The meeting was called to order by President Jerry Hackleman in the C-space at the SCA Building. Fourteen Board members were present. The Minutes, Treasurer’s Report were accepted. Board members were encouraged to support the Pig Roast by buying tickets.

The Employment Service reported limited activity although more people are looking for employees than we have people looking for work. Ads in county weekly papers seem to be as effective as ads in the Springfield daily paper at a cost of $40 compared to around $700 for three days in the daily paper. Updates to the bid date calendar are now posted after a period of inactivity due to a bad virus.

The AIA/Government Liaison Committee reported the county has seen an increase in requests for inspections, especially for residential projects. Most residential inspections are completed in two or three days. City Utilities reported they are seeing more subdivisions going in, especially to the west and southwest. APAC reported more subdivisions in Christian County as well. The City reviewed 48 projects in March and 52 in April and 77% of them went through in 10 days or less. Anyone with any ideas for improving the City’s project documents may contact Rick Gardner. Fees for plan reviews cover only 17% of the actual cost and will be increased. Small projects (under $100,000) are the biggest money-losers for the City so a penalty may be applied when plans require more than one review. The City is in the process of union negotiations. There is no word on a new Director of Public Works and the City is still interviewing for Fred Marty’s position [Editor’s note: Tim Smith has since taken the position of Deputy City Manager]. City Utilities also reported lake levels are going back down and they will be announcing a solar rebate program soon.

The MSU Liaison Committee reported there are several projects currently underway (out for bid) including restrooms renovations at Juanita K Hammons Hall, an acceleration lane at Darr Ag Center, computer lab renovation in Glass Hall, and renovations to the 5th Floor of Morris Center downtown. The Occupational Therapy Building ($16.7 million est.) will go in next to McQueary Hall. Renovations to Sunvilla, including the installation of a fire suppression system, will be issued for bidding in September. The Welcome Center was awarded to Wright Construction (St. Peters near St. Louis). No action is being taken with the property on Walnut Street as other renovations (Kentwood and the upcoming Sunvilla projects) will provide for a variety of rooms. The University is changing their pre-construction or kick-off meetings to develop a team philosophy to successfully construct their projects and to get them closed out in a timely manner. The University will be bidding $37 million between now and September and potentially up to $51 million by next spring.

The R-XII Liaison Committee reported 50 projects are underway this summer. Fremont will be be re-designed and will go back out but probably not this year. Hickory Hills should be out for bid in October of this year. The committee discussed pre-qualification and/or a grading system for contractors to ensure the best use of taxpayers’ money. There appears to be a lack of continuity on school projects with different specs on each project depending on the Architect and/or Engineers.

The Nominating Committee for 2015 Board and Officer Elections will be Vice President Brent Beattie, Past President David Foreman, Danny Edwards and Rick Quint.

The Board has been asked to endorse passage of Amendment 7 (3/4 cent sales tax for roads, bridges and transportation projects) on August 5. The General Counsel will determine if SCA can legally endorse ballot issues and if so, the Board will encourage SCA members to vote yes on Amendment 7.

The Chamber of Commerce is helping gather information for the Construction Bidding Forecast Forum on September19. Rob Dixon will facilitate the discussion. Duplicate data from different sources must be winnowed to achieve an accurate picture of work coming up. This year’s Forum will include regional data as well as the outlook for Springfield.

There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned.