March 16, 2017

John’s Soapbox-

3-16-17

Works In Progress!

Sometimes it is difficult to convey how many local issues the ECA is dealing with so I will from time to time, give you all a list of ECA “Works In Progress”.

1. On March 14, 2017, I attended a Project Labor Agreement “Study Session” at the Santa Rosa Junior College. This was being held in conjunction with the passage of Measure H which is a local bond issue that is allocating some $410 Million for refurbishing buildings, parking lots, and infrastructure at the SRJC campus in Santa Rosa. Although the bond measure had no mention of Project Labor Agreements being required when the voters voted yes on it, the SRJC Trustees are considering imposing a PLA Agreement for all or part of the work to be done. I am directed by our Board of Directors to not publicly speak for or against PLA’s, but I attended and will share some of the points made by the “Pro PLA” side, and some points made by the “Anti PLA” side. Interestingly, although the Press Democrat was present, I saw no article on this meeting in the last few days. I have included the PD article from last weekend that described the upcoming consideration by the Trustees for you here—

The “Pro-PLA” group was led by Jack Buckhorn. The points they spoke to were that Project Labor Agreements are good because a project with a PLA is a project that will avoid labor strife, and that PLA’s do not deter Contractors from bidding the work, and that PLA’s do not add cost to a project but rather lower the costs, that PLA’s provide a tool for Owners to better manage their projects, and that a better quality work product results from projects done under a PLA.

The “Anti-PLA” groups were led by Eric Ziedrich, Ken Kreischer, Roger Nelson of Midstate, Eric Kristen, and Brian Ling. The points they spoke to described why the Trustees should not consider a PLA on the Bond Measure H projects because they discriminate against non-signatory contractors and workers, and that PLA’s discourage bidders so there are less bidders on the PLA project, that PLA’s raise the cost of the project due to (if nothing else), the lack of bidders referred to previously, and that PLA’s result in less local hire contractors and workers being employed because there are only so many signatory contractors in our area.

The Trustees will continue to discuss this, and no vote is imminent at this point.

2. On March 2, 2017, I attended a meeting for the State Route 37 Policy Committee at Mare Island; The Committee is comprised of elected and appointed officials from Four Counties that heavily depend on Highway 37. NVTA, TAM, SCTA, and STA are represented as well as elected representatives from Solano, Napa, Marin and Sonoma Counties. This Committee is trying to determine a long range solution to the Highway 37 corridor that is heavily travelled and is very susceptible to rising sea levels and flooding issues. At stake is a potential “Public Private” solution with a contractor group creating a toll road to elevate the roadway and recoup their costs over the next 50 years via toll charges. The ECA will continue to attend these important meetings and keep our membership apprised of any new developments.

3. On March 9, 2017 I attended a meeting amongst City leaders and Association heads to discuss the possible ballot measure to reformulate and extend the Measure M sales tax Initiative from 2025 to year 2045 creating another potential $1.7 Billion in funding for County and City road repair in Sonoma County. More to come, but rest assured, the ECA is “at the table”.

Thanks for all you do!

That’s All Folks

John

john@nceca.org

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