AMERICAN COUNCIL OF ENGINEERING COMPANIES/MARYLAND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING FEBRUARY 16, 2017 A meeting of the Executive Committee of the American Council of Engineering Companies/Maryland was called to order by S. Robinson, President, at 4:03 P.M. on Thursday, February 16, 2017 at the Garrett Jacobs Mansion, Baltimore, MD. IN ATTENDANCE: S. Robinson, President; J. Jannetti, Vice President; S. Taub, Treasurer; A. Straus, Secretary; M. Peters, S. McCone, C. Kumi, V. Pielli, H. Patel, and T. Frascarella, ACEC/MD Directors; W. Barrett, ACEC Alternate Director; participants in the 2017 ACEC/MD Leadership Program and J. Otradovec, ACEC/MD Executive Director. S. Robinson welcomed the participants in the 2017 ACEC/MD Leadership Program, and encouraged their involvement in ACEC/MD. MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 19 TH MEETING: A motion was duly moved and seconded, and the minutes of the January 19, 2017 meeting were approved. FINANCIAL REPORT: S. Taub distributed copies of the Statement of Financial Condition for the Council as of January 31, 2017, as follows: ASSETS: Cash - checking $ 131,139.91 T. Rowe Price Prime Reserve Fund 2,182.67 Accounts Receivable 137,728.25 Dues Receivable Local $ 166,998.44 National 53,334.01 220,332.45 Affiliate Dues Receivable 7,500.00 Joint Council Dues Receivable 450.00 $ 499,333.28 LIABILITIES: Accounts Payable $ 21,691.96 NET WORTH: Beginning Balance 7/1/16 $ 308,195.24 Total to Date 169,446.08 $ 477,641.32 The Statement of Income and Expense, which is attached to the minutes, was reviewed for seven months ending January 31, 2017. S. Taub reported that, although dues payments continue to be slow, seven months into the fiscal year, the budget is on target. The statement reflects an increase in accounts receivable due to recent billings. A small profit realized on the CEPAC Luncheon and expenses associated with the Senator Conway reception, Legislative Luncheon, and Dream Big sponsorship are also 1
included on the statement. After discussion, it was duly moved and seconded to accept the financial report as presented. OLD BUSINESS: 1. SMART Goals S. Robinson and J. Otradovec reported on the goals, as follows: Membership Growth/Retention Five new Regular members and one Affiliate member have been added. Increased Legislative Support While only 98 firm representatives participated, 107 people registered for the ACEC/MD Legislative Action Day. Joined by leadership class participants for the first time, this represents a dramatic increase over the number of representatives that participated in last year s event. Program The Utilities Committee has scheduled a program March 29 th focusing on resiliency. Political Fundraising While ACEC/MD exceeded the goal for ACEC/PAC fundraising, approximately $22,000 of the $25,000 goal was raised last year for CEPAC. This represents only 22% of the 40% member firm participation called for in the goals. Dues Billing All member firms represented on the Executive Committee and as Committee Chairs have paid their dues in full. Career Outreach Eight out of twelve members of the Executive Committee have identified two or more individuals that would be involved in outreach efforts. Prime/Sub Interaction One of three roundtables has been held in the current fiscal year. The SBE Committee has scheduled a roundtable March 20 th. Another session will be held June 22 nd in conjunction with the ACEC/MD Annual Conference at National Harbor. 2. Governor s Procurement Commission S. McCone reported that, reflecting the commission s findings, ACEC/MD testified in favor of the following legislation: SB 309 - State Finance and Procurement SBE/MBE Participation Clarifies what constitutes good cause for removal of MBE from contract, raises SBR goal for each agency by 50% and makes it applicable to all procuring agencies. SB 310 Improving the State Procurement Oversight Structure Alters the duties and membership of the Procurement Advisory Council and provides for the ability to appeal a contract claim after 180 days. SB 311 Promoting Efficiencies in State Procurement Raises the small procurement threshold to $50,000 generally and to $100,000 for DGS and MDOT construction projects, provides procurement officers discretion on which procurement method to use, while confirming QBS for A/E services, repeals GPSSB and TPSSB, and authorizes master contracting for control agencies. ACEC/MD is working with legislators to strengthen the QBS language contained in the bill and to ensure that reports generated by the TPSSB are still available. 3. Entering Into Amicus Brief in Defense of the Economic Loss Rule J. Otradovec reported that the decision could be handed down within six months. At issue is whether a contractor can sue a design firm for losses when there is no contract between the two entities. Both the lower court and the Court of Special Appeals ruled in favor of the Economic Loss Rule, while the Court of Appeals issued a Writ of Centorri. 2
4. ACEC/MD s 60 th Anniversary J. Jannetti reported that preliminary polling of the Executive Committee indicated a preference for a non- black tie affair and a band with spouses and guests being invited. It appears that the best venue would be the new Sagamore Pendry Hotel at the Old Fells Point Recreation Pier. Based on availability, the tentative date for the event is Friday, November 3 rd from 6:00 10:00 PM. Valet parking will be available and a block of rooms will be secured. 5. Bylaws Review J. Otradovec reported that, to address concerns, the Bylaws and Rules of Policy & Procedures would need to be modified to require that only ACEC/MD member firm representatives would be eligible to serve on committees. Also, it is proposed to remove language referencing to Associate and Supplier member firms. The following language was presented for consideration: Bylaws Section 1-Appointment & Classification add the following (d) COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN AND MEMBERS SHALL BE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE EMPLOYEES OF ACEC/MD MEMBER FIRMS. Rules of Policy & Procedures; Section II-COMMITTEES; (e) Committee Members (2) Committee and sub-committee chairmen AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS must be principals, employees of member firms, or Joint Council Firm representatives. Retired principals and Joint Council Member Firm representatives may serve on committees as voting members. Non-ACEC/MD ACEC Associate, Affiliate and Supplier Member Firm representatives may serve on committees as non-voting members. (Added = BOLD CAPS; Deleted = bold strike through) After discussion, a motion was approved to forward the proposed amendment to the general membership for their consideration. 6. President s Award J. Otradovec reported that Howard County DPW Director Jim Irvin expressed appreciation for being selected to receive the award. He will attend the banquet. 7. Joint Event with SMPS J. Otradovec reported that he was contracted by SMPS about cohosting an event featuring Sage Policy Group s Anirban Basu. The event would now be held over lunch at the Center Club on March 24 th. The cost for member firm representatives would be $65 and the theme for the presentation would be Playing the Trump Card. ACEC/MD would be responsible for half of the speaker s cost, which would be reduced by profit realized on the event. NEW BUSINESS: 1. ACEC Convention & Legislative Summit (April 23-26, 2017) - ACEC s Annual Convention and Legislative Summit will be held in D.C. April 23 26, 2017. The leadership breakfast and BOD meeting are scheduled Sunday, April 23 rd, while the congressional visitations will be held Wednesday, April 26 th. The program will feature a focus on business opportunities associated with the new administration. ACEC advocacy priorities include: Infrastructure initiatives including FAA Reauthorization, Comprehensive Energy legislation, and Tax and Regulatory Reform. While the room cut-off and discounted registration expire March 24 th, individuals should secure their reservations today. 3
2. Maryland Chamber Congressional Dinner (March 6 th ) ACEC/MD will once again secure a table for the annual chamber event that features presentations from Maryland s congressional representatives. S. McCone, T. Frascarella, and W. Barrett expressed interest in attending. 3. Congressman Delaney Event (March 22 nd ) The congressman will be hosting an evening reception in D.C. The Executive Committee expressed interest in sponsoring the event. ACEC will be contacted about contributing from ACEC/PAC. S. McCone and T. Frascarella expressed interest in attending. SPECIAL REPORTS: 1. ACEC Reports W. Barrett and J. Otradovec reported the following: With 41 states achieving their goal, ACEC/PAC achieved a new record in raising $1,010,433. 85% of ENR firms have joined ACEC, a new record. ACEC-backed legislation to limit use of single-step D/B was introduced. COMMITTEE REPORTS: 1. Awards & Recommendations M. Peters reported that there were three candidates for both the Young Professional and Community Service awards and seven students that entered the scholarship competition. All scholarship recipients and awardees are expected to attend the banquet. 2. Environmental J. Otradovec reported that the theme for the Spring Business Forum, scheduled May 16 th, is Environmental Progress in a Changing World. EPA s Nick DePasquale has been contacted about delivering the keynote remarks. The next committee meeting is scheduled March 14 th. 3. Public Relations M. Peters and J. Otradovec reported the following: The chair is encouraging firm representatives to like ACEC/MD on Facebook. The committee developed the program guide for ACEC/MD s Awards Banquet and coordinated the placement of the banner commemorating Engineers Week (February 19-25) on the Public Works Museum. RK&K is displaying panels recognizing E Week in their conference room windows. The ASCE-sponsored premier at the Science Center of the film Dream Big is sold out. The film, being rolled out at the beginning of Engineers Week, emphasizes the important contribution that engineering makes to society. The next committee meeting is scheduled February 28 th. 4. Career Outreach J. Otradovec provided the report from the chair, as follows: The committee is developing an official organizational chart and work plan that will be discussed at their March 3 rd meeting. The committee will participate in Hopkins Career Connections program, being held July 12 th. The program is targeted for undecided engineering majors at the school. It is envisioned that member firm representatives would speak to students about 4
engineering as a career path. Following the discussions, the program would switch to a career fair format. Reservoir High School Mentoring Program Students at the school are looking for support on a Project Lead the Way (PLTW) project to develop a brace to prevent sprains. Volunteers are needed for the Howard County STEM Fair on June 4 th and the Science & Engineering Festival at the DC Convention Center, April 7 & 8. ACEC/MD needs mentors to work with students, who will develop hands on displays that will be used throughout the year during outreach events. JMT s T. Kester (tlkester@jmt.com or 410.568.2669) is spearheading the effort. WRA s M. Hustead (mhustead@wrallp.com or 443.224.1770) would like firms to donate extra giveaways that could be distributed at Baltimore City s 2017 Engineering Design and Development Symposium and Innovation Showcase, being held May 4 th. Items should be sent to WRA by March 31 st. 5. CEPAC S. McCone reported that, during the session, the committee is focusing on getting pledges from both firms and individuals. Currently, only 21% of ACEC/MD firms are contributing resulting in approximately $42,000 being raised toward the $50,000 two-year goal. 6. Legislative S. McCone and J. Otradovec reported the following: ACEC/MD Initiated Legislation SB 109/HB 283 (Conway/Krebs) Procurement - Prohibitions on Participation Hearings held in both the EHEA and HGO Committees went well, with no apparent opposition. SB 235/HB 470 (Guzzone/Haynes) Sales & Use Tax - Exemption Services Performed by Person Practicing Engineering While the hearings went well in both the B&T and W&M Committees, there was a question in the House Committee regarding the rationale for singling out engineering services for tax exemption. This concern was also echoed by the Maryland Chamber in their letter of opposition to the legislation. ACEC/MD also testified in opposition to SB 4 MBE Program Participation Requirements and Reauthorization due to concerns about the applicability on open end contracts if the MBE is required to state the percentage and type of work that will be performed under the contract. 7. Membership J. Otradovec requested that Executive Committee members follow up with the firms that they committed to contact. He also questioned whether anyone had contacts at Maintenance Design Group or ESD Associates. Nobody was familiar with the firms. 8. Program/Annual Conference (Gaylord, National Harbor, MD, June 21-23, 2017) J. Otradovec reported the following: The Gaylord Hotel at National Harbor will be the site of ACEC/MD s Annual Conference, being held June 21-23, 2017. The tentative schedule is as follows: Wednesday, June 21, 2017 3:00 PM - Executive Committee Meeting 6:00 PM - Welcome Reception 5
Thursday, June 22, 2017 8:00 AM - Prime/Sub Roundtable 10:00 AM - Golf 11:00 AM - Spouse/Non-Golfers Tour of Old Town Alexandria 6:00 PM - Sunset Cruise/Dining Friday, June 23, 2017 9:00 AM - Sessions 11:30 AM - General Membership Luncheon 2:00 PM - Leadership Program Session 6:00 PM - Reception/Banquet Speakers are needed for the Friday session during ACEC/MD s Annual Conference. Suggested topics/speakers included the challenges of the new MGM Casino/Hotel and Prince George s DPW Director Mobley. M. Peters will follow up. Incoming President Jannetti has requested that the 2018 Conference, being held in Key West, occur June 27-30, 2018. Stephen Lakin, Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Labor and Industries has questioned whether ACEC/MD would be interested in a presentation on issues related to workers. The HR Committee will have an agency representative speak at a future meeting. 9. Federal Gov. Liaison/Corps of Engineers Liaison C. Kumi reported that the next liaison meeting with USACE will be held in the spring. 10. Baltimore City Liaison C. Kumi and J. Otradovec reported that ACEC/MD was invited to meet with Jim Smith, Chief of Strategic Alliances and Pete Hammen, Chief Operating Officer to discuss ways to improve the delivery of projects. Items discussed included: Creation of a development authority. Providing input on the permitting process. Concern over the quality of drawings and satisfying permitting requirements. Support for continuing liaison meetings with city representatives. New administration s focus on infrastructure to help distressed neighborhoods, get people to work, bridge improvements, and broadband, Stresses on city budget that now requires 52% of funding to go to public safety. Continuing the annual design and construction program. Participation at association events Requests should go to R. Chow with a copy to P. Hammen. Best practices that would expedite the delivery process. During discussion at the Executive Committee meeting, concern was expressed that the City will issue an RFP, go through a number of revisions, and then not assign any tasks. It was agreed that ACEC/MD should focus on the fact that the City s system is broken, and that firms need to get paid in a timely fashion within a fair procurement process. SBE firms would be most effective in delivering the message for ACEC/MD. Firms have been requested to provide input on ways to streamline the invoice and task approval processes. 11. EWC/ESBAC Liaison C. Kumi reported on activities that will be held during Engineers Week, February 19 25, 2017, focusing on requests for participants at the Maryland Science Center. Contributions are needed to support programs that will expose more than 1,400 6
students to careers in engineering. Also, ACEC/MD has nominated AECOM s 2016 EEA Grand Award winning project (Outstanding Project) and JMT s Steph Kunkel (Young Engineer) for consideration in the ESB Honor Awards. 12. Small Business Enterprise J. Otradovec reported that the January 24 th MES outreach event was well attended by both primes and subs. Also, the committee has scheduled their next meeting March 15 th and the next prime/sub roundtable March 20 th. PMs are encouraged to participate in the roundtable discussion. 13. Facilities J. Otradovec reported that the chair is pursuing meetings with the following entities in the spring: Baltimore City, Harford, Baltimore, Prince George s, and Montgomery Counties, and the Maryland Stadium Authority. The meetings in the DC area will be coordinated with ACEC/MW. 14. DGS Liaison/Interprofessional H. Patel reported that the next DGS Liaison meeting is scheduled April 12 th. 15. Utilities J. Otradovec reported that the committee has confirmed the following speakers for the March 29 th forum focusing on resiliency: Keynote Chas Eby (MEMA) Todd Mohn (Queen Anne s County) Keith Tyson (WSSC) Jag Khuman (MDE) Dr. Tripp Shealy (Virginia Tech) TBD (Prince George s County) 16. MDOT Liaison A. Straus reported the following: $80 per hour threshold At the recent meeting with Secretary Rahn, ACEC/MD representatives were advised that the Secretary agrees with eliminating the threshold across all modes and that a letter is being drafted for distribution in January. SHA s G. Slater responded to an email from ACEC/MD regarding the status on removing the threshold by stating that they are awaiting final tweaks on things from our auditors. Everyone is on board, just trying to get the final components in place, should be very soon. Upcoming SHA Meetings Partnering (March 16 th ) and Partnering/Large Group (June 1 st ). Upcoming MTA meeting March 16 th. PM Workshop Director T. Frascarella is spearheading the development of a Project Management Workshop, tentatively scheduled for the spring. 17. Construction Services T. Frascarella reported that a meeting will be scheduled in the spring. 18. Business Finance T. Frascarella reported that the next committee meeting is scheduled March 8 th. 7
19. IT J. Otradovec reported that a committee meeting was held February 16 th. Topics discussed include: Update on SHA/ACECMD CADD Committee Knowledge Management Platforms Drone Use in the Industry Project or econstruction Management Platforms All Flash Arrays Autodesk Subscription Licensing Microsoft CloudPBX 20. County/Municipal Government Liaison V. Pielli reported on the February 15 th meeting with Frederick County, as follows: All parties agreed that a contract limit would be more appropriate than a task limit. Information is being developed for the county identifying the use of limits by other jurisdictions. 99% of their projects are procured using QBS, but the others have a large price component. Upcoming projects include: PM (planning to construction), Geotech, and Bridge Inspection using SHA contracts. Environmental permitting is taking up 1/3 of the budget. Smaller jurisdictions are working with the county on procurements. 21. Gov. Golf Outing Greystone Golf Course, White Hall (May 1, 2017) J. Otradovec reported that the chair is recommending a quality umbrella as a giveaway to commemorate the 50 th annual tournament. Client invites will go out in the near future. 22. Human Resources J. Otradovec reported that the February 22 nd committee meeting featured a presentation on training solutions using Red Vector. 23. QBS V. Pielli reported the following: The chair is scheduling a meeting in Anne Arundel County to address QBS. Firms are requested to provide RFPs from recent projects that do not follow QBS. R. Lepson attended the recent meeting with Frederick County. 24. Nominating J. Otradovec reported that the deadline for nominations for the open director positions is February 20 th. In addition to the chair, committee members include immediate Past President W. Barrett, and J. Blake, C. Phillips and M. Sidhu, who were appointed by President Robinson. 25. Past Presidents Advisory/Bylaws/Fellows J. Otradovec reported that the committee s business meeting will be held in the May/June time frame. Also, see Smart Goals report. COMMUNICATIONS & ANNOUNCEMENTS: 1. Letter of thanks from Delegate McComas The letter expressed appreciation for input provided during the Legislative Action Day. 8
NEXT MEETING: 1. ACEC/MD General Membership Meeting & Awards Banquet (February 16, 2017) ESB, Baltimore. 2. ACEC/MD Executive Committee Meeting (March 16, 2017) ACEC/MD Office, Baltimore. 3. ACEC/MD Resilient Utilities Program (March 29, 2017) ESB, Baltimore. 4. ACEC/MD Executive Committee Meeting (April 20, 2017) ACEC/MD Office, Baltimore. 5. ACEC Annual Convention & Legislative Summit (April 23-26, 2017) Marriott Wardman Park, Washington DC. 6. Governmental Golf Outing (May 1, 2017) Greystone Golf Course, White Hall. 7. ACEC/MD Executive Committee Meeting (May 18, 2017) ACEC/MD Office, Baltimore. 8. ACEC/MD Executive Committee Meeting (June 21, 2017) National Harbor. 9. ACEC/MD 29 th Annual Conference (June 21-23, 2017) National Harbor. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:32 P.M. Respectfully submitted, A. Straus, Secretary, American Council of Engineering Companies/Maryland 9
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