction Company for 20 years.
FaulknerUSA principals said the
strengths of the two merged companies ideally complement each other, giving the new
entity a distinct competitive advantage in
the industry.
“Faulkner’s strong background in
healthcare, high tech and retail balances
perfectly with Landmark’s expertise in such
areas as hospitality, correctional facilities
and military housing. And Landmark brings
the power of being at the forefront of the
latest development trends along with the
ability to land the deals,” Cline said.
He added that company officials are
pleased that during a time when corporate
cutbacks and downsizing are the order of
the day, this merger represents growth.
“The synergies that have been brought
together here make FaulknerUSA uniquely
positioned to be a formidable competitor
in the industry. This historic merger means
opportunity for FaulknerUSA employees,
clients
and for
the company as a
whole.
With Faulkner’s 40-year legacy of solid
construction industry know-how and
Landmark’s energy and dynamic, cutting
edge development creativity, the outlook for
FaulknerUSA is tremendous,” Cline added.
FaulknerUSA officials said that the
merger will not affect current jobs and that
clients, subcontractors and project partners
would notice little if any change.
“Our business associates will continue
to deal with the same familiar people
they’ve been dealing with and everyone will
reap the benefits of the increased financial
strength and diversity of experience of the
two companies’ combined forces,” Cline
said.
The “other” four-year
career program
S
tudents who attended
the “Career & Education Fair” at Lanier
High School on Wed., Nov.
20th, learned that there is
another “four-year” career
program available to them.
Representatives from
local businesses and various
public and private agencies
were on hand to answer
questions, offer information,
and discuss job opportunities. Members of Associated
Builders and Contractors
L-R: ABC’s Education Committee members and
(ABC) were in force to disapprentices reach out to the younger generation
cuss its Department of Laat Lanier High School.
bor-approved apprenticeship
program in the electrical, plumbing, HVAC, ticeship program enables them to work fulltime while they learn. ABC provides the
carpentry and sheet metal trades.
“Our organization is committed to edu- necessary construction-related education
cating and training the present and future courses, which are designed to create a
workforce, as well as develop leadership skilled and productive workforce for a caskills necessary for a successful career in reer in construction, from the high school
the construction industry,” explained John level through upper management.”
In addition, ABC offers Blue Print
Devaney, SpawGlass Contractors, Inc.
“For those students who are looking for an Reading classes and Project Management/
alternative to college, a four-year appren- Supervisory Training Programs.
San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2003 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Page 3
Ferguson has it all – even
the kitchen sink!
putz around town
JC Putz here . . .
Can you believe what some general
contractors will do to get a job finished on
time? We all know those sneaky devils have
a lot of tricks up their sleeves, but Metropolitan Contracting has come up with a
new twist that takes the prize.
Jane Feigenbaum, Project Manager
for Metro on the Humane Society job, was
eight months along in her pregnancy,
couldn’t see her feet, and hungry all the
time when the final inspection was due.
Looking up at the inspector with her
big brown eyes, her hands resting so lady-
like on her belly, shifting from one swollen
foot to the other, what inspector in his right
mind would cause even a minute of undue
distress to a pregnant lady? He was butter
in her hands!
This new method, devised, I’m sure,
by Tim Swan and Steve Schuetze, is such
a classic and creative ploy I am awarding
them the special “You Tricked Them Again
Award” for 2002.
Congratulations!
With that, I’m out’a here.
I
t has taken about two
years for an idea to be
analyzed and implemented, but the professionals at Ferguson Enterprises,
Inc. are patient souls. The
concept of adding appliances to their lengthy list of
plumbing inventory was a
win-win situation for the
company and for their customers.
“We are adding another
benefit for our customers
who are building homes or
remodeling,” said president
Ferguson’s Peggy McVeigh and Errick Huber invite
Danny Stuckart. “They are
you to shop in their kitchens.
already here to pick out their
plumbing fixtures, so it just made sense that wave ovens, cook-tops, ovens, laundry sets,
we made kitchen appliances available to ice makers and wine storage coolers,”
Errick added. “We’ve had a positive rethem as well.”
Manager of appliance sales Errick sponse from homebuilders and their clients.
Huber, and director of builder sales Peggy We are very excited about this endeavor and
McVeigh have spearheaded the new depart- we will put as much of our friendly service
into our appliance department as we do our
ment for Ferguson.
“Freed Distribution, the master dis- plumbing department.”
As Danny pointed out, Ferguson tartributors of kitchen appliances in the state
of Texas, wanted us to be their distributor gets professionals in the plumbing,
here in San Antonio,” Errick mentioned. homebuilding and remodeling markets, and
“Over the last 12 months we have their clients.
“We have one chance to make a good
reconfigured our showroom here at the
North Park location and at our Burwood impression,” Danny emphasized. “Our staff
Lane location to accommodate three is very well trained and their product
knowledge is extensive. When a customer
kitchen vignettes each.”
Some of the brand name kitchen ap- walks in our doors, we want to do everypliances Ferguson now carries include thing possible to help them. Errick deserves
Thermador, Bosch, New Line, SUB- most of the credit for driving this effort,
ZERO, WOLF, KitchenAid, Whirlpool, for making it happen. To her credit, Peggy
has wonderful relationships throughout the
ASKO and others.
“When customers walk into our show- marketplace, and she represents us exrooms at either location they’ll be able to tremely well. They follow our simple, efview refrigerators, professional-style fective philosophy, which is to take care of
ranges, classic ranges, dishwashers, micro- our customers.”
Baker Drywall
27 Years . . . & Building
Structured for Quality
Winner of the ABC Eagle Award
“Award of Excellence”
1999 & 2000
Specializing in
√ Metal Stud Framing
√ Drywall
√ Acoustical Ceilings
√ Insulation
7th Rodeo Cook-off & Concert
at Verizon Amphitheater
T
he venue has changed! The 7th Annual BBQ Cook-off and Rodeo
Kick-off Concert will take place on
Jan. 25th, so mark your calendars now! Remember, the event has moved from its
former location on the stock show grounds
to the Verizon Wireless SFX Amphitheater,
16765 Lookout Rd., Selma, TX.
Gearing up for a record year with a new
venue and an all-Texas music line-up, the
gates will open at 11 am, and $10 is the
cost of admission. All proceeds raised by
the BBQ Cook-off and Rodeo Kick-off
Concert help support youth involved in agriculture through the SASR Scholarship
Fund.
San Antonio Construction News staffers
will be looking for construction-related cookoff teams who we know will put forth lots of
creative genius and effort. See you there!
10007 Broadway
San Antonio, Tx 78217
210-832-0500
342-5518
203 E. Rhapsody San Antonio, Tx 78216
Fax 832-0770
www.bakerdrywall.com
CONSTRUCTION
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Editor/Writer:
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Roaming Reporter:
JC Putz
rials submitted. No fees for materials, copy or photographs submitted will be due unless agreed upon
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San Antonio Construction News
P.O. Box 791290
San Antonio, Texas 78279
(210) 308-5800 Fax (210) 308-5960
© 2002 San Antonio Construction News
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SCAFFOLD
INDUSTRY
ASSOCIATION
Christmas Gala’s unity nets thousands for neglected children
T
he tireless volunteers from four construction associations deserve a
round of applause for the planning
and execution of the best party of the season! Showing a united front, Associated
Builders and Contractors, American Subcontractors Association, National Association of Women in Construction and Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors-San Antonio worked hand-in-hand to produce the
3rd Annual Christmas Gala, benefiting
Construct a Kid’s Christmas. On the following day, the four associations presented
a check for $20,000 to Construct a Kid’s
Christmas.
Anticipating a full house, organizers
held the Thurs., Dec. 5th affair at Alzafar
Shrine on Loop 1604. After signing in,
guests were ushered into the ballroom
where decorated tables adorned with
children’s toys and confetti awaited. On
stage, a DJ played a variety of holiday
melodies as a warm-up for the upbeat dance
music that would follow. After helping
themselves to a smorgasbord of steaming
hors d’oeuvres, partygoers headed into the
lobby to fill their plates with more delicious
offerings from one of the construction
industry’s favorite caterers, Black Tie Affair. Urban Concrete Contractors, Inc.
deserves special acknowledgement for its
contributions toward the cost of the gala.
In support of the Bexar County Child
Welfare Board, City Councilwoman
Bonnie Conner and Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larson attended and enjoyed the party.
Talented auctioneer and Master of Ceremony, Bill Frerichs, CRAFCO Texas,
formally welcomed one and all to the
Christmas Gala. He also presided over the
Live Auction, which resulted in actionpacked bidding wars on the floor. Spotters
Dudley Baker, Chris Dausin, Tom
Hewitt, John Kunz and Heidi Davis
watched the crowd intently for raised hands,
ASA executive director Heidi Davis gives a ‘heads-up’
at the sign-in table.
nose scratching, ear pulling and
other body language nuances that
might indicate a bid.
Live auction items included:
#1 Company Dove Hunt for 20,
Browning 12-gauge shotgun, with
catering by Black Tie Affair, courtesy of Alamo Concrete Products,
Ltd . and Drury’s Gun Shop;
#2 “Couples” Mini Golf Package;
#3 Fishing Trip for Four with
guide, courtesy of Michael
Traugott, Traugott Painting &
Decorating; #4 Four Spurs ticketsCharter Level Seats, courtesy of
Best Tickets; #5 Premier Golf
Package; #6 One week in Colorado, fully-furnished cabin, courtesy of M&M Contracting, Ltd.;
#7 Guided Trophy Deer Hunt,
Auction spotter John Kunz, Kunz Concrete,
courtesy of Urban Concrete Constripping more money from Ben Davis’ grip.
tractors, Inc.; #8 Spurs Package
for four, courtesy of Aggregate Haulers, Inc.;
Andy Koebel and his date shake a leg
on the dance floor.
L-R: Mike Loter, Don Young Company; Dallas and
Karen Cloud, Moore Erection; and (standing)
Chris and Sylvia Laskowski, ABC.
Many Thanks to all of you
on a job well done.
Gary Joeris, President
We at Joeris General Contractors Ltd. Wish to Thank the Following Design Professionals
And Subcontractors For Their Hard Work in the Construction of Our New Home.
G. T. Sirizzotti
Arias & Kezar
Pest Shield
Quality Fence
Maldonado Landscape
Phoenix Irrigation
Garza Construction
D & G Enterprises
Leeder Masonry
Hill Country Steel
Vestal Steel
Vulcraft
G & L Erection
Baring
Superior Roofing
Alamo Waterproofing
Wessely-Thompson
Sharp Glass
Powers Construction
Fuller Tile
Dupont Flooring
Traugott Painting
Ed Flume
Service Shade Shop
Valentine Plumbing
Young Brothers
Comfort-Air Engineering
Kell Munoz Architects
Lundy & Franke Engineering
MEP Engineering, Inc.
Overby Descamps Engineers, Inc.
Bexar Electric
Security One
1390 E. Bitters Road • San Antonio • Texas • 210-494-1638 • www.joeris.com
continued from Page 1 - Foster kids benefit from your generosity
the foster children of our
county. Festively dressed in
red, the elfish volunteers established the procedures for
documenting and accepting
gifts, then welcomed each
vehicle that pulled up to offload its bounty of monetary
donations and unwrapped
toys and gifts.
Associated Builders
and Contractors’ Steven
Schultz drove up in a Suburban loaded with toys,
which had been used as centerpieces at the previous
Show me the money! And Nathan Alterman’s
(USAA campus) Buddy Theis did!
Mike, Maxi (and Frances)!
Nathan
Alterman
Electric’s Buddy Theis and
Rudy Martinez arrived in
two pick-up trucks packed
with presents and a fistful of
dollars, followed by a delivery of gifts from Joeris General Contracting, Ltd.’s employees.
We extend a word of
gratitude to Dennis Anderson and Casey’s BBQ for catering a complimentary
lunch for the hungry volunJanice Sims, A.J. Brunner and Tanya Schmid of Urban
Concrete present a $4,000 to Construct a Kid’s Christmas. teers who devoted their time
and talent to help make the
night’s multi-association Christmas Gala. event a smooth operation. Our friends at
ABC, together with American Subcontrac- Maverick Video Productions appeared as
tors Association (ASA), National Associa- promised to document Construct a Kid’s
tion of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Christmas for posterity. We thank you and
and Plumbing Heating Cooling Contrac- appreciate all you have done.
tors-San Antonio (PHCCSA) combined their
fundraising and party-production skills, presenting a
check for an incredible
$20,000. Wow!
Standing by for the third
year, Urbanczyk ranch foreman, A.J. Brunner, was on
hand to load the bobtail truck
that would courier the presents to their destination.
Urban Concrete generously
donated $4,000 to the cause,
which was greatly appreciated.
Helpers and volunteers load the bobtail truck
with treasures for the kids!
When Mike Schultz
and his daughter Maxi deToward day’s end, Arabia Vargas, an
livered one dozen brand new bicycles, they
created quite a stir, evoking gasps from the attorney and partner in Vargas & Bindseil,
elves as they helped unload them. Thanks, came by to visit. Her law practice is de-
Dear Construction Industry,
On behalf of the Friends of Bexar County Child Welfare Board, I
would like to thank each one of you for the many presents, gift
certificates and money you gave to Construct A Kid’s Christmas this
year. Words cannot adequately express how much your generous
contributions meant to foster children in our community. Recently, I
had the privilege of seeing many of these children receive their gifts,
and I wish you could have seen the sweet look on their faces when
they held your gift in their hands. Donations to the event exceeded
our wildest expectations with over $35,000 in cash & gift certificates,
and over 800 presents collected.
As you know, the children you provided for will not be spending
Christmas at home with their families this year. Unfortunately, they
are victims of severe abuse and neglect and have been placed in a
safer home environment. Consequently, one major concern the
children have is what happens to them at special holidays like
Christmas. Will they be remembered or even get a present? The
Construct a Kid’s Christmas toy drive helps to ease that worry.
Thank you again for including foster children on your Christmas
list this year and making their Christmas brighter.
voted to representing children.
“I am appointed by the
Court to assist the Court in
determining the needs of the
children who are in the Child
Protective Services system,”
Arabia said. “I represent the
children. I see the impact of
what the construction industry is doing for the children,
and it means so much to
them. I am so grateful to all
of you on their behalf. San
Antonio is a poor city and
our kids are very needy.
Mike and Maxey Schultz delivered 12 new bikes,
6 for boys and 6 for girls!
tractors
Association;
Plumbing Heating Cooling
Contractors – SA; San Antonio Masonry Contractors
Association; Surety Association - South Texas; The
Builders’ Exchange of
Texas;Internationa1 Brotherhood of Electrical Workers #60; International
Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers #500; International Union of Elevator
Constructors; South Texas
Electrical JATC.
Don Rainey, D-R Contracting, unloads toys with help
On Dec. 6th, we celfrom sister-in-law Donna Easton, SACN.
ebrated the generosity of the
combined construction industry. Together,
What an investment you are making in our we are making a difference!
kids, and I thank you all very much.”
Throughout the day, folks from individual construction-related companies
dropped off gifts and donations, and we
extend our deepest gratitude to them for
their generosity. Know that your efforts will
be rewarded by the smiles on the faces of
children and teenagers who otherwise have
very little to smile about. You all made a
difference.
Among the construction associations
and local unions that participated in 2002
Construct a Kid’s Christmas were: ACCA San Antonio; AGC of Texas - Heavy Highway; American Institute of Architects;
American Subcontractors Association; Associated Builders & Contractors; Associated General Contractors; Construction
Specifications Institute; Building Owners
& Managers Association; Independent
Electrical Contractors, Inc.; Lath & PlasBexar County Sheriff’s Deputies, Cory
and Lee, here for the third year, pose
ter Association; MCA-SMACNA of SA,
with wee motorcycle, delivered by
Inc.; National Association of Women in
Robin LaGrand, Cross & Company.
Construction; National Electrical Con-
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CONSTRUCTORS
Celebrating 25 Years
General Contractors • Design Build • Interior Finish Out • Core & Shell
Wishing you a wonderful and blessed holiday season,
Debra D. Nicholas
Dugan Nicholas
Treasurer, Bexar County Child Welfare Board
Banking / Financial • Retail • Office • Healthcare
210.541.0651 www.constructorsworld.com
101000 Reunion Place, Suite 120 San Antonio, TX 78216
A member of the Structure Tone Organization
Austin • Dallas • Denver • Houston • San Antonio
Greener days ahead for historic Travis Park
A
126 year-old inner city park received a facelift in late November,
courtesy of the San Antonio Parks
Foundation and underwritten by Martin
Marietta Materials and by the San Antonio Area Foundation from the Lila G. and
Vesey F. Taylor Fund. The 2.6 acre Travis
Park received new zoysia sod on Sat., Nov.
23rd, when more than 50 volunteers
manned the effort, including Centro San
Antonio Amigos, Trinity University students and San Antonio Parks and Recreation staff. More than 160 pallets of the El
Toro zoysia sod were used to cover some
66,000-sf of parkland.
The park’s land was once a part of
Mission San Antonio de Valero, the Alamo.
Francisco Garcia bought the land in 1819
after the mission was closed, and the property was later sold to Samuel Augustus
Maverick in 1851. Mr. Maverick, a signer
of the Texas Declaration of Independence
and Mayor of San Antonio from 1839 to
1840, used the land for his orchard. Upon
his death in 1870, the land
was given to the City of San
Antonio and was named after Colonel William Barrett
Travis, commander of Texan
troops at the battle of the
Alamo.
“We are committed to
improving and enhancing
public park space in San Antonio,” said Bruce Vaio,
president of Martin Marietta
Materials Southwest Division. “With more than 500
employees here, San Antonio is our home and we are Volunteers lay sod which was purchased with donations
made by Martin Marietta Materials Southwest Division
proud to be a part of this efand the San Antonio Area Foundation.
fort to reclaim a part of our
city’s history.”
City records show that in 1876, grass the park including lighting, seating, irrigawas planted and benches were purchased tion, and the addition of a low retaining wall
for Travis Park. The park’s original land- around the park perimeter.
scaping included chinaberry and huisache
Travis Park was officially re-dedicated
trees, ligustrum bushes, and 50 hackberries on Sept. 9th, 1984. The most recent addithat were purchased in 1883 tion of sod to the park was around the pefor $1 a tree. The park also rimeter in 1999 along with an update of the
once held a Victorian-style irrigation system, with funding provided by
bandstand for concerts, but the USAA Charitable Foundation and laconstant and costly repairs bor provided by The Home Depot. The San
led to the removal of the Antonio Parks Foundation was also able to
bandstand in 1937. Gas- add 27 new park benches with the help of
lights were installed in 1903 the Halsell Foundation.
and later replaced by electric
“Travis Park is an integral part of the
lights.
history of downtown San Antonio,” said
In 1956, a renovation in- Lila Cockrell, director of the San Antonio
cluded widening the walk- Parks Foundation. “The 1984 restoration
ways, the replacement of of the park was the very first project of the
trees, and the addition of San Antonio Parks Foundation, and with the
new benches. In the early help of corporate citizens like Martin
1980s, private donations and Marietta Materials we are able to continue
a Texas Department of Parks to care for this special parcel of land.”
Former Mayor Lila Cockrell, Director of the San Antonio
and Wildlife grant allowed
Parks Foundation, helps lay grass sod as part of the
Travis Park renovation project.
for a complete renovation of
BUZZ MILLER
PRESIDENT/GM
ACE increases
college credit for
IEC Apprenticeship Program
A
s a result of a review recently conducted by the American Council on
Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service (formerly ACE/PONSI),
Independent Electrical Contractors, Inc.
(IEC) has added even more value to its apprenticeship and training courses through
certifiable college credit recommendations.
A team of content specialists, selected
from college faculty, has reported that the
content of the new edition of IEC’s fouryear electrical apprenticeship program is
comparable to the content of college-level
courses and may be used as 29 semester
hours of transfer credit. This is an increase
from the 24 hours awarded during a review
three years ago.
The increase of credit reflects IEC’s
efforts to continually improve its training
program. A third-party review helps add
value and merit to the IEC National apprenticeship and training curriculum, which is
helpful in encouraging more people to join
the electrical industry, especially as the bulk
of the working population moves closer to
retirement.
Because more of the population is going back to earn a college degree, the ability of IEC’s graduates to gain college credit
while they’re in apprenticeship training
adds yet another significant value to this
training program. Through recognition by
ACE, IEC joins several nationally wellknown companies, such as AT&T, Dale
Carnegie & Associates, and the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM) in
offering this benefit to their companies’
employees.
“You get our very best
effort every time you call.”
UNSURPASSED QUALITY AND SUPERIOR SERVICE
For remodeling and home improvements as well
as for major construction projects, Allen and Allen
Lumber and Hardware is the place to go. You’ll
get quality products at a fair price and experienced
sales people who really know their stuff. So, with
projects large and small, ask around, then go to
Allen and Allen. We pledge you our very best
effort every single time you call.
Decorative Showroom
Weather Shield Windows
920 N Loop 1604 West
San Antonio, TX 78232
210.344.6099
Having trouble finding what you
need? At Allen and Allen we
know our business. We know our
products. And we take care of
our customers. Ask around, then
go to Allen and Allen.
w w w . L u m b e r H ardware.com
Lumber/Hardware/Millwork
Administrative Offices
202 Culebra Avenue
210.733.9191
Commercial Hardware
Hollow Metal Doors & Frames
701 San Fernando
210.225.0315
Aggregate Haulers, L.P.
celebrates holidays
T
rees in front of Aggregate Haulers, L.P.
corporate offices
were illuminated on Thurs.,
Dec 19th, in honor of the
season and to light the way
for 200 guests as the company celebrated its first annual Christmas Celebration
under its new name.
To warm the cool winter nights’ temperatures under the spacious flagadorned tent that was set up
in the yard, the hosts placed
heaters for the crowd of em-
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M A C H I N E R Y
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SAN ANTONIO
AUSTIN
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(512) 272-8922 (800) 615-3804 (210) 333-8000 (800) 483-9262
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SALES • RENTALS • PARTS • SERVICE
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www.texanamachinery.com
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Here’s the deal!
Make your equipment deal
now and you and a guest
will ENJOY . . .
L-R: Randy Wyatt, Aggregate Haulers; Virgil Knowlton
and Scott Knowlton, VK Knowlton Construction.
L-R: Bob Spiser, Martin Marietta Materials;
Craig Spiser, Aggregate Haulers; and Roy Kirkpatrick
Martin Marietta Materials.
ployees, vendors, customers
and friends. A family affair,
children spent their limitless
energies jumping on oversized air bags. Meanwhile,
everyone enjoyed a delicious
BBQ buffet, courtesy of the
Bad Habit Cooking Team.
As brave hearts sang
along with the karaoke music, owner Randy Wyatt
said, “We are calling this
party our first annual, because we’re starting over
with new traditions since I
bought the company.”
A Kid’s Christmas Party
to remember!
T
he Construct a Kid’s
Christmas Party was
held at Verizon
Amphitheater’s VIP Pavilion
on Fri, Dec. 13th, from 3 to
5 pm. Volunteers from the
Bexar County Child Welfare
Board and Child Protective
Services welcomed 300 foster children and teenagers to
the seasonal event.
Tables and chairs were
set up under a large tent
erected next to the pavilion,
where kids could sit down
and color, make holiday decorations, and
feast on all the pizza, Christmas cookies and
soft drinks they could ingest.
Inside the pavilion, a spirited DJ played
holiday tunes, while kids participated in
various games and activities including a
relay race, a hula-hoop contest and the famous beanbag toss. Some of the kids even
managed to sit still for a few
moments while face-painting artists applied colorful
art to their precious cheeks.
Meanwhile, a clown performed magic tricks and
sculpted balloon characters
to the delight of all.
Decorative tables were
placed end-to-end and
heaped with wrapped presents, each with the name of
a specific child. The smiles
on the faces of the kids, as
they tore off the wrappings
and ribbons, were priceless.
What would a Christmas
party be like without jolly old St. Nick?
Seated on his throne, under an arch of
white, red and green balloons, Santa Claus
(Judge Specia) was surrounded by toy piñ–
atas and hay bales. Santa’s elves escorted
each child to the throne, and while they sat
on Santa’s knee and talked, the elves
snapped a Polaroid photograph, which was
given to each child as a remembrance of
this happy day.
One of the major points of interest for
children of all ages was provided by miniature horse breeder Julie Tipps, who said,
“It’s always fun for the kids to be around
the littlest horses, and for their enjoyment
I brought Pepper, Dancer and Precious with
me today!”
It was a great afternoon for the kids
and the volunteers! Thanks, construction industry, for helping make it happen.
1)
2)
3)
4)
a limo ride to . . .
dinner at Texas Land & Cattle,
plus seats at a Spurs game, or
seats at a San Antonio or
Austin rodeo performance.
Call your Texana rep today.
TEXANA
The Construction Labor Contractor
Your OnlySource for Skilled Tradesmen
We are the leader in the industry and we
have our clients to tell you why.
Call either location and let’s start
to build a quality partnership.
Austin
512-452-0404
888-485-0404
San Antonio
210-509-3522
877-509-3522
Qualify For:
“Ultimate Hunting Challenge 2002”
Maldonado Nursery garners
national award
Faulkner’s tree could
be seen for miles
M
I
n keeping with the age-old tradition,
Faulkner Construction Company, Inc.
hosted a topping-out party at a high-profile construction project on the northwest
side on Fri., Nov. 22nd.
The Silverado 16 Cinema, located at
Bandera and 1604, is owned by Santikos
Theaters. According the project manager
David Murphey, “The tiltwall panels are
erected, we’re in the process of completing
all of the interior drywall, and we’re also
pouring the risers for the theater seating.”
David and other Faulkner Construction
hosts invited owner representatives from
Santikos Theaters, architects from Hodges
& Associates, and civil engineers from
Bury Partners to join approximately 150
subcontractors for the time-honored meal
served at noon. Together they enjoyed a
Texas-style buffet catered by Casey’s BBQ.
“We hoisted the tree to the top of the
theater and, because we’re located on a hill,
it can easily be seen for a couple of miles,”
David noted. “We’re anticipating a completion date toward the end of January and
we’ve had great support from all of the local subcontractors.”
aldonado Nursery & Landscap- architects and industry professionals to
ing, Inc., picked up three Na- judge hundreds of entries from a national
tional Awards, including the and international field of projects in severy prestigious Grand Award, the high- lected categories.
The Environmental Improvement
est recognition possible, for their work
on the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Awards is designed to recognize and reCenter Addition. The
awards were presented by
the Associated Landscape
Contractors of America
(ALCA) at its 33rd Annual
Environmental Improvement Awards held this year
in Nashville, TN.
In addition, Maldonado
received awards for their
work with the San Antonio
River Walk expansion and
the City of San Antonio’s
Historic Civic Center River
Link project.
L-R: Roy Maldonado, Jerry Maldonado,
Mr. Rogelio Maldonado, Oscar Maldonado and
Maldonado Nursery &
Emily Thompson, ALCA Chairperson.
Landscaping, in business
for more than 17 years, is
a locally-owned and managed family ward landscape professionals who exbusiness. Serving the San Antonio and ecute quality projects and the citizens,
Austin markets, Maldonado’s is a full- businesses or communities who underservice landscaping contractor offering write such projects. The awards increase
design, build, irrigation and maintenance the public awareness of environmental
services to both residential and commer- improvement through quality landscaping and continue to encourage the landcial clients.
ALCA annually gathers a five per- scape contractors’ consistent use of qualson committee of recognized landscape ity materials and workmanship.
TWC grant awarded to A&O Career Training Center
I
n an effort to help welfare recipients
move successfully into the workforce
and off public assistance, the faithbased Alpha & Omega Career Training
Center has partnered with a 10-member
business consortium for a $262,136 jobtraining grant from the Texas Workforce
Commission’s Self-Sufficiency Fund.
On Thurs., Dec. 5th, John Collier, executive director of the Alpha & Omega Career Training Center, accepted a check from
TWC Chair Diane Rath at a presentation
held at the Bexar County Workforce Center.
The grant will be used to support the
center’s general operations and training
programs, which include electrical helpers,
apartment maintenance and make-ready
technicians and leasing agents. A recent
L-R: Chair of TWC, Diane Rath; Independent Electrical
Contractors, Mike Benke; A&O CTC Executive Director,
John Collier; A&O Multifamily Leasing instructor, Dianne
Stroud; SER, Linda Rivas; Deputy Executive Director of
Alamo Workforce Development, Inc., Chakib Chehadi.
graduating class included
seven women and five men.
Eight of them went to work
right away, and four are in
the process of interviewing
for jobs. The Center’s construction-related business
partners include Calhoun
Electric, Bexar Electric,
and Allied Electric.
“The success of our program is directly related to the
devotion of our instructors,
the quality of our training,
and the willingness and desire of our students to improve their lives and raise
their standard of living,”
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John explained. “Those components result
in a graduate who has great possibilities.
The caseworkers in Bexar and surrounding
counties have been tremendously supportive of this program. In some cases, they
send us husband and wife students because
of our high rate of success. We help them
rethink their responsibility to society and
to understand that it’s now their turn to help
make our community a better and safer
place for all children to grow up. It’s up to
them, and they can’t expect the older generations to carry them any longer.”
John has calculated that if a single-parent with three children, ages five, three and
two, is working at a minimum wage job
over the next 25 years, that family will draw
$314,492 in food stamps. “It costs about
$5,000 to go through our program,” John
added. “So, if we can break that low wage/
welfare cycle by spending $5,000, enabling
our graduates to earn a good living wage,
we’re all a lot better off.”
The Board of Directors for Alpha and
Omega Career Training Center includes
president Joseph Cooper, vice-president
Jess Cogley, and board members Steve
Hester, Valerie Finck, Doctors Robert and
Lynelle Lowery and board advisor, The
Reverend Doctor Buckner Fanning.
“These individuals have been the
staffs’ encouragers and held us accountable
to the beliefs and goals to which this training center was founded,” John said in conclusion. “We are here to change lives and
help individuals break the bondage of dependence on public assistance. The mission
of Alpha and Omega Career Training Center will continue to be a place for those who
are dependent on public assistance to come
for prayers, encouragement, guidance, and
career training. Through their growth and
independence, they can do more to stop the
generational dependence on assistance.”
SAMCo presents united front in quest for
additional transportation dollars
T
he San Antonio Mobility Coalition
(SAMCo) is a transportation advocacy group formed to promote an
awareness of the transportation needs in our
community. Based on the 25-year transportation plan and priorities established by the
Metropolitan Planning Organization
(MPO), coalition members work with the
City of San Antonio, Bexar County, TxDOT
and MPO to ensure that we in San Antonio
are receiving and obtaining adequate funding for our transportation system.
San Antonio Construction News asked
the coalition’s chairman, Sam Dawson,
CEO, Pape-Dawson Engineers Inc., to
discuss recent efforts by SAMCo’s members to obtain additional funding from the
Texas Transportation Commission. For the
first time, San Antonio brought local funds
to the table.
“There are simply not enough transportation dollars to go around to all of the
communities in Texas,” Sam began. “Years
ago, other major cities started putting together their own monies, whether from
bond initiatives, referendums, or toll
projects, to use as leverage in securing additional state transportation dollars. For
example, on a $100,000 project’ a community might contribute $50,000 of their own
money toward the project. By not asking
for the whole amount from the state, the
state’s perception is to help those first who
are helping themselves. We were not doing that in the past, and our requests were
rejected.”
Under the leadership of Bexar County
Commissioner Lyle Larson, chairman of
the MPO, our community started setting
aside 25 percent of the STPMM funds as a
leveraging tool to obtain additional state
money.
When the coalition members, Mayor
Ed Garza, County Judge Nelson Wolff and
Marty Wender, chairman of the Greater San
Antonio Chamber of Commerce, traveled
to Austin on Sept. 25th to present their request for $103 million to fund local road
construction and improvements, they offered $10 million in an effort to leverage
funds for the projects.
Sam said they should learn the results
soon. “The Commissioners complimented
our community for presenting a united
front,” he added. “We are focused on specific projects and we are prepared to con-
Mr. President...
tribute monetarily.”
The requested funds would be used to
make several local transportation improvements:
• An additional lane in each direction on
1604 from U.S. 281 to IH-10 West.
• Two direct connectors at U.S. 281 from
northbound 281 to westbound 1604 and
from eastbound 1604 to southbound 281.
• A direct connector at IH-10 West from
westbound IH-10 to westbound 1604.
• Conversion of two-way frontage roads to
one-way frontage roads along IH-10 East
between Loop 410 and Foster Rd.
“Optimally, we’d like to know by the
end of the year,” Sam concluded. “Something that may possibly influence the outcome is the Toyota Plant facility. The state
is making significant commitments and contributions to potential infrastructure needs
that may surround the plant. From our perspective, that’s a statewide issue, and if the
state has to channel dollars toward that end,
we don’t want it to penalize projects where
money is desperately needed. We needed
the money for these projects long before
Toyota came along.”
T
hroughout the month of December,
asked numerous members of the construction community to answer the following
question.
If you could speak with President George
W. Bush for 15 seconds, what would you
say to him?
Edgar Garcia, Langley & Banack: “Mr.
President, don’t forget about South Texas!”
Joe Davis, David J. Bailey & Co.: “Mr.
President, we need to find a way to reduce
the health care burden upon the individuals of this country.”
Jeff Froboese, Nathan Alterman: “Mr.
President, I think you’re doing a good job
in Iraq, but I wish you were a Democrat!”
Ron Caccamese, Nathan Alterman: “Mr.
President, thank you very much for your
leadership, and for stepping out in faith to
show the world you are a Christian and hold
Christian values.”
NECA contractors light up the night
T
he National Electrical Contractors Association
(NECA) South Texas Chapter honored its members at an annual Holiday Party at the Old San Francisco Steak House on Tues., Dec. 3rd. The local association, comprised of signatory electrical contractors, took
advantage of the occasion to pay tribute to chapter members and thank them for their continued support and participation.
NECA’s executive manager, Les Moynahan, guided
his guests upstairs where their contingent occupied the
balcony dining room which overlooked the bell-ringing
girl on the velvet roped swing. Following the cocktail hour,
28 diners were seated in preparation for the evening meal.
Chapter president Bob Corbo, Corbo Electric, made
welcoming remarks and recognized special guests Jim
Tatem and J.T. Osborne, NECA regional field reps. He
continued by recognizing Buddy Doebbler, San Antonio
Construction News, co-founder of Construct a Kid’s Christmas, which NECA has supported generously since its inception.
“When the invitations to the holiday party were mailed,
they indicated that the only price of admission was a gift
or donation to Construct a Kid’s Christmas,” Les explained.
“All of our guests were happy to comply!”
Preceding dinner, Ken Allen, Allen Electric Co. offered a stirring invocation, which included a heartfelt eulogy for his recently departed father.
Attending the event were owners and management
representatives from most of the association’s membership,
including: Corbo Electric Co.; Allen Electric; Fisk Electric; Big State Electric; Tri-County Electric; Triple R
L-R: Sammy (Martin Wright Electric) and Peggy Best;
Bob (Corbo Electric) and Rozana Corbo.
L-R: Jim Tatem (Regional NECA Staff); Sandra and
Ronnie Gerfers (Copperfield Electric); Geraldine and
John Gueldner (Gueldner Electric).
Fisk refocuses efforts
in South Texas
F
isk Electric has assembled a new
management team for its South
Texas operations and will expand
their operating area to include Austin, the
Valley and other surrounding areas. The
company has been in the San Antonio market for over thirty years and believes these
changes take the company in a very positive direction.
Orvil
Anthony took the
reigns in September as San Antonio
General Manager
and has responsibility over all operations in San Antonio, Austin and
the other expansion
areas. Orvil left a very successful operation in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area where he
orchestrated the rise of his former company
from obscurity to significance in a matter
of a couple of years.
“I am very excited to be here,” said
Anthony. “I see a lot of opportunity on the
horizon. The team we have assembled here
is very high caliber, motivated and has lots
of market savvy.”
The teledata side of Fisk’s business,
Fisk technologies,
has new leadership
in Joey Austin who
was appointed General Manager for
South Texas and is
responsible for all
low voltage related
business in San Antonio, Austin, and
the Rio Grande Valley. Mr. Austin recently served four years
as the Operations Manager for Fisk technologies Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) office.
He is joined by Hal Flechtner who is the
Operations Manager for the group. Mr.
Flechner is rejoining
the company after a
short absence.
Jimmy Kezar
also has rejoined
Fisk as assistant service department
manager after pursuing other interests
for a few years. He
has over 15 years of
Contracting Service; Gueldner Electric; Copperfield
Electric; Wolverine Electric; T.R. Controls; and Martin
Wright Electric.
Electrifying table conversation among the friendly
competitors was momentarily amplified when Buddy said
he thought Bob Corbo should exhibit his athleticism on
the velvet swing. Bob graciously declined, stating there
just wasn’t enough money on the table to convince him to
take that particular plunge!
Working Bulverde?
If you need it, you can rent it at
BULVERDE
RENTAL CENTER
(CAVCO)
830-438-2626
FAX 830-438-7271
29630 Hwy 281 N.
Bulverde, TX 78163
Sure, we’ve got that!
Alterman Electric kicks-off the holidays with gusto!
I
f your preferred method
of transportation includes a smooth ride in
a stretch limousine, then an
invitation to Nathan
Alterman Electric Company’s Annual Christmas
Party on Wed., Dec. 4th
would have fulfilled your
desires.
Like rock stars, hundreds of guests were shuttled
in style to and from the
company’s office, which was
decorated to the hilt for the
holidays. Alterman exec’s
stood at-the-ready to meet, L-R: Jerry Kolinek, Dick Alterman and Don Kuyrkendahl.
greet and welcome each arAs guests mingled, chatted and renewed
rival at the front door.
After signing-in, guests meandered friendships with one another, laughter cirthrough the labyrinth of offices, following culated throughout the crowded hallways.
San Antonio Construction News visited
their noses to numerous buffet tables where
a bounty of favorite foods and hors d’oeuvres with Jerry Kolinek, who rose through the
awaited. Bartenders were pouring at “mach ranks from apprentice electrician to presi4 with their hair on fire” to help quench the dent of the employee-owned electrical contracting firm over the course of his 35-year
thirsts of the mighty hardhats.
L-R: NA’s Ray Hendricks, SpawGlass’ Chuck Calvin and
Koontz-McCombs’ Jerry Turman are party boys tonight!
career.
“We’re still wrapping
up some details at the SBC
Center,” Jerry began. “I
think our people did an admirable job and so did many
other contractors. It’s an impressive building! As we
look forward to 2003 I see a
lot of work on the horizon
for everybody.”
Asked if his company
would entertain an opportunity to work on the Toyota
like rock stars are L-R: Mark Carter, Reggie Nesbitt,
plant if it comes to town, Living
Donna Easton, Claire Watkinson and Karen Reininger.
Jerry said, “Yes, if the opportunity presents itself.”
Fashion-minded Don Kuyrkendahl, mented the buy-out process that resulted in
executive vice president and chief financial the company becoming an employeeofficer, wore a festive green sport jacket and owned firm in 1985.
volleyed comments all evening from admir“We had three record years in 1999,
ers. “Hey Don, did you win the Master’s? 2000 and 2001,” Don reported. “We’re getHey, Don, are you selling real estate now?” ting back to normal now, and I think 2003
On a more serious note, the 20-year com- will have its share of challenges. There’s
pany veteran and financial guru, at the di- not as much work available in today’s ecorect request of Dick Alterman, imple- nomic climate.”
L-R: David Giles, Eddie Marez, Miguel Arellano, and
George Arellano, NA’s teledata technicians.
L-R: A handsome foursome: James Reed, Mark Mueller;
Thad Brown and Rick Norton.
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Mr. President...
T
hroughout the month of December, San Antonio Construction News asked numerous members of the construction community to answer the following question.
If you could speak with President George W. Bush for 15 seconds, what would you
say to him?
Ken Graham, Mechanical Reps, Inc.:
“Mr. President, I would like to thank you
for your conservative view and your religious thoughts, and for sharing them with
your country.”
John Burruss, Todd-Ford, Inc.: “Mr.
President, we need to build more nuclear
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Steve Mechler, Steve Mechler & Associates: “ Mr. President, I’d like to thank you
for doing a great job in your first two years,
and we look forward to another two years.”
Stephen Schneider, Albert Sterling & Associates: “Mr. President, your idea of cutting taxes and giving it back to the little
businessman is the right idea. Keep that
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John Tezel, Tezel & Cotter AC, LP: “Mr.
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Engineering
Engineers prepare for insurance hikes
Editor’s note: San Antonio Construction
News polled members of the local engineering community to find out what “hot” topics were circulating within their professional peer group. Hands-down, the increases in rates for professional liability
insurance are high on their list of concerns,
as are the tougher economic times. In spite
of the challenges they face, engineering
firms are implementing plans to remain
successful.
E
stablished in 1995, Lundy & Franke
Engineering, Inc. provides structural engineering services for architects, primarily on commercial and industrial-type buildings. Operating from one San Antonio office, the firm’s principals are
Charles Lundy, P.E., and
Shawn J. Franke, P.E. The
licensed engineers employ
seven EIT’s (engineers-intraining) and five CAD support staffers. The firm works
primarily with architects in
San Antonio and South
Texas, as well as with professionals in other states.
When asked if his firm’s professional
liability insurance rates had increased,
Shawn said their renewal isn’t due yet and
as of now he has not been advised of any
rate increases.
“If you have a claim, in almost every
case, you’re going to pay higher premiums.
If you don’t have claims, it helps. However,
we have been warned to avoid pursuing
work in the residential sector and condo-
minium market by persons representing the
insurance carriers. I think it’s a shame, because the result may be that only uninsured
practitioners are going to do residential
work. We tend to stay away from residential work, so it’s not affecting us.”
Although Shawn wouldn’t refer to the
current construction climate in terms of a
slowdown, he said his firm is treading with
cautious optimism.
“We’ve made the decision to not add
anymore staff. We’d rather just sit tight and
wait to see what happens while we try to
broaden our market as much as possible,
which includes working a little more outof-state.”
Looking forward to 2003, Shawn said
the architects in general are fairly
busy and he doesn’t perceive
much of a change for next year.
“The preceding years
were really busy in this area, primarily because of the school programs. Times are probably a little
bit more normal now than they
were during the boom.”
Asked to discuss the
greatest challenge facing his engineering firm, Shawn said it
would be more realistic to categorize them as numerous small challenges.
“Finding and retaining good staff in
both good and bad times is an ongoing and
evolving process,” Shawn concluded. “Another issue is meeting the challenge to
broadening our market and to keep our
employees busy. We don’t want to be
single-minded and we have to have a good
mix of diversity in our engineering pursuits
to be successful.”
W
ith three offices in Texas, JasterQuintanilla San Antonio, LLP
was established in 1992 as a
separate independent entity. The decade-old
local firm staffs six licensed engineers, four
graduate engineers and nine support personnel.
with firm partner Agustin Tellez, Jr., P.E.,
who said his office concentrates on work
within Texas, with occasional projects outside of the state.
“We perform two types of engineering
services; structural engineering and civil
engineering,” Agustin explained.
“We work with architects on a
daily basis, and an example of our
clientele would include the UT
System, Texas A&M System, city
and other public entities, as well
as those in the private sector.
However, the majority of our clients are in the public sector.”
When asked if his firm had
been affected by rising insurance
rates, Agustin confirmed that it
had.
“We have seen an increase in our liability insurance premiums by not quite
double. It is a huge expense for our firm,
and it just comes off the bottom line. We’ve
been dealing with it by being a little more
selective as to the types of projects we take
on,” he said, adding, “we’ve increased our
in-house quality assurance program to
minimize the potential liability that may be
incorporated into our work. We haven’t had
the need to cut back on staff in any way,
fortunately.”
Although Jaster-Quintanilla SA’s
workload has remained steady for the past
several years, the firm’s partner thinks there
has been a trend to think of these times as a
slowing period in general.
“Our backlog looks very good,”
Agustin affirmed. “We have a fair amount
of work that hasn’t even started yet. I know
there are other firms out there that are seeing a decrease in the building boom more
so than we are. We are fortunate to maintain a clientele that is not affected in quite
the same way as other firm’s may have
been. We credit that to our diversity within
the public and private sectors, and to the
different disciplines, civil
and structural, which we pursue. We constantly try to
maintain a balance in order
to achieve the workload we
require.”
On that positive note,
Agustin looks forward to
2003 despite the ongoing
challenges of maintaining a
substantial workload and
backlog.
“Through the years, the
biggest challenge is to find qualified engineers. The pool of people who meet our
standards, in the local area, is not very big,
and of the most qualified, they are all gainfully employed. We have attempted a variety of methods to recruit engineers over the
years, to include ‘head hunters’, with some
success. However, we try to obtain personnel on our own, through word-of-mouth and
referrals, and even going outside of Texas.
We try to maintain a proper balance becontinued on Page 12
Outlook for 2003 gets mixed reviews
San Antonio Construction News spoke with
two local engineering firms to determine
the niche they have carved within their respective disciplines, their views on the Professional Procurement Act and to get a
sense of their personal forecast for business
in 2003. The future gets mixed reviews.
T
he mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering design firm, Joshua
Engineering Group, Inc., was established in 1996 by president and owner Jesse
E. Gonzalez, P.E. Operating from one San
Antonio office, the firm employs nine personnel, including 3 registered
engineers, one engineer-intraining, and five support staff.
In addition to MEP engineering design, the firm also
provides project management
services. Jesse estimated 50 percent of his firms’ work is concentrated in San Antonio, 40
percent in Austin, and the remainder throughout Texas.
“Our engineers and designers are involved in the development of construction documents for renovation and new construction projects, primarily within the public sector,” Jesse explained. “We have a host of public sector
clients at the federal, state, county and city
levels in both San Antonio and in Austin.”
Jesse to discuss his opinion about the Professional Procurement Act (PPA), which
governs how public entities hire an engi-
neering firm’s services. Although most of
his clients within the public sector are on
annual or multi-year contracts, he said his
staff is very familiar with the PPA procedures, and are skilled at going through the
preparations for a qualification analysis,
interview process, and contractual negotiations.
“The only downside to the process is
that it takes quite a bit of time,” he continued. “From the time the request for qualifications (RFQ) comes out, to the submittal of the RFQ, to the review, it could take
months and months. When a firm is selected
and the contracts are awarded, it could be
one year later. On the plus side, the fees
aren’t discussed until the final negotiations. Rather than
focusing on the lowest bid, to
the exclusion of all other factors, each firm is evaluated on
a multiplicity of qualifications. We charge a fair and
reasonable sum for the work
that’s involved and I think
most of our clients look at it
that way. We’re qualified, and
we can stack up our credentials and qualifications
against other firms. Regarding the qualification-based selection process, we feel
comfortable.”
Asked to comment on what he’s hearing within his professional circles regarding the outlook for 2003, Jesse said there
are mixed emotions. “I’ve heard of some
experienced engineers being laid off from
reputable firms around town. Some companies are tightening up quite a bit since
the private sector dried up, a lot of firms
that do that kind of work are looking aggressively for other types of projects.”
On a personal note, the engineer said
his firm experienced the best year of its
youthful history in 2002. “We
are carrying quite a bit of work
into next year, for which we feel
fortunate. Our workload is such
that I would like to hire additional qualified engineers. I am
planning to establish an office in
Austin, because of the amount of
work we have up there, but I’m
finding there just aren’t enough
hours in the day to do that.”
Focused on public sector
projects, Jesse said the depth of
experience among the lead engineers and senior designers at his firm sets
it apart others.
“There aren’t that many types of
projects that we haven’t seen. We do have
a definitive market niche, and we know
what we’re comfortable with and what
we’re good at. That gives us an advantage
among the other fish in our pond.”
A
nationwide and international firm
established 36 years ago, Consulting Engineers Group, Inc. has offices in Illinois, Texas, Minnesota, Arkansas, Florida and Ohio. Its one Texas-based
office is in San Antonio, where it has prospered for over 20 years.
with president Thomas J. D’Arcy, P.E.,
S.E., who explained the local firm’s staff-
ing profile includes four architects, seven
registered engineers, one engineer-in-training (EIT) and eighteen technical and support personnel.
“We provide a full range of structural
engineering services, focusing primarily on concrete,
specifically precast and prestressed concrete,” Tom began. “Although we work in
Texas and throughout the
U.S., the bulk of our recent
work has been in New England and on the East Coast.
Locally, we provided the
structural pre-cast engineering on the SBC Center. Our
firm specializes in the design
and engineering of parking
structures, stadium and prisons.”
CEG, Inc. was instrumental in pioneering the use of precast cell modules for use
in prison construction.
“Utilizing this method, the complete
prison cell is provided to the jobsite,” Tom
added, “furnished and painted, with windows and doors in place, and completed
with plumbing and electrical hook-ups. It’s
more economical to build them on this assembly line basis, and it speeds the time of
construction, which saves taxpayer dollars.”
Working with both public and private
sector clients, Tom was asked his opinion
about the Professional Procurement Act,
which governs how public entities hire an
engineering firm’s services. He said he
liked the system with one exception.
Engineering
F O C U S
Page 12
continued from Page 11 - Engineers prepare for insurance hikes
tween experienced engineers and inexperienced graduate engineers that we can develop within the standard of our firm’s philosophy. We tap engineering graduates from
UTSA, who are qualified and prepared, but
lack the experience.”
After complimenting his local competition as being exceptionally well qualified,
Agustin said the quality that sets his firm
apart is the level of detail that goes into its
projects.
“There are always budget constraints
and fee constraints, and our profits are marginal, at best. And so, we don’t cut corners
on any of our projects. Regardless of the
size or complexity of the project, the effort
and detail that we put forth is the same on
every project. I think that sets us apart from
the crowd.”
P
erforming the bulk of its work in San
Antonio and Bexar County, MS2,
Inc. is an MEP engineering firm with
one local location. Established in 1994 by
three partners, the firm employs 22 personnel, including six registered engineers, one
graduate engineer, one engineer-in-training
(EIT) and fourteen support staff.
with president, Michael O’Shea, P.E., who
said his firm’s work is diversified within
the public and private sectors.
“At MS2, Inc.,” Mike began, “we engineer mechanical, electrical, plumbing and
fire protection design for
commercial and institutional
clients. Most of our clientbase is architects, and we also
have some prime clients for
whom we work directly, as in
the case of several school districts. Our firm also performs
some design/build work
through mechanical and electrical contractors.”
From day one, MS2, Inc.
has worked diligently to remain diversified in order to
prevent a time when one market could lead to the downfall of the company.
Asked if his firm had been impacted
by the rising costs of professional liability
insurance, Mike said, “Luckily, we aren’t
due for renewal until 2003. We do anticipate a rate increase, which we have to budget for, but also, before renewal time, we shop
around. We have changed
carriers several times, and
I’m not a fan of doing that,
but sometimes it’s necessary to keep our overhead
down.”
Mike added that it’s been
equally difficult to deal
with the rising cost of
medical insurance for his
employees. “We’ve had to
shop every other year, and
continued from Page 11 - Outlook for 2003 gets mixed reviews
“I think qualifications should be the
biggest determination on how a firm is selected, which should include a balance of
previous experience, as well as the expertise of the staff. However, the process takes
an inordinate amount of time arrive at a
decision. The process can take over one
year, and it can be frustrating to determine
if you’re in or out of the running, or if you
have to pursue additional work.”
On the private side, Tom said his firm
has several repeat clients, including architects and owners. For example, CEG, Inc.
has worked on 25 prisons with the Corrections Corporation of America, a company
that privatizes prisons.
“Some of our private projects are procured by invitation, and there are times
when we pursue new work by contacting a
prospective client, clarify our capabilities,
and negotiating a contract amount,” Tom
stated.
Asked if his professional peer group
was discussing the outlook for work in 2003
with optimism, Tom admitted they were not.
“The construction community is down
sometimes change carriers, just to try to be
able to provide health coverage for our employees.”
To stay within their operational means,
over the last 6 months the firm has laid off
some people.
“But, we are very stable now and our
workload is increasing, which is positive,”
Mike noted. “I see projects, like hotels,
coming back to life. That was a pretty flat
market at one time, and
there’s so much construction
still on the school end. I think
our firm will see an increase
in business in 2003.”
There’s a lot of pressure
in the construction industry to
keep costs down, and as Mike
emphasized, “They’re still
building buildings today for
what they were building them
for 10 years ago, which is
hard to believe. We’re a very
team-oriented firm, out to
help people solve problems.
It’s important to keep people
understanding that we can help them solve
problems, not just to spend their money. To
hold costs down and to maintain our reputation, we stress the importance of clients
having engineers involved in their projects
for the sake of safety and environmental
quality issues. With the pressure to cut services and materials, it’s an uphill battle to
keep people informed. Ultimately, we can
save money by looking at different options.”
In Mike’s opinion, his client-driven and
service-oriented engineering firm has a
good reputation for keeping projects in budget and meeting schedules.
“I think that’s allowed us to grow in
the market that existed in the past, and will
enable us to continue to grow in the future.”
San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2003
Mr. President...
T
hroughout the month of December, San
Antonio Construction News asked numerous members of the construction community to answer the following question.
say to him?
Jeff Haberstroh, Project Control: “Mr.
President, when can we go huntin’?”
Lee Evins, Christus Santa Rosa: “You’re
doing a great job; keep up the good work
and make Saddam Hussein come to bear
with what he has to do, which is disarm.”
Guy Wayne Katz, Nathan Alterman: “I
would say, good job George!”
James “Chip” Drewry III, P.E.: “Let’s
play golf!”
Jerry Kolinek, Nathan Alterman: “Mr.
President, stay the course on national security and keep trying on the economy!”
Karen Santino, NAWIC: “Mr. President,
take care of women in the construction industry, back them up and give them support!”
Ken Chandley, Chandley Fence: “Mr.
President, help the small businessman!”
Robert Powers, Powers Construction:
“Good job, keep it up, and kick their ass!”
Don Watson, Nathan Alterman Electric:
“You’re doing a good job on security, Mr.
across the country, and owners are reluctant to fund projects, which is the biggest
difficulty. There is a lot of interest in preliminary designs and plans, but when it
comes to the aspect of funding the project,
there appears to be a general apprehension
about going forward. Unfortunately, I expect the trend to continue into the first two
or three quarters of next year. It’s nationwide, and I can’t think of a bright spot on
the map.”
With that in mind, Tom said the consideration of going to other countries to
pursue work is plausible. In December, he
traveled to Brazil, where he lectured and
presented a seminar to the country’s na-
tional concrete association.
“I don’t know what will come of it, but
they seemed to appreciate our particular
expertise. We’ve done work in Canada,
Mexico and the Middle East in the past, and
we would be interested in pursuing more
work with the right mix of clients and funding. Broadening our base of clients and
contacting those clients we haven’t worked
with for a while, if ever, provides additional
opportunities. In these times, we are being
more aggressive in our marketing.”
Tom credits the success of his firm to
the skill and experience of its people, who
have a special and unique knowledge on
the correct application of precast concrete.
Engineering Consulting Services, Ltd.
“Setting the Standard for Service”
PROVIDING COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS
• Construction Materials Testing
• Geotechnical & Soils Engineering
• Value Engineering
• Environmental Assessment & Remediation
• Property Condition Assessments
• UST Management Services
• NEPA Assessments
• Indoor Air Quality & Mold
On Time Every Time
12865 Wetmore Road
210-494-7100
210-494-7101 (fax)
Earl McIntosh, Vice President
Ray Kezaz, Dir. of Business Development
2003 Schedule
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RV
S SUUR
VEEY Y
This month we are highlighting Engineering.
The response was 11%.
64% considered their company “small” with less than $2 million in sales.
18% considered their company “medium” with $2 - $5 million in sales.
18% considered their company “large” with $5+ million in sales.
2 = Agree
3 = Neutral
4 = Disagree
Page 13
TECHNOLOGY
Staff includes IT specialist to maintain equipment: .................... 19
Computer viruses have affected our operations: ....................... 00
We will upgrade our technology in 2003: ................................... 00
Find Internet to be a valuable research tool: .............................. 18
27
37
46
55
00
18
45
27
27
27
00
00
27
18
09
00
CONTRACTOR RELATIONSHIPS
GC’s acknowledge us on the excellence of our work: ................ 09 64 18 09 00
We’re reluctant to work with GC’s who are from out-of-state: .... 00 00 73 18 09
In general, contractor supervision of projects is efficient: .......... 09 27 28 27 09
4 companies were involved in a lawsuit in the last 12 months.
None of the companies were audited by the IRS in the last 12 months.
4 companies are woman or minority owned.
1 = Strongly Agree
Disagree
Engineering
F O C U S
San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2003
LEGAL ISSUES
Threats of litigation have stalled at least one project: ................ 00 27 09 64 00
Professional liability exposure is escalating: .............................. 09 63 09 09 00
Our attorney’s specialize in engineering-related issues: ............ 09 18 55 18 00
5 = Strongly
Results are measured in percentages.
1
PERSONNEL
Have fewer professional engineers on staff than one year ago: 18
Engineering schools are producing qualified graduates: ........... 27
Employees are requesting more benefits than those provided: . 00
Our staff is complete and we’re not currently hiring: .................. 27
INTERNAL OPERATIONS
Communication between architects and engineers is mandatory
for success: ................................................................................ 73
We have outgrown our current facility: ....................................... 00
Costs to produce construction documents continues to
increase: ..................................................................................... 18
Professional insurance premiums rose substantially in 2002: ... 37
2
3
18
18
46
18
37
46
36
09
4 5
09
09
18
37
18
00
00
09
27 00 00 00
27 09 27 37
PERSONAL
I have encouraged young people I know to become engineers: 27
Business demands have reduced time with my family: ............. 36
Affiliation with professional associations improves our firm’s
credibility: ................................................................................... 18
I still have time to play: ............................................................... 00
37 09 27 00
45 09 46 00
50 40 00 00
30 40 30 00
46 09 18 00
46 18 00 00
46 27 09 00
27 46 00 00
55 27 00 00
27 27 09 00
ECS’ Harwood passes
torch to McIntosh
M
ichael Harwood, P.E. came to
San Antonio to build a branch for
Engineering Consulting Services, Inc., a nationwide engineering firm.
As a solo act, he soon located space and
started hiring personnel. In two years, the
employee-owned San Antonio firm grew to
38 personnel, including two registered engineers, two EIT’s, a director of business
development, and a complement of technical and support staff.
Offered a promotion, over the holidays,
Mike packed his U-Haul and drove to ECS’
corporate headquarters in Washington D.C.,
where he will be groomed and shaped in
preparation for taking a lead position at a
proposed regional office in Houston.
Earl McIntosh, Vice President and
Office Manager, and former director of
business development, helped Mike build
the company to its current status. The enthusiastic and experienced businessman
brings an aggressive motivation to the company.
“I not only want to help our employees get what they want from their careers,”
he began, “but to pursue our basic philosophy of attracting customers for life! We
follow the 80-20-rule; meaning 80 percent
of our work comes from 20 percent of our
customers. Our goal is not just to get work
coming in the door, but to take care of our
clients one at a time.”
With a great team in place, Earl is engaged in making sure they’re all heading
in the same direction.
“Mike did a phenomenal job finding
some of the best talent in town to put under
one flag,” Earl added. “Having outgrown
our original facility, we’re expanding into
another office within the same complex to
include another 3,500-sf for the environmental department. Our geotechnical, construction materials testing, soils and concrete labs still occupy the original 4,800-sf
facility.
A key component to ECS’ successful
formula for growth occurred when Ray
Kezar, former partner and vice president
of engineering firm Arias & Kezar, joined
the firm, bringing with him over twenty
FINANCIAL ISSUES
Our profit line is lower this year than one year ago: ................... 27
Engineering fees are increasing to keep up with our
overhead: ................................................................................... 00
Operating costs have risen substantially over the past year: ..... 10
We are projecting an increase in business in 2003: ................... 00
Niznik/Schultz team for party
T
he Mo Ranch, just south of Blanco,
Texas was the setting this year for a
joint Christmas party held by Niznik
Concrete Contractors and Schultz Concrete Pumping.
Employees and guests filled the party
room where loads of food was available for
all to enjoy. Outside, the tent-covered patio provided a place for dancing to a live
country music band.
When asked why the event was held
out at this location Mike Schultz said that
he and Doug had purchased the use of the
place at the last Downtown Youth Center
Fun Shoot and decided to use it for the
party.
Everyone was in a very festive mood
this evening looking forward to the holidays and New Year.
Earl McIntosh
years of experience in the construction
materials testing and geotechnical services
in San Antonio.
With an eye on the local economy and
its potential impact on business in 2003,
Earl said the diversification of ECS’ services remains their best asset.
“We have seen some soft pockets out
there, because the client’s aren’t able to
generate a need for us like they normally
would,” Earl continued. “That’s caused us
to switch our focus in other directions and
markets that we think are up and coming.
After attending a design/build conference
in Denver, one of the areas that keeps resurfacing is hospitals and medical facilities.
Growth in that market is escalating, and San
Antonio has a substantial medical-related
industry. There are certain segments in new
construction that are growing and orbiting
around. As well, renovation activity helps
out our environmental department with assessments, mold investigations, lead-based
paint, and others.”
A couple of years ago every testing
firm in town was very busy, and the challenge was in finding people to help with
the backlogs. Because ECS is diversified,
it deals in some areas in which traditional
engineering firms don’t overlap.
Part of the party group.
continued from Page 12 - Mr. President....
President, but I’m not a fan of yours. For
the construction industry, times have always
been better when a Democrat is in office,
and it seems as though, after you took office the construction industry plummeted.
Don’t fight unions, work for the common
man!”
Rick Miller, CNA Surety: “Mr. President,
you’re doing a good job. Keep on making
the good, tough decisions, and don’t look
back!”
Chester Rose, ERT Lighting & Sales:
“Kick their ass!”
Therapy Garden constructed for youth by volunteers
E
ach year, members of the San Antonio Chapter of
the Associated General Contractors (AGC) participate in a community service project. In keeping with
their tradition, AGC has partnered with the Alamo
Children’s Advocacy Center to construct a Therapy Garden. The Center’s mission is to restore dignity, trust and
hope to children traumatized by sexual abuse.
San Antonio Construction News asked volunteer and
project coordinator Bill Huber, Huber Contracting, Ltd.,
to describe the scope of work. “The 50x50-ft. Therapy
Garden is located across the parking lot from the Center.
Surrounded by a cedar picket fence, the grounds will include one 10x12-ft. building, resembling a small-scale
country house. An existing gazebo is being relocated and
incorporated into the garden area and in the middle, we’re
building a 12-ft. fountain. A trellis is being constructed
and granite-chip paths will meander around the grounds.”
Bill also said the garden will be generously landscaped
with benches, trees, shrubs and flowers to generate a calm,
comfortable atmosphere.
Project superintendent Marshall Reeves, Huber Contracting, Ltd. said the project faced a few initial challenges,
courtesy of Mother Nature. “We officially broke ground
on this project on Oct. 15th, and because of the rain and
wet conditions, we were delayed by two or three weeks.
AGC members have donated all of the materials and labor
and we hope to complete the project before Christmas!”
Alamo Children’s Advocacy Center executive director Mark Carmona said the Center’s work is understandably very intense. “The generosity of the AGC members
and volunteers has enabled our staff and therapists to con-
tinue our work without interruption,” he reported. “Everyday, some kind of construction activity is ongoing, and
their efforts will result in a peaceful and beautiful environment for the children we counsel and their families.”
On Sat., Dec. 14th, volunteers from the community
donated their time to help with the landscaping efforts.
Among them were members of AGC, employees from
Maldonado Nursery & Landscaping, ACAC staff and
friends, students with the Hispanas Unidas Program, and
South San High School students. After looking at several
other non-profit organizations, students with the Hispanas
Unidas Program chose to volunteer their time with ACAC,
knowing that the Therapy Garden will help engage both
the children and families in the healing process. In an outdoor setting, children will have the opportunity to safely
Small house will feature an ample front porch and
functional storage space.
express their range of emotions in an unrestricted environment. The Garden will be a haven for the Center’s clients.
When completed, the fountain will be a focal point.
AGC member companies participating in the construction of the Alamo Children’s Advocacy Center Therapy
Garden include: Alamo Crane Service; Bartlett Cocke,
L.P.; CFS Forming Structures Co.; Dausin Electric Co.;
Edward P. Potter Company; Ella S.A. Contracting, L.P.;
Huber Contracting, Ltd.; Joeris General Contractors,
Ltd.; L&M Steel; Maldonado Nursery & Landscaping,
Inc.; Martin Marietta Materials; O’Haver Plumbing;
Olmos Construction; Sunstate Equipment; Texana Machinery; Texas Waste Systems; Urban Concrete Contractors; and Waste Management, Inc.
Gajeske’s 2002 Open House a success!
T
he doors at Gajeske, Inc. were open
from noon to nighttime on Thurs.,
Dec. 5th as the polyethylene pipe
company hosted its 2002 Open House. Anticipating a record turnout, the staff prepared a four color party brochure as an invitation.
According to general manager Gary
Zepeda, the all-day event served a dual purpose.
“This is an opportunity for us to really
thank our customers. Plus, it gives us a
chance to educate them about polyethylene
pipe and the different ways it can be installed using electrofusion. We invited folks
from Bexar Metro Water, San Antonio Water Systems, City Public Service, the City
of Corpus Christi, the City of Boerne, the
visit our
web site at
City of Castroville, and lots of utility contractors, engineers, and plumbing contractors. Polyethylene pipe is getting to be very
popular, and we want to demonstrate its versatility to the people who can and do use
the product.”
Gajeske’s hard-working staff planned
two meals throughout the day. The lunch
menu included Darrell Cherry’s famous
brisket and Mike Corcoran, Sr.’s smoked
sausage, potato salad and beans for starters. Meanwhile, homemade gumbo was
simmering and dinner featured pork chops
and all the fixings.
Manufacturer’s reps from McElroy
Mfg., Performance Pipe, Nordstrom Valve,
Perfection Corp., Central Plastics Co.,
Premier and others were on-hand with
Lunch crowd at Gajeske, Inc.’s 2002 Open House
product displays and knowledge to share.
“We’re handing out a variety of door prizes every
hour,” reported owner Bob
Gajeske, Sr., who asked his
guests to bring a gift for Construct a Kid’s Christmas, the
construction industry’s
fundraiser to help the foster
children of our county have
a brighter Holiday.
In spite of chillier temperatures, the party continued into the night, complete
with music, dancing and
karaoke, and, of course, lots
of food for everyone!
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Workshop reveals
green-funding solutions
Riedel joins McBride
Electric as GM
B
orn and raised in San Antonio, Steve
Riedel has been involved in the
electrical industry for 25 years.
Starting as an electrical apprentice right out
of high school, he attended St. Philip’s College and became a journeyman electrician,
a position he held for 12 years. In 1988,
Steve helped develop the local Design Electric branch, where he remained for 13 years.
In Nov. 2002, Steve
was named general manager of the Austin and San
Antonio branches of
McBride Electric, a nationwide electrical service
network providing electrical and data services. The
Austin branch, which has
a residential and commercial service and a small
project division, was established eight years ago
and staffs 25 personnel.
“My job will be to develop the San Antonio branch and mirror
the company’s success in Austin,” Steve
reported. “Right now we have five employees in San Antonio, but that’s going to
change.”
One of his first tasks will be to relocate the current office/warehouse to a larger
facility. “Image is first and foremost with
me, and finding the right facility and location is a priority.”
Steve will rely on his familiarity with
the local market, contacts and relationships,
to build-up the San Antonio staff. He anticipates a ready availability of good journeymen electricians and support personnel.
“Next year, all indications are positive
for the local economy,” he added. “McBride
provides the vehicles, the process, and the
procedures to standardize the flow of operations. The company was founded in
1950, and is now owned by the McBride
family’s second generation.”
When San Antonio Construction News
asked Steve where he sees himself one year
from now, he said, “I’d like to have the
McBride Electric name out there, synonymous with good service and reliability.
Quality service provided by personable
employees is our
strength. We plan to target manageable projects
in line with our growth.”
Steve will be
calling on property managers, downtown hotel/
motel managers, businesses and everybody he
knows that needs a service provider. “My focus, initially, will be
sales,” he added, “and
there are a lot of common customer relationships between Austin
and San Antonio.”
In the short period of time Steve has
been with McBride, he’s impressed with the
way in which the company approaches and
concentrates on customer satisfaction,
which is paramount to customer retention.
“Our customers are being solicited
everyday, and we give them 100 percent so
they’ll keep coming back to us. Our employees are skilled team members who are
highly trained and personable.”
Steve credits his electrical background
and business development experience, as
well as good timing, for his new venture.
“I look forward to getting out there and
developing a customer base, and doing what
I love to do best!”
McBride Electric has branches in Dallas, Ft. Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, as well as in Kansas, Colorado, Georgia, Oklahoma, and California.
T
he Brooks Energy & Sustainability
Lab and the Metropolitan Partnership For Energy hosted a one-day
“Funding Green Buildings: Sources and
Strategies” workshop at TEEX (Texas Engineering Extension), on Fri., Dec. 6th,
from 10 am to 4 pm.
The informative workshop provided a
10-step “roadmap” for optimizing an
agency’s or a client’s green building-related
financing, capital campaigns and grant writing strategies. The presenter, Jan
McAdams, used case histories to describe
creative approaches to the financing and
fundraising process.
Jan McAdams, director of The
McAdams Group, is a University of California - Davis alumni with 22 years experience in the field of grantwriting and
fundraising. More than 4,800 aspiring grant
writers have attended one or more of Jan’s
“Grantwriting for Success: Matching Dollars & Ideas,” and “Funding Green Buildings” workshops offered since 1979
throughout the nation at major universities.
Jan’s commitment to securing funding for
sustainable and PV-integrated buildings is
reflected in her firm’s newest publication,
The Energywi$e Construction Funding
Directory.
The course fee included lunch and a
copy of the 150-page course manual, an annotated directory of public and private resources for sustainable, commercial green
design and building-integrated PV, considered the most comprehensive resource
available on the subject.
Throughout the day, Ms. McAdams
addressed the following topics: “Increasing your Project’s Fundability by Developing and Maintaining a Funding Readiness
System”; “Creative Financing: Energy-Saving Performance Contracting & Other Ways
to Leverage Your Building’s Long-Term
Energy Savings”; “Meet the Energywi$e
100: An Overview of the Nation’s 100 Key
Energy-Efficient Green Design & PV Funding Agencies/Prospective Project Partners”;
“Anatomy of a Green Building’s Capital
Campaign”; and “Strategies for Increasing
your Green Building’s Pre-and-Post-Construction Revenue.”
Happy New Year!
Everyone at
Sauer’s Paint
Wishes You A Safe
and Prosperous
New Year...
Sauer’s Paint & Supplies
Mr. President...
“Over 70 Years of Paint Experience Awaits You”
T
hroughout the month of December, San Antonio Construction News asked numerous members of the construction community to answer the following question.
210-545-3880
15701 San Pedro San Antonio, Tx 78232
email: ksauers@porter-paints.com
If you could speak with President George W. Bush for 15 seconds, what would
you say to him?
Gary Baldwin, Beckwith Electronics:
“I would tell President Bush that the decision to go to war is a very serious one.
Either way, I will support America 100
percent, but it’s a decision that merits
grave consideration.”
See our ad on Page 1171 in your
SBC Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages
and at www.SMARTpages.com
Bryan Crowley, Nathan Alterman:
“Mr. President, does your father approve
of your decisions?”
Ronnie Dausin, Dausin Electric: “Mr.
President, you’re doing a hell of a job!”
Scott Olson, Project Control: “I’m
speechless! But, everybody here in
Texas is proud of what you’re doing!”
Ferguson Enterprises is Proud to Introduce
Our New Appliance Lines.
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Robert Powers, Powers Construction:
“Good job, keep it up, and kick their
ass!”
Jeff Smith, SBC Center: “Mr. President, I have a lot of respect for you, and
I stand behind you 100 percent!”
®
®
®
Mike Grendell, Midco Sling: “Mr.
President, go in there and kick some ass!
Take care of it!”
Steve Walter, Joeris General Contracting, Ltd.: “You make me proud! Keep
doing it!”
303 North Park Drive
210.344.3013
®
19 Burwood Lane
210.344.4950
SAMCA celebrates atop
Energy Plaza
I
n keeping with past tradition, the San Antonio
Masonry Contractors
Association held its Christmas Party atop Energy
Plaza at the Petroleum
Club on Fri., Dec. 6th.
Over fifty members
and guests enjoyed a festive social hour to renew
friendships and compare
notes. A treasure of gifts
and toys targeted for Construct a Kid’s Christmas
continued to grow as arriving guests placed them be2003 president Urs Senser contemplates his
neath the decorated Christleadership responsibilities!
mas tree. Meanwhile, the
silent auction kept bidders
selves to a tasty buffet fare. As dessert
busy until the designated cut-off time.
For dinner, members helped them- and coffee were served, the 2002 outgoing president, John Williams, III, Capitol Cement,
and incoming president,
Urs Senser, Sunbelt Rentals, each made a few remarks.
The 2003 San Antonio
Masonry Contractors Association officers are: President, Urs Senser, Sunbelt
Rentals; Vice-president,
Michael Hunt, Curtis
Hunt Restorations; Secretary, Sylvia Morgan,
Safway Steel; and Treasurer, Andy Cordova,
Masonry brotherhood sharing in Christmas cheer.
Bricks & Tiles Unlimited.
Surety Assn. takes on
Dave & Buster’s
M
embers of the
Surety Association of South
Texas reserved one of the
“fun” rooms at Dave &
Buster’s on Thurs., Dec.
12th, to celebrate their
Christmas Party. Cliff
Miller, Old Republic
Surety Group, manned a
reception table and dispersed drink coupons to the
thirsty professionals as
they arrived.
Though one pool table
was covered with hors
Edgar Garcia coaches Jules Hunter in the finer
d’oeuvres and finger foods,
points of gamesmanship.
the others claimed the attention of the competitiondriven accountants and attorneys who sentations to general contractors and subvied for top scores and skilled shots.
contractors who require bonding. As well,
Surety Association president Edgar to lending institutions that require an
Garcia, attorney at Langley & Banack, understanding of what it takes to provide
recounted the successes of his flock dur- lines of credit and other financing to coning 2002.
tractors who seek bonding, and to own“Our entire effort this year has been ers, both public and private, so they can
to ‘reach out and bond.’ We’ve had sev- understand how the bonding industry
eral events throughout the year in sup- works for their benefit. Through the use
port of that theme, including several pre- of humorous skits, we offered a simplistic bird’s eye view of the emotions that
contractors and subs go
through, especially in these
tough times, trying to get
bonding. And, on an educational side, we offered
explanations of what it
would take to get their finances and paperwork in
order, to try to accomplish
the goal that for many
seems so distant.”
On a lighter note, the
Surety Association members left their “stuffed
shirts” on the hanger and
L-R: Happy Holidays from Kimberly Scheidt, Joe Davis
let their hair down in the
and David Bailey, David J. Bailey & Co.; Rick Miller,
spirit of the holidays.
CNA Surety; and Diana Moll, HCDT Agency.
Happy New Year!
The Great Outdoors welcomes your photos and stories.
We will print on a first-come, space-available basis, and all photos will be returned when requested.
Mail to: San Antonio Construction News • P.O. Box 791290 • San Antonio, Tx 78279
All-girl’s slumber
party/fishing trip
They did it again!
Jeff Shindle, Capital
Industries, and his
brother Mike, Ben
Reyna, Reyna, Ben
Reyna Contracting,
Inc. and his brother
Barry, and friends went
out on a 48-hr.-long
range trip out of Port
Aransas and hooked
3,000-lbs.of Tuna.
T
wenty young ladies from the
San Antonio Downtown
Youth Center earned a fishing trip to the Sea Center Texas
Hatchery, right after Thanksgiving.
Departing San Antonio on Fri.,
Nov. 29th, the girls and their chaperones enjoyed a lively slumber
party before wetting their lines in
the hatchery’s 2-acre stocked pond
on Saturday.
True to their gender, squeaks
and squeals emanated from their
Slumber party last night, fishing today!
throats as they contemplated touching the fish they hooked. For many, it was ing the past decade in support of the Downtheir first fishing adventure. Alamo Con- town Youth Center.
According to Sea Center volunteers,
crete Products funded the all-girl’s trip
through an $8,000 donation during the live the hatchery tanks were stocked with red
auction at the 13th Annual Downtown drum (redfish), black drum, golden croaker
Youth Center Charity Fun Shoot held in and sheepshead before the girl’s arrived. It
August. Spearheaded by Cindy and Doug was a sight to behold as 10 or 12 girls were
Niznik, Niznik Concrete Contractors, the trying to land a fish all at the same time!
“The girls participating in the fishing
Fun Shoot has raised nearly $500,000 durtrip were selected because of their
good grades, good attendance,
good behavior and other factors,”
Cindy reported. “This is the first
time we’ve come to the Sea Center, and in the spring, we’ll take
about 65 boys and girls to Corpus
Christi for a gulf coast fishing trip.”
Over the past three years, the coast
trip has grown from a couple of
boats to a caravan of watercraft to
Too bad it’s all catch-and-release!
handle the youthful anglers.
Donnie Zvonek
Chris Perez
GREATOUTDOORS
OUTDOORS
GREAT
Welcomes your stories and photos. We print on a
Welcomes
your stories
andsophotos.
print
on
first-come,
space-available
basis,
get yourWe
photos
in early.
a first-come, space-available basis,
so get your photos in early.
Donnie Zvonek and Chris Perez of Design Electric caught/released
these 40-in. redfish in November, on a trip guided with
Ronnie Rogers out of Port O’Connor, TX.
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by John Jefferson
John Jefferson brings broad-based outdoor experience and travel to
Construction News’ outdoor page as its regular columnist. www.johnjefferson.com
All Photos taken by John Jefferson
WE'VE LOST ONE OF CONSTRUCTION'S
GREAT ADVENTURERS
T
hroughout a lifelong career in the
outdoors, I have known my share of
characters, but only a few great adventurers.
The man who qualifies both as a 24karat character AND the greatest adventurer
I think I have ever known, though, was A.D.
Stenger. At Stenger's memorial service in
mid-November, Cactus Prior gave the first
eulogy and described him as being six-footsix on a five-foot-eight frame. That's pretty
accurate.
WWII when he and another member of the
U.S. Navy group, that would soon be called
the Seabees, were swept out to sea while
swimming back from a mission to clear an
invasion route on one of the Japanese held
islands. From there, the rest of his life was
practically downhill.
Downhill in the same sense of being
on a roller coaster. He returned to Austin
and studied architecture, but left before he
got his degree so he could start building
homes. The homes he built were as unconventional as he
was. His designs were
said to be
ahead of their
time. He
developed
Stenger-built
homes
for
many
notables, such
as Tracor's
Frank and Sue
McBee, humorist John
Henry Faulk
and venerable
radio-television personality, Cactus
Prior.
A.D. Stenger liked to tackle larger than life challenges.
On a
fishing trip
The earliest of his known adventures once, he said to Pryor, "Lightnin' (his facame one dark and stormy night during vorite moniker for his favorite people), if
you could build yo're dream house,
what would it be like?" Pryor noticed Stenger making notes on his
palm as they talked. Some months
later, Stenger came by and picked
him up - just to go for a ride. Pryor
asked where they were going and
Stenger calmly replied, "Lightnin',
we're going to look at yo're new
house." A rarely speechless Pryor
was dumbstruck to see a new house,
built to his fishing trip specifications. They worked out a deal that
made the house affordable to the
Pryors. Stenger did the same thing
to John Henry Faulk.
But his distinction was far out
filmmaking. He once spent several
weeks in a 16-foot boat in Norwegian waters with a fisherman who
spoke no English. There, he roped
a polar bear for a film and trolled it
behind the boat. I don't know
whether bears have a sense of humor, but in
the film, the bear didn't look amused. You
may not know much about bears, either, but
A.D. Stenger: 1920-2002
paint "U.T." on its side, but was overruled
by stuffy scientists who also had no sense
of humor. During that trek, Stenger donned
an oversized wetsuit and did
some diving in the frigid
fiord waters for scientific
purposes. For that, you'd
think they would have at
least let him paint a couple
of letters on a sleeping bear.
In another film, he
sneaked down a beach pushing a small bush in front of
him to get close enough to a
sea lion to rope it. For still
another film, he built a pen
and a photographing scaffold
in a remote part of West Lake
Hills and brought in a "tame"
black bear for an action
scene. Before it was over, the
allegedly docile bear had
nearly eaten the arm off the
human actor. And he was
making alligator hunting
films in Texas before the
Crocodile Hunter got his first
pocketknife.
Stenger shot this Kodiak grizzly as it was charging him.
His films were spectacular, and earned him entrée to
Norwegian sailors had told Stenger that a Walt Disney. But, more than that, they, and
large bear hit the side of their freighter one their maker's antics and attitudes toward life
night and shook the entire boat. Imagine and its adventures, made him a true legend
what a bear could have done to his Jon boat. in his own time - one of the few truly deOn another expedition a couple of years serving of that description -- and one
later, he was with a scientific expedition that heckuva great adventurer!
tranquilized another bear and put paint on
its side for identification. Stenger tried to
May You Have A Successful
And Prosperous 2003!
HOLES
OF SAN ANTONIO, INC.
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PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE SPECIALIST
Winter Fishing Strategies
Capt. Steve Schultz - Baffin Bay Charters
E
very so often, we need a departure
from the serious side. A chance to
just kick back and enjoy what comes
along. In the fishing business, you tend to
get wrapped up with things like numbers
of fish, quality of fish and they are what
make my clients happy.
Winter fishing can be very relaxing and
enjoyable, especially when the afternoons
are warm and sunny. During other seasons,
we have to be on the water before daylight
and fight crowds to get to the good fishing
spots. Not so in the winter. We can ease
into a mid-morning start, eliminate long
lines at area boat ramps, frustrating hours
of bite-less fishing and often find the bays
invitingly empty of boat traffic.
So, with the recent weather forecast
calling for cooler temperatures the first few
months of ’03, local fishermen look forward
to these weather changes with great anticipation of the winter season. The fish start
dropping off into deeper channels and guts
and seek shelter from cooler water temperatures. These fronts tell the fish to start storing up food for the upcoming cold months
ahead. This is also the time of year when
the birds start working over the migration
of shrimp out of the bay
system.
Some would say
that perhaps this is their
most favorite time of
year to fish. This time
of year, the cooler temperatures make it very
comfortable fishing and
there seems to be less
pressure on the bay because of the hunting seasons. Fishing pressure
affects our bay system as
much as the weather
sometimes. Best bet
now is to key on watching for diving birds
Larry Owen and his daughter were pleased with
(seagulls and terns) hovtheir catch last week with Capt. Steve Schultz
ering over nervous
shrimp skipping across
the water.
pounds, are almost always feeding near the
Best bet to use for success while work- bottom of the area in question.
ing the birds is a shrimp tail or shad body,
Another excellent bait is a spoon. Bewith an eighth ounce lead head. Some- cause it weighs more and the spoon is
times, you may want to use a heavier larger, the distance to the frenzied birds can
jighead to get the bait past the smaller trout be reduced with a longer cast and drops
near the surface. Larger trout, up to three quickly to those larger trout. I often wonder when the fish are in a feeding frenzy
like that, if it really matters what you throw.
As I said earlier, the fishing pressure
has as much affect on our bays as the tem-
TEXAS BEST RAINBOW TROUT FISHERY
HAS A NEW FACE
perature. During the week, you can see the
difference. Birds will be working the whole
bay, but as soon as the weekend comes, the
activity shuts down quite a bit. When you
spot a flock of birds, especially up against
a shoreline, a trolling motor can be a big
advantage. If you go plowing in there too
fast with your big engine, the fish will scatter and very little will be caught. Use common sense, and stay approximately one
hundred feet upwind of the diving birds and
drift in with the aid of your trolling motor.
I know sometimes this can be frustrating
because you know the fish are there and
you want to get there quickly, but I promise, if you motor right in on top of the birds,
the fish will scatter. Remember that if there
are boats already working the birds, they
do have first right. Be courteous of those
fishing and start looking for other birds and
they should return the favor. Look for
smaller numbers of birds (less than five)
working, as larger trout can be found under those birds, as opposed to thirty or forty
birds working a large school of trout where
the fish are smaller.
I hope to see y’all on the water and remember to be courteous to the other anglers
when fishing the birds. If you are interested
in a carefree relaxing fun fishing trip for you
and your family contact me at 361-949-7359.
Good luck and good fishing.
A
s usual this
time of year,
rainbow trout will
be stocked in the
Guadalupe River
below Canyon Dam.
Stocking began December 19th and the
final releases are
January 17 and February 21. Over
18,000 trout will be
stocked.
Flooding earlier last summer altered much of the
river and wiped out Rainbow trout stocking on the Guadalupe below Canyon Dam.
existing trout populations. Some traditional holes won't be tions along the river.
there anymore due to the flooding.
For more information about trout
Public access will no longer be per- stockings, contact the A.E. Wood Fish
mitted at Bean's Camp. Trout normally Hatchery at (512) 353-0572.
stocked there will be placed at other locaJJ
Al Franz, Jr., president of Al Franz Fence Co., smiles over 10-pt. buck, field dressed at
175-lbs., with 18-in. wide spread for a 146 B&C Gross. Harvested in Webb County.
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STEVE SCHULTZ GUIDE SERVICE
BAFFIN BAY –– LAGUNA MADRE –– LAND CUT
SPECKLED TROUT –– REDFISH –– FLOUNDER
FISHING AND HUNTING TRIPS
(361) 949-7359
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1235 Safari
www.fieldworks.com
A dash of this or a dab of that!
C
ooking wild game, fish and
fowl, or just having a little
fun in the kitchen, has become a whole lot easier with the
release of “The Campfire Chef: Old
Boots & Bacon Grease,’’ by outdoor
writer Ralph Winingham.
The cookbook features a collection of more than 100 recipes and
short stories compiled during the
past three decades by the veteran
newspaperman and avid outdoor
The Campfire Chef, Ralph Winingham.
chef.
Each of the recipes is preceded by a short
“I was born with a powerful passion to
story or cooking tip, ranging from dishes create and, with a dash of this and a dab of
like “Coastal Crescents” and “2-Alarm that, I have been known to transform even
Grilled Shrimp” for seafood enthusiasts to a standard dish into a meal that dreams are
“Cow-Patty Bean Burgers,” “Hold-Your- made of,” Ralph reported. “If your hunting
Breath Meatloaf” and “When-You-Can Pork and fishing companions are like mine, they
Chops’’ for the hunters in the family. There eat like they have two backsides but know
is even a special section on easy dessert cre- good cooking when they taste it.”
ations that can be the crowning glory for
Throughout the past three decades,
any meal.
Ralph has been an avid outdoorsman, winAs Ralph said when he created the Camp- ning local, state and national titles as a comfire Chef column for the San Antonio Ex- petitive shooter with shotguns, rifles and
press-News in October 1995: “A lot of pistols. His outdoor activities have allowed
people can tell you how to shoot game or him to soak up a hearty dose of Texas cuicatch fish, what I want to share with my sine, adding to the cooking skills gleaned
readers is how to cook that game and fish.’’ from his rural family background.
Many of the dishes are recipes handed
In a peek between the pages, Ralph
down from his family, while the other cre- shares a couple of delicious recipes with
ations are the result of years of camp-cook- San Antonio Construction News’ readers:
ing ingenuity.
2-Alarm Grilled Shrimp
2 pounds peeled shrimp
bamboo skewers, soaked in water
serrano peppers
1/4-cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1-tablespoon cayenne pepper
Rinse peeled shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Take bamboo skewer that has
been soaked in water for at least 30 minutes, spear one pepper and then skewer
about six shrimp. Brush skewered shrimp
with melted butter mixed with garlic, then
sprinkle with cayenne. Cook over medium
coals for about five to seven minutes per
side. Shrimp is done when it turns white
and orange. Feeds 4 adults.
crumbs. Work crumbs into meat with your
fingers. Salt and pepper to taste. Brown
quickly on both sides in oil (I use bacon
grease) over medium high heat. Serve
warm. Feeds 2-4 adults.
“The Campfire Chef: Old Boots & Bacon Grease” is available through Corona
Publishing Co. at:
P.O. Box 12407, San Antonio, Texas
78212 or by calling 210-828-9532.
Klepper ‘s Breaded Steak
venison backstrap
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup dry bread crumbs
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
cooking oil or bacon grease
Slice backstrap across the grain into medallions about one-half inch thick. Dip
each steak in beaten egg, then roll in
Hunting Humor
T
wo men from the states were very excited about a three day hunting trip. They were
going to Canada to hunt some big game animals, since they were just used to hunting
small deer, rabbit, and squirrel in the states. The first day the game warden wished them
luck cause it hadn’t been a good season and no one had killed anything in two weeks.
The two men left to go hunting and when they came back that night the warden
greeted them by saying, “Have any luck?” The men pulled up a huge buck that they had
killed, which had a bullet hole right between the eyes. The warden congratulated them
and said, “That was one heck of a shot.”
The next day the warden greeted the two men again before they left and again wished
them luck. This night the men came back with an even bigger buck and the buck also had
a bullet hole right between the eyes. The warden was amazed at their success and also the
good aim the hunters had.
The last day went about the same as the first two and on the last night the two hunters
came back with a huge grizzly bear. The bear also had a bullet hole right between the
eyes but it also had a hole in each paw. The warden noticed this and questioned the two
men how that happened. One of the hunters replied with, “That’s where he tried to cover
his eyes from the spotlight.”Ω
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Tom Hewitt, Guaranty Insurance Services, Inc., harvested this 12-pt. buck
from Ross Ranch in Sutton County. With 16-in. spread and 12-in. G-2’s,
Tom couldn’t resist taking the good buck over the Thanksgiving holiday.
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Rexel’s Breakfast of Champions
T
he downtown branch
of Rexel of San Antonio, supplier and distributor of electrical and
datacom products, hosted its
6th Annual Breakfast of
Champions on Fri., Dec. 13th.
Arriving before dawn,
San Antonio Construction
News met the management
and staff who had been preparing for the morning feast.
Branch Supervisor, Rudy
Perez, reported the menu
included enough menudo,
tamales and breakfast tacos
to feed over 300 customers
who would trickle in be-
TMC leads
“Walk on the
Capitol”
T
L-R: Jose Saenz, Garon Shuler, Carmen Blanquiz, Nancy
Sanchez, Rudy Perez, Eddie Caballero, Walter Campbell
The cooking process was another eight hours. The secret
Homemade menudo, served by the
is in the special spices. My
loving hands of Sylvia Perez.
mother taught me how to
make menudo.”
Out in the
warehouse, tables
were set up and the
buffet line was beginning to get busy
by 7:15 am.
Throughout, vendors, including
Osram Sylvannia
L-R: Enjoying a warm breakfast of champions from
Cappadonna Electric are Frank, Raymond, James,
L i g h t i n g ,
Davis, Mario and Andy.
Appleton/EPM
tween 7 and 10 am.
Products, Square D Company,
“We named it Breakfast of Champions Greenlee, Bell and McCoy and
because our customers are our champions,” others were displaying their prodL-R: Uniformed SAISD electricians Benjamin,
Ruben, Santos, Harold and Anthony.
Rudy emphasized. “All of our customers ucts and answering questions.
are invited. I share credit for cooking the They also provided door prizes for a few said electricians from Harlandale ISD, San
menudo with my wife, Sylvia, and Jose lucky attendees.
Antonio ISD, Southside ISD and the City
Saenz. It took me eight hours to clean and
The W. Josephine St. branch of Rexel of San Antonio would join in the morning’s
cut 100-lbs. of tripe, then, I cleaned it again. was established about 30 years ago. Rudy festivities.
o maintain an awareness of
contractor and supplier rights, the
Texas Masonry Council will lead
its bi-annual “Walk on the Capitol” on
Jan. 28th, 2003 in Austin.
Held in conjunction with the start of
the Texas Legislative Session, the walk is
a time to illustrate to construction-industry leaders and point lawmakers about the
needs relevant to the construction community across Texas.
Collaboration between TMC, the
Texas Construction Association (TCA),
and the Associated General Contractors
(AGC) helped bring strong support for a
Contingency Pay Bill this past year. This
Jan., TCA and AGC, along with lawmakers, will present a final draft of the bill to
the Legislature.
Even with this milestone present in
construction history, TMC notes that issues such as indemnification, lien law reform, OCIP/CCIP/ROCIP, prompt pay for
public works and interest retainage are
issues that remain to be addressed. The
association hopes events such as the
“Walk on the Capitol” will help create
more construction-history milestones for
the future.
In Jan. 2001, 12 masonry contractors
and suppliers participated in the walk and
were led by Mackie Bounds, Legislative
Committee Chairman for the Texas Masonry Council.
For more information on this year’s
walk, please contact TMC at (888) 3749922.Ω
Urban is High in the Rankings
and Climbing Higher
Top 110 Specialty Contractors 2002
#18 Texas Construction Magazine
Top 100 Concrete Contractors in America 2002
# 37 Concrete Construction Magazine
Top 600 Specialty Contractors in U.S. 2002
#275 Engineering News Record (ENR)
In 2002, We Surpassed Our Ranking
and Revenue of 2001
CONCRETE CONTRACTORS LTD
All Indicators Are We Will Do That Again in 2003
Commercial • Residential • MultiFamily
Ronnie Urbanczyk, President • Steven Valerio, Vice President
Estimators Tom Fulks • Robert Cruz • Rick Fulks • Chris Boyd
Professional Engineer, Mike Zezula
Thanks To Our General Contractors
And Suppliers
“Building a strong foundation in San Antonio and South Texas”
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24114 Blanco Road
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where we’re still learning everyday.
SACN: Were you romantically involved
with someone special at that time?
GLJ: Actually, I’m 47 years old and I’ve
never been married. However, I do have a
daughter, Madison Langford Joeris, who is
nine years old. Her mother and I are friends,
have a good relationship and we share in
her upbringing. Madison is a real blessing;
a well adjusted, straight A student.
SACN: Gary, when did your passion for
hunting begin?
GLJ: As long as I can remember, my dad
has always had a ranch. His interest is more
in the cattle business and he raises regisEditor’s note: Gary L. Joeris is the presi- tered Beefmasters. I started shooting rabdent and majority owner of Joeris General bits and hunting small animals when I was
Contractors, Ltd. We met and spoke to- a kid. I didn’t really become a hunting engether in one of the conference rooms of thusiast until later in life.
his brand new office. He said his personal SACN: When was the turning point?
office still had an echoing-effect, which GLJ: After college I was invited to go huntwould be remedied soon when his trophy ing in Colorado with a friend from high
mounts arrived and were hung accordingly. school, Kenny Fuller, who is now one of
our company shareholders. I fell in love
with that type of hunting – the big country,
SACN: Gary, are you a native of San An- hiking and walking, elk and mule deer. I
tonio?
kept going back, and eventually ventured
GLJ: Yes. My parents are Leo and Joy into more diversified hunting throughout
Joeris, and they are from here.
Alaska, Utah, Montana and eventually AfSACN: Are you of German heritage?
rica.
GLJ: Yes. My grandfather Joeris emigrated SACN: Did you have your sights set, at that
to the U.S. from Germany, and he opened a point, on shooting world-class record aniblacksmith shop in Abilene.
mals?
SACN: How did your dad make his way to GLJ: I think most of the good hunters have
San Antonio?
that in mind. I have actively passed up some
GLJ: After high school, Dad joined the great shots because the animal just wasn’t
military. His brother, Joe Joeris, came to what I was looking for. I don’t shoot just
San Antonio and started contracting. Dad for the kill. I like the pursuit and challenges
went to work for his brother after WWII.
of finding the big trophy-quality animals.
SACN: How did he meet your mother?
Part of the joy of hunting is being outdoors,
GLJ: At one point,
enjoying the camaDad went to work for “I’m not a go-lay-on-the-beach kind raderie of friends,
Ollie Tope Lath &
of guy; rather, I’m a thrill-seeker and seeing different
Plaster as an estimator.
like to push the boundaries at mach parts of the country,
He met Ollie’s daughand standing on
two with my hair on fire!”
ter, Joy, who is my
mountains. I’ve
mother. So, on mom’s
been fortunate to get
side, Ollie Tope is my grandfather.
some quality animals along the way.
SACN: Do you have brothers and sisters? SACN: Do you aspire to get one of each of
GLJ: I’m the oldest of three. I have a the big game animals from around the
younger brother, David, and sister, Lynette. world?
SACN: Where did you go to high school GLJ: No. I just enjoy going hunting and
and when did you graduate?
looking for fun opportunities. Some of my
GLJ: I graduated from Churchill High more enjoyable hunting experiences have
School in 1973.
been in Africa.
SACN: Were you a pretty good student?
SACN: Do you coordinate your trips
GLJ: No, not particularly.
through a particular outfitter?
SACN: Did you participate in extracurricu- GLJ: Well, I regularly attend the annual
lar activities?
Safari Club International conference, which
GLJ: I played football for one year, but I is the largest hunting show in the world.
liked hot cars and I majored in partying and It’s a place to see and meet the big game
playing more than anything.
guides. I guess I rely on recommendations
SACN: Did you go to college after high from other hunters for the most part.
school?
SACN: You said that you love hot cars. Tell
GLJ: I knew early on that I would go into me about that passion.
the construction business. I had worked for GLJ: My interest in automobiles and momy dad every summer as a laborer and car- tor vehicles started back in the third grade,
penter. I attended Texas State Technical when I built my first go-cart. It was a handInstitute in Waco for a two-year associates me-down from my cousin Mike Tope and I
degree program. I wanted to go on to get a rebuilt it from pieces with the help of my
Bachelor’s without loosing too many cred- dad. One year later I got a real go-cart,
its in the transfer. So, I went to American which I raced up and down the two-mile
Technological University in Killeen, then, long dead end street where I lived. I think
I finished up at UTSA in 1978. I majored it did 42-mph, and that was really fast!
in construction technology and minored in SACN: And, after the go-cart phase became
business.
passé ?
SACN: Did you go to work for your dad? GLJ: I graduated to my first motorized
GLJ: After college I worked for my dad mini-bike. From there, I had a Cushman, a
full-time.
Sears, a Suzuki 250, and others until I
SACN: What were your responsibilities?
started driving cars.
GLJ: I was wet behind the ears, learning SACN: Did your parents limit the distances
whatever I could. I helped run some jobs, you could go from home?
did a little estimating, but I was green and GLJ: Well, yes. But, that doesn’t mean I
had a long way to go. This is a business stayed there.
Spotlight
Gary L. Joeris
Joeris General
Contractors, Ltd.
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SACN: What was your
first car?
GLJ: I had an old $400
1962 Chevy Malibu,
which I fixed up a little
bit. I sold it the next year
and bought a 1969
Dodge Super Bee, what
they called a muscle car.
I was constantly tearing
it down and doing work
on it. There were places
we could go and race on
the weekends. It’s
amazing nobody got
killed.
SACN: Did you ever
have a practical vehicle?
GLJ: When I went
away to college I did.
SACN: After college,
did you still have a need
for speed?
GLJ: That’s when I got
my pilot’s license. I
owned a Grumman
Cheetah single-engine,
low wing airplane with
a friend for a number of
years. It was purely for
recreational flying. I
also had a Honda 750 motorcycle that could ferred ownership a little at a time. As I acgo from zero to 150 mph in a pretty short quired the company, and as part of an esdistance. I realized I’d probably kill my- tate planning process, the company bought
self sooner or later, so I sold it and bought all of Dad’s, and my brother and sister’s
a hunting Jeep.
interests. Effective last year, I owned 100
SACN: When did you make the transition percent, then I immediately sold 30 percent
to Harley Davidson’s?
of the company to nine of our key employGLJ: About one year ago when a friend of ees. Four of our project managers and five
mine, Rick Keeler, bought one and encour- of our long-time superintendents and I are
aged me to buy one too. I’ve met a lot of the owners now. The company has changed
good people because Harley’s come with from a corporation to a limited partnership.
a social experience. I recently took it on a SACN: What has it meant to your employroad trip to Sturgis, SD.
ees?
SACN: Was that the longest motorcycle GLJ: It ties the people together and gives
trip you’ve taken?
them ownership opportunities, which serves
GLJ: Yes. I put 3,000 miles on it in one as a retention tool and provides them the
week’s time. I saw some beautiful country motivation to ensure that the company sucthroughout New Mexico and Colorado. The ceeds. They love it, and they’re seeing a
motorcycle I have, a Fat Boy Softtail se- different side of the business. We also
ries, is really not made for road trips. So, I started a strategic planning process, which
bought a Road King and became a two- involved going away on a retreat and workHarley man; one for sporting around town ing with a professional facilitator.
and one for road trips.
SACN: What purpose has that served?
SACN: What was your impression of GLJ: It has helped us focus and get orgaSturgis?
nized about the direcGLJ: It was quite an
tion we’re going and
“Part of the joy of hunting is being how to get there. It
experience! They estimate 500,000 mo- outdoors, enjoying the camaraderie of has encouraged each
torcycles ride into the friends, seeing different parts of the of us to be a part of
town of 8,000 during country, and standing on mountains.” business developthe week. There were
ment, growth and
all types of people, bikes, and events. I marketing, and to help see the big picture
stayed overnight in Rapid City, where there and start thinking like managers.
are a lot of motorcycle shows and exhibits. SACN: What, in your opinion, is the most
The common ground among the diverse exciting part of the process on a start-tomix of people is that they all love Harley’s. finish project?
SACN: When your father retired, how was GLJ: I like the marketing, proposals, prethe company restructured?
sentations and getting the job started – the
GLJ: Dad started the business in 1967 as up front activity. The decisions made in that
Joeris and Clauss Construction Co. In phase are critical to the job.
1983, I started Joeris, Inc. out of an office SACN: What would you like our readers to
next to Dad’s, who was majority owner. I know about you, Gary?
negotiated my first job, and kept growing GLJ: I guess that I’ve always been motithe business while Dad and Raymond vated to learn and figure out ways to do
Clauss, his partner at that time, wrapped things. I’m driven to continue to grow and
up their unfinished business and dissolved build a business. I’ve learned a lot along the
their company. The early 1980’s was a way and see myself as a goal-oriented perbumpy time to start a company and sur- son. I like hunting because I like the end
vive. I learned quickly to watch every goal. I like construction because I like workpenny and it was a good learning experi- ing toward the end result. I’m not a go-layence.
on-the-beach kind of guy; rather, I’m a
SACN: Did you buy your father out?
thrill-seeker and like to push the boundaries
GLJ: Over time, he gifted to us, and trans- at mach two with my hair on fire!
That sewer drop can affect
your bottom line!
Working the Room at
Your Next Event
By Frank Aguirre, R. S.
O
ne of the most common problems
that homebuilders run into regarding septic systems has to do with
the placement of the sewer drop. The sewer
drop is the main wastewater line as it exists in a home and leads to the first portion
of the septic system.
Recall that the dividing line of responsibilities
between your plumber
and your septic system
installer is the outside
wall of the house. There
are three questions you
must address about the
sewer drop: location,
depth and the number of
sewer drops you should
build into a home.
First, if it’s placed at
a different location than
the septic system design
calls for, that can lead to
extra tree loss, interference with future property
improvements and other problems in getting to the septic tank. You must closely
coordinate between your septic system designer in planning the right location and
with your rough-in plumber to be sure it’s
installed according to the design. The error that some builders make is in not paying enough attention to its planned location or in not considering the property
owner’s wishes in the matter. If you’re not
careful, you can place it in a location that
will interfere with the owner’s future plans
and he’ll be upset with you later.
Secondly, and the most common mistake that builders make, has to do with the
depth of the sewer drop. The error is in
placing it too low. If you don’t plan carefully and watch your plumber closely, it’ll
end up lower, in relation to final grade, than
it’s supposed to. This almost always causes
problems for the septic system installation
because most systems depend upon gravity flow from the house to the (first) tank,
thus a low sewer drop may require a deeper
ABC 2003 election
results
The Associated Builders and Contractors
South Texas Chapter has elected its 2003
Executive Committee.
Chairman: Jack Mulligan, SpawGlass
Contractors, Inc.; First Vice Chairman:
Rick Smith, The Keller-Martin Organization; Second Vice Chairman: Gary
Sutherland, G.D. Interior Construction,
Inc.; Secretary/Treasurer: Webb
Schoenfeld, Raba-Kistner Consultants,
Inc.; and Past Chairman: Tony Pieprzyca,
The Hart Company.
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tank and subsequent deeper drainfields.
This is bad because deeper tanks require
extra risers and access ports, and deep
drainfields are not allowed in most counties.
Thus, a sewer drop that exits a house
at too far below grade can result in the need
to install (an un-budgeted) lift station to
pump the sewage to a
shallow tank and shallow drainfield. Result:
You’ve suddenly got a
$1,000 unexpected increase in your septic
system installation!
Solution: Be
sure your septic system
designer takes this issue into consideration
and that your plumber
exits the house as shallow as possible.
Finally, the
number of sewer drops is a question. Most
builders automatically think of just one.
NOT true! If your house is very long, if
the slopes are not conducive to adequate
downslope to the septic system, or if the
house has plumbing areas that are around
many corners in the house, you may be
better off placing two or more sewer drops.
One last hint – Always use 4-in. PVC
for raw sewage transmission, not the
slightly cheaper 3-in.
Frank Aguirre, Registered Sanitarian,
Septic Systems Express, has been designing and inspecting septic systems in
South/Central Texas for 27 years.
I
attend at least one business mixer or networking function
every week. I can’t tell you how many times I see some of the
same folks at these meetings looking like they are going to
come out of their skin. They appear to be so uncomfortable with
the idea of meeting, greeting and making business contacts that I
wonder why they even spent the energy to make the event.
And then, I see a whole different group
of people that seem to revel in the moment.
They thrive in this environment and they
tend to be the life of the party. What is different? Into which group do you fit?
Basically, networking is an organized
way to become a resource and collect resources. By resource, I mean that you are
letting these contacts know what you can
do for them. You let people know what benefits they will gain by being in your company or by doing business with you. At the
same time, you are collecting resources for
yourself that you may need in the future;
business resources, personal resources, legal resources, educational resources, relationship resources, and others. The real
benefit of networking events is to make
contacts and build the personal relationships needed to do business.
Here are five tips for successful power
networking. Think about these when you
are walking into your next chamber function or association meeting. Do these and
you will be way ahead of the masses.
1. Have the mindset of being interested in other people. It is a fact. People
love to talk about themselves. When you
attend a networking event, you better get
interested in what other people do, say, feel
and think about. Otherwise, how can you
become a resource if you don’t have a clue
When You Need A Lift . . .
about them as an individual?
2. Build rapport and gain trust. Just
imagine that all of those folks at these networking events are your friends or family
and you really want what is best for them.
Find out about their personal lives, their
hobbies, their real dreams and goals. It is
amazing what people will tell you if you
just ask with a little genuine interest.
3. Have a goal. Visualize how many
people you would like to exchange contact
information with, or how many new people
you will meet, you will find that your success rate will go way up. When your goal
says that you will meet two or five quality
people, you will likely obtain it.
4. Have something of value. First,
have the usual stuff, i.e. business card, brochure, pamphlet. All of this should be in
good taste and not too overwhelming. Second, have a short description of what you
do and what value it brings to your clients.
I mean very short, yet interesting. Third,
make it easy for your new acquaintances to
contact you.
5. Have a follow-up plan. This may
be the most important step in the whole networking process. You have got to have a
plan to follow up with people. Send a card,
an e-mail, a letter, make a phone call, or
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INSURANCE
Disaster: Be Prepared
Why should I pay? It’s not my fault!
By Tom Hewitt
A
disaster can occur at the jobsite or in a contractor’s office. The
recent occurrence in downtown San Antonio should be a wake
up call for all contractors. Take a minute and think about how you
would react upon first notification of a jobsite incident - large or small.
Your first reaction might be to go to the jobsite.
Upon arrival, you must be ready for the
news media, which will place a microphone
in front of you demanding answers. How
did the incident happen? Who was at fault?
Were there any major injuries?
You also must be prepared to respond
to employees who witnessed the incident
and are looking for guidance on how to
make the site secure and safe to prevent
additional damage and possible loss of life.
As you are responding to all of the
above, the next crisis will be the arrival of
an inspection team from OSHA. The inspectors will want to inspect the jobsite for
any violations which may have caused the
accident.
The best solution to a jobsite catastrophe is to be prepared and have a disaster
plan in place. Train yourself and your employees on how to react when a disaster
occurs at the jobsite.
properly insuring equipment, computers,
valuable papers and providing coverage for
extra expense is essential for a company to
be able to recover.
Have good documentation of all office
equipment so you can prepare an inventory
of all destroyed items to present to the adjuster so he/she can properly assess the
damage.
Pictures are essential to properly document all items you owned. By being prepared with good records and pictures you
will expedite claim payments, enabling you
to replace equipment in a timely manner
so you can continue operating your business.
Be prepared!
•
•
•
•
This leads to another question. How
would you respond to a phone call saying
your office has burned to the ground?
A fire can be a tragedy for your business, destroying company records, computers and equipment. Many companies that
experience the tragedy of a fire have a hard
time surviving. A good insurance program
Determine risks to life and property.
Obtain and maintain adequate
coverage.
Maintain accurate documentation
Stay up-to-date on payments.
Tom Hewitt is the vice president of
Guaranty Insurance. He can be reached
at 210-525-0500, or contacted by email:
tom.hewitt@guarantygroup.com
A profile of women
in construction
T
he National Association of Women
in Construction (NAWIC) originally
began as Women in Construction of
Fort Worth. It was founded in 1953 by 16
women who worked in the construction
industry. Understanding that women represented only a small fraction of the construction industry, the founders organized
the association to create a support network.
Women in Construction of Fort Worth was
so successful that it gained its national charter in 1955, becoming the National Asso-
ciation of Women in Construction.
NAWIC has a membership of 5,800
with close to 200 chapters. In its 50 years
of service, the association has advanced the
causes of all women in construction whose
careers range from the skilled trades to business ownership.
According to the 2001 Bureau of Labor Statistics-Current Population Survey,
there are 9,581,000 total workers in construction. Of those, 934,000 are women.
By Don Barnhill
F
or my last article in the San Antonio Construction News, I thought
I’d ignore the multitude of issues surrounding liens, and instead
talk about one of my favorite clauses in contracts between the subcontractor and general contractor, that is an indemnification provision where the subcontractor is required to indemnify the general contractor.
The Court of Appeals of San Antonio,
on October 23, 2002, issued a decision entitled Banner Sign & Barricade, Inc. vs.
Price Construction, Inc. What happened
was that there was an accident at a road
construction site involving motorists. The
general contractor, having been sued, in
turn sued and joined in the subcontractor
responsible for the traffic barricades. The
general contractor asserted claims against
the subcontractor for contribution and contractual indemnity arising from the indemnification clause in the subcontract.
These indemnification provisions,
found usually in the subcontract, have a
subcontractor agreeing to fully and unconditionally indemnify the general contractor for any and all costs, claims, losses or
liabilities arising in connection with the
subcontractor’s work. These clauses generally satisfy the “express negligence doctrine.” This means that the subcontractor
has agreed that the general contractor would
be indemnified for all losses associated with
the subcontractor’s work. The express negligence doctrine is a standard use by Texas
courts to determine the validity of a contractual clause that exonerates a party from
its own negligence.
In this case, the jury found that the subcontractor was not negligent. However, because of the express negligence standard
adopted in Texas, the indemnification provision was held to be valid.
Essentially, the subcontractor in this
instance became liable to indemnify the
contractor for damages that the subcontractor had been cleared of by a jury.
Of course, a strong subcontractor may
be able to pass such a clause on to the contractor. But most often, it will be the subcontractor who suffers. A Fort Worth Appeals Court stated it succinctly, after exam-
ining language that creates the express negligence test, that “regardless of any cause
or any fault or negligence of a contractor”
met the express negligence test because it
expressly states the intent of the parties that
the subcontractor would indemnify the contractor for the contractor’s own negligence.
As harsh as that may sound, it is embodied
in many contracts.
In the Price case, the jury found the
contractor, and one of the drivers that was
not associated with the contractor or subcontractor, to be liable for the damages suffered by the injured party. After the contractor lost, the contractor then proceeded
after the subcontractor who had been found
not to be negligent by the jury. However,
the only real issue between the contractor
and subcontractor was whether the agreement between the parties included an indemnification provision in the subcontract
that met the “express negligence doctrine”
where the subcontractor would indemnify
the general contractor for all liability associated with the subcontractor’s work, even
if the subcontractor was not negligent.
Both contractors and subcontractors
should read their indemnification provisions closely to meet the rigid requirements
of the “express negligence doctrine”
clauses.
It’s been a pleasure to write these last
four articles. Happy New Year!
Donald Barnhill is president of Barnhill
and Associates, P.C. He has over twenty
years’ experience of representing contractors and suppliers. He is a member of the
State Bar of Texas Construction Law
Section. Don can be contacted at
210-491-9090, or email:
dbarnhill@BarnhillLaw.com
Mr. President...
Throughout the month of December, San Antonio Construction News asked numerous
members of the construction community to answer the following question.
If you could speak with President George W. Bush for 15 seconds, what would you
say to him?
Don Kuyrkendahl, Nathan Alterman: “I would tell President Bush to keep up the good
work and we’re proud of what he’s doing!”
Frank Aguirre, Septic Systems Express: “Mr. President, as a small business owner, I
want you to stand firm with small business and stick by the original values of the Republican Party; particularly, small government. Stick by that and don’t waiver in front of all
of the Daschle’s of the world.”
Bill Rhodes, Koontz-McCombs: “Keep up the good work and always maintain the values of the Presidency with regard to God and Country.”
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Jack White, Project Control: “Mr. President, you’re doing a good job. I understand you
are a Godly man, and that’s what we need to help improve the morals of our people. Keep
it up!”
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O S H A
ACCOUNTING
When Is Personal Protective
Equipment Required?
Does your building look like a
building –a need for a cost
segregation study
Joann Nataranjan
OSHA’s laws on personal protective equipment are simple. The law states that if an occupational injury or illness can be prevented through the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), then it is required to be provided to workers and it’s use enforced. OSHA
requires the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce employees' exposures
to hazards when engineering and/or administrative controls are not feasible or effective in
reducing these exposures to acceptable levels. Employers are required to determine all
exposures to hazards in their workplace and determine if PPE should be used to protect
their workers.
Hardhats protect workers from falling or flying objects, cushions the blow if you hit your
head on something, insulates you from burns and electric shocks (if it’s a non-conductive
type), and keeps your hair from getting tangled in machinery or getting dust or chemicals
on it. The suspension in the hardhat keeps a cushion of air between the outer shell and
head. The cushion of air is important protection. Never carry anything between the outer
shell and the suspension. Hardhats should be inspected each day before use. Discard if
there is damage to the shell, liner, or suspension. Replace the hardhat if there has been a
significant impact, even if you can’t see any damage. The impact may have weakened it.
Eye protection is needed when there’s danger from flying particles (from saws, drills,
etc.), splashes, dust, protruding or projecting parts, chemical vapors or fumes, bright light
or ultraviolet rays (from welding, lasers, etc.) Depending on the particular hazard, you
may need safety glasses with side shields, goggles,or a full face shield. With acids and
some other chemicals, you may need special splash resistant goggles. With lasers, use
laser safety goggles.
Gloves can help protect you from flying particles, electricity, cuts, chemicals and radioactive material, cold or wet surfaces or environments, and burns. Use wire mesh gloves if
there’s an extreme danger of cuts. Use insulated rubber gloves (with canvas or leather
outer gloves) for electrical work.. Use non-flammable gloves when welding.
Only special chemical resistant gloves (rubber or plastic) will protect from chemicals.
Different types stop different chemicals from getting through to the skin. The package
should tell you which chemicals the glove is designed for.
Steel-toed safety shoes are required when anything might crush or penetrate your foot
(such as nails). When using a jackhammer, steel should cover the whole foot, not just the
toes. Boots should be worn when working near hot surfaces, with concrete, or in wet
locations. An apron or coveralls should be worn to protect against dust, chemicals, cuts,
and burns. Protective clothing may be necessary if you work with asbestos, lead, or toxic
waste. It can also protect you from steam and from extreme heat or cold. The material
safety data sheets can be used to select appropriate PPE.
By Elizabeth A. Turner, CPA
I
f a building looks like a building and acts like a building, and you intend to classify it
as a building for tax depreciation purposes, you may need a cost segregation study. A
cost segregation study is a comprehensive analysis of the capital expenditures for a
new, expanded, or purchased commercial building that help you classify assets in a manner designed to accelerate your deprecation deductions, reduce your property taxes, and
lower your sales tax liabilities. The study focuses primarily on identifying tangible personal property and other tangible property included in a commercial building project.
Commercial buildings are depreciated
over a 39-year period, for tax purposes,
while the tax depreciation life on equipment
and land improvements can vary from 5 to
15 years. Identifying assets that qualify for
shorter depreciable lives speeds up depreciation deductions, decreases taxable income, and thus, increases your cash flow.
Based on post 9-11 tax legislation, shortlived assets (with tax lives of less than 20
years) and some leasehold improvements
may be eligible for an additional 30% depreciation in the first year.
In addition to potential savings in their
own buildings, contractors can add value
to an owner’s project by being proactive in
helping identify items that may qualify for
accelerated cost recovery, and therefore,
improve the owner’s up-front cash flow.
A cost segregation study is particularly
important for manufacturing enterprises,
but generally can be very beneficial to any
commercial enterprise. Structures that are
an integral part of an item of machinery or
equipment might be classified as buildings
at first glance. However, such structures
should be depreciated over the same lives
as the related piece of equipment. Because
a substantial portion of a manufacturing
facility may be related to equipment, the
average percentage of misclassified prop-
erty for a manufacturing facility could range
from 15 percent to 70 percent.
The present value of the income tax
savings for each $100,000 of property identified as 7-year personal property, instead
of commercial real estate with a 39-year
life, is $18,000 (assuming a 7% discount
rate and a 34% Federal income tax rate).
The first-year benefit is $13,000.
Separating tangible personal property
from real property may also reduce real
estate and sales taxes. Almost all jurisdictions impose a real estate tax; not all jurisdictions impose a personal property tax on
business assets. Even if your jurisdiction
assesses a personal property tax, savings
can be realized with substantially shorter
personal property lives, and faster devaluation of the assets. The Texas sales tax exemption may apply when property can be
classified as industrial machinery and
equipment.
A cost segregation study may even
benefit taxpayers that have purchased or
built a facility in the last 10 years.
For more information regarding cost
segregation studies, call tax manager
Beth Turner at Padgett, Stratemann &
Co., L.L.P., 210- 828-6281.
Accounting firms merge
F
isher, Herbst & Kemble, P.C.,
Certified Public Accountants
(“FH&K”), is pleased to announce
that effective November 1, 2002 the staff
of Wells, Lightfoot & Co., Certified Public Accountants has merged with FH&K.
Elizabeth Lightfoot, CPA and Ann
Wells, CPA are retiring from the practice
of public accounting and have agreed to
transfer control and management of their
firm to Malcolm Stratemann, Jr.
Malcolm, along with other members of the
staff of Wells, Lightfoot, will continue to
Time Insurance
Agency
Serving the Industry since 1961
Insurance
•
Bonding
provide the same service and support to
their clients, in addition to some new services.
Gayle Kemble, CPA, Managing
Shareholder for FH&K believes this union
of two strong public accounting firms will
provide a mutually rewarding benefit to
FH&K clients as well. Mr. Kemble has
stated that the Wells, Lightfoot team will
provide FH&K with the experience and
background to rapidly develop its construction accounting practice.
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Remodelers embrace NARI
Keller-Martin spotlight the way
I
t wasn’t hard to find the
location of The KellerMartin Organization’s
annual holiday party. Rick
Smith and Bill McCullough
arranged to flood the parking lot and building with a
light tower and from the
number of cars lining the
street, you wouldn’t think
the building could hold that
many people.
The offices were packed
with business associates and
friends who were treated to
L-R: Tina (I like to close my eyes for photos) Smith,
Charley Davis, Nancy Keller and Linda Davis
food and beverage being
served everywhere and the
Great party and all one can say is,
party flowed into the warehouse and side
‘How
about those bartenders?’
yard.
L-R: Chris Christians, Rodney McDonald
and Tom Nolen
L-R: The hosts, Bill McCullough
and Rick Smith
BIG EVENT?
Let us know. Story ideas and news releases can be faxed to
the Construction News at (210) 308-5960
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210-499-4600
L
ocal remodeling contractors and suppliers
to the industry formally launched the San Antonio Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI)
at a kick-off event on Thurs.,
Dec. 12th.
Founded in 1982, NARI
provides quality education,
training programs, scholarship opportunities, CAD –
design services, CR classifications, Lead Carpenter certifications, and
Kitchen & Bath certifications through 53
chapters nationwide. Members of the association participate in the advancement,
promotion and education of the local remodeling industry.
According to Rudy Nino, CGR, SA
Building & Remodeling, Co., “The remodeling professionals are focused on their
mission of promoting the opportunity for
safe and decent housing for all Texas property owners through ethical improvement
and preservation of the existing housing
stock.”
As spokesman for the local chapter,
Rudy continued to say that as baby boomers
are setting home improvement records,
when combined with current low-interest
rates, more people ‘cocooning’ in their
homes, and the aging of the current housing stock, “We have all the necessary ingredients for home improvement activity
that may reach historic highs.”
The kick-off meeting, hosted by
Michael Eakman, Solarmasters, at his
northwest location, attracted approximately
50 prospective members who had an opportunity to meet NARI directors from the
corporate office, as well as representatives
from the City of San Antonio Building
Department and other local business professionals.
Jeff Ricks, The Ricks Company, what advantages an alliance with NARI would
bring to his company.
“People need to understand that there
are reputable remodeling contractors in this
city,” Jeff stated. “We feel responsible to
provide a quality product for a fair price.
It’s nice to have an organization behind you
for support and to lend the professional
remodeler the credibility he or she deserves.”
Considering membership in the trade
organization, Keith Wilcox, BoBo Custom
Builders, said the advantages of a NARI
membership include marketing opportunities, recognition as a professional, and a
sense of pride in the industry.
The following people have volunteered
to be the first leaders of the San Antonio
Chapter of NARI:
President: Michael Eakman,
Solarmasters; 1st Vice President: Gerald
Howell, Superior Exteriors; 2nd Vice
President: Bob Lampkin, TLC Environmental; Secretary: Becky Johnson,
Kitchen Tune-ups; Treasurer: Charles
Rodriguez, RDZ; Membership Services
Director: Rudy Nino, SA Building & Remodeling; Directors: Jackie Galvan,
House Master of S.A.; Charles Chapman,
Helix Design Group, Inc.; David Radcliff,
McKenzie Roofing and Remodeling, and
John Ochoa, South Texas Metal Roofs.
NARI offers remodeling professionals
business and marketing opportunities
through membership directories and Yellow
Page ads, website, home show booths, local seminars, newsletters, TV and radio
exposure, press releases, awards and recognition, group discounts, social networking and sponsorship opportunities.
Holt pledges $100,000 to renovate
historic courthouse
P
eter Holt, Holt Companies of
Texas, scored a few points for
Spurs Sports and Entertainment
when he presented Bexar County commissioners with a check for $100,000,
earmarked to help restore the historic
Bexar County Courthouse on Tues.,
Dec. 10th. Spurs Sports and Entertainment represents the San Antonio Spurs,
Rampage, a soon-to-be-named
Women’s National Basketball Association team and the SBC Center.
The money, which will be distributed over three years, will go to the
Hidalgo Foundation of Bexar County,
created last year with the mission of
preserving and renovating the courthouse.
The Hidalgo Foundation, led by
president Tracy Wolff, wife of Bexar
County Judge Nelson Wolff, plans to
raise $6,000,000 to renovate the historic courtrooms, public corridors, historic furniture and the children’s courts.
Overall cost for the project is $23 million, with some of the monies available
through state and county funds.
The cornerstone of the Bexar
County Courthouse, the largest historic
courthouse in Texas, was laid in 1892
and it was completed in 1897. Over the
years, several additions and renovations
substantially modified its original appearance. The Hidalgo Foundation
plans to return the structure to its 1927
appearance to recapture the era’s character and firmly establish the significance of the courthouse.
Holiday open house AGC style
Make Your New Year More
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T
he offices of Associated General Contractors became a
laughter-filled destination as
members and others came
out to the annual Holiday
Open House on December
12th.
During the evening,
hundreds of people filed
through the doors to try the
buffet of assorted foods and
beverages and share in a
little holiday cheer with others.
Vince Gillette, Doug McMurry and “Wild Bill” Huber.
“This has been an annual tradition for AGC for
years,” said Doug McMurry, executive for next year, but the point tonight is to have
vice president of the chapter. “It gives all fun and relax a little.”
of us a chance to talk about the things we
Like last year, guests also had the ophave done this year and what our goals are portunity to have a caricature drawn by Mel.
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Patti Renfro and Doug Nunnelly
David Waddell and
Maryanna Christensen
Fisk holds annual party
A
ll the staff and
field person
nel of Fisk
Electric Company
got together on December 12th to celebrate the holiday
season. The annual
event, held at the Fisk
offices on Broadway,
is a time for all employees to come together and have a
little fun.
A big spread of
Bar-B-Q filled the
center of the wareFisk Electric employees
house and no one
went home hungry.
Along with the good conversation and the gag side, everyone enjoyed a relaxgifts being handed out, some of them on ing afternoon.
MMM elects Vaio as
corporate Sr. VP
M
artin Marietta Materials, Inc.
announced Dec. 17th, that its
Board of Directors elected Bruce
A. Vaio, 42, Senior Vice President of the
corporation. He is responsible for the aggregates, asphalt and ready mixed operations in Texas and Oklahoma and recently
assumed oversight of the Arkansas operations. Bruce is President of the Southwest
Division and will report directly to the
Chairman and CEO, Steve Zelnak.
Bruce joined Martin Marietta in 1998
when the corporation purchased Redland
Stone Products, where he served as President/CEO. Previously he had been a Senior Vice President of Western Mobile Inc.,
a subsidiary of Redland Aggregates, based
in Denver, Colorado. Bruce is a graduate
of the University of Denver with a B.A. in
Political Science, and he holds an M.B.A.
from the University of Phoenix.
Martin Marietta Materials is the leading producer of construction aggregates in
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Page 28 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– San Antonio Construction News • Jan 2003
Open House celebrates milestone for Joeris
A
fter 37
years of
occupancy, the former Joeris General Contracting
offices will now
be used mainly
for storage. The
company and its
president, Gary
L. Joeris, have
moved
lock,
stock and barrel
to a newly constructed and
finely-fashioned
home across the
street. To celebrate the move,
an Open House
Enjoying the sunset from the patio
was held on
are Gary Joeris and architect
Wed., Dec. 11th
John Kell, Kell Munoz Architects,
who collaborated together on
for
family,
the new building’s design.
friends and business associates.
Guests enjoyed live music as they helped themselves
to beverages at the lobby’s open bar and were encouraged
to tour the labyrinth of offices and work space. One room,
adjacent to a fully equipped kitchen, was temporarily converted to function as a buffet area, where delicious aromas
rose above the steaming hors d’oeuvres.
The room that was most sought after was none other
than Gary’s office, where he not only hangs his hat, but
shares the space with a plethora of trophy mounts as well.
Dominating one wall is a massive head mount of a Cape
Buffalo, one of the five most dangerous animals known to
serious hunters. His impressive trophies were taken during hunts on the North American, South American and
African continents.
To reduce the chill in the December evening air, heaters were placed around the expansive patio area, where
guests mingled with Joeris’ folks and enjoyed the camaraderie of one another’s company.
Back inside, as the ‘tourists’ continued to ooooh and
ahhhh over Gary’s office and its hunting décor, a circle of
older gentlemen gathered in the lobby, recalling the grand
days of yore. San Antonio Construction News began to
eavesdrop, and realized they were former colleagues who,
as younger men, were responsible for designing and building many of the schools in our community. They introduced themselves as architect Frank Valdez; Paul Hesson,
Hesson Andrews Sotomayor Architects; Bennie
Steinhauser, former Superintendent Edgewood ISD; Thad
M. Ziegler, chairman of the board of Thad Ziegler Glass,
Ltd.; and Leo Joeris, Joeris, Inc. general contractor, Gary’s
father and mentor. As they rehashed old war stories and
Gary describes the thrill of the hunt to admiring
friends and associates.
School construction veterans rehashing the old times
are L-R: Frank Valdez, Paul Hesson, Bennie
Steinhauser, Thad M. Ziegler, and Leo Joeris.
struggled to hear one another over the din of the crowd,
they beamed with pride remembering their mutual, if longpast, accomplishments.
Architect John Kell, Kell Munoz, who designed the
new Joeris complex said, “Clients aren’t any good if they
say yes to you every time you ask for something and they
aren’t any good if they say no every time, because you get
frustrated. And so, the best clients have a nice balance of
yes and no, and it results in the best architecture. You rarely
Attorney Kevin Warburton and Joeris’ CFO Michelle
Seward admire Michelle’s other passion, her
photography, which adorns the conference room walls.
find a client who has enough self-image to say no, and
enough gentility to say yes. And Gary fits the bill.”
It was a splendid affair and the atmosphere was first
class. Congratulations to the Joeris General Contractors,
Ltd. family on a house well built and a party well executed!
Wishing Everyone
A Safe And
Happy New Year!
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Highwaymen feast and dance the night away
T
W
hen Associated
General Contractors of Texas
– Highway Heavy et al, entered the winding lane leading to Pedrotti’s North Wind
Ranch on Fri., Dec. 13th,
twinkling Santas, reindeer
and elves illuminated the
corridor. Over 500 members
and guests, attired in casualwestern dress arrived to mix,
mingle and make merry.
As AGC’s Linda
Ublecker said, “There are
no special presentations tonight, just a laid-back, reSue and Bennett Closner, Closner Equipment
laxed evening of good food
and entertainment. Our members take advantage of this party to see business associates, talk about projects,
and get back in touch with
friends they may not get to
socialize with regularly, because they’re all so busy
working.”
An open bar and the taste
tantalizing selections of
beautifully presented Tex,
and Tex-Mex foods and desserts were the focal point as
the highwaymen and their
guests loosened up and let
their hair down. On stage,
the Jody Jenkins Band performed live, stimulating
L-R: Huntley Turner, Martin Marietta; Arlene Turner, State dancers to stay on the floor
Farm; Darly Skipper, Valero Energy Corp.; Wayne
for just one more.
Skipper, Martin Marietta; Kathryn Skipper, Tower-Life
Merry Christmas to all
Insurance; and Ben Skipper, Holt CAT.
and to all a good night!
hroughout the month of December, San
Antonio Construction News asked numerous members of the construction community to answer the following question.
say to him?
Elaine De La Cruz, Nathan Alterman:
“What are you getting your wife for Christmas?”
Cliff Miller, Old Republic Surety Group:
“Thank you for all the hard work you are
doing for our country. God bless you and
your family and best wishes for a peaceful
2003.”
Tom Dethrow, Williams Brothers, and
his cowgirl bride Glenna.
David Bailey, David J. Bailey & Co., P.C.:
“Mr. President, we need to get our hands
around the terrorism, or it will systematically destroy our economy if we don’t.”
Industry legends, Mr. and Mrs. Tim
Word and youngest son Bryan,
Dean Word Company.
Contact the Construction News at (210) 308-5800 and we will send you a form for updating your subscription
and company information. Or on our website: www.constructionnews.net
T
exas residential building leaders
along with state lawmakers plan
to propose the formation of the
Texas Residential Construction Commission in the upcoming Texas Legislative Session.
The idea for the commission is born
from a desire to have a faster, less expensive forum for dispute resolution and
an avenue to strengthen building standards and builder accountability, according to a release by the Texas Association of Builders.
“Our goal is to create a mechanism
wherein both the consumer and the
builder are treated fairly, to resolve differences through a fair dispute resolution process, rather than being tied up
for years in costly litigation,” said Tyler
builder Bob Garrett, association president. “We also will push to create building guidelines that both consumers and
builders can look to for a fair and agreed
upon standard.”
Garret goes on to say that TAB will
provide legislators specific recommendations for water intrusion and moldresistant residential construction practices. Mold claims have increased 1,300
percent in the past year, and the average
cost per Texas policyholder per year has
grown from $24 to a peak of $445 during the third quarter of 2001, according
to the TAB release.
More information about the Texas
Association of Builders and the
commission may be found at
www.texasbuilder.org.Ω
Tony Ridout, Ridout Barrett & Co.:
“George, you’re doing a great job so far.
We’re proud of you. I want you to do some
tax cuts for us, which will help the economy
and help my business.”
Geri-Lee Smith, Integrity Insurance: “Mr.
President you’ve done a great job this year,
and signing the terrorism bill into law is
just what we all needed.”
SUBSCRIPTION UPDATES!
Texas
residential
markets get
state support
Mr. President...
Lynn Grix, Ridout Barrett & Co.: “Mr.
President, I am very concerned that the
search for the terrorists is going to jeopardize the personal liberties that Americans
have fought and died for over the last 200
years.”
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INC.
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IN A
FLASH”
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Learning to be all you can be
B
exar County and the City of San Antonio, in partnership with the Central and South Texas Minority
Business Council, presented the 2nd Annual Small,
Minority and Women Business Owners Conference on
Wed., Dec. 11th, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention
Center.
Titled “How to Get In the Game and Stay In the Game,”
the free event was held from 7 am to 7 pm.
The daylong conference included a networking breakfast, a public hearing on state contracting, procurement
exhibits, government and private sector certification, a
working lunch, a joint Chambers’ of Commerce Holiday
Mixer, and an SMWBO “Food Tasting” Competition.
The conferences’ educational agenda included workshops on Bids and Bid Packaging; Accessing Capital and
Financing; Emerging Opportunities with Technologies;
How to Start, Expand, Save, and Manage a Business; Bonding, Insurance, and Construction Opportunities; and How
to do Business with the Public and Private Sectors.
San Antonio Construction News dropped in on one of
the morning workshops, which focused on construction,
titled “Ticket to Ride” –Taking a Construction Worker to
Entrepreneur to a Business Manager. The workshop was
moderated by Gloria Navales, president, Hispanic Contractors Association de San Antonio. Panel members included Mike Boyle, M.J. Boyle General Contractors, Inc.;
Doug McMurry and Dana Culpepper, Associated General Contractors; Efrem Casarez, TxDOT; Rene Garcia,
Zachry Construction; and Steven Schultz, Associated
Builders and Contractors.
Rene Garcia is the director of the commercial building division at Zachry. In addition to explaining to the audience about the ins-and-outs of doing business with his
company, Rene said he would focus on the different ways
small businesses can get involved in the construction industry in general. “I suggest that any entrepreneur look
for programs like this to start out with,” Rene stated, “to
get a lot of bang for his or her buck. In this forum, everybody comes together with vital information, and there are
many opportunities to meet key people that one might not
otherwise meet.”
The information panelist Steven Schultz imparted at
this workshop centered on the various construction education programs that are available out there for business
owners, managers and employees. “People attending this
workshop will walk away with a better understanding of
the educational opportunities available to them and their
employees, how to become more successful business
people, and the importance of networking,” Steven stated.
“Overall, their participation will enable them to meet others like themselves and folks who have gone before them.”
Afternoon workshop moderator, Larry Ybarra, Service Shade Shop, is himself a small-minority business
owner. Construction News asked Larry to discuss his message to the attendees. He said before he started his business, he went to a similar conference. “A forum like this is
important because it places a lot of people who have key
information with others who are looking for answers and
encouragement. The opportunities are here, and there are
people who want to help you become successful. If a person is contemplating going into business, or trying to improve the business, he or she can’t do it alone. You need to
reach out, educate yourself, and meet the people who can
help you in business. The only way you can do that is by
attending functions like this, and joining associations that
are geared toward the fulfillment of opportunities. If you
are an island, you’re chance for success is not as good.”
Describing ways in which AGC can help small businesses grow through its programs and services, Doug
McMurry said there are many things a small business owner
can do to improve his or her company. “They need to be in
touch with business opportunities through leads, faxed
bulletins, websites, trade associations, and by networking
with the people who will help make them successful such
as bankers, bonding professionals, subcontractors and suppliers.”
Mike Boyle shared with the audience the personal history of how he got his start in the construction industry.
Asked what advice he would give to a man or woman just
getting started, Mike said, “Do what you say you’re going
to do, and communicate effectively.”
L-R: Jack Mulligan, SpawGlass Contractors, Inc.,
engaged in discussion on the exhibit floor.
L-R: Lee Huntley and Mike Tollette, exhibiting BXTX’s
virtual plans room.
L-R: ABC’s Carol Wiatrek and Dana Goodman
share educational opportunities.
L-R: Rene Garcia; Ralph Velasquez, San Antonio
Craftsmen; Gloria Navales, Steven Schultz, Dana
Culpepper, Doug McMurry and Mike Boyle.
L-R: Vaughn Construction’s Mike Vaughn
and Matt Daniel.
ANNOUNCING ANOTHER BECK COMPANY
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Specializing in Roll-off Service
information
20-30-40 Yard Containers
call
Karen Pence
San Antonio
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Dispatch: 210.658.6321
Office: 210.349.2491
A U T H O R I Z E D
©
R E T A I L E R
2002 Nextel Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
Nextel and the Nextel logo are registered trademarks
and/or service marks of Nextel Communications, Inc.
continued from Page 1 - Reservist honors employers’ acts of patriotism
U.S.A.F. certificate, which he presented to
Patrick Beyer, officially recognizing him
and Beyer Mechanical as a “Patriotic Employer.”
In his comments, Col. Russell thanked
Patrick and his brothers for their support
of Kevin Davenport, “over the many years
that he has been a member of our Red Horse
heavy construction squadron. Kevin is a
stellar member of our HV/AC team, and has
received much of his training for the jobs
he does for the Reserves, here at Beyer Mechanical. Most importantly though, Beyer
Mechanical has supported Kevin and the
Reserves in the defense of our country by
allowing him to go TDY and support the
armed services in Kuwait, Central and
South America, and all over the world.
Without the support of Beyer Mechanical,
he could not have been as productive a
member of our unit as he is today.”
At that moment, Kevin came forward
and presented the “Beyer Boys” with three
U.S. flags, each folded and mounted in
wooden shadow boxes.
“These flags were flown over Afghanistan in U.S.A.F. Predator and 130 Hercules
Combat Talon, which are some of the offensive weapons systems that we use for
gathering intelligence or supporting troops
on the ground,” Col. Russell explained.
“These are very special flags, and the
shadow boxes were built by construction
manager Jim Baker, Beyer Mechanical.”
In response to this tribute, Patrick
Beyer asked all of his employees who had
served, or currently serve, in the U.S.
Armed Forces to stand and be recognized.
The crowd hooted and hollered with pride
for their brothers who had offered their service and risked their lives for the sake of
our country’s liberty.
After a decade of active duty service,
Kevin, a husband and father of five children, joined the Air Force Reserves in 1992.
As a TSgt. in the U.S.A.F. Reserves, Kevin
is obligated for duty one weekend each
month, two weeks in the summer, and for
random deployment as needed.
“As a reservist,” Kevin began, “I’ve
been deployed to Panama, Antigua, Guatemala, and Kuwait, as well as duty assignments at various bases in the U.S., and on
disaster-relief missions.
Beyer Mechanical, with whom I’ve worked for eight
years, has always made special arrangements to accommodate my military obligations by not scheduling me to work on
‘Reserve’ weekends,” Kevin continued. “By
law, they are only obligated to hold my job
open, but Beyer goes above and beyond the
call of duty to support me and other reservists in many ways. When I was in Kuwait I
would always get pick-me-up e-mails from
Beyer Mechanical and from some of my
customers; the kind you’d pass around to
other airmen to lift their spirits.”
Any reservist who goes overseas is at
risk, whether he’s flying airplanes or repairing air conditioning units.
“The family at Beyer Mechanical extends beyond the employees who are named
Beyer,” Kevin said. “They really take care
of their people, especially their reservists
and members of the National Guard. When
they say ‘we bend over backwards’, they
mean it! During my military absences,
Beyer Mechanical has let my wife know
that they are there for her if she needs them.
A company like Beyer Mechanical is hard
to find, and they represent a rare breed of
employer. My Christmas present to them
was a personal and honorable gesture to
show them how much I care about them too,
and how much we all appreciate their love,
loyalty and support.”
Kevin only revealed his Christmas
Party surprise to two of his immediate superiors, Brad Dawson and Jimmy Sewell.
Brad helped Kevin put together the nomination forms to recognize Beyer Mechanical for its support of the military man.
“Kevin really cares about the details on-thejob,” Brad said, “driving his fellow technicians to work at the same level of his performance. He is a leader among the 30 service technicians who work with him.”
Jimmy Sewell recalled hiring Kevin.
“Kevin said if I would give him an opportunity, he would become the best service
technician in our company. True to his
word, he’s one of the best guys I have today. He has earned the respect of his fellow service technicians and he’s very loyal.”
Chances are, Kevin will have to go to
the Middle East again, unless tensions can
be resolved diplomatically.
“If we have to go, I’ll probably be one
of the first ones called,” Kevin admitted.
“What I’d like to see is more of the employers out there supporting the men and
women in uniform. Deployments always
happen at inconvenient times, but the sacrifices made by employers and by their
military employees are one of the prices of
freedom. I ask all employers to embrace the
challenge like Beyer Mechanical has done.”
continued from Page 23 - Success Corner
better yet, make an appointment to talk
again soon. Most importantly, there has to
be regular contact with these folks. Most
people don’t even know they need your services until you have communicated with
them 8 to 10 times. If you go into a networking event knowing what you will do
with the contacts you make the next day,
your confidence will soar.
Paul Montelongo, a nationally recognized
speaker and consultant to the construction industry, is the author of 101 Power
Strategies; Tools to Promote Yourself as
the Contractor of Choice. Visit Paul at
www.ContractorOfChoice.com and
register for a free E-mail newsletter. Paul
has owned and operated his own multimillion dollar construction company for
over 23 years.
continued from Page 2 - QuadTech preps Witte for arrival of National Archives
Browning Construction’s project manager, Tim Bentley, and his team ran with
the fast-track project from start to finish in
only two months. Everything had to be in
place in order to meet and monitor the precise and mandatory environmental standards prescribed by the National Archives.
For several months prior to the arrival of
the Archives, constant interior environmental condition readings will be taken to prove
the Witte Museum can maintain the conditions before they accept the huge responsibility of housing the delicate Emancipation
Proclamation and other priceless historic
exhibits.
Two vestibules were installed at the
entrance and exit of the gallery to help
maintain the environmental conditions and
to provide improved security.
The principals and associates of
QuadTech Engineering, Inc. have over 100
years of combined experience. Founded in
1996, the firm employs nine personnel and
performs work in San Antonio, Bexar and
surrounding counties, and throughout
Texas.Ω
Construction Industry Readers
San Antonio Construction News welcomes your editorial contributions.
Contact our Editor, Jane Day Loter, to suggest story ideas, news of
events, topping out events, human interest article ideas, anniversary news,
educational efforts, new business endeavors, photo opportunities, promotions, concerns, charitable events, etc. You are the news! Call: 210308-5800
continued from Page 4 - Christmas Gala’s unity nets thousands for neglected children
#9 Weekend Quail Hunt for
Two, courtesy of Ben Davis;
#10 Four Spurs Tickets,
courtesy of E.C.S., Inc.; #11
Ted’s Great Escape – fishing
package for two, courtesy of
Bob Guinee, Jr. and Ted
Dunnam, ECS. Last minute
auction items included an expensive woman’s leather
jacket; a pinball machine,
and a fishing trip for three
from outdoor writer and fishing guide, Capt. Steve
L-R: ABC’s Carol Wiatrek, Pauline Valentine and Dana
Schultz. The auction raised
Goodman are winding down after intense party prep.
more than $18,000!
One of the Christmas Gala’s biggest
drawing cards was the reverse raffle, offering a chance for one lucky ticket holder to
win $10,000. Throughout the evening numbers were called out, eliminating ticket
holders one-by-one from the reverse raffle
standings. The last man standing was
Ronnie Urbanczyk, Urban Concrete Contractors. Thanks to one and all for your devotion, generosity, presence, participation
and involvement in this year’s Christmas
Gala. Your acts of kindness will help transform the hearts and hopes of children and
teens that were not forgotten on Christmas
Auctioneer Bill Frerichs worked the
audience to raise funds for Construct
Day.
a Kid’s Christmas.
continued from Page 30 - Learning to be all you can be
Vaughn Construction’s vice president,
Matt Daniel, was manning his booth on
the exhibition floor and felt it was important to be there. “All of the agencies are
here, and we’re part of the San Antonio
community. My advice to young entrepreneurs who aspire to do business with our
firm would be to call on us and keep the
lines of communication open. We go forward with an open bidding process and we
talk to anyone who wants to do business
with us. Even if they’re not selected the first
time, we encourage them to keep trying and
not give up. Over time, there’s bound to be
a good opportunity.”
The conference was actively supported
by: Alamo Workforce Development; Associated Builders and Contractors; Associated
General Contractors; City Public Service;
Hispanic Contractors Association de San
Antonio; TX Department of Transportation;
US Department of Transportation; and hundreds of others.
continued from Page 9 - Fisk refocuses
efforts in South Texas
continued from Page 1 - Better Built
Enterprises has recipe for success
service with Fisk
San Antonio.
To go along
with the new management changes,
the offices have just
been upgraded and
remodeled. Customers and vendors will
have a chance to see
the redone facilities and meet Orvil and the
others in January when the company holds
an open house.
Gutierrez & Garwood Architects; and Beiker
Engineering Inc., structural engineers.
Subcontractors who participated in the
project include: Jesse Herrera Construction, striping; Niznik Concrete Contractors; Lundberg Masonry; Vestal Steel;
Timber Tech; Arahed Lath & Plaster;
Mangold Roofing; Hutchison Supply
Company, door and hardware; Alamo Door
Systems; Main Glass & Mirror; Traugott,
Inc., painting; River City Fire & Safety;
E.L. Smith Plumbing; Gary’s A.C., and
LCE Electric.
Round-Up
A
K
D
C
rchitect
Benny
Hawkins, chairman and CEO of
BLGY, Inc., has
received the
Executive Director’s Award
and the Advocate of the Year
Award from the Central and South
Texas Minority Business Council.
Hawkins has been a corporate board
member, membership and program
committee chairman and this year’s
chairman of the council’s expo. The
Central and South Texas Minority
Business Council is one of three councils in Texas and 39 regional affiliates
across the country promoting opportunities for minority business.Ω
a v i d
Jungman
has been named
controller at City
Public Service.
David is responsible for overseeing the general accounting, property
accounting and
treasury controls functions as well as the
Corporate Reporting Department. The
new controller has more than 20 years
of experience in accounting, forecasting,
budgeting and financial reporting. He
holds a BBA in accounting from Texas
A&M University, is a CPA and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Do you have any new employees
joining your company?
email photo and info to:
editor@constructionnews.net
irk S.
Kreamer,
CHMM, REP
has joined RabaKistner as Environmental Manager in the Environmental Division. Kirk received his B.S. in
Environmental Health from Auburn
University, is a Master Level Certified
Hazardous Materials Manager and a
Registered Environmental Professional.
Kirk’s responsibilities include
management of the Environmental Services Department, scope development,
contracting, financial management and
implementation for environmental
projects.
hris J. Boyd
has joined Urban Concrete Contractors as Senior
Project Estimator.
He brings 30 years
of construction estimating and project
management experience to the position. Chris has a Bachelor of Science degree in construction
engineering technology from Texas
Tech University, Class of ’77.
R
o d n e y
Moore,
CIE, has joined
Raba-Kistner as
an environmental
scientist in the Environment Division. His principal
practice will include indoor air
quality, project management and
remediation oversight. Rodney received
his B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Tulsa in 1989 and continued
graduate studies in immunology at the
University of Texas Southwestern in
1991.
Expo shows efficient design/
product and construction methods
T
o help educate members of the construction industry, building designers and end-user consumers on what
products and systems are required to comply with Senate Bill 5 and other environmental mandates, the Better Building/Products Source Conference & Expo will be held
on Feb. 28th and March 1st at the Live Oak
Civic Center, 8100 Pat Booker Road.
Focused on sustainable energy efficient
products and systems, the event is being produced by The Green Connection, in cooperation with the Randolph Metrocom Chamber of Commerce (North East Bexar
County).
Targeting the local building-related industries, including architects, builders, developers, engineers and contractors as well
as the end-user consumer, free Continuing
Education Classes (CEC), hands-on product/systems demonstrations and a mixer
with mini-seminars for 1/4 CEC credits will
be conducted on Fri. at 6 pm.
Additional free thirty-minute sessions
on the importance of energy efficient building, products and systems for saving energy
and dollars will be offered throughout the
two-day event. Seminar topics include: AirWater-Moisture Management in Commercial Buildings; Aim for O-Energy School
Design; Bauhaus Biology-A Healthy Building; Energy Management in Design; Including Energy Star in Design; and Access is
More Than a Ramp.
Dr. Charles Graham, construction science department professor at Texas A&M,
will lead his students in a demonstration of
building with compressed earth blocks by
constructing an 8 x 8-ft. storage building on
the Live Oak Civic Center parking lot.
Examples of low water/maintenance
landscaping will be coordinated by the
Live Oak Village Garden Club and examples of the latest energy sources including solar, wind, natural gas and fuel cells
will be demonstrated. The latest Honda hybrid automobile is expected to be on display as well.
Major exhibitor/sponsors include City
Public Service (CPS), EnergyWise Building Systems, A.E.C.T. (compressed earth
block equipment) and Prime Time Newspapers, Inc. Non-profit organization partners include the American Institute of Architects-San Antonio (AIA), Associated
Builders & Contractors (ABC) and Solar
San Antonio.
To encourage healthier, more efficient
new construction and updating of schools
in compliance with Senate Bill 5 and the
Smart School program, a competition on
Environmental Building Awareness is being conducted through high school journalism classes and awards will also be given
to the best sustainable building projects
nominated in the Randolph Metrocom area
(Northeast Bexar County). Cash prizes,
donated by DuPont Tyvek Weatherization
Systems, and other awards will be given to
winners.
For competition entry, free trade
group admission and continual education
class information, contact: The Better
Building/Products Source Conference &
Expo, 201 Barrera, San Antonio, TX
78210, 210/212-8031, Fax 210/212-7103,
Email: rzheck@cs.com.
HCA names 2003 Board
of Directors
T
he new 2003 Board of Directors of
the Hispanic Contractors Association de San Antonio were introduced at the association’s Christmas Party
held at the Cadillac Bar and Grill, on
Thurs., Dec. 12th.
Ex Officio: Gloria Navales, Navales
Enterprise, Inc.; Chairman: Larry
Ybarra, Service Shade Shop; Vice Chairman: Jerry Cavazos, Mustang General
Contractors; Treasurer: Jacquelyn
Greene, Complete Office Interiors; Par-
liamentarian: Arthur Flores, Star Action
Plumbing; Recording Secretary; Rick
Lester, Satterfield & Pontikes; Corresponding Secretary: Linda GomezWhitner, Gomez Floor Covering; Director: Edgar Garcia, Langley &
Banack; Associate Director: Alfred
Lopez, Engineering Safety Consultants, Inc.; and Associate Director:
Marco Gonzalez, SouthTrust Bank.
Congratulations!
Serving Central & South Texas
CONCRETE PUMPING L.P.
Pumping Service at its Best
Mike Schultz, President
P.O. Box 700555
15080 Tradesmen Drive
210-292-5501
Fax 210-492-0031
800-850-9275
Virgil and Scott Knowlton took
an Excursion to Planet Pickup!
Locally Owned & Operated
with 29 years Experience
210-490-5955
1-866-402-PUMP (7867)
Fax 210-402-0385
6127 San Pedro
San Antonio
Texas, 78216
210.525-TRUX
(8789)
www.planetpickup.com
ASSOCIATION NEWS
ABC
ASA
Jan. 8: Associated Builders and Contractors 2nd Wednesday Safety Shorts luncheon
at the Old San Francisco Steak House. This
month’s topic is ‘Fatal Facts.’ Cost is $18
per person.
Jan. 21-24: ABC-National Education Conference in Orlando, FL.
Jan. 30: General membership mixer, “Contractor in a Box,” will be a great opportunity to meet the general contractor teams,
including estimators, project managers and
management, as well as learn about their
upcoming work and activities. For further
information, call 210-342-1994.
Jan 21: American Subcontractors Association - San Antonio will hold it’s next
member’s meeting at the Barn Door Restaurant. Doors will open at 6 pm and dinner/program will start at 6:45 pm. Topic
of discussion will deal with “Human Resource Issues” and will be presented by
Cyndi Mergele of Padgett, Stratemann &
Co.
Jan. 27-30: The Texas Chapter of the
American Subcontractors Association will
host the ‘Texas Construction Business
Leaders’ Conference at Lakeway Inn and
Resort outside Austin. This conference will
feature continuing education credits and
will cover topics like: Safety, Lien Laws,
Disaster Response, Workers Compensation,
Killer Clauses/Contract Negotiations,
OSHA, and OCIP/ROCIP Insurance. In
addition to dynamic topics, there will also
be a “Walk on the Capitol”, two golf outings and a casino party on Wed. evening.
For more information on this, the member’s
meeting or membership information, please
call your local ASA office at 210-349-2105.
ACCA-SA
Feb. 7: Air Conditioning Contractors Association – San Antonio will host its 4th
Annual Casino Night and Gala Event, from
7 – 11 pm, at the San Antonio Professional
Firefighters Hall, 8925 IH-10W. For more
information, call 210-682-7744.
AGC
Jan. 8: The Associated General Contractors General Membership Luncheon and
Installation of Directors will be held at the
San Antonio Airport Hilton from 12 to 1:15
pm. The Master of Ceremonies for the luncheon will be City Councilman Carroll
Schubert. Ken Simonson, Chief Economist
with AGC National, will be our keynote
speaker and will provide an economic forecast for Texas commercial construction.
Reservations are required by Jan. 6th, 2003
and the cost will be $25 for AGC members
and $35 for non-members.
Jan. 10-11: The 9th Annual Leadership
Retreat, a team building and goal setting
event, will be held at the Flying L Guest
Ranch in Bandera, TX.
HCA
Jan. 22: Hispanic Contractors Association
de San Antonio will hold its general membership meeting at The Builder’s Exchange
of Texas.
NARI
Jan. 8: The National Association of the
Remodeling Industry’s first formal membership meeting starts at 8 am, at the Barn
Door Restaurant. Members are encouraged
to bring prospective members with them.
Future meetings are scheduled on the first
Wed. of each month at 8 am. For more information contact Rudy Nino, member services director, at 210-732-9663.
cost for lunch is $20 per person. To obtain
information or reservations for this meeting, call Debbie at 830-606-5556.
NAWIC
MCA-SMACNA
Jan. 9: The National Association of Women
in Construction will hold its monthly membership meeting at the Petroleum Club of
San Antonio, 8620 N. New Braunfels. Social begins at 5:30, followed by dinner at
6:15. members $20, non-members $25.
Diane Clendenin, EEOC, is the featured
speaker and will discuss the issue of sexual
harassment. For reservations, contact
Scotty Stanley at 210-651-9000.
Jan 1: New Years Day Holiday; office
closed.
Jan. 8: Mechanical Contractors Association – SMACNA membership meeting
starts at noon, at Oak Hills Country Club.
PHCC-SA
Jan. 9: Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors-San Antonio has changed its monthly
meeting dates for 2003 to the second Thursday of every month. Meetings are held at
Dave & Buster’s (440 Crossroads Blvd)
in the Showroom from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm.
Members $15, non-member s $20. The Jan.
9th meeting, featuring a guest speaker from
the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, is sponsored by Steve Mechler &
Associates. Call PHCC-San Antonio office
at 210-523-1540 to reserve lunch & a seat!
he Surety Association of South Texas
has named its 2003 slate of officers.
They are: President: Edgar Garcia,
Langely & Banack; Vice-President: Geri-
Lee Smith, Integrity Insurance Agency;
Treasurer: Lynne Grix, Ridout, Barrett
& Associates; and Secretary: Sandy
McDuffy, David Bailey and Associates.
PHCC-SA 2003 Board
of Directors
T
he Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors - San Antonio chapter welcomes its 2003 Board of Directors:
Officers
President: Greg Bolin, Bolin Plumbing;
Vice President: George Saliba, George
Plumbing; Treasurer: Charles Sagray,
Mr. Plumber Plumbing Co.; Secretary:
Rob Jalnos, Steve’s Plumbing Co.
Board Members
Steve Bailey, Corley/Bailey Plumbing;
Robert Bentivegna, Bent Plumbing;
Perry Beyer Jr., Beyer Plumbing Ltd.;
Will Hawkins, “Will” Fix It Plumbing;
Karen Pitcher-Campbell, New England
Financial; Albert Preciado, A&A Sewer
Contractors; Steve Mechler, Steve
Mechler & Associates; and L.W.
Tschoepe, Guarantee Plumbing.
J C H
CONSTRUCTION, INC.
Specializing In
Backhoe • Rocksawing • Trenching
“We Can Dig It”
(210) 651-5612
Fax: (210) 651-5451
1 5 3 0 5 I H 3 5 N o r t h S e l m a , Te x a s
T
he South Texas Chapter, NECA,
would like to congratulate the
2003 Board of Directors.
President: Robert A. Corbo, Corbo
Electric; Directors: Orvil Anthony,
Fisk Electric; Sammy Best, Martin
Wright Electric; Jerry Kolinek,
Alterman Electric; and Jim Vasquez,
Wolverine Electric; Governor: John
Gueldner, Gueldner Electric.
SAMCA
Jan. 29: The San Antonio Masonry Contractors Association will hold its monthly
general membership meeting at 12 pm, at
the Water Street Oyster Bar restaurant, 7500
Broadway. No speaker is scheduled for the
meeting because the association will be
conducting general business. The 2003
Officers will officiate at this meeting. The
SAMCA 2003 Officers
SAST 2003 officers named
T
NECA 2003
Board of
Directors
T
he 2003 officers for San Antonio
Masonry Contractors (SAMCA)
are: President: Urs Senser, Sunbelt Rentals; Vice-president: Michael Hunt,
Curtis Hunt Restorations; Secretary:
Sylvia Morgan, Safway Steel; and Treasurer: Andy Cordova, Bricks & Tiles Unlimited.
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or Announcements,
call 210-308-5800
SA Construction News
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Chuck Sparrow,
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MCA ushers in new board
A
ttired, for the most part, in suits and
ties, members of the Mechanical
Contractors Association –
SMACNA gathered for their Christmas
meeting on Wed., Dec. 18th, at the Oak
Hills Country Club.
Outgoing president Roger Ford, ToddFord Sheet Metal, made welcoming re-
marks and recognized honorary members: Howard
Decker, Hollis Dowlearn,
Gil Castanon, Dan Flurry,
Chuck Troilo, Sam Paschal, Doug Simpson, Al
Miyasato, Kurt Monier,
Bob Cotter and Dale Stark.
He then
paused to rem e m b e r
three honorary members
who passed
away this
year: Buddy
Mueller,
Mueller &
Wilson; Joe
Kudos to Rudy Klein, III, for his 26 years
of unfaltering direction.
Rohats,
Todd-Ford,
Inc.; and Tom Bonin, Me- veteran director of the association.
After Roger announced the 2003 slate
chanical Maintenance.
2003 MCA-SMACNA officers L-R: President: John Tezel,
Roger also acknowledged of officers, he passed the gavel to incomTezel & Cotter Associates; Vice-president/president-elect: and presented gifts to Nora ing President John Tezel, Tezel & Cotter
Kurt Mosel, L.C. Mosel Co.; Secretary/Treasurer:
Garcia, who has been with AC, LP, for closing comments.
Ron C. Wilson, Mueller & Wilson, Inc.; Director:
“As we look forward to 2003,” John
the association for 25 years,
Jim Ziehmke, Paschal Harper, Inc.; and Past-president/
Director: Roger Ford, Todd-Ford Sheet Metal.
and Rudy Klein, III, 26-year commented, “we face many challenges to
the construction business. We’ll be rethinking our ways, trying to get a little more lean,
and hustling to get the work that’s out there.
I look forward to working with the new
board to expand on existing programs and
to begin new ones.”
Thanks to Nora Garcia for her
25 years of devotion.
On Location
ARCHITECTURAL ACCESSIBILITY IN TEXAS
FOCUS ON ACCESSIBILITY LAWS & STANDARDS
The Fair Housing Act
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (amended 1988)
The design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing
Act apply to all new multifamily housing first occupied after March
13, 1991. Covered multifamily dwellings are: (1) all dwelling units
in buildings containing four or more units if such buildings have
one or more elevators, and (2) all ground floor dwelling units in other buildings containing four or more units.
L-R: Gabe Lozano (representing Congressman Henry Bonilla), John and Regina Ford,
Ford Engineering, Inc., at the National Height Modernization Forum, held in November.
REQUIREMENT 7, Part B: Usable
Bathrooms:
Both Specification A and Specification B
Bathrooms Require the Following:
“covered multifamily dwellings with a
building entrance on an accessible route
shall be designed and constructed in such
a manner that all premises within covered
multifamily dwelling units contain usable
bathrooms such that an individual in a
wheelchair can maneuver about the space.”
Fair Housing Act Regulations, 24 CFR
100.205
1. A 30-inch x 48-inch clear floor space
outside the swing of the door as it is
closed. In bathrooms where the door
swings out of the room, all the clear floor
space at fixtures still must be provided. In
addition, the user must be able to reopen
the door to exit.
Two Bathroom Specifications
To satisfy the maneuvering and clear floor
space requirements for usable bathrooms,
Requirement 7 of the Fair Housing Guidelines gives two sets of specifications to design bathrooms, referred to as Specification
A and Specification B.
Not much left of the La Quinta at Loop 410 by the airport.
Hunter Demolition & Wrecking Corp. did the demo.
2. Usable bathroom fixtures. Making
bathroom fixtures usable in both Specification A and B bathrooms involves providing certain clear floor space dimensions at
each fixture and meeting certain requirements for the shower if the shower is the
only bathing facility in the covered dwelling unit. In addition, Specification B sets
additional requirements for bathroom fixtures such as provided clear floor space at
the bathtub in a manner that allows greater
access to the bathtub and meeting certain
specifications on the installation of vanities and lavatories.
The maneuvering space necessary for usable bathrooms is thus made up of the combination of the designated clear floor space
outside the swing of the door. Clear floor
spaces may overlap each other and the maneuvering space also may include knee or
toe space under lavatories or toilet bowls.
Maneuvering Space in Bathrooms
Crew from McCarthy work on the 410 Bridges at 281 and McCullough project.
The Guidelines offer two different wordings
for the maneuvering space requirements for
bathrooms complying with Specification A
and Specification B. When applied, the requirements yield almost identical results.
Neither Specification requires that the space
for a five-foot circular turn or a T-turn be
available so a user in a wheelchair would
have the space necessary to turn around in
the bathroom. However, their are very specific clear floor space requirements that have
been adapted from the ANSI A117.1-1986
Standard to make it possible for many people
with mobility disabilities to be able to use
bathrooms designed to meet the requirements of the Guidelines.
When the maneuvering space requirements
of both Specification A and B are analyzed
carefully, the primary difference is that a
clear floor space must be provided adjacent
to the foot of the tub in specification B bathrooms to increase access to the bathtub and
bathtub controls.
L-R: Eric Cooper, executive director of the San Antonio Food Bank, accepts a truckload
of donated turkeys from KB Home representatives Gerry Brawner and George Guerrero.
If the bathroom has sufficient space to allow a parallel approach centered on the
lavatory, then standard base cabinets may
be used below a lavatory. If not, a removable vanity cabinet is required so necessary
knee space for a forward approach is available at the lavatory.
Robert Buck, AIA, has provided architectural
accessibility plan reviews/inspections for over
3140 projects in 17 states. He is a Texas
Department of Licensing & Regulation
Registered Accessibility Specialist (RAS) and
Fair Housing Consultant for the City of
Austin. 13438 Bandera Road, #104, Helotes,
TX 78023
(210-695-5326)
Sinks & Faucets
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Visit our unique designer showroom
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Ribbon-cutting ceremony at the redesigned KB Home Studio.
We also offer an 8,000 sf Self Service Plumbing
and PVF Counter to serve our customers better.
Flood victim lifts house
to save his home
D
Dependable.
A multi-discipline, full
service engineering firm.
avid Young, a resident of Goliad,
TX, built his own home on a flood
plain near the San Antonio River.
Needless to say, when the great flood of
1998 spread its wrath, David’s house was
penetrated by four feet of water and mud.
Disillusioned, David cleaned up and
thought it would never happen again in his
lifetime.
In 2002, when the July 4th weather
event brought torrential downpours, the
floodwaters rose to his doorstep, but spared
the residence. He considered himself lucky
this time and resolved to save his 2,300-sf
home from future disasters.
Acting as his own contractor, David
contacted the Arredondo Group, an engineering firm located in San Antonio. They
in turn, contacted Ralph Geckler, president of Texstar Construction Corporation,
a company that specializes in slab lifting.
“The objective was to lift and elevate
David’s house and slab an additional ten
feet,” Ralph explained. “The 6-in. slab was
built with 2-ft. reinforced concrete beams
at all edges and through center. To get un-
der the slab, David dug trenches and tunneled at five locations in preparation to receive the lifting beams. The foundation he
originally poured supported the lifting columns and the 8-in. pipe columns for permanent support.”
Once the five lifting beams, which
were designed by David Wonder, Persyn
Engineering, were in place Ralph spent
two days positioning the ten hydraulic jacks
and setting the columns. The next day, after securing all of the necessary hoses and
electrical needs, the house was lifted 1/2in. The following morning, in the space of
two and one-half hours, the house was
raised ten feet. By evening, the permanent
columns were in place and the load was set
on them, completing the lift process.
“During the lift, no fixtures or furnishings were removed from the house,” Ralph
added. “The lifting system provided excellent control during the lift. The house remained level throughout the process, and
upon inspection of the interior, the only
damage incurred was to three tiles in the
bathroom.”
•Structural Engineering
•Civil Engineering
•Land Surveying
•Forensic Investigations
GE Reaves
Engineering, Inc.
(210) 490-4506
www.gereaveseng.com
Texstar Construction raised house 10-ft. to save it from future flooding.

January - Construction News

Transcription

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