State Passes Contingent Payment Bill

Legislation takes on long-standing payment issues for the construction industry.

ACC Cypress Creek and ACC team celebrate grand opening.

2007 Texas Environmental Excellence Awards honored Dan Fette Builders Inc. for its : Nevada Court Subdivision project in Denton as the small business winner.

Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions, Inc. was awarded the large business non-technical 2007 Texas Environmental Excellence Award.

State Passes Contingent Payment Bill

Taking on the most contentious of construction payment issues, S.B. 324 passed both houses and was signed by the governor in June. The bill addresses the contingent payment clause. The clause states that a general contractor is not required to pay a subcontractor unless the owner of the construction projects pays the general contractor. The bill defines the clause and provides for situations when the clause cannot be used as a defense to not paying the subcontractor.

S.B. 324 was authored by Sen. Robert Deuell and sponsored by Rep. Warren Chisum in the house. The Associated General Contractors – Texas Building Branch and the Texas Construction Association lobbied hard for passage of the bill that goes into effect Sept. 1, 2007.

Texas Environmental Excellence Awards Presented

The 2007 Texas Environmental Excellence Awards were presented to a number of organizations across the state to celebrate the bold efforts of citizens, communities, businesses, and organizations to preserve and protect the Texas environment.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) presented the awards in 10 diverse categories across the public and private sectors.

Dan Fette Builders Inc. of Denton won the TEEA small business award for its Nevada Court Subdivision project in Denton. Partnering with the Denton Affordable Housing Corporation (DAHC), the two entities cooperatively developed Nevada Court, a three-acre subdivision in Denton. The builder focuses every aspect of construction on smart design, energy efficiency, and innovative uses of resources—all standard features—and prices homes affordably by comparison at almost 40 percent less than the city’s average.

Other winners of interest include:

• Leak Surveys Inc. of Early won the TEEA award for innovative technology. Leak Surveys Inc. developed new technology to detect gas-line leaks in fewer steps.

• Atlas Copco Drilling Solutions, Inc. of Garland won the TEEA award for large non-technical businesses. The company tests its drill bits on blocks of granite, which led to scrap waste. The company sought an end-use of the materials with an organization that repurposes the scrap for road-base. A mulch manufacturer also reuses Atlas Copco’s wooden crates and wood pallets and their cardboard is recycled into other paper products.

SMPS Houston Chapter Announces 2007-2008 Board of Directors

The Society of Marketing Professional Services, Houston chapter recently announces its slate of officers:

President Elect - Suzy Minor, CPSM, PSI
Membership Director - Jamie Calvert, Kirksey
Programs Director - Karla Kahn, Walter P Moore
Communications Director - Rhonda Hurley, Matrix Structural Engineers
Sponsorship Director - Monica Keels, Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing
Secretary - Kim Overton, FKP Architects
Education Director - Kim Icenhower, CPSM, Icenhower Consulting

Board appointed, non-voting positions:
Business Development Roundtable - T. Wayne Holcombe, CPSM, Jacobs Engineering
Senior Board Advisor - Doug Parker, CPSM, Origin Design

Returning for multi-year terms are:
President - Tracey Bocksnick, Paradigm Consultants
Past President - Amy Moen, CPSM, Haynes Whaley Associates
Treasurer - Katherine Yount, Landtech Consultants

Austin Community College Opens Cypress Creek Campus Expansion

Austin Community College’s Cypress Creek Campus will open its expanded and renovated Cedar Park campus this summer with a new 65,000 sq ft classroom building and a 37,150 sq ft renovation of the existing facility.

The $16.6 million project created a more contemporary look for the campus. The new facility includes science labs, classrooms, computer labs, administration and faculty offices, student services and retention services offices. Renovations include student commons and student life spaces, classrooms, art rooms, science labs, testing labs, a nursing skills lab, faculty offices and a bookstore and cafe.In addition, HVAC renovations, lighting and data upgrades will also be provided.

The project started with design in 2004 and will open this summer. The architectural design team included O’Connell Robertson of Austin and CasaBella Architects of Austin. Construction was done by SpawGlass Contractors, Inc. in Austin. Jose Guerra of Austin provided civil engineering and Jaster-Quintanilla & Associates, Inc. of Austin provided structural engineering. The new construction is Building 2000 and the renovated facility is Building 1000.

The Warrior Group to Provide Facilities to Army Corp of Engineers

Dallas-based The Warrior Group, the nation’s largest minority woman-owned provider of modular buildings, will provide modular construction facilities for U.S. Army medical facilities throughout the country as part of a multi-million dollar project by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Contracting Division in Mobile, Alabama.

The Warrior Group provides turnkey modular building solutions, from building design and estimating to project management. The company was one of three vendors selected from an extensive national bidding review of firms that are certified by the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) business development program to service the Multiple Award Task Order Contract.

Modular construction provides a more flexible solution to the U.S. Army’s medical facilities as it moves into new directions for healthcare with modern, state-of-art medical and dental facilities, according to the U.S. Army Installation Management Institute.

Omniplan Selected to Design Research Campus

Dallas-based Omniplan will provide architectural and engineering services for the fifth phase of the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center's North Research Campus. Phase 5 will set the organizational pattern and architectural language of the remaining six phases of the masterplan.

The design of the12-story, 379,950-sq-ft building will be divided into two separate efforts. First, the building shell and core will be designed around a general laboratory layout; second, the laboratories will be designed in response to the specific requirements of the principal users/researchers. In addition, the nonspecific lab layout provides the flexibility to respond easily to changing users and programs.

Omniplan's design team includes Mark Dilworth, AIA , LEED® AP, principal-in-charge and design director; John Hafker, AIA , project manager for the shell building; and Kevin Glasscock, AIA , project manager for the laboratory finish-out.

Additional consultants include John M. Y. Lee of New York, consulting architect and planner; Shah Smith Associates of Houston, MEP engineer; Datum Gojer of Dallas, structural engineer; Halff Associates of Dallas, civil engineer; Earl Walls of San Diego, laboratory planner; and The Office of Christopher Miller of Dallas, landscape architect.