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HOME: Living in the Heart of Florida
Spring 2008
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 Commercial Building
Edge
Spring 2008
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Much has happened in the last week t o remind us that we need to constantly be vigil to protect the interests of the building industry and the community.
First, there was the report earlier this week that the city of Gainesville will lose about $8 million in revenue over the next two years. While some of that supposed loss is due to a slowdown in the economy, a good portion of it is a result of decisions by the taxpayers, and actions by the state in response to those decisions by the taxpayers. But when is an $8 million loss not really an $8 million loss? When you have a cash cow called GRU. In years past, city officials would often gloat about their balanced budget, which often came as a result of cash transfers from GRU, while Alachua County struggled to make ends meet. It seems that the city will use that same tactic again, and that's how an $8 million loss becomes a $2 million loss.
And city officials are looking at a proposed fire-services assessment to get the rest. Keep in mind that in an op-ed piece in the Sun on Saturday, former City Commissioner Ed Braddy pointed out that the original concept of the fire-services assessment was to somehow get the biggest user of city services - the University of Florida - to pay for some of what it gets. When it became clear that UF was not going to have to pay, city officials kept going anyway, and now property owners may still get hit. Those are the same property owners who said lower our taxes. No problem. They will lower your taxes, and instead of cutting some of the waste, which was the intent of lowering taxes, they will create fees, assessments, and raise your utility rate.
Incidentally, Braddy wrote in the same piece that the city's general fund revenues are increasing for the next two years. He points out that given the current economic climate that would be great news in the real world. But apparently the increase is not enough, and the city is looking at their cash cow and taxpayers for more.
The elected officials across the street at the county don't have that cash cow. Instead, they have gas taxes, impact fees and other regressive options that raise little revenue, but are a burden on the taxpayers. And now they have a little scandal.
It appears that County Manager Randy Reid is now making policy, at least when it comes to the use of county-owned vehicles. The realization that county spokesman Mark Sexton was using his county vehicle in Miami during Christmas in 2006, and he had an accident, for which the county is now being sued, is bad enough. For Sexton to then threaten the commission with his own lawsuit if the county does not protect him, all falls under the category of insanity. At least two commissioners - Lee Pinkoson and Cynthia Chestnut - have raised questions about the real problem here. That is the continued effort by Reid to be both manager and policy maker, even when it hurts the people for whom he really works - the taxpayers.
Pinkoson has been raising the issue about the use of county cars for some time, but he has been, until now a lone voice. More than likely there is some serious abuse of taxpayer money going on here that the majority of the commission has simply ignored. At least one department head managed to come up with a county car at the exact same time he happened to need a new personal car. While it is said that the car is available to the department, it still goes home with the department head every night.
And that's just Gainesville and Alachua County. There is a lot going in local government, and it is important for each of us to be heard loud and clear. That is the only way change will occur.
Jake's Corner
Our July issue, featuring Barry Rutenberg & Associates is online, and has been delivered. In this issue, we are spotlighting Ro-Mac's new showroom in Marion County. This issue will be the print launch for Jake's Corner, and he kicks it off with a bang.
Our August issue, featuring Schafer Construction of Gainesville closes this week. The National Feature will be on Curb Appeal.
Our September issue will be our Fall Buyer's Guide and Directory. To learn about advertising opportunities in the guide, click here. Here is the Spring Buyer's Guide and Directory.
October finds us back in Lake City with Isaac Construction. The National Feature will be on Weathering the Elements, and we will include the Fall Parade of Homes.
In November, we will be featuring Chris Luetgert and Luetgert Development. Chris is a third generation builder intimately involved in every project he works on. We are excited to share his story with you. The National Feature will be on Green Building.
The Spring 2008 issue of Commercial Building Edge is online here. 2007 Marion County Small Business of the Year Stentiford Construction Services, led by Paul Stentiford is our cover story. We are also in the process of developing a website for Paul and his team. Bookmark this site at www.stentifordconstruction.net.
The Summer issue of Commercial Building Edge, featuring Brian Crawford, owner of Concept Construction goes into production this week. Brian is also the president of the Columbia County Builders Association. We look forward to our first Columbia County Commercial issue.
The Summer issue of HOME should be delivered this week, and distribution will begin. Our cover story is on Judy and Davis Rembert. In this issue, we will have an article on the difference between Green Building and "Green Speak." We will showcase Alachua County's newest green development, Campo Verde. In our healthcare section, we interview Dr. Timothy Goldfarb, CEO of Shands. This is shaping up to be our biggest issue yet. Look for this issue to start arriving in about two weeks.
Based on the feedback and response to HOME over the last year, we have decided, starting with the next issue to go bi-monthly. We have typically run out of magazines with three-to-four weeks left in the cycle. We already have the highest distribution in the area, so we felt going with more issues would be the best resolution. We have also added several new editorial section starting with the next issue that I hope you enjoy.
Starting next week, we will be adding a monthly electronic brief to go with HOME, and with the October-November issue, was have some exciting new departments we are adding, including a chef's cook-off, fashion corner, travel news and more.
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Local News  |
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Unique Project in Works
With a glut of apartments opening in August and at least three urban redevelopment projects stalled amid the current economic slump, the developer proposing a 433-unit apartment complex to be built around the old First Baptist Church may face skepticism. But Jeff Jones, executive vice president of Birmingham, Ala.-based Capstone Development, said the "urban-edge" student housing project to be called The Sanctuary will draw from the largely untapped University of Florida graduate student population. The Sanctuary has been in the works since First Baptist Church of Gainesville first decided to move its facilities from centrally located 425 W. University Ave. west to unincorporated Alachua County.
Click Here>> County May Raise Water, Sewer Rates
Starting Oct. 1, Marion County Utilities' customers might pay more to turn on the faucet and flush the toilet. Following the recommendations in a consultant's rate study approved last year, the County Commission will vote on a proposed 15.56 percent increase in the combined water and sewer bill later this summer. If approved, the increase could push the monthly bill for a home using 12,000 gallons of water a month from a little more than $69 to $81.37. The hearing on the increase is expected to be set for 9 a.m. Aug. 28.
Click Here>> Conservation Tax Progresses
A two-year, half-cent sales tax referendum for land conservation and recreation took a step forward Tuesday when the Alachua County Commission voted to hold a public hearing on whether to put the issue on the Nov. 4 ballot. But it took a 3-2 vote and considerable debate about whether the term of the tax should be longer than two years. Requesting the referendum were Robert Hutchinson of Alachua Conservation Trust and Gainesville Sports Commission executive director Jack Hughes.
Click Here>> Condo Plan Near Prairie is Rejected A proposal by the Gainesville Golf and Country Club to build condominiums near Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park was denied 4-1 by the Alachua County Commission on Tuesday night, drawing applause from a large crowd of opponents. "Paynes Prairie is a national treasure," Chairman Rodney Long said. "This is just the wrong place for this." Representatives of the local Sierra Club chapter, 1000 Friends of Florida, Women for Wise Growth and the Coalition for Responsible Growth spoke against the proposal. Various petitions totaling more than 600 signatures in opposition were presented.
Click Here>> City to Lose About $8M in Income In the next two years, the city of Gainesville will face an estimated $8 million reduction in revenue, and a large portion of those losses could be recovered through proposed utility rate increases, according to the two-year budget released Monday. But the city would still be about $2 million in the red for 2009. That remaining amount could be recovered through a proposed fire services assessment of about $30 per household or reductions to city contributions to retiree health insurance, said Becky Rountree, director of the Administrative Services Department.
Click Here>> City's Population Inches up Nearly 1%
Gainesville grew by about 1,000 residents from 2006 to 2007, matching a trend of slow growth across Florida. The city's population increased by nearly 1 percent, rising to 114,375, according to a U.S. Census report released this week. The rate was slightly lower than the state as a whole. Several major cities in the state saw population losses during the period. Florida had six of the nation's 25 fastest-shrinking cities with populations of 100,000 or more. "We're weathering the storm pretty well in Gainesville - certainly better than some of our neighbors," said Brent Christensen, president and CEO of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce. Click Here>>_ New Rate Increase by GRU is Proposed For the third year in a row, Gainesville Regional Utilities submitted a budget to the city with increases in utility rates - about $108 a year more for an average household not using natural gas. If city commissioners approve the budget as it was presented to them Thursday, the average increase on monthly utility bills for electricity will be about $3, for natural gas about $4, for water $1.86 and for wastewater $4.17. Commissioner Jack Donovan praised the utilities' efforts to keep down costs while providing a high level of service.
Click Here>> University Corners Cleans up for ChurchRecent activity on the corner of University Avenue and NW 13th Street isn't the rise of the long-anticipated University Corners development. But the site is being cleaned and cleared to make way for groundbreaking of the new University United Methodist Church next month. "The city and I, we agreed we needed to make the site look a little better," said Frank Darabi, one of the project developers. "We are spending $120,000 to beautify the site, so we won't have this ugly green fence."
Click Here>> Interest Increases in Land Conservation Program A county program that allows builders to trade land for conservation purposes to develop other land hasn't had many takers so far, even though it's now three years old. The transfer of development rights (TDR) program started in 2005 as a way to keep development pressure off farms in northwest Marion. But heading into 2008, only two properties had been placed into conservation through the program. There's been no massive groundswell of interest this year, either, but the program has had a few more takers in recent months: In May, property owners Walter and Wendy Boring used the TDR program to place 119 acres on the north side of County Road 316 between U.S. 27 and Fairfield in conservation. Click Here>> Staff Recommends Thumbs Up on New Nuke Plant
Progress Energy's plan to build a nuclear energy facility in Levy County has gotten a boost. The staff for the state Public Service Commission recommends that the commisssion approve the need for the facility. The commission is scheduled to vote on the issue on July 15. This is just one of many regulatory steps Progress must take before it can proceed. The two nuclear energy units would come on line in 2016 and 2017. Progress' 3,000-acre site is north of State Road 40 and east of U.S. 19 in Levy County.
Click Here>> $10 Million Horse Rehab Complex Being Built in Area
Hub Johnson couldn't figure out what he was doing wrong when he sometimes couldn't rehabilitate his injured race horses at his Texas farm. As the farm manager, he was responsible for all of the farm's hundreds of horses, including the care of those returning from veterinarians with owners eager to get them back to racing. He followed the veterinarians' prescribed treatment, but often things didn't go as planned. That was about 30 years ago. Johnson has made a lot of progress since then. Seeing a need for rehabilitation facilities for recovering horses, he built Kesmarc, a rehab clinic in Versailles. Ky. for horses, and is now building a nearly $10 million, 100,000 square-foot facility in Ocala, at Farnsworth Farms, on West Highway 326. It will be named Kesmarc Florida. Click Here>>
MCBIA Calendar of Events
BANCF Calendar of Events
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State News  |
Governor Signs All Priority Bills into Law When Governor Charlie Crist signed the Florida Forever extension bill into law last week, he had officially approved the last remaining Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) member-identified legislative priority for 2008. Penning FHBA's 2008 Legislative Priorities into law was the last step toward overall success for the associations 17,500 corporate members, staff, and Florida's construction industry. "I'm pleased that all of our members' priority bills and budget items which reached the Governor's desk from the 2008 Legislative Session met with his approval and are now law," said David Hart, Vice President of Legislative and Governmental Affairs for FHBA. "But much remains to be done to strengthen the climate for our industry, especially getting a growth management reform bill to the Governor desk next year." Click Here>> Water Managers: Sugar Buyout Won't Hike Tax Rates
Water managers vowed Thursday to close the $1.75 billion deal for the U.S. Sugar Corp without hiking taxes on South Florida homeowners, but the big buyout will come at the cost of delay for other Everglades projects. The South Florida Water Management District's proposed budget would scale down, postpone or shift construction work to the federal government -- diverting the savings to buy a swath of sugar fields long coveted by environmentalists. Click Here>> Federal Judge Says He Can't Stop Blackjack at Seminole Casinos
A federal judge says he doesn't have the authority to stop blackjack and other expanded games at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, rejecting a Pompano Beach racetrack's lawsuit by pointing out legal hurdles anyone would face by fighting the tribe. The decision handed down by U.S. District Judge Stephan Mickle on Wednesday put another twist in the fate of table games at the seven Seminole casinos. Click Here>> Insurer: No New Policies, AgentsState Farm Florida has stopped hiring agents because of the company's decision in February not to write new homeowners policies in the state. The state's largest private insurer of homes also decided at that time to stop writing new renters and commercial policies. State Farm took these steps because it wanted to reduce its exposure to hurricane risk. The company is continuing to renew the one million homeowners and renters policies it has in Florida. ''Agents are very anxious right now. It's a tough environment,'' said Chris Neal, a spokesman for the insurance company. Click Here>> Help Now Available for Struggling HomeownersHelp is now available for homeowners struggling to keep current with mortgage payments or who have already missed one or more payments, through a recently launched program, Florida Attorneys Saving Homes (FLASH). Only homes that are the principal residences of the owners are eligible. Florida Legal Services Inc. and the Florida Bar Association have established a toll-free hotline (866) 607-2187 that homeowners can call to answer questions about their situation to ensure accurate placement with a free attorney, said Kent Spuhler, executive director of Florida Legal Services. Click Here>> |
National News  |
Senate Passes Mortgage Rescue Plan
A mortgage rescue to help hundreds of thousands of struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure and get more affordable, safer loans passed the Senate overwhelmingly Friday, but it faces a bumpy road amid continuing turmoil in the housing market. The 63-5 vote reflected a keen interest by Democrats and Republicans to send election-year help to distressed homeowners with economic issues topping voters' concerns. The plan lets homeowners buckling under mortgage payments they can't afford keep their homes and get more affordable mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration. Banks that agreed to take substantial losses on those distressed loans could avoid costly foreclosures and be assured of recovering at least some money.
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Colleges, Universities Take the Lead in Building Green
There's a green sheen settling over colleges and universities. This spring, East Los Angeles College unveiled 5,952 solar panels that generate nearly half of the college's energy. At Santa Clara University, one building has carpet tiles made of yarn and the entire floor is raised on 14-inch legs so that air circulating below can warm or cool classroom floors. A glass "solar chimney" aids ventilation. At Santiago Canyon College in Orange County, the library is cooled by vertical perforated solar fins. A building at Stanford University is built partly of redwood salvaged from century-old wine vats. And in Iowa, geothermal wells drilled 120 feet below the parking lot at Grinnell College's Conrad Environmental Research Area help heat and cool the buildings. Experts who follow building trends agree that in the last decade, as fears of global warming grew and examples of eco-innovation spread online, campus greening morphed from a fad into mainstream phenomenon.
Click Here>> Fed to Curb Shady Home-Lending Practices
The Federal Reserve will issue new rules next week aimed at protecting future homebuyers from dubious lending practices, its most sweeping response to a housing crisis that has propelled foreclosures to record highs. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spoke of the much-awaited rules in a broader speech Tuesday about the challenges confronting policymakers in trying to stabilize a shaky U.S. financial system. To that end, Bernanke said the Fed may give squeezed Wall Street firms more time to tap the central bank's emergency loan program.
Click Here>> Fed May Offer Emergency Loans for Wall Street
The Federal Reserve, trying to stabilize a shaky U.S. financial system, may give squeezed Wall Street firms more time to tap the central bank's emergency loan program, chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday. And, in an effort to prevent a repeat of the current mortgage mess, Bernanke said the Fed next week will issue new rules aimed at protecting future homebuyers from dubious lending practices.
Home Builders Line up for Green Educational Designation
Less than five months after its introduction, nearly 800 builders, remodelers and other industry professionals have earned the Certified Green Professional™ designation from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).The rush to achieve the new educational designation is another sign that NAHB members continue to lead the home building industry toward resource-efficient home building, said NAHB President Sandy Dunn, a home builder in Point Pleasant, W. Va.
Click Here>> Graybar Joins U.S. Green Building Council Graybar, a leading distributor of electrical and communications products and related supply chain management and logistics services, today advanced its support of sustainable infrastructure by joining the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). As a member of the USGBC, Graybar will have access to green building resources and training programs. The company will also have opportunities to network with individuals from the more than 15,000 member organizations representing the building and construction industry.
Click Here>> Insurer Rolls Out 'Green' Coverage for Homeowners Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. is targeting environmentally conscious homeowners with a new insurance product that would cover the cost of rebuilding a home to green building standards."The green upgrade will actually replace a home that is not already green in the event of a loss," Erron Al-Amin, the company's senior director of Personal Insurance, said Monday. Fireman's Fund, which officially unveiled the plan Tuesday, is offering the green coverage option in several states, including Arizona, Georgia, Maine and Nevada. In California it will be folded into the overall plan beginning Aug. 1.
Click Here>> GE Considering Spinoff of Entire Products GroupGeneral Electric Co., two months after placing its century-old appliance unit on the block, said it plans to spin off its entire GE Consumer & Industrial group to shareholders as Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt struggles to raise a slumping stock price. The strategy means GE may exit more of the most well-known divisions to consumers, including electrical switches and the light-bulb business started by co-founder Thomas Edison. GE isn't ruling out a sale or other options for the group, which had 50,000 employees and $13.3 billion in sales last year, or about 7.4 percent of the company's total.
Paulson, Bernanke Urge Congress to Act
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged lawmakers Thursday to help modernize how the nation's beleaguered financial system is regulated. In a joint appearance before the House Financial Services Committee, the two officials pressed for greater regulatory power of the nation's financial institutions, and the creation of a system that could handle the potential failure of a large securities firm in the wake of the near-collapse of Bear Stearns.
Click Here>> NAHB Urges Extension of Energy Efficient Tax CreditsTestifying today on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) before a House Small Business Committee hearing on "The Role of Green Technologies in Spurring Economic Growth," Cincinnati builder Andrea Lucke urged Congress to extend the New Energy Efficient Home Credit, which was enacted in 2005 and expires at the end of the year. "The nation's home builders have the ability to profoundly affect sustainability and conserve precious natural resources and our environment," Lucke said. NAHB members build about 80 percent of the new housing units in the United States. Lucke, president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati and vice president of Robert Lucke Homes, also updated hearing participants on the progress of the NAHB National Green Building Program and the new National Green Building Standard.
Click Here>> Fed May Offer Emergency Loans for Wall Street
The Federal Reserve, trying to stabilize a shaky U.S. financial system, may give squeezed Wall Street firms more time to tap the central bank's emergency loan program, chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday. And, in an effort to prevent a repeat of the current mortgage mess, Bernanke said the Fed next week will issue new rules aimed at protecting future homebuyers from dubious lending practices.
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Commercial News  |
Downtown Redevelopment to Add to Existing Business As Petula Clark first sang in 1964, "When you're alone, and life is making you lonely, you can always go - downtown." People who go downtown in Lake City find the existing business is plentiful and so they may not be lonely. Downtown Lake City provides more than 50 outlets with goods and services, according to a map of Historic Downtown Lake City. Downtown Redevelopment Manager Jackie Kite is the city government's ambassador for growth there. She said the city encourages and supports downtown business interests in methods that it can, such as providing police protection and infrastructure. Click Here>> ABC Comments on Proposed Changes to H-2B Program
ABC July 7 filed comments with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on a proposed rule that would revise the current procedures for applying for and issuing H-2B visas. The H-2B program permits employers to hire foreign workers to come to the United States to perform temporary nonagricultural work. In its comments, ABC expressed concern over the proposed requirement that employers would be obligated to use union organizations to recruit employees "if it is appropriate for the occupation and customary to the industry and area of intended employment." ABC pointed out that the proposed requirement would shift the burden of knowledge for determining which industries or occupations should fall under this rule to the employers. Click Here>> Major Building Industry Group Launches Green PlanOn the sun-drenched 44th floor of the LEED gold-certified Hearst Tower in Manhattan today, officials of the influential Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA) announced a new energy plan for the commercial real estate sector. "The commercial building sector accounts for 18% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and $24 billion a year in energy costs, and the plan we're announcing will significantly decrease those emissions and save billions," said BOMA Chairman and CEO Kurt R. Padavano. BOMA includes more than 16,500 members, who own or manage more than 9 billion square feet of space.
Click Here>> New Hotel Chains Offer Eco-Chic, Hip Value
In a tranquil wooded setting near Minute Man National Historical Park, not far from where the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired, two new hotel chains are aiming to make history, too. Starwood Hotels & Resorts' 123-suite Element Lexington, the first in a pioneering built-from-scratch eco-conscious chain, opened last week. So did Starwood's 136-room Aloft Lexington across a shared courtyard. It's the fourth in a brand dubbed "W lite" by industry observers. Each has a different mission. Extended-stay brand Element, affiliated with Westin, hopes to attract business travelers and value-minded families who want kitchen facilities. It's a laboratory for the greening of hotels throughout the Starwood empire.
AGCGF Golf Tournament
AGC of Greater Florida Calendar of Events Click Here>> AGCGF Green Building Seminar | |
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