Sunday, May 13, 2012

THE Office of the Building Official (OBO) faced major challenges recently with the collapse of a retaining wall in a condominium building last month and the collapse of a subdivision riprap last Tuesday.

With the number of problems OBO is addressing, the lack of engineers or manpower continues to haunt the office, but maybe not for long.

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It was only recently that OBO officer-in-charge Josefa Ylanan learned that the Cebu City Council passed an ordinance that would make the office a separate department.

Currently, it is a division under the Department of Engineering and Public Works (DEPW). This is why Ylanan was never conferred the position of a department head.

This, as some residents affected by the collapse of the wall of Horizon 101 are reported to have returned to their homes without OBOs permission.

They were told by the City Government to evacuate after the wall collapsed last month.

But when Sun.Star Superbalita visited the area yesterday, it saw some of the residents back in their homes.

Damaged

See original here:
Council makes OBO a department

Credit: Laura Hettiger

A fatal motorcycle accident shuts down several lanes of I-26 Friday night.

David and Jennifer Morrison tragically lost their lives when their Chopper motorcycle hit a retaining wall on Interstate 26, launching the married couple to the ground 30 feet below.

It is a double death that shakes Charleston's biking community.

"Something like this is an eyeopener and at least for the next few weeks, people will be paying more attention when on a bike," Marc Kimbell, sales manager at American Biker, said.

The Morrisons visited the Ladson motorcycle store six days before their accident. Kimbell said the Chopper-riding enthusiasts bought new motorcycle t-shirts and other bike accessories.

It was in 2004 when the husband and wife bought the same bike they lost their lives on, the 2004 Big Dog Chopper.

"They have had that bike for awhile and they are experienced riders," Kimbell said. "Sometimes it doesn't matter how much experience you have if the cars on the road aren't paying attention."

Some attorneys who represent motorcyclists agree with Kimbell.

"In my experience with motorcycle collisions, it never is the motorcycle driver doing something irresponsible or careless," attorney Mark Joye said."It's the car driver, but rarely does he get hurt.The motorcycle driver always gets seriously hurt."

More here:
Biker community remembers the Morrisons

St. Augustine police: Alcohol involved in pickup truck's crash into Castillo de San Marcos

A St. Augustine man is hospitalized in serious condition after slamming his pickup truck into a retaining wall of the Castillo de San Marcos this morning, police said.

Michael Harrison Bridges, 27, was driving west on East Castillo Drive about 2:40 a.m. when he veered off the roadway, struck a fence and a tree before heading through the parking lot. The vehicle then crashed through some shrubbery and went into the fort's Covered Way retaining wall, said Gordie Wilson, superintendent of the federal property.

Bridges was taken to Flagler Hospital and then flown to Orange Park Medical Center, one of two trauma centers in the region.

Officer Mark Samson of the St. Augustine Police Department said the crash report states that Bridges had been drinking. The investigation is continuing.

Samson said the truck was heavily damaged. Wilson said the crash took out small chunks of the wall and did other damage, but he had no cost estimate. He said the wall, standing just before the fort's moat, was likely built in the 1700s. The fort remains open.

Originally posted here:
St. Augustine police: Alcohol involved in pickup truck's crash into Castillo de San Marcos

HUNTSVILLE All that stands in the way of building wastewater lines to serve residents who were annexed as long as 18 years ago is a campsite where American Indians once stopped to sharpen their arrowheads.

Federal law protects the site, where early Texas Indians left flint flakes on the dirt floor of what is now the Sam Houston National Forest, according to Randy Prewitt of the U.S. Forest Service.

This single use campsite is in the path of the last leg of project to install two sewer lines that would complete infrastructure on the east side and serve about 40 homes near Old Colony Road still without service, said the citys project manager Tom Weger.

The city annexed part of the Old Colony Road property in 1994 and another parcel in 2002. City residents who live in these areas use septic tanks.

This (project) will not only enhance our system but will provide service on the east side of the city, Mayor Mac Woodward said.

But the two lines, an 8-inch and an 18-inch major trunk line, are still in the engineering phase because of federal permit issues, a key hurdle, Jeff Cannon, vice president of Schaumburg and Polk, Inc., told Huntsville City Council at its last meeting.

The lines, part of the citys master plan, would tie into lines that are already within the national forest. Work has been ongoing for two years delayed by changing federal regulations as well wildfires.

Cannon said the forest service rejected an earlier set of plans after the agencys archeological site requirements changed. Schaumburg and Polk has since redrawn the plans to route the sewer line in question around the Indian campsite.

There will be additional value in completing the nearly $2 million project, Weger told City Council it will save money by eliminating five sewage lift stations and the power they consume.

The city also saved money in the pre-engineering phase, Cannon told council.

Go here to read the rest:
City awaits OK on Old Colony sewer line work

A proposal to extend the towns sewer line to parts of Misquamicut is being reviewed by town officials, including the Town Council and the Public Works Committee. What follows are 10 questions on the proposal. The answers are based on information provided by Town Manager Steven Hartford and other advocates of the project:

What is the catalyst/motive for the proposed project?

This is the third attempt to extend the sewer line to Misquamicut in recent memory. A similar effort was voted town during a town-wide referendum in 2000. Plans for sewers at Misquamicut were also rejected in 1984.

Officials say the current proposal comes in response to state environmental policies and a state Department of Environmental Management rule requiring owners of property within 200 feet of a coastal shoreline feature, including salt ponds, to install denitrification septic systems to replace cesspools. Nitrogen, a by-product of human and other animal waste, is thought to harm water bodies by causing fish disease, algae blooms and low dissolved oxygen levels.

After a meeting with Misquamicut Fire District residents in July, town officials set about looking for a long-term solution to prevent the proliferation of the costly denitrification systems, many of which require above ground sand filters that take up space in yards and many consider to be unsightly. The systems, which range in price from about $30,000 to $45,000, require maintenance and eventual replacement, and remove only about half of the nitrogen produced by a residence or commercial building. The solution developed by officials is the current sewer extension proposal.

Extending the sewer line, advocates and state environmental officials say, is the best environmental practice for the sensitive area and anticipates the implementation of stricter state regulations.

How was the project area determined? Why not extend the sewer line farther down Atlantic Avenue?

The proposal currently calls for two phases, both in what officials say is an environmentally critical area. The first phase of the project is a section of Atlantic Avenue, Maplewood Avenue to Winnapaug Road. Phase II is most of the rest of southwestern Misquamicut.

To extend the sewer line further down Atlantic Avenue, past Winnapaug Road, would risk disturbing the barrier beach and is prohibited by the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), officials have said.

Is hooking into the sewer system optional?

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Q&A: The proposed Misquamicut sewers

After hiring a new project engineer and approving a proposal that will allow them to borrow up to $2 million more to cover the remaining cost of the project, both the Scott Twp. Sewer Authority and board of supervisors are now looking to find out what went wrong.

The Scott Twp. sewer project has come with a series of setbacks, change orders and surprise costs that have put the project about 38 percent over budget, said Supervisor Chairman Dave Makala.

Mr. Makala said that if there were errors, someone must be held accountable. He and the supervisors are waiting for a report from an independent engineer from Harrisburg that reviewed the project.

"We need to get the independent study done; at that point we'll decide as supervisors if there will be any action taken against the sewer authority or any other party," Mr. Makala said.

About 1,350 homes and businesses in Scott Twp. will hook up to the $18.4 million sewer system, which has been under construction since October 2009. The system is part of a plan to address the state Department of Environmental Protection's concerns about malfunctioning septic tanks polluting Griffin Pond and Chapman Lake.

Meanwhile, the township will foot the bill for the uncompleted work, including paying to install about 20 laterals, or sewer hookups for homes and businesses, that were missed or skipped during the course of the design and construction.

One of the missing laterals leads to a trailer park that should serve 27 equivalent dwelling units, a standard measurement of sewer usage, sewer authority member Michael Giannetta said. A single-family home usually counts as a single EDU, and apartment complexes, schools and large businesses count as more.

"We need to get them in now because we're missing out on revenue from all the homes and businesses" that cannot hook into the system, Mr. Giannetta said.

Because of the missed laterals and change orders, the money budgeted for road repair was eaten up. There are not enough funds to complete the repairs to roads damaged during the project, officials said.

Former sewer authority member Bill White said he voted "no" on many of the change orders presented by contractors and engineers. Now the township is paying for those project changes in the form of the possible $2 million loan, he added.

Link:
Scott Twp. officials hoping to find out what went wrong on sewer project

The stink of bacteria-filled sewage that has plagued Eagleville for years could dissipate sooner than expected.

In a significant change of plans, officials with the city and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation are pursuing a cheaper sewer system than proposed in January and last month, the city traded for a piece of land where it plans to install it.

Its prime real estate for what we want to do, said City Administrator William Haston.

Various efforts to install Eaglevilles first sewer system have failed in recent years, leaving some residents to rely on shoddy septic tanks that allow sewage to puddle in yards and streets and to flow into creeks that feed the Harpeth River. Officials lay out dire scenarios if nothing is done deadly sickness, lawsuits or regulatory penalties but have met with resistance to sewer bill hikes that would come with a new system.

The latest proposal tries to address the cost concern, Haston said, without cutting significant corners on quality. The biggest difference is that the sewage wouldnt be treated to the point that it could be poured directly into the creeks. Instead of a price tag of $4.2 million and a completion date of 2014 for the cutting-edge system proposed before, officials now estimate their cost at about $2 million, with groundbreaking possible by the end of the year.

State officials found problems with the citys earlier proposal, which would have pumped treated sewage into a small creek that couldnt handle the flow. It also could have pushed homeowner sewer bills to about $100 a month.

The city recently traded 20 acres off Main Street for 26 acres off Allisona Road, where officials propose building a septic tank effluent pump (STEP) system that includes tanks at individual properties connected to a treatment system that cleans the sewage and discharges it into a field.

The plan has the support of state environmental officials. If all goes as planned, the citys project should be permitted, approved and constructed before the end of this year, said TDEC spokeswoman Meg Lockhart.

Officials are still trying to secure funding and have pursued grants and loans, including from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and federal Community Development Block Grants.

Haston said the funding should be secured and construction started before the end of the year. He said the city is closer than ever to getting a system and that it has been a long time coming.

Read more:
Sewage in Harpeth River worries Eagleville but new sewer system in sight

Zoning for the Princeton hospital site is headed back to the Princeton Regional Planning Board after the developer gave up a requested increase in density and met affordable housing requirements.

AvalonBay was seeking to build 324 units, 44 more than the 280 approved in current zoning for the site. The Iselin-based builder gave up the extra 44 units after pressure from the community and to move the project forward.

Were doing the 20 percent (affordable housing), were reducing to 280 and everything weve heard from the public for the last month, six weeks, weve conceded to and complied with, said Ron Ladell, senior vice president, AvalonBay Communities, at the Borough Council meeting on Tuesday. Except for LEED, which youve already determined by the town attorney you cant mandate.

In previous meetings, the developer had said the 44 extra units would add another nine to the affordable housing component and additional profits on the project.

A new ordinance was introduced on Tuesday night that included provisions for signs, changes to the uses for the site to include a leasing office child care and an arts and crafts studio, said Lee Solow, planning director.

Borough Council members expressed support for porches in the design of the apartment buildings as attractive additions that promote a feeling of community and neighborhood.

Porches got most of the attention on Tuesday night because the Planning Board did not recommend adoption of stoops, patios, porches, balconies, bay windows and other design features to extend into the building setback area.

Mr. Ladell assured council that the porches and stoops do not intrude into the setbacks and stoops and porches make the development look more like one and two family homes, which matches the neighborhood.

Council president Barbara Trelstad said the apartment complex would have some private spaces for residents, and not a gated community. She used an analogy of a private backyard, which is open space, but not open to the public.

Original post:
PRINCETON: Hospital developer concedes; reduces the number of units

Fire, rebulding, dedication

A plaque notes the fire, rebuilding and dedication of the new Zion Lutheran Church in Oriska. Dave Wallis / The Forum

A cross and a candlestick holder were rescued from the fire and are on display at the new Zion Lutheran Church in Oriska. Dave Wallis / The Forum

The Rev. Dan Faust, a retired Lutheran minister who serves as Zion Lutherans pastor, holds a copy of the Valley City Times Record showing the news of the fire. Dave Wallis / The Forum

ORISKA, N.D. - Even as the Zion Lutheran Church burned to the ground May 16, 2011, the congregation wasnt ready to give up.

As smoke and flames swallowed the 108-year-old building, former Zion president Tom Utke heard them say it over and over again: Were going to rebuild.

Almost one year later, a new church stands. On Mothers Day, the new Zion Lutheran Church hosted a confirmation class of three eighth-graders one whose family has been a member of the church for six generations.

At a time when small, country churches with dwindling memberships are folding, this town of 118 took a leap of faith. They built a new church, not only through their own efforts and donations, but also through the generosity of another church.

Fifty miles northeast of here, the members of Blanchard Lutheran Church had decided to close its doors. Bishop Bill Rindy of the ELCAs Eastern North Dakota Synod contacted the congregation to see if they could help Zion, whose insurance would only pay for the shell of the building. Blanchards members responded with a generosity that surprised even Rindy.

Today, reminders of Blanchard Lutheran are everywhere. The light oak pews are from Blanchard, as is the altar. The collection plates, the baptismal font, the organ, the sound system and the cross atop the building are gifts from Blanchard. The appliances, dishes and the broom and dustpan for Zions yet-to-be-constructed fellowship hall all Blanchard.

See the article here:
Out of the ashes: Town's efforts, another congregation's generosity resurrect Oriska church

Thousands attend the groundbreaking for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Provo City Center Temple in Provo Saturday, May 12, 2012. The temple will be constructed on the site of the Provo Tabernacle, a community landmark and gathering place from the time it was built in the 1880s until it was destroyed by fire in December 2010.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

PROVO Dale King sang with a choir at a Christmas celebration in the Provo Tabernacle days before a fire gutted the historic building in late 2010.

The Provo resident sang with a choir again on the site Saturday, when leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated the property for the construction of Provo's second temple to be built inside the tabernacle's shell.

For King, who lives just a few minutes from the historic building that was originally constructed from 1883 to 1898, the temple groundbreaking signified the rising of something beautiful from the ashes of devastation.

He and more than 5,600 people gathered on the grounds of the historic site for the ceremonies, during which Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve spoke and offered a prayer of dedication. Also delivering remarks were Sister Patricia Holland, Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder William R. Walker of the Seventy and Elder Cecil O. Samuelson, emeritus Seventy and president of Brigham Young University. The proceedings were broadcast to LDS meetinghouses throughout Provo and Springville.

The Provo City Center Temple is expected to be completed in three years and will include underground parking.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, church leaders were joined by government and civic leaders in turning over shovels filled with soil to signify the beginning of work on the site.

Built in the heart of Provo, the historic tabernacle was a community gathering place for meetings and cultural events for decades.

Elder and Sister Holland attended their first LDS Church meeting together on the site in 1963, nearly 50 years ago. Elder Holland said he and his family have been sharing experiences on the site ever since.

More here:
Rising from ashes: Ground is broken for LDS Church's 2nd temple in Provo