DOLA Awards Smart Growth Grants/RMMI Names 2007 Board/Greenbuild 2007 Moves to Chicago

Projects receiving grants this year from DOLA’s office of Smart Growth include a regional transportation plan for Elbert County, a model energy-efficient building code in Steamboat Springs and a regional transit study and transit plan for Durango and La Plata County.

DOLA Awards Seven Smart Growth Grants Across the State

The Colorado Department of Local Affairs awarded $231,500 to seven regional growth management projects around the state. The grants, designed to leverage another $330,000 in funding commitments, are for projects that involve 22 local government entities.

The awards were made from the Colorado Heritage Planning Grant Program, a competitive grant program administered by DOLA’s Office of Smart Growth. Grant recipients and award amounts are:
• Montrose County Impact Fee Study— Montrose County and the city of Montrose, $37,500;
• La Plata County Regional Transit Program—La Plata County, Durango, Bayfield, Region 9, Southern Ute Community Action Program, $31,500;
• Steamboat Springs Green Building Code—Steamboat Springs and Routt County, $25,250;
• Pueblo Urban Service Area Boundaries —City of Pueblo, Pueblo County, Pueblo West Metro District, $26,000;
• East Greeley Area Comprehensive Plan – City of Greeley and Weld County, $16,250;
• Summit County Housing Demand Study—Summit County, Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco and Silverthorne, $20,000;
• West Elbert County Transportation Impact Mitigation Plan—Elbert County, Elizabeth, Kiowa, $75,000.

RMMI Introduces 2007 Board of Directors

The Rocky Mountain Masonry Institute has named its board of directors for 2007. They are Don Sackett, president, Acme Brick Co.; Wayne Grosvenor, past president, Grosvenor Masonry Inc.; Erik Absalon, president-elect, Basalite Concrete Products; and Gary Feiner, secretary/treasurer, TXI.

HCC Elects New Officers and Board Member

The board of directors of Hispanic Contractors of Colorado elected the following individuals as officers for 2007:
• President—José Amaya, JE Dunn Construction Co.;
• Past President—Leneé Koch, LEI Companies Inc.;
• Vice President—Dennis Walker, United Rentals;
• Treasurer—Manuel Gonzales, AMI Mechanical;
• Secretary—Sharon Gonzales, Denver Public Schools.

Other 2007 HCC board members are Doug Decker, White Construction Group; Gary Dominguez and Luke Gentrup, Pinkard Construction Co.; Lloyd Herrera, HCL Engineering & Surveying; Maranda Pleau, Hensel Phelps; Bill Thomas, Bauerle & Co.; Nonie Willisch, CRS Insurance Brokerage; and Patty Yanker, M.A. Mortenson.

Greenbuild 2007 Changes Venue from L.A. to Chicago

The U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo is moving to Chicago for its 2007 show, which will be held Nov. 7-9, as previously announced.

USGBC officials said the move from Los Angeles to Chicago was not undertaken lightly. In January the council had agreed to change the conference date from October to November to support a business development opportunity for the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau and better accommodate the event’s growth. When LA Inc. asked USGBC to move the conference date again—this time to December—the USGBC decided to change venues. For information about the new location, as well as other conference details, go to www.greenbuildexpo.org.

ABC RMC and NAWIC Denver Collaborate for Kids Program

The Rocky Mountain Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors and the Metro Denver Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction have formed an alliance. Under the agreement, ABC RMC will participate in NAWIC Metro Denver’s 16th annual Block Kids Building Program event.

Block Kids is a national competition sponsored by NAWIC chapters and other organizations. It introduces children to the construction industry to promote interest in future careers. The competition involves the construction of various structures with interlocking blocks and three of the following additional items: a small rock, string, foil, and poster board. Local winners advance to regional competition and one semi-finalist from each region is entered in the national competition.

EWB-USA Will Hold International Conference

Colorado-based Engineers Without Borders-USA will hold its 2007 international conference  April 12-14 at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

The theme of the third annual conference—“Bringing Resources Together to Build Vital Communities”—will focus on new concepts, technologies and long-range planning processes for strengthening worldwide collaborative efforts to improve the quality of life in developing communities. More information and registration details can be found online at www.ewb-usa.org.

Entries Sought for 2007 Brick In Architecture Awards

The Brick Industry Association is looking for entries for its 2007 Brick In Architecture Awards, an 18-year-old program that honors architects for excellence in brick masonry. April 30 is the deadline for submissions.

The largest juried competition of its kind, the awards showcase the best nonresidential work in clay face and paving brick. “Best in Class” winners will be featured in a special insert in the December issue of Architectural Record. Other winners will be listed and featured in Brick News Online and on BIA’s revamped Brick Photo Gallery.

The competition will be conducted entirely online. For complete information on eligibility, submission requirements and judging, go to www.gobrick.com/AwardsInfo.

USGBC Begins Pilot Test of New Rating System

USGBC is now accepting applications for pilot projects to participate in the LEED for Neighborhood Development program, a new rating system that integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism and green building into the first national standard for neighborhood design. 

The pilot test neighborhoods will be the first neighborhood development projects to earn the distinction of LEED certification while also helping to refine the new rating system. The pilot phase of the program will conclude in early 2008. The deadline to submit a pilot test project proposal is April 6. Application information is available at www.usgbc.org/leed/nd.

EPA, Partners Launch Green Design Challenge

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and partners are calling on architects, builders and others to participate in a competition seeking designs that promote reuse and minimize waste.

The “Life-cycle Building Challenge” – co-sponsored by the Building Materials Reuse Association, American Institute of Architects and West Coast Green – invites professionals and students nationwide to submit designs and ideas that support cost-effective disassembly and anticipate the future use of building materials. May 15 is the deadline to submit proposals to the Web-based competition. To learn more, go to www.lifecyclebuilding.org.

Trustees Announce Health Insurance Rates for 2007

The Colorado Contractors Trust, a group health benefit program serving members of the Associated General Contractors of Colorado and the Colorado Contractors Association, announced two rate changes and an increase in lifetime maximum benefits.

The group has increased by 6% the premium rate for salaried employees while the hourly and dependent coverage will go up 10 cents per hour. No rate changes were made for combined salaried and hourly employees. The rates are guaranteed through Dec. 31.

The trust also raised the lifetime maximum overall benefits to $2 million.
The program is now available through participating insurance agents who belong to either AGC of Colorado or CCA. To learn more about the Colorado Contractors Trust, contact Dennis Phillips, director of marketing, at 303-487-4307 or dphillips@fringeinc.com.

State Supreme Court Reaffirms Lien Rights

Construction subcontractors and suppliers in Colorado came close to losing one of the main methods provided by the state’s mechanic's lien laws for recovering money owed them when they aren’t paid for work they have performed properly.
But in early February, the Colorado Supreme Court prevented that from happening when it upheld the intent of the state’s Trust Fund Statute. “The court upheld the promise made by the Colorado Legislature that subcontractors and suppliers are to be paid with funds held in trust for them,” said Stephen Rohrbach, CPC, president of the American Subcontractors Association. “[We] believe in prompt and full payment. When payment isn’t made, there should be a quick and effective means for collecting it.”

Case History

The case arose in May 2005 when the U.S. District Court for Colorado ruled in Fowler & Peth Inc. vs. Regan that a roofing material supplier could not exercise its right to collect funds as prescribed under the state’s Trust Fund Statute. The national American Subcontractors Association and ASA of Colorado argued in briefs filed during the appeals process that the law permits an unpaid subcontractor or supplier to make a direct claim on funds held in trust for it—regardless of whether a perfect lien exists. But the district court ruled that trust-fund protections apply only when the lien claim process for a lien on property has been followed, which the roofing supplier in the case had not done.

Friends of the Court

ASA and ASAC filed a joint friends-of-court brief in Sept. 2005, asking the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn the district court’s ruling, arguing that its interpretation was flawed because it “undermines the intent of the Trust Fund Statute, which is to provide a remedy to lower-tier entities independent of the Colorado General Mechanic's Lien Statute” and for other reasons.

In Section 38-22-127(1), the statute says: “All funds shall be held in trust for the payment of the subcontractors, laborer or material suppliers, or laborers who have furnished laborers, materials, services, or labor, who have a lien, or who may have a lien, against the property, or who claim, or may claim, against a principal and surety under the provisions of this article and for which disbursement was made.”

The district circuit court referred to the Colorado State Supreme Court the question of whether claims against the trust described in this provision could be separated from the lien claims process. ASA and ASAC filed a joint friends-of-the-court brief with the high court. ASA-member attorney Gilbert Egle of Denver-based Preeo, Silverman, Green & Egle presented oral arguments. In its Feb. 5 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed subcontractors’ and suppliers’ rights, ruling that the Trust Fund Statute “protects subcontractors, laborers and material suppliers who add value to property but are unable to recover monies owed to them through the lien claim process.”

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