Chapter Meeting - October 17, 2023

 

There will be no speaker this month, we will be holding a regular meeting to discuss chapter business. This will be a hybrid meeting, use the link below to register/join via zoom. It will be on the third Tuesday of the month, which is October 17 at 6 pm.

Meeting Details:

Time: October 17, 2023 at 6:00 pm

Physical Location: Sequoia Brewing, 1188 E Champlain Dr Suite 107, Fresno, CA 93720

Virtual Location: Register below

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZctc-Crpz4jHdLImwzQ-lkEqyQh6dRXR3vG

Upcoming Meetings:

October 17 – Business Meeting

November 21 – Speaker: Kevin Nehring PLS, CLSA President Elect 2023

December – No Meeting (Winter Break)

Membership

Please support the organization by paying your chapter & state MEMBERSHIP DUES. You can now pay online https://sjv-clsa.square.site/

Chapter Meeting - August 15, 2023

Speaker

This month, we are excited to welcome special guests to discuss Project Nexus, a pilot initiative by the Turlock Irrigation District (TID) that aims to determine the viability and benefits of the installation of solar panel canopies over irrigation canals. Our esteemed guests will be Josh Weimer, the Manager of the External Affairs Department, and Tristan Higgins, the Right of Way Manager.

TID has partnered with the California Department of Water Resources, Solar AquaGrid, and UC Merced, for this project. 

For more details about the project, please visit TID's Project Nexus page.

This will be a hybrid meeting, use the link below to register/join via zoom. It will be on the third Tuesday of the month, which is August 15 at 6 pm.

Meeting Details:

Time: August 15, 2023 at 6:00 pm

Physical Location: Sequoia Brewing, 1188 E Champlain Dr Suite 107, Fresno, CA 93720

Virtual Location: Register below

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZctc-Crpz4jHdLImwzQ-lkEqyQh6dRXR3vG

Membership

Please support the organization by paying your chapter & state MEMBERSHIP DUES. You can now pay online https://sjv-clsa.square.site/

Chapter's April Meeting

 

This month we will have a business meeting with our hybrid option, use link below to register/join via zoom.

Date:   April 18

Time:  6:00 pm

Physical Location: Sequoia Brewing, 1188 E Champlain Dr Suite 107, Fresno, CA 93720

Virtual meeting register: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZctc-Crpz4jHdLImwzQ-lkEqyQh6dRXR3vG

Always Learning

2023 LS Exam Review (FREE*)

*The cost is FREE, but we please ask for any amount of donation. To sign-up and receive the virtual meeting link without a donation, please choose $0.00 and proceed through checkout. The donated money goes directly into programs like this LS Review, local college survey courses and yearly education scholarships to surveying students.

Review hosted in person at Caltrans District 11 in San Diego and also via Virtual platform.

Caltrans District Office: 4050 Taylor St, San Diego, CA 92110

 Questions? Please e-mail Secretary@SD-Surveyors.org 

 Schedule and Presenters are subject to change:

•             4/6 - 6:30-9pm - Review / Mock Exam – TBD

 See link for more info <https://bit.ly/SanDiegoCLSA>

  Always Learning

Central Valley Chapter – CST/LSIT Review

Our April 2023 regular meeting will be held via Zoom. This is a regular meeting with a speaker. No chapter business will be handled at this meeting.

 Here is the Zoom meeting ID and the password for the meeting:

Meeting ID: 875 7822 3571

Passcode: 121212

 The meeting will be held on Friday, April 28, 2023, at 12:00 PM.

During this regular meeting we will review sample questions to prepare people for the CST and LSIT exams. Please contact Landon by e-mail with any questions. <landon.blake@redefinedhorizons.com>

 See link for more info <https://californiacentralvalleysurveyors.org/meetings-and-events/>

 

Outdoor Activities

2023 Joint (Lyles College/ASCE) Golf Tournament on May 5, 2023 at Dragonfly Golf Club

See flyer for details or link here

<http://www.fresnoymf.org/golf-tournament.html>

<https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1692/GID2/blank.aspx?sid=1692&gid=2&pgid=2384&cid=4559>

Outreach

2023 Volunteer Recruitment for Physics, Science & Math Days on April 28; May 5, 12, 19 2023 at California’s Great America

Greetings Dr. Peterson and colleagues,

 I am the immediate past president of the Santa Clara San Mateo chapter of CLSA.

Later this spring, we will be volunteering at Physics, Science, and Math Days at California’s Great America.

The event takes place on Fridays: April 28, May 5, May 12, and May 19, 2023.

We are looking for four teams of four volunteers, one for each of the dates.

Our chapter is happy to sponsor a carload of Fresno State students in order to help with gas and other travel costs.

Please share this information with all of your chapter members, and with all current surveying students at Fresno State.

Anyone with questions is welcome to contact me.

Contact Theo Martinez if you’re interested <theo@uandr.com>.

Newsletter

CLSA eNews – March Edition

IN THIS ISSUE...

• A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
• CLSA/NALS CONFERENCE 2023
• CLSA LOSES FRIENDS
• NATIONAL SURVEYORS WEEK
• WHERE IN CA IS THIS?
• CALL FOR 2023 NCEES SURVEYING EDUCATION AWARD ENTRIES
• GPS on Benchmarks update for California March 2023
• CLSA MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL
• 2023 WOMEN SURVEYORS SUMMIT
• LAND SURVEY EXAM REVIEW BY CLSA SAN DIEGO CHAPTER
• PHYSICS SCIENCE & MATH DAYS
• Help Shape the Future of Land Surveying by Educating Our Future Surveyors
• IN THE NEWS

See link for newsletter <https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Your-March-CLSA-eNews-is-here-.html?soid=1122348466678&aid=Kw5_4m_tbXs>

Newsletter

NSPS News & Views – March 30

Highlights include:

• The NSPS Political Action Committee (PAC) is looking for Sponsors, Golfers, and Cornhole players
• National Geodetic Survey's special NGS DAY at FIG WORKING WEEK 2023, Wednesday, 31 May 2023
• USDOT Releases $94 Million in Smart Cities Projects
• FCC Precision Agriculture and Rural Connectivity Task Force Progresses
• Freshman Congressional Spotlight: Pennsylvania
• Positioning through walls: DHS and NASA partner on indoor positioning and location solution
• Forest Service kicks off centennial in Pleasant Twp.
• Here's how a single line cost Fort Worth $7.6 million in cost overruns on its new City Hall
• Sustainable Rainwater Treatment for the Future
• The American-Made CAP50 Drone Takes Flight
• Robust Navigation for Urban Air Mobility
• Data Sharing between Desktop and Mobile devices
• SimActive software enhances utility mapping
• Septentrio Launches Agnostic Corrections Partner Program

 

See link for newsletter <https://multibriefs.com/briefs/NSPS/NSPS033023.php>

Always Learning

Mentoring Mondays

Upcoming schedule for the next few weeks is:

 April 3^rd – Dane Courville, PLS - Survey Statistics, and... for those studying for the PS/FS & CST Exams.

April 10^th – TBD

April 17^th – Gavin Schrock, PLS - GNSS Corrections and Augmentations - Which Types Can Meet Surveyors Needs?

April 24^th – Jeff Lucas, PLS - Land Surveyor as Equity Judge

May 1^st – Dane Courville, PLS - Traverse Adjustments for those studying for the PS/FS & CST Exams.

May 8^th – Dana Robie, PLS - Legal Description writing

See link for more info <https://mentoringmondays.xyz/>

Always Learning

Wisdom Wednesdays

Upcoming schedule for the next few weeks is:

April 12^th – Round Table Discussion about Chapter 18

April 26^th – Round Table Discussion about Chapter 19 - 1st Book is finished!

See link for more info <https://wisdomwednesdays.xyz/>

Conference

Future Surveyors Foundation - 2023 Women Surveyors Summit

Oct 19-22, 2023 in Stillwater, MN

4^th Women Land Surveyors Summit

The Women Surveyors Summit, hosted by Future Surveyors

Foundation is held to support and promote diversity in the

land surveying profession. There are 8-10 PDH’s available.

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact info@futuresurveyors.org

See link for more info <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/women-surveyors-summit-2023-registration-514952375417>

 Conference

FIG 2023 Working Week (NSPS is the Host)

May 27 - June 3, 2023

Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria, Orlando, FL

See link for more info <https://www.fig.net/fig2023/>

Educational Employment

Fresno State is looking for part time faculty – Spring 2023

Dr Peterson is looking for some part time faculty in the GME program at Fresno State Starting Spring 2023, requirement of License.

Needed Courses:

• GME 15L Elementary surveying Lab, Tuesday 2-5
• GME 16 Municipal Surveying, MWF 12-1
• GME 16L Municipal Surveying Lab ,Friday 2-5
• GME 66L AutoCAD, Tuesday and Thursday or Monday/Wednesday 6-9pm
• GME 159 subdivision Design, Tuesday or Thursday 5-7:30pm

Email and respond directly to Dr. Peterson (scpeterson@mail.fresnostate.edu)

17th Annual Joint Golf Tournament Friday May 5, 2023 (Lyles College and ASCE)

On Friday, May 5, 2023 the Lyles College of Engineering Alumni Chapter and the American Society of Civil Engineers will be holding the 17 Annual Joint Golf at the Dragonfly Golf Club.

 See flier for additional information

Tournament Fees

• $155 Each Normal Registration (Before April 1st)
• $165 Each Late Registration (After April 1st)

Registration due April 21st

Sign up Online at: http://bit.ly/3yM2Rn2

43369 Avenue 12, Madera, CA 93636

Physics, Science, & Math Days at California’s Great America - Volunteer Information (Santa Clara/San Mateo Chapter)

Physics, Science, & Math Days At California’s Great America

April 28; May 5, 12, & 19, 2023

Volunteer commitment: Approximately 8:15 AM to 3:00 PM

Please contact Theo Martinez in late March or Early April, 2023.  See flier for additional information

The Santa Clara/San Mateo Chapter of CLSA has organized interactive surveying presentations at Physics, Science, and Math Days at California’s Great America in Santa Clara since at least 2014. 

We welcome all land surveyors, land survey technicians, and land surveying students to join us in our presentations. 

Your commitment will be from approximately 8:15 AM to 3:00 PM, but the event actually goes to 5:00 PM. You are certainly welcome to continue to staff our table until 5:00 PM, but you will also have the option of enjoying Great America’s rides and other attractions between 3:00 and 5:00 PM.

We generally have a table with literature about career opportunities in land surveying. We also generally set up a robotic total station and perform continuous topographic measurements in the general vicinity of our table. We also try to set up our presentation in a location close to the teachers’ lounge. With this location, we can make contact with geometry, trigonometry, and geography teachers with the goal of visiting their classes at a later date.

Chapter's March Meeting

Topic:

Reedley College Land Surveying Programs – Certificate of Completion/Certificate of Achievement/ Associate of Science

The focus of the Land Surveying program is to provide the student with a thorough background in land surveying and mapping in addition to an introduction to the collecting, manipulating, formatting and mapping of data. A student who successfully completes the program will have the technical expertise necessary for an entry level position in the field of Land Surveying or related fields of geographic information systems specialists, architectural services, and engineering services. Land Surveyors measure and record property boundaries and the topography of the land for construction and engineering projects. Surveys are used to establish legal boundaries to prepare maps and exhibits, and write descriptions of land tracts that satisfy legal requirements. The program also assists students in preparing for the State Land Surveyor-In-Training and Land Surveyor's Exams.

Ms. Al Haider will share the status of the program, how you can assist, and answer questions.

Speaker Bio:

Rebecca Al Haider is the Coordinator of Noncredit Programs at Reedley College. In this position, she has successfully launched the college's Extended Learning program, which offers over 230 noncredit courses and programs to meet the academic, economic, and personal needs of students. Currently, she is focused on developing a Land Surveying program that will meet the needs of the industry and create opportunities for the community.

She participates in the college's shared governance by serving as faculty co-chair of the Marketing and Communication committee and secretary of Academic Senate. She graduated from Fresno State University with a B.A. and M.A. in Linguistics. In 2007, she taught EFL at South East European University in Macedonia, and in 2008 as an English Language Fellow, she taught EFL at Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt

Meeting Details: 

Date: March 21, 2023 

Time: 6:00 pm 

Physical Location: Sequoia Brewing 1188 E Champlain Dr Suite 107 Fresno, CA 93720 

Virtual Location: Register at :https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZctc-Crpz4jHdLImwzQ-lkEqyQh6dRXR3vG

Reedley College Stem Conference: 

https://stemconference2023.eventbrite.com/

62nd Annual Fresno State Geomatics Engineering Conference

 

62nd Annual Fresno State Geomatics Engineering Conference

Conference website

Fresno State Campus Map

Date and time: Thu, Jan 12, 2023, 12:00 PM – Fri, Jan 13, 2023, 5:00 PM PST

Where: Lynda & Stewart Resnick Student Union 5244 North Jackson Avenue Fresno, CA 93740

Have Questions? – reach out via email gmeconf.csuf@gmail.com;

Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/62nd-annual-geomatics-conference-tickets-466660904327

Tentative Schedule

Chapter's October Meeting

This month speaker will be CLSA's President Elect, Kevin Hills, County Surveyor for the County of Orange. If you have any pressing questions/concerns/comments, come on by and meet our president elect. This will be a hybrid meeting, use link below to register/join via zoom. 

It will be on the third Tuesday of the month, which is October 18 at 6 pm, please support the organization by paying your chapter & state MEMBERSHIP DUES. You can now pay online https://sjv-clsa.square.site/ 

Speaker Bio:

Kevin is a professional land surveyor with more than 35 years of experience in the surveying profession. Kevin is experienced in the preparation of ALTA surveys, topographic surveys, subdivision engineering, and 3D spatial mapping for a wide range of commercial, residential and educational facilities. As County Surveyor for the County of Orange, Kevin’s team is responsible for the managing all Surveying & Mapping, GIS Services, Map Reviews and Right of Way acquisitions in support of Orange County Public Works. Kevin has a Diploma in Survey Technology from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, a Bachelor of Science in Management and a Master’s in Business Administration from Pepperdine University.

Meeting Details: 

Date: October 18, 2022 

Time: 6:00 pm 

Physical Location: Sequoia Brewing 1188 E Champlain Dr Suite 107 Fresno, CA 93720 

Virtual Location: Register at the link below: 

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lc-GrpjgsEtEHskxWooA09q7tR4wgnGjN

Chapter's November Meeting

The San Joaquin Valley Chapter's November meeting will be held via Zoom at Tuesday 11/16/2021 from 6pm to 9pm.

Please register for the meeting at the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvc-GvrTotHNLHKxN4EVo6cgYO1tHELGeg

Chapter's May Meeting

The San Joaquin Valley Chapter's May meeting will be held via Zoom at Tuesday 5/18/2021 from 6pm to 9pm.

Please register for the meeting at the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMvc-utpjgpGtVNnmb5Ou8y1oveomQ3_S4N

The speaker will be Brian Gong with Airworks who will be discussing services to convert UAV aerial data into CAD drawing.

Chapter's April Meeting

The San Joaquin Valley Chapter's April meeting will be held via Zoom at Tuesday 4/20/2021 from 6pm to 9pm. Please register for the meeting at the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrcOmurjwqH9JB2UA6EXFhTDWRFzU0lLCf

NCEES Surveyor Profiles

Our Chapter's own Joceyln Correa was recently profiled in an ongoing series by NCEES to explore the benefits of licensure and how professional surveyors are working on a daily basis to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

Investing in a career in surveying Jocelyn Correa, P.S. March is Women’s History Month, and March 21–27 is National Surveyors Week. To celebrate, Jocelyn Correa, P.S., shares her surveying story, including her work with mentoring young surveyors and representing NCEES as a judge for this year’s Future City competition. Read the full story

Jocelyn Correa, Chapter Treasurer, Interview on Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast

      

 Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast — Episode 65

This session of the “Future Focus” series features Jocelyn Correa, a licensed surveyor from California. She recently talked with Tim Burch about making the early transition from architectural student to cadastral mapper and leading into discovering her love for surveying. Jocelyn shared her experiences with chasing boundary retracement, tying it together with UAV and topographic data with the appropriate quality checks, to create surveys that provide great information and value to the client. She also spoke about how a welcoming work environment adds to the overall positive experience as a surveyor. Jocelyn adds that mentoring is an important factor to the success of all surveyors, so keeping the channels open for learning opportunities is vital.

Link: Surveyor Says! The NSPS Podcast site

Podcast available on

     

GPS on Bench Marks

 GPS on Bench Marks

Help improve the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) and prepare for the NSRS modernization in 2022 by participating in the GPS on Bench Marks (GPS on BM) for the Transformation Tool campaign. For more information visit https://geodesy.noaa.gov/GPSonBM/

Bench Mark Map

New Visalia Social Security Building Being Built on Flood Zone

Posted: May 6, 2009 10:37 PM PDT on www.KMPH.com

View Video: New Visalia Social Security Building Being Built on Flood Zone


By: Ashley Ritchie

Steve Nelson opened his newspaper Wednesday morning and realized he has something in common with the federal government; they both now have property in a flood zone.

"Three days after we have a city council meeting and we have 300-some people show up to voice their opinion, all of the sudden we find out about the social security building. I find that kind of, really ironic," Nelson said.

General Services Administration officials gave the go-ahead in September 2008 for a new social security office, six months after FEMA released Visalia's re-zoned flood maps.

"The federal government, under presidential directive, says that federal offices can't be located in flood zones," Alex Peltzer, Visalia City Attorney, said.

The social security office is being built right now at 1901 E. Noble, right across the street from Wal-Mart.

Originally, the General Services Administration planned to build the office at Lovers Lane and Tulare. But they chose the Noble site because it wasn't in a flood plain.

But with the new maps, the Noble location is now on a flood plain and the first site isn't and never was.

"The federal government may be in a position of having to get its own flood insurance. I don't know how that works between agencies. But that's what would happen with other people," Peltzer said.

"I'm gonna watch vigilantly to see if magically they become out of the flood zone," Nelson said.

In the meantime, the 8,900 residents now in the flood plain must start paying flood insurance by June 16th.

Steve Nelson says he hears the concerned stories every day.

"He says I'm upside down. What am I supposed to do? It's hard to look a man in the eye and say, I'd love to help you and I'm trying to help you. But in all honesty, I don't know if anybody cares," he said.

City officials say they're looking at several options for residents right now, including examining each individual property to see if it's really in a flood zone.

But until then, they're urging those affected residents to have flood insurance secured by June 16th.

The parcel of land the new social security building is being built on is being leased to the government by the southern California based Imperial Group.

City officials say they're not sure if the group even knew about the flood maps when the site was chosen.

Four men take a chance on new Visalia company

Four men take a chance on new Visalia company
Visalia Times-Delta - Visalia,CA,USA
BY JORDAN RIGHI • For the Times-Delta • February 24, 2009
http://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/article/20090224/NEWS01/902240319

After surviving three rounds of economic layoffs, four men decided to leave the civil engineering firm of Quad Knopf and start their own company.

Matt Ainley, David De Groot, Randy Wasnick and Craig Hartman opened 4 Creeks Inc. last June, setting up shop at 3643 W. Oakridge Ave. in the Demaree Square West business center on Goshen Avenue in Visalia.

"Everyone thought we were a little crazy and that our timing was a little nuts," said Ainley, 30, the eldest of the four men and the firm's president.

But their decision seems to be working out well. The company is showing signs of growth and now employs 11, three on a part-time basis.

As it turns out, the dark economic cloud has had a silver lining for 4 Creeks: The firm has been able to take advantage of the downsizing of others. Ainley said he has been able to pick up slightly used equipment at steep discount prices, much of it from Internet auction sites like eBay.

"People have a lot of extra equipment that they're trying to shed," he said

The cost of hiring also is a little lower than normal, he said. The firm has hired former Quad Knopf workers who've been laid off, Ainley said.

He said the firm's business plan is divided into four areas, based on the interests and specialties of the partners. Ainley is primarily responsible for land development and public works; De Groot handles agriculture and dairy; Wasnick handles land surveying; and Hartman is responsible for energy and environmental.

The firm is busy working with dairy clients to develop waste-management plans required by the state.

SJV-CLSA February Meeting

Due to some scheduling conflicts the February meeting for the San Joaquin Valley Chapter of the California Land Surveyor's Association will be held NEXT WEEK on Thursday, February 19, 2008, at 6:30 pm, at Luna's Pizzeria and Italian Resturant located at 349 Pollasky Avenue (between 3rd & 4th) in Clovis. There will not be a speaker or presentation this month, but we plan to make up for that in the coming months.

So to recap: there will NOT be a Chapter meeting this week on our regularly scheduled second Thursday. Our Chapter meeting will be held NEXT WEEK on February 19, 6:30pm, at Luna's Pizzeria in Old Town Clovis.

-----

The CLSA State Office has been contacted by various High Schools throughout the State regarding their Career Fairs. Within the San Joaquin Valley Chapter, various the High Schools have expressed an interest in having a CLSA representative visit their schools for their Career Fair. We are looking for volunteers to man a booth at these career fairs to promote the land surveying profession. CLSA Central Office will provide supplies for a tabletop display as well as handout material (DVDs, brochures, etc.).

If you would like to volunteer, please contact the SJV-CLSA Chapter President, Kevin Nehring, at president@sjvclsa.org or 559-297-4200 x8, or contact Crissy Willson at the CLSA Central Office at 707-578-6016.

-----

Upcoming events -

Thur., Feb. 19, 6:30pm - SJV-CLSA Chapter Meeting
Where: Luna's Pizzeria and Italian Resturant, 349 Pollasky Avenue, Clovis, CA

Thur., Mar. 12 - SJV-CLSA Chapter Meeting
Where: TBA
Speaker: TBA

Mar. 15-21 - National Surveyor's Week

Mar. 28-Apr. 1 - CLSA Conference 2009

Thur., Apr. 9, 6:30pm - SJV-CLSA Chapter Meeting
Where: TBA
Speaker: Aaron R. Smith, PLS - 2009 CLSA Pres. Elect
Topic: CLSA Stuff. Bring your questions, comments & concerns.

-----

For more information:
visit the Chapter website at: http://www.sjvclsa.org/
visit the Chapter calendar at: http://www.sjvclsa.org/Calendar.htm
or contact the Chapter at sjvclsa@gmail.com

Surveyors face punishment for elevation errors

Surveyors face punishment for elevation errors
February 6, 2009 - 5:52 PM
KFDM-TV - Jessica Holloway

KFDM News (Beaumont, TX) has learned two Southeast Texas surveyors who shot elevations of homes in West Jefferson County could face punishment for how they carried out their work. The Texas Board of Land Surveying met in Austin Friday.
It's decided two Southeast Texas surveyors violated at least five board rules.

The surveyors filed elevation certificates for families living in the Labelle-Fannett area of West Jefferson County. After Hurricane Ike, homeowners in that area found out their elevations were off, in some cases three feet lower than they thought. As a result, many people in Country Road Estates had several feet of water inside their homes. Some lost everything.

A few homeowners have filed civil lawsuits against their surveyors. They want to recoup the 25% of the lost value of their homes not covered by FEMA.

Monday two staff members from the board will decide the appropriate disciplinary action. That could include a fine or the maximum penalty, losing their licenses. The two surveyors have the option of telling their side of the story before the Texas Attorney General. The board will have the final say.

As for any other property owners who file a complaint against a surveyor, those complaints will be investigated by the board and if it rules against the surveyers, the same range of punishment is guaranteed.

Jefferson County homeowner claims incorrect survey caused home to flood

As posted in the Beaumont Enterprise, February 05, 2009
By KYLE PEVETO
February, 5, 2009

James Majors' Hillebrandt Acres cabin would not have flooded if surveyors who established his property's elevation had done their homework, the homeowner said.

Majors, 43, of Port Neches, will present a complaint against Soutex Surveyors, Inc. of Port Arthur to the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying for issuing an incorrect elevation certificate for his home on Hillebrandt Bayou in 2003.

The surveyors acted in good faith, the company president said, but the error may be rooted in a natural phenomenon discovered last year.

"I want someone to hold up to their objectives, to say, 'I made a mistake'," Majors said by phone Thursday.

In 1996, Majors hired Soutex to complete a property survey for his cabin in the Hillebrandt Acres subdivision near the LaBelle area in unincorporated Jefferson County. Before building a cabin on the property along Hillebrandt Bayou, he wanted to find the property's elevation above sea level so he could research the historical floods that hit the area and build above that point.

The survey placed his yard at 10 feet above mean sea level, according to his complaint, and in 2003, he began building almost 3 feet higher than that to rise above the historical flood level in the area.

In July 2003, Soutex created Majors a final elevation certificate he could file with Jefferson County to receive final permits, placing his home's bottom floor at 12.9 feet.

At that level, the Hurricane Ike storm surge should have hit more than a foot below the cabin's bottom floor.

Majors contacted Soutex to ask about the discrepancy, and the survey company's president, Anthony Leger, told him about other homes in the Country Road Estates area across Hillebrandt Bayou that had similar problems.

Dozens of homes in the LaBelle area were lower than their elevation certificates said, and after the storm, many were too low to get building permits from Jefferson County, because they were below the 100-year flood plain. Majors' home was above the 100-year level. Still, the storm surge pushed more than a foot of water into his house.

For 30 years, property elevation in the area of Country Road Estates and other homes in the LaBelle area had been produced using data from a federal monument - a brass disk - placed a little more than two miles northwest of Port Acres, Leger wrote in a letter to Jefferson County in May 2008.

That monument, placed by the National Geodetic Survey in 1954, placed the monument's elevation at 6.32 feet above sea level, Ronnie Taylor of the National Geodetic Survey told The Enterprise in late December.

Federal surveyors checked the area again in the early 1980s for FEMA flood maps, and the benchmark's elevation was 3.1 feet lower.

Professional surveyors cannot take the time to establish mean sea level each time they shoot a survey, Leger said, so they rely on government data from the hundreds of thousands of benchmarks across the country. The benchmark's level remained too high in the government record.

Leger said the benchmark's level could account for incorrect elevations throughout LaBelle. When he learned of the problem in spring 2008, he wrote a letter to the county.

The benchmark's elevation change may be caused by subsidence - the sinking of soil often caused by oil drilling or groundwater pumping in an area. A 1983 FEMA flood study said in the area where the benchmark lay, "the subsidence is about 3 feet."

Majors said the surveyors should have known about the benchmark's elevation change and should have not have used data from the benchmark that changed.

"I did my homework (while building the house)," Majors said. "Why didn't they do theirs?"

Surveyors rely on published data from the monuments, Leger said, unless the benchmarks prove incorrect.

"It's a normal practice, yes, sir," Leger said. "It's just unfortunate that LaBelle is in that situation."

The surveying board will meet at 9 a.m. in Austin and may issue its findings at a later meeting. The board can revoke or suspend surveyors' licenses.

California budget woes whipsaw highway contractors

Posted in the Sacramento Bee
By Jim Wasserman and Jon Ortiz
jwasserman@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008 | Page 9A


Excuse some mood swings in the construction industry.

On a good day, President-elect Barack Obama says he will spend untold billions of dollars on infrastructure work to wake up the U.S. economy.

Then, on a bad one, California officials say they'll cancel $5 billion worth of infrastructure projects in two weeks unless there's a fast budget fix.

"One week we're getting fantastic news and this week you wake up and it's complicated. Is it a roller coaster? Absolutely," said Diane Meehan, owner and president of Sacramento's Richard A. Heaps Electrical Contractor Inc. The company works on highway traffic lights from Merced to Oregon.

"There are a couple of things pulling against one another," said Steven Hiatt, Sacramento office director for the engineering firm Nolte Associates Inc. The firm's 500 employees operate in three states and Mexico. "The (federal) economic stimulus package tends to weigh toward some quick projects that may take place next year. But the state's budget problem tends to counter that. How that works out remains to be seen."

This can, indeed, seem like the best and worst of times for an embattled construction industry competing for fewer projects with ever-lower bids. Yet many area construction executives who work throughout California and the West say they're largely looking past the state's budget problems to a coming boom.

If the explosion of work comes "it's going to be huge for firms in the Sacramento area," said Meehan, who has 65 employees.

Collectively, Meehan, Hiatt and many others are watching as an incoming presidential administration considers massive deficit spending to rebuild the nation's bridges, highways, tunnels and schools.

Days ago, Obama promised to create millions of jobs with the "single largest new investment in our national infrastructure since the creation of the federal highway system in the 1950s." He also promised to create new jobs by upgrading schools and making buildings more energy-efficient.

Obama said that such action is necessary – and soon – to offset the loss of 2 million jobs in this recession. In California, the construction industry alone has lost 66,100 jobs in the past year – mostly in the home-building sector.

Ken Kayser, president of Sacramento-based Teichert Construction, said, "It's huge. With the private side all dried up, it really is the only game there is for companies like ours."

Teichert specializes in paving, grading and widening roads and highways from Bakersfield to Marysville. While much of its work was for housing developers during the boom, the collapse of the Central Valley housing market has heightened its need for public infrastructure jobs. The firm has about 3,000 workers.

Sacramento-based highway contractor C.C. Myers said Tuesday that building infrastructure to stimulate the economy "is good for everybody. Other people make and supply the things we need. It puts them to work, too."

But consider this, too, he said. "We need it done. We're way behind the curve in where we should be on maintaining our highways. One of the reasons it doesn't get done is because we haven't had the money for years. This infusion will help."

Myers, like Kayser, is waiting to see a game plan from the California Department of Transportation. Caltrans has outlined plans to spend $107 billion on transportation projects in the next decade.

Department spokeswoman Tamie McGowen said those plans contain the likeliest candidates for construction under a federal stimulus. For big contractors like Myers, that's a shot at projects like 550 miles of new high-occupancy vehicle lanes and 750 miles of new highway lanes.

Myers said his firm largely depends on public sector work, such as rebuilding a damaged Bay Area freeway interchange and overhauling a section of Interstate 5 last summer in Sacramento. His firm is currently building what Myers calls "the longest arch bridge in the U.S." on Highway 395 near Carson City, Nev. He employs 450 to 500 people.

While heavy construction firms await stimulus moves by the federal government, the state is proving – at least momentarily – more worrisome. Monday, state Treasurer Bill Lockyer warned the Legislature that cash is running so short that $5 billion in public works projects are threatened with a halt within two weeks.

He said that could force thousands of layoffs.

"Our ability to give our struggling economy a much-needed shot in the arm will be lost," Lockyer said.

Paul Meyer, executive director of the American Council of Engineering Companies of California, said it's critical that California "get its act together in time" to provide matching funds for the federal stimulus. The Sacramento organization represents 1,100 private consulting, engineering and land-surveying firms in California.

"If California doesn't have the funds available to match, it could delay projects, at a minimum. We could miss out on some," he said. "It's a competitive situation between the states."


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Call The Bee's Jim Wasserman, (916) 321-1102. Read his blog on real estate, Home Front, at www.sacbee.com/blogs.