AGC San Diego Annual Meeting…..Mayor Sanders to Attend

All AGC members are invited to attend the December 13^th, 2006 Annual Meeting which will be held at the Hilton San Diego Resort on Mission Bay, 1775 East Mission Bay Drive beginning at 11:00 am.  San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders will address the Annual Meeting beginning at 11:15 am.

The Mayor has been asked to focus his comments on the City’s infrastructure needs and how he intends to address this critical situation.  Since the City’s pension crisis became known to the nation’s financial community, the City has been unable to enter the bond market to obtain financing for most infrastructure needs.  For over two years, our infrastructure, which was in need of hundreds of millions in repairs and upgrades when the pension crisis began, has been ignored.  This has resulted in water main breaks, sewage spills, and delays in upgrades that allow for needed new development.  Those AGC members that are involved in this type of construction indicate that the situation is turning into a crisis.  Many of those close to the situation believe that the lack of attention is starting to create a problem similar to a roof leak that is ignored……at first there are some relatively minor stains in the ceiling….and unless the problem is addressed, the rain starts to pour in, destroying not only the roof and the ceiling, but much of the interior of the structure.  A simple fix soon becomes a major expenditure….and this scenario is taking place throughout the City’s horizontal and vertical infrastructure as we wait for the financial institutions to allow San Diego back into the bond market. 

How does this affect you?  Well, those members that have historically worked for the City are without, for the most part, a major customer…..but maybe more importantly, as our City falls into disrepair, it will eventually have a significant impact on firms’ decisions to invest in the City…..does it make sense for a major corporation to build a new facility in a community that has a failing infrastructure???

AGC has been attempting to make our political leaders aware of the severity of the problem since it began over two years ago.  The Mayor is the first to look us in the eye and give us any confidence that he understands the problem and has a plan to fix it.

After the Mayor’s comments, a lunch will be served, followed by the election of new Board members and the Executive Vice President’s Annual Report to the membership, which will detail AGC activities and finances.

Again all members are invited to attend…..we expect that this meeting will be a very informative two hours. 

A registration form can be found here.  Register now!!!

 

State’s DVBE “Incentive” Program Put on Hold / AGC Meets with Veterans’ Groups
By Brad Barnum, Vice President Government Relations 

The proposed California Department of General Services (DGS) program to give an “incentive” to contractors who meet a 3% DVBE participation goal has been put on hold (and a December 19 hearing postponed), pending further discussions between the construction industry, the DVBE community, and DGS.  As we have been reporting, the proposal is basically a “preference” program, which will likely lead to confusing bidding adjustments, increased costs to the State, and lawsuits.   

Last week in Sacramento, I joined Jamie Khan (AGC’s Legislative Advocate) and representatives from Granite Construction and Teichert Construction for a meeting with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency, the Director of DGS, and representatives from the statewide DVBE Alliance to discuss AGC’s opposition to the proposal and to discuss potential alternatives and solutions.  The meeting was arranged for all the parties to come to the table to discuss the proposal, and AGC stressed the need for a collaborative approach, one that will use education, advertising, and mentoring as ways to increase DVBE participation. 

What was most interesting about this meeting was that it was the first meeting between the construction industry and the DVBE community since the proposal was first put on the table.  You would think the meeting would have been held before any proposal was put forward! 

Although the meeting did produce some meaningful dialogue (which is a great start!), it became quite clear that the Governor’s Administration wants a DVBE “Incentive” program in place as soon as possible…Senate Bill 115 requires it. The task given to the construction industry and the DVBE community?  Come up with a plan to increase DVBE participation within a month!

AGC supports efforts to increase DVBE participation, and we have been meeting with the local DVBE community to discuss ways to do that without a preference program.  We also would like to work with the statewide DVBE community and AGC California in their efforts.

 

State Legislators Return to Work Today

Today marks the first day that 34 new legislators will take office in Sacramento, four from San Diego County.  However, the partisan lineups will be exactly the same:  48 Democrats and 32 Republicans in the Assembly and 25 Democrats and 15 Republicans in the Senate.   Due to a reapportionment deal made years ago, most legislative districts are either safe Democrat or Republican based on party registration figures.  It should be noted that although the Democratic leadership will not change, Assembly Member George Plescia, who still has two years in office, will no longer be serving as the Assembly Republican Leader.  Assembly Member Mike Villines of Clovis will take on that role.

Three Assembly Members in San Diego County have been termed-out of office after six years (Jay La Suer, Juan Vargas, and Ray Haynes), while Assembly Member Mark Wyland (also termed-out of the Assembly) moves over to the Senate and replaces termed-out Senator Bill Morrow.  In the Assembly, Joel Anderson replaces La Suer; Mary Salas replaces Vargas; Martin Garrick replaces Wyland; and Kevin Jeffries replaces Haynes. 

We can expect to see bills introduced over the next few months that are carry-overs from previous years, including measures to recognize same-sex marriages, take the power to draw legislative and congressional districts away from lawmakers, and set up a universal health care system covering all Californians.  We can also expect our own Senator Christine Kehoe to introduce legislation that could change the leadership of the Airport Authority.  With the recent failure of Proposition A, and the governance structure of the Airport Authority in question, the time might be right for such a move.

 

San Diego City Council Votes to Restrict Construction
By Jim Ryan AGCSD EVP

The San Diego City Council approved an ordinance on a 5-3 vote last week that restricts the size of “big box” retailers. AGC has opposed this ordinance because the Council is using its power to restrict construction in order to support a labor organizing campaign by the United Food and Commercial Workers.  The power the council has to restrict construction was supposed to be used for a variety of reasons….none of which included support of union organizing.  Certain members of this City Council seem to feel that social engineering through construction projects is perfectly acceptable.  What is next….if a union of nurses is having problems with a hospital, will the hospital’s expansion plans be put on hold?  If the flight attendant’s union is having difficult negotiations with an airline, will the Council hold approval on expansion of the airport? 

Mayor Sanders has promised a veto….however, since Council Members Peters, Hueso, Frye, Atkins, and Young have the power to over ride the veto with their 5 votes, it appears the “big box” ordinance will move forward.  Now it is difficult for us to believe that the Council Members had any other real motivation to push this ordinance through other than support of the union’s efforts.  We assume there will be court challenges and probably a voter initiative to over ride the Council.  We would expect a voter initiative would pass…..it is hard to believe that the voters would not support a retailer that is going to bring lower prices and more convenient shopping.

So…let me tell you how this plays out before the next campaign for each of the five listed above…..when they knock on the doors of business for a fundraiser, they will try to tell us that they knew it would be over turned by the voters and their vote just set the stage for a referendum on this topic.  When they knock on the union’s doors for fundraisers they will say, “We were there when you needed us.”!!!!

Meanwhile…there was a major water main break in one of our neighborhoods yesterday that shut off the water to the citizens from that area for the entire day……evidently, one of the 60 year old pipes failed again.  The Mayor was there, and it was reported that there is a similar occurrence in the City of San Diego on average every three days.  Perhaps, instead of messing with the “big box” deal, the Council could have better spent their time more productively during the past few weeks working to get the City’s bonding capacity back……it’s been three years now…..the City is starting to fall apart!!!!!!

 

Fiscal Year 2007 Federal Highway Funding Increase at Risk

The 109^th Congress will return this week for its final lame duck session to complete action on Fiscal Year 2007 before adjourning for the final time.  AGC and our transportation industry allies have contacted both the House and Senate urging that funding for the US Department of Transportation be approved at the SAFETEA-LU authorized level of $39.1 billion for the highway program and $8.98 billion for the transit program.  AGC pointed out in its letter that states planned their annual highway construction programs based on the expectation that they were to receive funding at the SAFETEA-LU authorized level.  Funding below that level would result in a rollback in each state's road, bridge and transit construction.

In addition, given the significant escalation in construction material prices and the projection that these prices will continue to increase into the foreseeable future, the purchasing power of Highway Trust Fund dollars has already been undermined, and delaying funding will further erode the value of this funding. 

Call to Action:  Please send a message to Senators Boxer and Feinstein and your Congressional Representative urging full funding for the highway program.  Simply click here to link to AGC's Legislative Action Center and follow the instructions.

 

 

Worker Visibility Rule Finalized

 

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has issued a final regulation requiring that all workers within a Federal-aid highway right-of-way who are exposed to traffic or to construction equipment within the work area shall wear high-visibility safety apparel. The rule defines high-visibility safety apparel as clothing that meets the class 2 or class 3 requirements of the ANSI/ISEA 107-2004 standard for such apparel. 

 

AGC, the only national contractors’ organization to comment on the rule when it was proposed, called for flexibility, and asked FHWA to allow class 1 rated garments to meet the visibility standard, particularly in areas with extreme summer heat.  FHWA addressed AGC's comment, stating that it had surveyed state Departments of Transportation and is not aware of any increase in heat related illnesses due to the use of class 2 or 3 garment.  The effective date of the rule is November 24, 2008.

 

AGCSD Holiday Dinner Dance

435 AGC members and guests returned to the Ballroom at the Hotel Del Coronado to “kick off” the holiday season on Saturday night.  AGC’s Holiday Dinner Dance Committee….Candace Friedman (Acme Safety & Supply), Allison Beal (Pacific Building Group), Mandy Parent (Data Net Solutions), and Rae Krushensky did an outstanding job….the Del looked great….the food was outstanding, and Rockola provided a terrific show!!!

Special thanks to the event’s sponsors, Alliant Insurance Services and California Bank and Trust.  Larry McMahon from Alliant Insurance Services and Vic Ryder from California Bank and Trust provided the support to make the event a real success.

We want to also extend a big thank you to all of the AGC members who brought an unwrapped toy to the party, carrying on a tradition established 20 years ago.  Because of your generosity, we will be delivering an abundant selection of toys to Children’s Hospital & Health Center today. 

The 2007 AGC Holiday Dinner Dance will be held on Saturday December 1, 2007……mark your calendars now!!!

 

The AGC Specialty Contractors Council & Affiliate Members Council announce the 2006 Member Awards Nominations- DUE THIS FRIDAY!

Click here to find nomination forms for the 2006 AGC Annual Awards.  The awards will be presented during the AGC Installation Dinner on January 23, 2007 at The Hilton La Jolla, Torrey Pines.  The program will also include the installation of the 2007 AGC Board of Directors, the AGC Apprenticeship graduation and the Construction Safety Excellence Award (CSEA) winners. The award nomination forms are due in the AGC office no later than December 8, 2006.

Those nominated will be required to complete a questionnaire concerning their qualifications.  If there are any questions please contact Rae Krushensky directly at (858) 731-8157 or (raek@agcsd.org).

 

 

December
December 8 –Scaffolding CPT and Hazard Awareness
December 12 - "Building Information Modeling" (BIM) Workshop  - see attached flyer
December 15 – HR Mini Conference – see attached flyer
December 19 - Excel Class ... Intermediate
December 27 – CPR/First Aid
December 28 - NAVFAC WEBCM

Coming in March, 2007…
March 8 and March 9 – AGC of America and OSHA present “Focus Four Hazards in the Construction Industry” - Registration attached

 

All meetings will be held at AGC unless indicated otherwise

DECEMBER MEETINGS
December 6 – Safety Committee Meeting- 7:00 AM
December 12- Navy Liaison Meeting –11:30 AM @ Navy Facility TBD
December 12- Education & Training Committee – 11:30 AM
December 13- Toastmasters – 7:00 AM at Roel
December 14 – Specialty Contractors Council 11:00 AM @ AGC

 

Save The Dates: 
December 13 – AGC Annual Meeting –Hilton Mission Bay
January 23, 2007 – Installation Dinner – Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines
(Installation of Officers & Directors, AGC Membership Awards, Safety Awards, & Apprentice Graduations)