Vol. 28

Issue 1Winter 2014

Denise JacobyExecutive Officerdbradyjacoby@frederickbuilders.org

Donna KraftExecutive Administratordonna@frederickbuilders.org

Clasina Van Velzen-StupMembership Coordinatorclasina@frederickbuilders.org

Phone: 301.663.3599Fax: 301.663.1966www.frederickbuilders.org

Upcoming FCBIA Events

January 23Legislative Luncheon

February 11General Membership Meeting

March 11 General Membership Meeting

March 15 & 16Home Show

For details see inserts and Building Buzz e-news

Delegate Kelly Schulz performed the installation of the 2014 FCBIA Board of Directors at Ceresville Mansion on December 3. From left: Delegate Kelly Schulz, Jerry Connelly, 2nd Vice President; Hugh Gordon, Treasurer; Bob Mochi, Past President; Ross Ostrander, Director; Brendan Madden, Secretary; Mark Lancaster, Director; Betsy Cain, Sales & Marketing Council President; Frank Dertzbaugh, Director; Dusty Rood, Land Use Council President; Fran Denmark, Director; Jason Wiley, Director; Gary Large, Representative Commercial Roundtable; Dave Wiegand, Director; Bill Norton, Director; and Stuart Terl, Director. Not pictured here are Tom Hyde, President, and Keith Tunell, 1st Vice President.

Tom HydeFrederick County Building Industry Association President

Continued on next page

My Kaywa QR-Codehttp://fcba.affiniscape.com/index.cfm

http://kaywa.me/y0yWk

Download the Kaywa QR Code Reader (App Store &Android Market) and scan your code!

Jason WileyBuilder

Member of the Year

Jennifer FraneyAssociate

Member of the Year

Happy belated New Year!

The association is coming off a better year, but I think the biggest accomplishment is that our members are finally getting back to work. Our industry was faced with an almost 30% unem-ployment rate during the Great Recession and we’ve worked that down to closer to 10% --still not good, but better. We’re starting to see hiring across all disciplines. Our builders and construc-tion firms are adding estimators and other office personnel; our associates are adding professional engineers and architects; and our trades are add-ing everyone from project managers to laborers.

What you’ve either heard about on the jobsite or experienced firsthand is that our trades are hav-ing difficulty filling those positions. Whether it is plumbing, electrical or HVAC, there just aren’t many kids going from high school to the trades and this is despite the potential to earn good in-comes without layering on a pile of student loan debt. We’re currently working with FCPS, CTC and FCC to develop programs, but we really need to address the stigma that is placed on our in-dustry and help convince parents that it is okay if their child doesn’t go to college. There are well-paying alternatives in our industry.

To help address this issue, we’ve involved our-selves in the public/private push to spread the word. EARN Maryland is a new state-funded, competitive workforce development grant pro-gram that is industry-led, regional in focus, and

a proven strategy for helping businesses cultivate the skilled workforce they need to compete. It is flexible and innovative, designed to ensure Maryland employers have the talent they need to compete and grow in an ever-changing 21st Century economy.

The Frederick County Construction Industry Partnership has applied for an EARN Maryland planning grant to help further explore and identify the employment/training needs of the construction industry in Frederick County. Participants in the partnership include the ACE Mentoring Program, FCBIA, FCPS, CTC, FCC, Workforce Service, and private businesses.

I think part of the problem is the industry seems to be faced with more anti-growth sentiment than ever before and I’m not sure the full story gets out there. (Maybe it isn’t more, but, between Facebook, the radio ads, those

Winter 2014 Page 2FCBIA Bulletin

Board of Directors 2014

Thomas Hyde, Jr.President

Keith TunellFirst Vice President

Jerry ConnellySecond Vice President

Hugh GordonTreasurer

Brendan MaddenSecretary

Bob MochiPast President

Fran DenmarkFrank DertzbaughMark LancasterWilliam R. Norton, IIIRoss OstranderStuart TerlDave WiegandJason WileyDirectors

Dusty RoodPresidentLand Use Council

Frank DertzbaughRepresentativeProfessional Remodelors Organization

Gary Large Representative Commercial Roundtable

Betsy CainPresidentSales & Marketing Council

J. Maurice CarlisleRobert HiltonJim MacGillivrayFred W. RudyDavid C. SmithDolores WilsonFCBIA Life Directors

Lisa GraditorBoard Attorney

Thomas Hyde, Jr.Dusty RoodState Directors

Continued from page 1

Betsy CainSales & Marketing Council President

Happy New Year! The weather is getting colder but the market is heating up! 2014 is already shaping up to be a banner year. We have lots to look forward to with our February meeting and MetroStudy, the experts in the housing forecasting industry. Please plan to attend, as there will be lots of positive information as the market continues to improve.

We also have a lot of fun things planned for the Home Show, March 15th and 16th, so we hope to see you there!

Don't forget to submit your registration for the Awards of Excellence by the end of the month. This year's gala will be held in the spring and is always a good time. Completed entry packets are due February 28th, 2014.

We look forward to seeing you all at these upcom-ing events as we make our way through winter to a very busy spring!

damn yellow signs and the constant Letters to the Editor, it certainly seems like more!) I don’t want to get into specific projects, but if you look care-fully at the approvals that are currently making their way through the system you’ll see that these projects are making significant contributions in fees, dedications and actual infrastructure im-provements. There won’t be a new single family house in one of those subdivisions that pays less than $30,000 in fees, and when you take into consideration the public infrastructure that is be-ing constructed that number is probably closer to $50,000 per house. I bet if you surveyed the FNP readers or new homebuyers, very few would know that somewhere between 10 to 15% of the home price was county fees.

We’re not going to solve the growth versus no-growth debate this coming year or this next decade, but our goal is to do a better job of tell-ing our side of the story. The only reason we’re having this debate at all is because families want to move to Frederick County. Frederick is a great community and, despite popular belief, it doesn’t benefit our industry to ruin it. We need to make sure the greater community understands that we’re all in this together and we are making a positive impact.

On the County front, I’d like to thank Jason Wiley for serving on the County’s Impact on Growth Task Force. He did a great job of making sure our voice was heard. Hopefully we get a seat at the table when the Impact Fee Update Study kicks off in the next 30-days.

In the City, we’d like to congratulate Zach Kershner on his promotion to Director of Public Works. This is a position that we’ve advocated

Enter your work for anAward of Excellence Contact Clasina at 301-663-3599 x102 or

visit www.frederickbuilders.org/?page=AOE

for and we believe that Zach will help break loose some of the log jams that often times exist when agencies have competing priorities.

The State legislative session has kicked off and, believe it or not, we don’t see this being any easier on the industry than year’s past. Dusty will talk about it in more detail in his article, but we have our eyes on the ball and continue to vehemently defend our industry.

In closing, here’s to a healthy Spring market! I know we could all use it!

Winter 2014 FCBIA BulletinPage 3

Dusty RoodLand Use Council President

My Kaywa QR-Codehttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Frederick-County-...

http://kaywa.me/k8L66

Download the Kaywa QR Code Reader (App Store &Android Market) and scan your code!

Follow us on Facebook

At this month’s FCBIA General Membership Meeting, those in attendance received an update on the State of Maryland’s efforts to develop a regulation to ensure that new growth does not increase Nitrogen and Phosphorous draining to the Chesapeake Bay. Similar to the article that I penned in the last newsletter about how times have changed and our industry is the solution to many of the challenges facing our communities, not the problem, I thought I’d take this opportu-nity to elaborate and let all members know that not only is our industry solving school problems, as was discussed in the last article, but we are also driving Bay restoration efforts.

As many of you have heard me say before, between 1985-2009, population in the State of Maryland increased 29%. During that same period, load-ings of Nitrogen from within the State decreased 33%. Phosphorous was down 38%. So during that time, we actually reduced pollution faster than we grew. Nonetheless, the Environmental Protection Agency, under the latest Chesapeake Bay restora-tion program, requires that States within the wa-tershed ensure that new growth does not increase Nitrogen or Phosphorous.

The process of examining new growth’s impact on the Bay, as measured by actual Nitrogen loading, has been revealing and has created quite a hot po-tato for the State agencies, politicians and the envi-ronmental community. When departing from the abstract and talking from a platform of empirical data and scientific rationale, our industry, on the aggregate, is not increasing loading. In fact, nearly 90-95% of the time, new development is cleaner than the land use that it is replacing and where there are isolated increases, they are more than off-set by the reductions elsewhere.

For example, in Frederick County, a 10 acre corn-field loads, on average, 301 lbs of Nitrogen each

year. The Chesapeake Bay restoration program requires that 10 acre property to reduce the annual loadings of Nitrogen to 269 lbs per year. If that 10 acre cornfield were developed into a community of 80 town homes, less than one-third of the amount of Nitrogen needed under a restored-Chesapeake Bay scenario would come from this property, or 71.54 lbs/N/yr to be exact.

Nonetheless, in attempting to drum up support for a regulation that is undeservingly punitive to our industry, the State has alleged that the 478,000 new homes estimated to be built by 2035 will result in an additional 2 million pounds of Nitrogen per year. If one weren’t paying attention, they might be alarmed by this. However, aside from the fact that 2 million pounds per year is only 1.08% of the total loadings of a clean and restored Chesapeake Bay, it is clear that the 2 million pounds only pres-ents the load after the site’s been developed, and does not account for the fact that the site was load-ing significantly more prior to its development. As we saw from the townhome example above and as supported by the historical relationship between population growth and Nitrogen load-ings, the 478,000 new homes will help restore the Chesapeake Bay. The real problem is what happens if we don’t build 478,000 homes.

The debate about Nitrogen loading is going to continue in 2014 at the State just as the discussions about the most appropriate way to regulate hous-ing with respect to schools will be a part of the discussions with this year’s local election. As these issues arise in conversation with your friends, families and colleagues, don’t be shy about shar-ing this information. The data comes from the Environmental Protection Agency and Maryland Department of the Environment. We’re simply do-ing the arithmetic and connecting the dots.

March 15 & 16, 2014Still some booths left!

Contact Donna Kraft 301-663-3599 x101 or donna@frederickbuilders.org

Winter 2014 Page 4FCBIA Bulletin

Business

Risk Management Part I - First Things First: Defining Risk BroadlyBy Les Shaver , courtesy of NAHB

Risks are Everywhere for Builders

For the home building industry, risk management means a lot more than buying an insurance policy and using contract tem-plates from the Internet. Quite simply, builders face risk in any-thing they do.

"When I think about risk management, I look at all of the things that could go wrong in a business," said Jeff Prager, CEO of Backroom Management in Centennial, Colo.

Not properly managing for risk can be fatal for small builders. "They’re out of business," said J. Bradley Simons, vice president of Magelby Professional Services with Magelby Construction in Lindon, Utah. "They lose everything. They lose their cars. They lose their savings."

Builders face risks, such as construction activity itself, compli-ance with local laws, insurance coverage, contract management and inventory control, but the risk also filters to those they work with — remodelers, contractors, and suppliers. If these busi-nesses don’t handle risk, they have a lot to lose.

The Danger

You build a house, it’s ready and then a hurricane hits. Insurance covers that, right? It may not. Simons was surprised that a pol-icy he once purchased didn’t cover construction in place. That’s why reading the fine print is important. Finding the right policy is even more important.

"Most builders don’t want to invest in more insurance," said Roger Fiehn, president and CEO of Roger Fiehn & Associates, Inc., a Pearland, Texas-based consulting firm. "If you have a $4.5-million development and a tornado comes through, you better have $4.5 million in insurance to cover it." (Mr. Fiehn, a long-time, active member of NAHB died in November 2013, prior to the publication of this series.)

Detail is also important with contracts. Contracts with trades, suppliers, customers and consultants have to protect the builder, but a lot of home builders simply rely on templates they find on-line or in legal books. Or they don’t even use documents.

"With small builders, it’s a handshake and they go down the road," said Ray Kothe, owner Kothe Construction & Construction Management. "It only takes one time to put some-one out of business."

Though the consequences may not be as dire as a poor contract or a limited insurance policy, improperly managing inventory

has risk as well. "You’re sitting there with thousands of dollars of loose materials on those sites," Fiehn said.

Out of all risks, business planning and accounting may the big-gest. Some builders don’t even do the basics, like track their expenses on a regular basis. "When builders need money, they start borrowing from the job to pay themselves," Prager said. "Then they don’t have money to pay subcontactors. That’s one sure way to go out of business."

The Solutions

On the insurance and legal sides, builders need to know the details and make sure they’re completely covered. Sometimes, it takes multiple policies. Tony Zimbelman, owner of Zimbelman Construction, goes through a local insurer for general liability and is on a national builder’s risk policy for fire and weather damage.

For contracts, Greg Hardwick, owner Hardwick General Contracting, suggests that builders consult with an attorney on a regular basis to make sure templates are up to date. "Once you have a good contract, having a lawyer review it every two years doesn’t cost much," he said.

Securing inventory can be done with fences, lighting and cam-eras. "Loss prevention is 24/7 and it touches every part of the operation," Fiehn said. "You have to be vigilant and walk around with your eyes open."

Vigilance applies to business planning as well. In fact, that re-quires the most attention. Builders need to know their revenues and expenses and keep them updated. "If you know your num-bers, you could avoid a lot of risk," Prager said.

NAHB members should also keep in mind the association’s Legal Research Program. It provides legal research, tips, and links to information about home building industry-related is-sues to all members and affiliated home builder associations. Topics include: general liability insurance, contracts and liabil-ity, as well as labor and trade contractor issues. While NAHB staff can provide general guidance, this member resource shouldn’t take the place of a business owner’s professional or personal counsel.

Les Shaver is an Arlington, Va.,-based freelance writer with more than 10 years covering real estate. He has won numerous awards for his real estate coverage and has also covered the defense industry, banking, construction and small busi-ness. This is the first article in a six-part series on risk management. Subsequent articles focus on specific areas of business management such as contracts, fi-nances and insurance. Find them all in the Business & Strategic Planning section of BizTools of NAHB.org

Winter 2014Page 5 FCBIA Bulletin

Installation of Officers

Delegate Kelly Schulz administers the oath of office to install Tom Hyde in his second term as FCBIA President at Ceresville Mansion on December 3.

New FCBIA WebsiteYou may have noticed some changes on our website recently. FCBIA is transitioning to new association management software to make your membership experience better.

Once the new system is completely operational, you will be able to pay your dues online, register and pay for meetings, and view a history of your transactions. Set your own preferences and de-cide what information others can see.

The most exciting member feature is that you will be able to maintain your profile with your own pages. You can add pho-tos, details about your business and samples of your work, to tell other members and site visitors about your business. If you want, you can even add your own blog! Contacting other mem-bers and those in groups (councils) you belong to is a snap, and you can post your own job opportunities and track the results.

As this is a major change and our small staff also has to keep the regular FCBIA events going, please be patient while we smooth out the wrinkles. If you receive a notice about membership

expiration, you may renew your membership online, but we will also still be mailing out invoices. So if you sent in a check, we will update your membership status as we process your payment.

You will soon receive an email with instructions on how to log in, and we invite you to explore the site and try out the new fea-tures. We hope it will enhance your membership!

Winter 2014 Page 6FCBIA Bulletin

FCBIASPIKE CLUB

ROSTER

These are the members who make the FCBIA stronger by recruiting new members. Thank you!

Would you like to become a Spike Club member? For each new member you sign up, you earn one point. Contact the FCBIA office for details.

Robert Hilton 158.00Larry Schaffert 131.00Bev Shelton 126.50James Rudy 121.50Hugh Gordon 111.50Mark Lancaster 99.25Ken Abrecht 99.00Marvin Ausherman 83.00Stuart Terl 75.00David C. Smith 74.00Gary Sanbower 72.50Bo Carlisle 64.00Steve Oder 61.00Billy Shreve 59.00Rich Thometz 56.00Howard Payne 53.00John Clarke 51.25Scott Gove 44.50Doug Maddox 44.00Robert Frogale 42.50Lynn Shanton 42.25Mark Pelletier 41.75Bob Dalrymple 41.00Dick Johnson 40.50David Lingg 38.50Jim MacGillivray 38.00Jack Marshall 33.50Frank Dertzbaugh 33.50Gail Sexton 30.50Ed Smariga 29.50Barry Weller 20.00Steve Seawright 19.75Doug MacMaster 17.00Andy Mackintosh 15.25Mark Friis 14.00Joe Pushak 13.50

BusinessTake the time to KNOW your customer!I have a certain Panera Bread that I frequent in Altamonte Springs, FL. I go there to write my blogs, collect my thoughts and just get out of the office! There is a woman there who works the front counter, Vicki, and she is someone that I think we can all learn from. Vicki has been working at this Panera Bread for many years and has taken the time to get to know her custom-ers. Imagine that!

Recently, while I was in line waiting to order my bagel with cream cheese, Vicki was in her usual spot at the cash register. With a smile on her face, I noticed that she knew most of the cus-tomers in line by name.

She was asking them personal questions about their lives!

“Bob, how was your trip to Wyoming?”

”Susan, how’s that new grand baby doing?”

“Alex, how’s the new job going?”

If she didn’t know her customers’ names, she fondly referred to them as ‘sweetheart’ or ‘honey’. I couldn’t help but think to myself: Now here is a lady who LOVES what she is doing and truly enjoys interacting with her clients!

In this day and age, where most people seem to have forgotten the value of good customer service, Vicki is an inspiration! After my expe-rience that morning, I posted a comment on Facebook about Vicki and her friendly disposi-tion. Would you believe that SEVERAL of my friends posted back that they too knew Vicki and had also been impressed with her service, style and charm!

You see, Vicki takes the time to get to know her customers. She makes each person standing in line at Panera feel SPECIAL! She turns the ex-perience into something valuable and pleasant. You are no longer just waiting in line for your coffee and muffin, you are waiting in line to be recognized, greeted and charmed by Vicki!

In new home sales, you have the opportunity every day to do the same thing with your cus-tomers. You have the power to make people feel special! Use your customer’s name, ask them questions about what is important to them, and

genuinely care about them! This is the key to gaining their trust!

We all know that people will do business with people they know, like and trust. As for me, I know that when I go to Panera, Vicki makes my day. I will ONLY stand in her line, even if it means I have to wait a bit longer.

The experience is worth the wait!Melinda Brody and Company has been helping builders eval-uate, train and motivate on site salespeople for more than 26 years. Contact: 407-294-7614 or sell@melindabrody.com

R EQUIPMENT AND TRUCK RENTAL

NLIMITED U

ENTALS

RU READY!www.RentalsUnlimited.com

(877) RU-Rents 787 - 3687

Winter 2014Page 7 FCBIA Bulletin

Discounts Through the Home Builders Purchasing Program (www.mynpp.com.)

Airgas • 30-35% discounts

Alamo Industrial • Lawn and landscaping equipment

CradlePoint • Up to 20% off 4G/3G network router solutions

EarthCam Inc • 25% off webcam technology to moni-tor, document, and promote projects

Econz • 50% off setup fees for timecard solutions

Level 3 • Ready Access audio and web conferencing, operator assist conferencing, Webex meeting center and Microsoft LiveMeeting

Staples Advantage • Discounted prices on over 30,000 supplies

TalentWise • Up to 67% discount on employment screening services

Tiger Corporation • Residential & Commercial mowers

Verizon Wireless • Discount of up to 22% on calling plans for construction businesses

YRC • Significant discounts on less-than-truckload shipping needs

BB&T Save money with bonus interest rates on savings, and discounts on loans with BB&T@Work. Contact Jessica Jarvis at 301-644-6334 or jjarvis@bbandt.com

Bonded Builders Warranty Group Receive a 10% discount on home war-ranties, as well as a reduced applica-tion fee. Contact Joe Pushak at 703-582-7727 or jpushak@bondedbuilders.com

Kohl Building Products $50 coupon for first order of $1500 or more on a new account. $50 restau-rant certificate for existing customers who refer a new client who purchases $1500 or more. Contact Chad Hartzell at 301-695-5335 or Chartzell@kohlbp.com

Remodelers Advantage FREE set of 5 Remodelers Advantage books when joining Advantage Associ-ates or Round Tables. (Mention FCBIA). Contact Rose Grabowski at 301-490-5620 or rose@remodelersadvantage.com

Strategic Marketing Group 10% discount on a1-year subscription to P+D (planning, permits, develop-ment articles for Frederick City/County) or QSDN (monthly data on prices and development in the four-state area.)Contact Lynn Shanton at 301-831-6536 or lshanton@edurostream.com.

Vintage Security$100 off a Vintage Security system, or switch for free to Vintage Security moni-toring, with reduced monitoring fee of $240 for a year.Contact Jennifer Franey at 410-977-5971 or jfraney@vintagesecurity.com

MeMber-to-MeMber Discounts:

Visit the Member Discounts page on www.frederickbuilders.org for updates on these offers and more ways to save. If you would like to list your member-to-member discount here, please contact Clasina at 301-663-3599 x102 or clasina@frederickbuilders.org

MeMber savings

186 Thomas Johnson Drive, Suite 204Frederick, Maryland 21702

FIRST CLASS MAIL

U.S. POSTAGE

–PAID–FREDERICK, MD

21702Permit No. 145

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Ausherman PropertiesNV Homes/Ryan HomesPleasants DevelopmentWells Fargo

Bron

ze M

embe

rs

Drees HomesHarris, Smariga & AssociatesLancaster Craftsmen BuildersLinowes & BlocherMiles & StockbridgeSpecialized EngineeringThe Wormald Companies

Elm Street DeveopmentDan Ryan BuildersNatelli CommunitiesRodgers ConsultingThe Frederick News-Post

Silv

er M

embe

rs

Helping to Bui ld A Strong Foundation In Support of The Bui lding Industry

Plat

inum

Mem

bers

Gol

d M

embe

rs

Premier Club

Advantage HomesAll Around PlumbingBowman ConsultingBuckeye DevelopmentBuilders First Source - Atlantic GroupCarter Lumber LLCCharles P. Johnson & AssociatesDewberryFirst United Bank & Trust

Foulger PrattFrederick County Chamber of CommerceMackintosh RealtorsMacris, Hendricks & GlascockMatanMiller & SmithProBuild HagerstownThompson Gas