KCEC Newsletter - Consulting Kentucky

Consulting Kentucky

Fall 1998

News from the Kentucky Consulting Engineers Council

The President's Place

KCEC’s Executive Board
It is my pleasure to introduce the 1998-99 Kentucky Consulting Engineers Council Executive Board. They were elected at our June 22, 1998, annual meeting. You will find them to be an excellent group of leaders who I am confident will serve our organization well.

Past President–Randall E. Gnau, PE

President–Mark Willis, PE

President Elect–Ben R. Edelen, PE, PLS

Secretary–Glen Kelly, PE, PLS

Treasurer–Ben T. Quinn, Sr., PE, PLS

Regional Directors:

Daniel L. Shoemaker, PE, PLS (East)

Randall W. Russell, PE (Central)

Wayne S. Upshaw, PE (West)

National Director–Ralph J. Palmer, PE

Where Are We Going From Here?
KCEC is a strong and respected voice in the engineering community. In addition, we have a staff that is, in my experience, unequaled. Because of our strengths, we have cultivated many successes in recent years. Several examples come readily to mind. They include:

KCEC was instrumental in passage of legislature updating KRS 322 (this past legislative session).

KCEC, jointly with KSPE, provides high- quality professional development seminars.

KCEC provides timely and reasonably priced CADD training classes.

KCEC maintains a partnering relationship with the Transportation Cabinet.

KCEC spearheaded the effort to secure much needed changes in the new contract being used by the Finance and Administration Cabinet.

And, there’s much, much more.

Because we have been successful, we have worked through most of the goals established for the organization in prior years. Since this is a non-legislative year, I would like to use 1998-99 as an opportunity to review our goals and priorities and to develop a plan for the continued success of our organization. This planning process is something in which each person can take ownership. I ask each of you to reflect on what KCEC can do to better serve its members and the state. Since we have limited resources, this may even include elimination of a function or service that is not as effective as we would like. Once you have an idea, please relay it to either George, Marcie, or me. It is my intention to gather as many comments and viewpoints as possible before our December board meeting. Following this, the board will review and prioritize our current activities and all ideas received. To help generate ideas, I have included the ACEC vision statement and five tenets of leadership as food for thought.

Goals for 1998-1999
Major goals this year are in many cases a continuation of a three-year plan initiated during the term of Past President Mark Meade, PE, PLS, and continued through the term of Randy Gnau, PE. A list and brief discussion of the more important goals is given below.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet — Maintain and expand the partnering relationship currently in place with the Cabinet.

Finance and Administration Cabinet — Continue to improve our relationship with all levels of contact within the Finance Cabinet and strive to develop a partnering agreement with them.

Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet — Strengthen our relationship with this agency with the long-term goal of developing a partnering agreement with them.

United States Department of Agriculture/Rural Development — An ad-hoc committee is working to have the funding agency edition of EJCDC’s owner/engineer contract and it’s related documents become the standard contract utilized for rural development projects.

Legislative Initiative — A legislative summit has been held to solicit input on the issue of continuing professional development. This joint KCEC/KSPE committee will work to inform people on this topic and correct much misinformation as well. This year’s committees will then make recommendations to both boards on how to proceed. ¦

Bugged for News?

KCEC Welcomes Six New Firms
We would like to welcome the following new firms which have joined us in the last few months.

D. Edward Brown Engineering (Pikeville, Kentucky)

CDS Associates (Florence, Kentucky)

Fosdick & Hilmer (Ft. Thomas, Kentucky)

Ronald Johnson and Associates (Madisonville, Kentucky)

Leo Miller & Associates (Harlan, Kentucky)

Rangaswamy and Associates (Louisville, Kentucky)

KCEC/KTC Partnering Workshop
The 1998 KTC Partnering Workshop will be held at the University Plaza Hotel in Bowling Green on September 30-October 1. The full workshop will begin at 8:00 a.m. on September 30 and will end at 12:00 noon on October 1. Presently, it has been reported to us that there are 320 persons registered for this conference. Deadlines for registration were September 1, 1998, but we can probably accommodate more. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to call the office at 800.455.5573.

KCEC Quarterly Meeting
There will be a KCEC Quarterly Meeting on Thursday, October 1 at 11:45 a.m. at the University Plaza Hotel in Bowling Green. Our special speaker for this event will be Kentucky’s State Highway Engineer, Mac Yowell, PE. He will be talking about the "New Sub-Culture Developing within the KTC."

Following the luncheon speaker, there will be a brief business meeting with such agenda items as the new Finance Cabinet contract and future issues with the F/A Cabinet; the rural development initiative; and results of the KCEC/KTC partnering session that will have just ended. Golfing at Hartland will immediately follow the meeting. You should have preregistered for golf. The cost of lunch will be $20, and the cost for golf is $35. We look forward to seeing you there. Please call Marcie at 800.455.5573 to make lunch reservations. We must guarantee numbers for lunch by Monday afternoon, September 28.

National Quality Initiative (NQI)
The Sixth Annual National Quality Initiative "On the Road to Quality" Conference will be held on December 9 at the Marriott Griffin Gate Resort in Lexington, Kentucky. This year is an "awards year," so please consider submitting a project. The awards entry process has been streamlined to make it easier to enter. Please mark your calendars now for this event.

Any firm that has completed the design, construction, or partnering of a transportation-related project on which construction was completed before July 1, 1998, is eligible to submit a project for a 1998 "On the Road to Quality" award. These submittals are due no later than October 1, 1998. If you have questions, you can call Nancy Albright (502.564.4830) or Marcie Mathews (502.564.4780), both of whom are with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

ACEC Fall Conference Will Meet in West Virginia
The 1998 ACEC Fall Conference will be held at The Greenbrier in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, November 5-7. The theme for this meeting is "Leadership through Change–Meeting the Client’s Needs for Tomorrow." The opportunity to have a national meeting within driving distance is rare, and the setting should be beautiful. We encourage you to consider attending this year’s conference. There are extra registration forms at the office should you need one. The registration deadline is October 1.

Right of Way Training Scheduled
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Division of Right of Way has scheduled a ROW Training for October 12-16 in Paintsville at the Carriage House Hotel. You can call Ralph Divine at KTC for details.

Golf Classic Declared a Huge Success
The Third Annual Kentucky Engineers’ "Go for the Green" Golf Classic went off without a hitch on September 11. A record 172 players had a highly enjoyable day at Player’s Club in Lexington, and in the end result, raised a net amount of over $17,000. The proceeds will go toward paying the KEC building loan down. Winners of the golf classic included: Palmer Engineering/HNTB (team-at-large); Presnell Associates (firm team); and Larry Doyle Construction (chapter team).

Plan for Consulting Congress Day
Please mark your calendars, and plan to be a part of the ACEC Consulting Congress Day to be held this year on March 8-9, 1999. This is an unique opportunity to meet your members of Congress and to discuss issues of concern to you and your firm. ACEC does a great job preparing us on the issues and the process of dealing with Congress and its staff members. Marcie will schedule the meetings with each congressional office. We would really like to have at least one person from each Kentucky congressional district to join us for this very important opportunity. More information will follow as it becomes available.

Finance/Administration Cabinet Contract Saga Comes to a Close
The long saga of the "New F/A Contract" has finally come to a close. After many sessions and a very solid front among the engineers and architects, a new contract is in use that works for everyone involved. We believe it to be better for Kentucky, as well as the consulting community. Firms that had contracts pending have received a new replacement contract to sign. The few firms that have signed the proposed contract will (or have) receive a new contract to sign.

A note of special thanks is in order for Mike Busick and for Robert Brooks, both of whom spent many hours "hanging in there" with us as we worked through this year-long process.

This contract is far from perfect, but it is functional and we can now get back to business. The next step with the contract is to gather suggested changes and identify possible improvements. Already underway is a minor technical change addressing the liability section. It should also be noted that the language in the liability section makes it possible for consultants to negotiate the level of insurance appropriate to size of the project and involvement. We will have opportunities in the near future to explore the new contract. The first chance will come in an abbreviated form at the quarterly meeting in Bowling Green and the second, more in-depth opportunity is being planned for a professional development seminar in late October.

The next step for the KCEC F/A Committee, chaired by George Ely, Jr., PE, PLS, will be to go back to the question of modernizing fees. We had made some limited progress on this issue when the contract issue appeared. The contract issue took precedent at the time, but now, we will return to the issue of modernizing fees. If you have concerns or ideas about this or other issues, contact George Ely (606.266.2144) or George Binder (800.455.5573). ¦

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

September 1998
29 KCEC Board of Directors’ Meeting, University Plaza Hotel, Bowling Green

30 KY Transportation Partnering Conference, University Plaza Hotel, Bowling Green

October 1998
1 KY Transportation Partnering Conference, University Plaza Hotel, Bowling Green

1 KCEC Quarterly Meeting, University Plaza Hotel, Bowling Green

8 KSPE/KCEC Professional Development - PE Exam Review Seminar, Kentucky Utilities, Lexington, KY

12-16 KTC Right of Way Training, Carriage House Hotel, Paintsville, KY

16 KY Board of Registration Meeting, General Butler State Park

22-24 Leadership PE, Jamestown, KY

November 1998
5-7 ACEC Fall Conference, White Sulphur Springs, WV

12-13 Leadership PE, Covington, KY

December 1998

Week #1 KCEC Quarterly Meeting - Governor Patton is our planned speaker.

April 1999

Week #1 KCEC Quarterly Meeting - Joint meeting with West Virginia (WVCEC) is planned.

Last Updated: 10/4/98