February 2010 Cover Story

 

HCA Holds Forecast Luncheon

 

The Houston Contractors Association held their fifth annual construction forecast presentation at the January luncheon.  This popular event always draws a large crowd and this year was no exception with an estimated 260 attendees turning out for this the first luncheon of the year.  The attendees got to hear representatives from various regional public entities give their construction projections for 2010.  The list of speakers was as follows; from the Texas Department of Transportation we had the District Engineer, Delvin Dennis, from Harris County Public Infrastructure was John Blount, Director of the Architecture & Engineering Division.  Attending from Harris County Flood Control was Construction Department Manager, Gary Zika. Also present was the Assistant Director of Engineering & Future Infrastructure for the Harris County Toll Road Authority, John Tyler. Mr. Tyler was followed by the Director of Public Works for the City of Houston, Mr. Michael Marcotte.  We also had the Director of Public Works for the City of Pasadena, Robin Green, City of Pearland Project Director, Trent Epperson, Director of Public Works for Missouri City, Mr. Scott Elmer. Jimmy Vandever, CIP Manager with the City of Sugar Land.  Barbara Leavitt, Senior Procurement Manager for Houston Rapid Transit, and finally the GIS Projects Manager for the Port of Houston Authority, Mr. William Wachel. 

 

Delvin Dennis with TxDOT opened up the program stating that his fiscal year runs from September to August, but for the purposes of this presentation he has listed it from January to December.  He cautioned that the numbers for the months of September through December are his best estimates and are subject to change.  In the January listing Mr. Dennis stated that the FM 646 project in Galveston County did not happen, however there is word on the street that Galveston County will take bids on this project as a pass through finance project with TxDOT.  In February TxDOT is scheduled to take bids on three projects on I-45 in Montgomery County.  These projects are a result of the economic stimulus package that came out of Washington earlier in the year.  These projects will total just over $58 million.  These projects will move the I-45 bottleneck north from its current location of Loop 36 further up to FM 830.  There is a $4.7 million direct connector project on SH 146 that is also the beneficiary of economic stimulus money and will be a great benefit to the residents of Baytown once this project is complete.  There is a section of FM 1464 that will also be bid in February that is also a beneficiary of the economic stimulus money stated Dennis.  Mr. Dennis thanked Fort Bend County Commissioner James Patterson for championing this project in his community.  This project will take the 1464 improvements all the way to the Grand Parkway.  In March there are three more I-45 projects that will be dependent upon his remaining economic stimulus money and may not be there if things do not work out.  There are several off system projects listed in March.  Mr. Dennis stated that off system means that they are not TxDOT roads but are available for federal dollars for the local municipalities.  Mr. Dennis skipped up to August to highlight a project on FM 529 at Fry road that has an estimated cost of $20 million and another project in Galveston County FM 646 that will be $11 million.  Mr. Dennis stated that TxDOT is looking at a total budget of about $495 million this year.  He commented that they have had better years but they are OK.  He also stated that there is a possibility for an additional $130 million if the second stimulus package comes through.

 

John Blount with the Harris County Public Infrastructure Division stated that he has some good news.  In looking at the volume of concrete road work that has been let out over the last several years in 2007 Harris County bid $57 million worth of work in 2008 that went down to $53 million, in 2009 that number jumped to $120 million and the County anticipates building $150 million worth of work this year in just concrete roads.  The bad news according to Mr. Blount is that their capital architectural program is not bidding as much.  The County plans to bid out a total of $262 million this year. That doesn’t include the $9.5 million project that was already awarded for security at the Houston Ship Channel nor does it include the County’s regional forensic center or the family law center which the court has not yet approved.  Mr. Blount stated that to do this volume of work, the County has to change the way that it operates.  They are now going to an electronic plan delivery for bidding.  The County is working on getting the addendums out earlier and addressing other concerns to help increase the efficiency of the department. 

 

Gary Zika with Harris County Flood Control was the next speaker at the podium.  Mr. Zika stated that that they have about $50 million worth of construction projects that are funded for the 2010 year.  These projects are broken up into three different areas; basin work, bridges and channel work.  Mr. Zika stated that $40 million of that $50 million is in capital improvement projects.  There is one large channel project that is on Brays Bayou between Ardmore and Holcombe in the medical center near Hwy 288.  It has an estimated cost of $14 million.  There are four basin projects worth about $11 million.  These are projects that have had previous phases of construction done on them.  One is on Brays Bayou near Hwy. 6 another is on Hunting Bayou near 610 and Homestead another is on Halls Bayou and there is still some work that needs to be completed on the Hill at Sims Bayou.  Mr. Zika said that they also have five bridge projects coming out this year worth about $14 million.  Four of those bridges are in packages on Sims Bayou associated with the Federal Sims Bayou Project.  The other bridge is over Brays Bayou, the Wheeler Street bridge.  There are $9 million in maintenance projects with 46 different project sites divided up into 33 packages.  One of the larger projects is a $2 million concrete replacement job on Brick House Gully near Hwy. 290.  The rest of the projects are split up between erosion and de-silt projects.

 

John Tyler with the Harris County Toll Road Authority was up next.  Mr. Tyler stated that many of his projects were going to be upgrades to existing facilities this year.  The projects are in two categories; Tollway/Highway and Maintenance/Facilities.  Mr. Tyler pointed out that item number one under toll way projects is for the construction of all of the toll plazas for the new section of the Sam Houston Toll way that is being built between US-59 north and Hwy. 90.  There are twelve ramp plazas and a main lane plaza that are all part of this package.  The second item that Mr. Tyler highlighted was for the relocation of a generator from their old facility on Meadowfern Drive to their new location at 7701 Wilshire.  Mr. Tyler stated that the only other project that was interesting was a $7 million landscaping project.  This falls under their storm water quality participation.  This will be for the Northeast project and they will be planting about 70,000 trees along the thirteen mile project.

 

Michael Marcotte, Director for the City of Houston Department of Public Works stated that the city has just under $300 million in projects divided among the four programs; water, waste water, streets and storm drainage.  Some of the projects that the city sees coming forward; there is the Little York street paving project from Airline to Hardy that will be out in March, the White Heather drainage project will also be out in March.  Mr. Marcotte stated that the largest single project for this year is another section of Little York from Wheatley to T.C. Jester which will be bid in mid March and is estimated at $15 million.  Mr. Marcotte said that in late summer, to expect a project to be bid out on Parker road from Hardy road to the East-Tex Freeway. In September there will be the Hirsh road project from Kelly to Crosstimbers and in December the northern section of Yale Street from Tidwell to Parker will come out for reconstruction.  Mr. Marcotte stated that of the nearly $300 million for projects, almost half of that money is in the water and waste water area, with about $120 million in streets and thoroughfare work with the remaining $35 to $40 million in storm drainage.

 

Mr. Marcotte stated in closing that his crystal ball is a bit foggy however it does tell him that in the next several months there will be an active discussion concerning the need to put more money into our infrastructure.  The question comes down to this: will the average citizen of Houston be willing to pay, on a monthly basis, a fee about the cost of a Starbucks coffee to see improved roadways, storm drainage, water and sewer systems?  Mr. Marcotte stated he hoped the members of HCA would actively participate in that discussion and make their voices heard.

 

Next up was Mr. Robin Green, Director of Public Works for the City of Pasadena.  Mr. Green stated that Pasadena has about $58 million in projects this year.  There are $41 million in street projects.  $5 million in park projects including municipal building upgrades and city parks.  There is $2 million in drainage, which are primarily storm sewer and ditch improvements.  Also there are $3.5 million in water lines, $6.7 million in wastewater mainly in lift stations and sewer rehabilitation projects.  Mr. Green stated that next year Pasadena should be getting about $35 million in CDBG funding and they will be in a big rush to spend it, so next year should be a good year as well.

 

Jimmy Vandever with the City of Sugar Land stated that they should have about $70 million in projects for this year.  There are a couple of projects at the airport that are dependent upon TxDOT funding said Mr. Vandever.  They are still waiting for approval but feel that will happen sometime this year.  Under drainage projects there is a ditch H extension.  This is a $1.5 million project for a control structure and excavation work.  There is also a Sugarmill drainage improvement project.  This is a subdivision drainage improvement project with an estimated cost of $1.9 million.  The Jane Long Conveyance is a drainage project that should be ready in the spring according to Mr. Vandever and is estimated to cost one million dollars.  Under facility projects, Mr. Vandever said that they will be building a new fire station that should be ready to go in May.  This is a $3.3 million facility that will be 8,000 square feet when completed.  Mr. Vandever stated that parks projects would be one of their bigger areas for capital improvements for Sugar Land this year.  There will be three major park projects in Sugar Land.  The Imperial Park and Eldridge Park together will receive about $1 million in upgrades and improvements.  The First Colony Park improvement is the renovation of an existing park and construction will be done in phases.  The first phase is ready to go and should cost around $1.25 million.  There is also a beautification project for US-59 worth $700,000 as well as the Brooks street hike and bike trail which is another $750,000.  Under street projects, Mr. Vandever stated that he is working with the County on the widening of Burney Road.  It is a $1.2 million project.  Dulles Avenue is one of the bigger projects with $15 million worth of rehab of existing roadway.  University Blvd. is the biggest street project with an estimated cost of $17 to $20 million.  This should be ready to go in the spring.  Under utilities, there is a $1 million contract for various lift stations.  There is an elevated storage tank with a cost of $4.8 million. There are two water main rehab projects totaling $2 million dollars and a well rehab contract for $250,000 for two or more sites.

 

Trent Epperson with the City of Pearland started off with transportation projects, stating that Pearland is down to two projects.  Both of which are reconstruction of asphalt, open ditch roadways to concrete curb and gutter.  The reconstruction of Orange Street and Walnut Street will total just under $7 million.  There are two major drainage projects, Town ditch which is a major ditch project and the Cowart Creek detention pond pump station will total about $6.7 million.  There are four utility projects with the first being a City of Houston interconnect which is a 30 inch water line coming from the City of Houston.  That will tie into the next project which is the Alice Street water plant improvements which will include a one million gallon storage tank and a re-build of that entire plant.  There is the Hooper road utility project and a side slope repair project as well.  Under facilities there is a new fire station being built as well as some renovations to the police station and the community center city hall complex.  Lastly there is a $900,000 trail connectivity project along Mary’s Creek.  The City of Pearland estimates that its 2010 construction package will total just over $37 million.

 

The Director of Public Works for Missouri City, Scott Elmer was next.  Mr. Elmer stated that they have between $70 to $75 million worth of projects this year with the majority of that money tied up in one large $53 million project, which is the construction of a new surface water treatment plant.  This project should cost around $43 million with another $10 million in transmission lines.  There will be some bridge rehabilitation.  The city is looking at spending about $500,000 which will include re-decking and slope paving.  The City is reviewing RFQ for the Quail Valley Tennis Center which was recently acquired by the City at $1 million.  Mr. Scott stated that he is working on the Quail Valley East reconstruction project.  This is 6400 linear feet of removal and replacement of local collector streets estimated cost of about $2 million.  He is also working on SH 6 which is a raised esplanade project running from Voss Road to Teal Bend with an estimated cost of $2.5 million. The City will also be letting out about $4 million worth of stimulus money for intelligent transportation system operations.  In April or May the City will also be letting out its annual pavement repair contract. 

 

William Wachel with the Port of Houston stated that the Port has around $83 million worth of projects this year.  Mr. Wachel stated that this number is down from last year’s number of $300 million, but that they anticipate their capital improvement spending to go up to between $100 to $200 million over the next few years.  This year 40% of the CIP is in one project, the marine terminal entry gate at Bayport.  This will be the ultimate build out gate for the Bayport container facility and will include truck canopy’s lane support buildings and other amenities.  The remainder of the projects are generally maintenance and repair that will be let throughout the year.  The Barbour’s Cut Terminal has $25 million worth of work planned with $22 million of that being for two wharf cranes.  The Bayport Terminal has $42 million in projects with the Turning Basin doing $6 million in upgrades.

 

Mrs. Barbara Leavitt with Houston Rapid Transit stated that they plan on letting $50 million worth of utility contracts within the next six months.  She stated that they are trying to accelerate their calendar and if they are successful in getting a letter of no prejudice from the Federal Transit Administration, then they will be able to add an additional $10 to $30 million worth of road work to the existing list of projects.  Mrs. Leavitt stated that HRT had recently completed discussions with Metro and they are now looking at completion of all of the work by 2013 which means they have a lot to do and a short time to get it done.  Mrs. Leavitt stated that HRT needs the Houston area contractors and that she hopes we are looking hard at her projects.

 

 

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Water Rates & Drainage Fees

 

The Houston Chronicle broke a story earlier in the month stating that the City is looking at raising water rates by an estimated 14%.  The fees paid by the city’s water customers are used to pay for drainage projects, rehabilitate water and sewer transmission lines and protect the water supply.  The city stated that the reason that the rate increase is needed is due to increases in the cost of chemicals to treat the water and the power that is needed in the delivery process.  It was also noted that city residents have not used the amount of water that that the city had originally projected.  At a press conference following the February 3^rd City Council meeting, Mayor Annise Parker stated that she supports whatever actions are needed by the city to fix the problem.  She cautioned that the Chronicle’s report was premature, that no decisions had been made and that she had not even had time to speak to the members of council yet.  The district council members are preparing to meet with their districts to go over next year’s construction projects and will undoubtedly need to be prepared or the questions that they will face concerning this issue.  Mayor Parker stated that drainage was added to the water and sewer fund a few years ago and in doing so created an imbalance in the account.  The Mayor stated that we need to find a dedicated funding source to address the issue of storm water drainage.  Mayor Parker said that a study will need to be done to determine what the basic needs are for the city in the way of water and sewer, what do we need to do to keep the system healthy and what do we need to do to be prepared for the future.

 

After the press conference I spoke with the new chairman for the Flood and Drainage Committee, Council Member Steve Costello.  The Council Member stated that providing quality streets and drainage is an essential function of a municipal government and is important to public safety.  He stated that over 70% of the city’s underground infrastructure is past its useful life and that obviously there is a need for the City to reinvest in its infrastructure.  Council Member Costello echoed the mayor in stating that the city needs to look at creating a new revenue source to cover the growing costs associated with storm water drainage.  “If we are serious about tackling Houston’s flooding and drainage problems, we must explore establishing an enterprise fund to pay for the capital projects required to address them.” Stated Costello.

 

The last time the city looked at establishing a drainage fee it was during the Mayor Brown administration.  The proposal made it all the way to the council table for a vote, but was rejected by City Council.  Many see that action as more of a vote of no confidence in the Brown administration than in the need to fund drainage.  There is no doubt that the City needs to have a better plan when it comes to handling major weather events in Houston and a dedicated funding source will go a long way in making that a reality.  Now all the City needs to do is to avoid the pitfalls of the Brown administration and show the public the benefits that a real drainage program would bring to the bayou city.

 

Eyeing Judge Emmett’s Seat

 

There is no rest for the weary when it comes to Harris County Judge Ed Emmett holding on to his seat.  Judge Emmett was first appointed to the position in March of 2007 when then Judge, Robert Eckels stepped down to pursue a private sector opportunity with the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski.  Judge Emmett had to run immediately for re-election in November of 2008 and faced stiff opposition from both parties.  Charles Bacarisse ran against him in a hard fought Republican primary and then he faced David Mincberg and the “Obama for President” Democrat wave in the general election. Judge Emmett was one of the few Republicans on that ballot to hold on to his seat that year.  Now it’s 2010 and the Judge is back on the ballot again, and while there is no one filed to run against him in the Republican primary, there are two opponents lined up to face him from the Democrat party, ex City Council Member Gordon Quan and real estate broker Ahmad Hassan.  Quan and Hassan will face each other in the March primary for the privilege of going up against Emmett in the general election. Barring some unforeseen scandal or a cardiac arrest, Judge Emmett should breeze past either of these two opponents to an easy victory in November. However no election should ever be taken for granted and Judge Emmett knows this, so I expect to see a full blown campaign by the Judge to maintain his spot on Commissioners Court.

 

City of Houston Transition Teams

 

The Houston Contractors Association recently wrapped up meetings with representatives of the Mayor’s transition teams overseeing possible changes to the Department of Public Works and the Affirmative Action Division.  The transition teams were given only a few short weeks to meet with interested parties and review their comments before having to present their findings to Mayor Parker. HCA gave a detailed list of improvements to both committees lining out ways to improve services between the City and its contractors.  A few of the suggested changes to the Public Works Department included reviewing and updating their permit policies, reviewing the city’s chlorination policy, increasing funds to the CIP and locating an alternative funding source to pay for drainage projects.   In the Affirmative Action Department, HCA suggested creating a grading system for city subcontractors, focusing more on subcontractor training and recruitment rather than hitting goals, and recognizing that changing job conditions can have a substantial impact upon minority participation.  All of these suggestions and many others were well received by both transition teams and we have heard many positive comments from the team members since our initial meetings.  I am hopeful that we may see some positive improvements in contractor–city relations under this new administration.

 

City Approves Disparity Study Contract

 

The fun of working with the City and its bureaucracy is you never know how long it will take them to actually move on something, even when they consider it important.  The latest example of this is the long delayed city disparity study contract.  The City agreed to perform a new disparity study under order of Judge Hughes as part of the Kossman lawsuit settlement agreement.  It has taken the City’s Legal Department over a year to take the bids, do the stakeholder meetings and finally get Council to award the contract.  The contractor that won the contract is National Economic Research Associates, Inc. or NERA for short.  HCA opposed the selection of this contractor on the grounds that they refuse to include capacity directly in their calculations of minority contractor availability.  They also state that they believe all minority subcontractors start at a disadvantage in the construction industry because of bias from the banking and insurance industries.  HCA will continue to monitor the issue however it should take another ten to twelve months before the results of the study are in and then who knows where the City’s MBE goals may go.  I will keep you informed as changes occur.

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January 2010 Cover Story

 

HCA Welcomes its New President, Jim Slack, Jr.

 

The Houston Contractors Association celebrated the beginning of its 54^th year as an association with a new President, Mr. Jim Slack, Jr., President of Slack & Co. Contracting Company, Inc.  Mr. Slack along with five new Board Members, was sworn into office at the annual HCA Christmas Dinner & Dance on December 11^th.  “I am honored to hold this position and hope to carry on the work done by past presidents while moving forward with a renewed vision for our great organization.” stated Mr. Slack.  “I want to thank you all for electing me to serve as your President.”  Mr. Slack, during his remarks thanked his friends, family and employees for all that they have done to help him reach this position.  The thanked all of his employees for the hard work that they do and stated that knowing he has a solid team working behind him has made it possible for him to be involved in organizations like HCA.  Finally he recognized the people that he called his two biggest supporters, calling them to the podium to stand with him and share in his moment of honor, his wife Karen and his mother Chubby Slack.

 

Mr. Slack took a moment to congratulate the other incoming Board Members on their election and thanked the out-going members for their dedication and service over the past two years.  The new Board Members sworn in at the Christmas gala were; Robert Carter with Angel Brothers Enterprises, Inc., Leonard Cherry with Cherry Crushed Concrete, Harry Kirk with ACT Pipe and Supply Inc. and David Womack with Beyer Construction, LLP.  Curtis Lindsey with Lindsey Construction, Inc. will be the new Director Emeritus and Brian Manning with Texas-Sterling Construction is our new Secretary/Treasurer. 

 

A highlight of the Christmas party again this year was the auction.  This year’s auction was the most successful in HCA history and was highlighted by the highest number of prizes to ever be auctioned off at one event.  I want to thank everyone who was generous enough to donate to the auction.  As a quick recap of who won the bidding, Mark Boyer with Boyer, Inc. won the Salmon fishing trip for two to the Warm Springs Lodge, Stewart Island, British Columbia, Canada donated by our auction host Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers.  Terry Williamson with Texas-Sterling won the King Ranch Nilgai hunt that was donated by Sprint Sand & Clay.  He also took home the Puerto Vallarta trip donated by Roy Moffitt Customized Fueling at their private villa “La Casa de la Jungla”.  Roy Moffitt won the Barker Ranch White Tail Deer Hunt donated by C.E. Barker, Inc.  Jim Slack won the Spring Turkey Hunt donated by ACT Pipe and Supply and Kelly Vasquez with the Women Contractors Association won the Galveston Beach House donated by Jimerson Underground.  There were also multiple sets of rodeo tickets,  Texan’s, Astro’s and Rockets tickets that were donated by many different companies, most of which were given while the auction was underway. Again thank you to our donors and to our bidders that have made this a high point in the Christmas event.

 

This year’s Christmas Party was yet again, another outstanding success.  I would like to thank all of our members that attended and especially those who donated to the Toys for Tots foundation.  Because of your kindness, HCA was able to provide Christmas presents to area children who otherwise would have gone without.  I also would like to recognize the efforts of Connard and Sherry Barker for their work on the Christmas party.  A special thanks this year goes out to Hi-Way Equipment (ESS) for being our Christmas dinner sponsor, to our volunteer auctioneers from Ritchie Brothers for working the auction and to all of our drink sponsors.  Thank you to all of our volunteers and sponsors for their tireless efforts in making this party the success that it was.

 

This year we also had one special event at the Christmas Party that we usually don’t have.  Hi-Way Equipment (ESS) donated a Case 420, Series 3 Skid Steer to HCA to be raffled off at the Christmas Party.  HCA spent the last year selling tickets to the raffle and at the end of the auction the winner was drawn.  Congratulations to Ramiro Pedraza, President of Curb Planet, Inc. for being the lucky winner of a new skid steer and thank you Hi-Way Equipment for your generous support. 

 

 

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Executive V.P. Report

January 2010

 

Update on the Senate Healthcare Bill

 

This story first appeared in the New York Times under the headline “In Health Bill for Everyone, Provisions for a Few” and reports upon a last minute provision that was slipped into the Senate version of the proposed health care bill. The provision, added at the last minute by Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley and accepted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, changes the language of the bill to reduce the number of companies that would be exempt from penalization for not providing health insurance to their employees.  This amendment would only apply to the construction industry.  Under the original proposal any small business with fewer than 50 workers would not be penalized for not providing their employees with health insurance.  Now, thanks to an amendment pushed by the unions, the exemption from penalty would be much lower, but only for the construction industry.  Instead of the exemption covering all small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, now it says that in the construction industry, the only small businesses that are exempt are those with fewer than five employees.  What this means is that any construction company with five or more employees would either have to provide health insurance for their workers or pay a penalty, or excise tax of $750 per employee.  According to the article, labor unions lobbied hard for the provision, stating that without it, small, non-union employers would have an unfair competitive advantage over companies that they say “do the right thing” by providing health coverage for their employees in the building trades.

 

According to the article, Daniel Gardner, a lobbyist for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers said that this amendment was necessary because construction is an extremely competitive, low-bid industry.  According to Gardner, very few small, non-union construction employers provide health insurance and that is one way that they try to gain an advantage over union contractors.  According to Mr. Gardner’s figures health benefits account for between 12.5% and 20% of payroll.  The Senate and House plans would significantly increase that cost by banning most annual and lifetime limits on coverage and by requiring insurers to allow children to stay on their parents’ policies through age 25 or 26.  Mr. Gardner stated that these changes will drive up the cost an additional $1000 per member every year, and while small union companies would be required to pay this cost, non-union contractors could avoid the expense.

 

The National Association of Home Builders and the United States Chamber of Commerce stated that the construction industry provision looks like a political payoff and Joe Robinson, Chairman for the home builders stated that this requirement would kill jobs at thousands of small builder firms.  This comes at a time when construction companies are struggling to stay afloat in the worst housing market since the depression.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in the construction industry was 19.4% as of November which is nearly twice that of the national rate.

 

The construction industry provision is receiving a second look as the conference committee works to resolve the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill.  Other provisions that are also being scrutinized include a tax break for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan in Nebraska; Medicare coverage for residents of Libby, Montana who had been sickened by a mineral mine; extra Medicaid money for Massachusetts, Nebraska and Vermont; and a special dispensation for a handful of doctor-owned hospitals.  The White House has stated that these provisions are what they consider a normal part of the legislative process, and approve of them being added into the bill.  Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid stated that if they (the Senators) don’t have something in this bill that is important to them, then it doesn’t speak well of them as senators.  He went on to say in the article that this is what legislation is all about, the art of compromise.

 

TCEQ Announces a new TERP Grant Period

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has announced the opening of a new round of grants from the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) Rebate Grants Program.  This round of grants will utilize funding provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).   A draft Notice of Rebate Grants (NRG) and draft application form are available from the TERP Web site at: www.terpgrants.org 

The purpose of the grant is to replace and re-power on-road and off-road diesel equipment with newer, cleaner burning engines in an effort to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in areas that have been deemed as non-attainment or near non-attainment within the state.  NOx is usually a bi-product of high temperature combustion.  Everyday activities such as driving a motor vehicle or operating heavy equipment contribute to the creation of NOx.  It reacts with volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) in the presence of sunlight to form harmful, ground level ozone which is a health hazard to humans.  The deadline for filing an application with TECQ is April 30, 2010. 

Komatsu Unveils New, Green Excavator

Recently Waukesha-Pearce Industries and Komatsu America Corp. unveiled the latest in green construction equipment, the Komatsu Hybrid PC200LC-8 Excavator.  The unveiling took place on December 16^th at the new offices of Slack & Co, Contracting and was open to the public.  According to Jim Slack, Jr. owner of Slack & Co., this piece of equipment will realize up to a 40% reduction in fuel usage over a comparable, non-hybrid excavator along with a significant reduction in emissions.  Komatsu is only releasing two of these excavators in the Houston market and Slack & Co. was fortunate enough to be chosen as one of two companies to demo this equipment.  Komatsu will be testing this excavator for the next six months and after that it will be released for sale to the general public.

 

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March 2010 V.P. Report

 

HOUCONPAC

 

The political arm of the Houston Contractors Association met earlier in the month to discuss the State primary elections.  At that meeting the PAC only agreed to endorse one person, Dan Huberty who is running to replace retiring State Representative Joe Crabb in District 127 in the Kingwood area.  The primary election was held on March 2^nd and ended with Huberty receiving almost 49 percent of the vote.  He will be in a runoff with the second place finisher, Susan Curling who took 20% of the vote.  Primary runoffs will be held on April 13^th.  The winner will face a Democrat party challenger in the general election, but this is a heavily Republican district and the winner of the Republican runoff should be the next State Representative of the area.   Other State elected officials that we have endorsed previously were State Rep. Wayne Smith in District 128 he is unopposed in either the primary or the general election.  State Rep. Bill Callegari in District 132 is unopposed in the primary but will face a challenger, Sylvia Mintz in the general election.  Jim Murphy was the sole Republican in the District 133 primary race and he will face the one term incumbent, Democrat, Kristi Thibaut.  Thibaut took the seat two years earlier from Murphy during the Obama sweep in a close race.  Rep. Dwayne Bohac in District 138 is unopposed in the primary but will have a challenger in the general election.  Other friends of HCA are Representative Gary Elkins who is running unopposed in either race as is State Senator Dan Patrick.

 

Some other elections that are of interest would be the race for the Governors seat which I shall now condense into three short sentences:  Debra Medina crashed and burned on the Glen Beck radio show and will forever be considered a 9-11 conspiracy nut.  Kay Bailey Hutchinson was from Washington and therefore very bad, and she also ran a terrible campaign.  Rick Perry wins the primary without a runoff, thank you Debra Medina.  Governor Perry will now face ex-Houston mayor Bill White in November and with the way the state is doing compared to the rest of country, Gov. Perry should win. 

 

Another highly publicized race that completely fizzled on primary night was the Democrat race for U.S. House seat Dist. 18 currently held by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.  Current City Council Member Jarvis Johnson ran against her along with another candidate and there was a fair share of negative news and opinion articles that came out criticizing Rep. Lee for her many questionable actions and statements that she has made as an elected official.  But in the end she showed them all who was queen of the district by claiming a whopping 67% of the vote and locking herself into that office for another four years.

 

Kinky Friedman, Democrat candidate for governor in the last election cycle lost another election, this time losing to Frank Gilbert in the primary race to see who will face the current Commissioner of Agriculture, Todd Staples.  Mr. Friedman was dogged by accusations that he was not actually a farmer or rancher as required by law to hold that position.

 

Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Leo Vasquez lost his bid for re-election to challenger Don Sumners.  Sumners, a retired employee of the office and follower of the preachings of the past Tax Collector, Paul Bettancourt campaigned on bringing the Bettancourt style of conservative activism back to the tax office.  Vasquez was also hurt by rumors that he was living with a woman who was not yet divorced from her previous husband.  Sumners took 57% of the votes to win the primary race against Vasquez and will now go on to face Democrat challenger and perennial candidate Diane Trautman.

 

HCA 2010 Clay Shoot

 

I would like to thank everyone that came out to the 2010 HCA Sporting Clay Shoot this year.  This was the first year in about ten years that we have held the event somewhere other than Westside, and I must say the change of venue to the Greater Houston Gun Club was definitely a positive step up for this event.  There were several differences in the program this year over years past.  Besides the change of venue we also implemented a new scoring system called Lewis rules .  This allowed us to divide each course into an “A”, “B” and “C” tier with a first and second place winner in each tier.  Congratulations to all of the winners, their names are listed below.  I would like to personally thank all of our sponsors for helping to support this event.  I especially want to thank R.B. Everett & Co. for their donation of a shotgun for the raffle grand prize.  I also want to recognize the Clay Shoot Committee members for all of their hard work on this event and especially the chairman, Will Peltier.  Thank you to everyone for making this a fantastic event and if you missed it, we will see you out there next year.

 

North Course Winners:                                South Course Winners:

Top Gun          Don Landers – 94                   Top Gun          Byron Justice – 97

 

Class A                                                           Class A

First Place       Jeff Cannon – 167                  First Place       Byron Justice - 190

                        Mark Dessens                                                  Jeff Burnett

 

Second Place   Mike Williams – 160               Second Place   Cade Davis – 180

                        Don Landers                                                   Duane Hotze

 

Class B                                                           Class B

First Place       Ronnie Ponder – 133              First Place       Kevin Comiskey – 149

                        Travis Ponder                                                  Alicia Jimerson

 

Second Place   John Lohman – 132                Second Place   Darin Peting – 147

                        Don Wakefield                                               Brad Boyer

 

Class C                                                           Class C

First Place       Dion Beckner - 119                 First Place       Clay Stirman - 123

                        Kevin Burke                                                    Wade Smith

 

Second Place   Gene Elsik - 119                     Second Place   Matt Strickland - 110

                        Gene Elsik III                                                 Jacob Phillips

 

 

R.P. Doss Scholarship

 

HCA has for the last several years offered college grant money for qualifying applicants through its R.P. Doss Endowment fund.  The criteria for eligibility is that you must be related to a member or former member of HCA, either through family relation, employment or personal association.  The criteria for selection is you must show financial need, be currently enrolled in a college, university or trade school, show the ability and perseverance to complete a degree or program and provide assurance that you will remain enrolled in school.  The applications are reviewed by the Board of Directors for the fund, and grant amounts are determined by the need of the applicant and the availability of funds.  Grant funds are currently available and we are taking applications so if you know someone who might be interested please have them call the HCA offices at 713-349-9434 to get more information and an application form.

 

How to Serve on the HCA Board

 

I have had several members of the association ask me what it takes to serve on the HCA Board of Directors.  The answer is easy, interest.  Every year a specific number of board members roll off the board and are replaced with new members.  Some of these positions are designated for contractors and others are for associate members.  The Executive Committee collects names throughout the year of members interested in serving.  The Executive Committee then generates a short list in July which is used to craft the actual ballot that goes out in October.  Here are some of the things that the executive committee looks for in a potential board member; are you involved in HCA, that is have you served on any committees, do you attend the luncheons or help out in some other way?  Are you well respected in your business?  Are you a person of character?  Are you a good representative of our industry?  Getting on the ballot is not rocket science.  If you have been involved and are interested in serving just tell me and I will add your name to the list for consideration.  On the next ballot there will be two open contractor positions and two open associate positions that will need to be filled so don’t be shy, step up and get involved.  Remember, the hard part is not getting on the ballot, it’s getting all of your buddies to vote for you.

 

 

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