The Building Buzz is the official monthly newsletter of the Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Association.
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Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Association Nov. 2012 Issue 11 Join us for the Associate GMM on November 8 Page 6 Building Buzz What’s Inside: 2 Permit Report 3 President’s Letter 4 Calendar of Events 4 2012 New Members 5 Membership Highlight A-1 Heating & Air 6-7 News & Events Fall Parade of Homes Winning Builders Board Elections 8 City Beat Letter from Bismarck’s Mayor Warford 9 National News New $50 Membership 10-11 NDAB News www.bmhba.com Fall Parade of Homes Winners Announced Page 6
Transcript
Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Association
Nov. 2012Issue 11 Join us for the
Associate GMM on November 8
Page 6
Building Buzz
What’s Inside:2 Permit Report
3 President’s Letter
4 Calendar of Events
4 2012 New Members
5 Membership Highlight A-1 Heating & Air
6-7 News & Events Fall Parade of Homes Winning Builders Board Elections
8 City Beat Letter from Bismarck’s Mayor Warford
9 National News New $50 Membership
10-11 NDAB News
www.bmhba.com
Fall Parade of Homes Winners
AnnouncedPage 6
Page 2 November 2012BMHBA Building Buzz
Building BuzzPublisher/Editor:
Roxanne JacobsonLayout Editor/Writer:
Chelsea Gleich
Published by the Bismarck-Mandan Home Builders Association2600 Gateway Ave., Suite 1
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Your membership is three-in-one: BMHBA, NDAB and NAHB
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Bismarck-Mandan Permit Reports Through September 2012BISMARCK - monthly/yearly permit reports can be found at www.bismarck.org
Permit Type YTD 2012 YTD 2011New Residential Single Family Detached Single Family Attached Duplex 3 or 4 Unit 5+ UnitResidential GaragesNew CommercialAlter Public
Professionals building our community through promotion of home ownership, education and legislation since 1958.
November 2012 BMHBA Building Buzz Page 3
There can be no doubt that our community is changing rapidly. The growth of our community has made this an exciting time for citizens of our city and our state. The building community has been at the forefront of this change and growth. We have encouraged community leaders and planners to expand city services to keep up with the pace that our industry is setting and they have been responsive to our
requests. The Civic Center expansion project is what we need to continue to attract events, businesses and people to our community.
The BMHBA Annual Home Show is our flagship event each year. It is our largest fundraiser and attracts exhibitors and attendees from Bismarck, Mandan and the surrounding communities. Last
year, 6,342 people attended the Annual Home Show with 337 booths sold. We are predicting a strong turnout this year as well. As our association expands, it is important that the Civic Center take steps to accommodate the growth of the event. The Civic Center expansion will have broad implications not only to our association and our event, but in its ability to attract meetings, conventions and special events. As homebuilders, we know that every day our community is competing against others in our region for new residents and businesses. The Civic Center expansion will be another helpful recruiting tool for our community.
The primary funding mechanism for the Civic Center expansion will be the lodging and hospitality tax. This will place the majority of the financial obligation on visitors who will be using the facilities the most and make it as painless as possible on Bismarck residents. I encourage members of our association to support the Civic Center expansion on November 6. The project is another step in right direction for our community.
A Word from Our President: The Civic Center Expansion Project is a
Good Move for our Community
Chad Moldenhauer
Board President
Wine&ShinemixerJoin us on Thursday, Nov. 15 from 5-7 pm
at 122 Mandan Street, Bismarck.
Call 258-4400 for more info.
specializing in normal and geothermal systems for new construction
www.a1heatingandair.org | 701-751-4200Find out what we can do for you.
2012 New MembersWe would like to thank our new members for joining us, and welcome them to the association. If you know any of these members, please encourage them to get involved
and attend BMHBA functions with you.
AME Coatings
Anyleaks, Inc.
Arrow Service Team
Blend Home Design
Boulder Homes
Bremer Bank
Dawson Insurance
Dove Painting
Fireside Custom Homes
G & J Awning & Canvas
GR-8 Builders
Holly & Company Classic Homes
Granite Creations
Hunt Construction
Les Mowing
Luanna (Holst) Fisketjon
Milestone Builders
M.I.C Drywall, Inc.
Mind Over Material
Mr. Squeegee Window Cleaning
OSI/ISI/Sunny Maids
Prairie Supply, Inc.
Precision Tops, LLC
Quality Title
Satellites Plus
ServiceMaster Professional Services
Specials Delivery
Structural Materials
The Blind Guy of North Dakota
Titan Machinery
TS Security
Visionary Homes
Weisz & Sons, Inc.
Calendar of EventsNovember 8: Associate GMM & Board Meeting at the Elks Lodge
December 13: BMHBA Board Meeting & Holiday Open House at the Ramkota
January 10: Annual Banquet at the Radisson Hotel
January 29: BMHBA Board Meeting
February 22-24: 36th Annual Home Show at the Bismarck Civic Center
*All Board Meetings are held at the BMHBA office
2012 Board of DirectorsPRESIDENTChad MoldenhauerK & L Homes, Inc.Phone: (701) 258-4584
PAST PRESIDENTScott DuchshererPrairie Aire Homes, Inc.Phone: (701) 258-5733
Membership HighlightA-1 Heating & Air Believes in Quality Over Quantity
Sometimes bigger isn’t always better. Russ Ebel, owner of A-1 Heating & Air, sure doesn’t think it is. He believes by keeping his team small (only 4 employees) they are able to deliver a consistent high quality product and great customer experience. If a builder or homeowner calls in the evening, they will even be able to talk to the owner directly.
Since their start in 2004, A-1 Heating & Air has done furnace and air installations and replacements for new construction and existing homes. However, in recent years their focus has turned to mostly residential with that making up about 90 percent of their business. They are also seeing more geothermal installations, especially in custom built homes.
Like many builders and subcontractors right now, Russ’s biggest challenge is recruiting skilled, hard-working employees and retaining them. In an effort to do that, though, A-1 Heating & Air employees are treated very well.
Russ recognizes the importance of finding the right people, rather than just anyone to fill the position, in order to maintain their high standards of quality. A-1 Heating & Air truly believes in quality over quantity and their well-trained team makes sure it stays that way.
Their best-selling products right now are Heil 95% furnaces which are very quiet and geothermal systems which allow for better comfort in the home.
As many know, the most trusted form of advertising is word of mouth, and Russ relies on referrals from current customers for most of his business. If you would like to learn more about what A-1 Heating & Air can do for you or your company, call Russ at 751-4200 or email [email protected].
Your Company Could be Highlighted Next!
If your company hasn’t been a member highlight featured company before, contact the BMHBA to get on the list.
Being a member highlight is easy! All you have to do is fill out a
questionnaire and we do the rest.(You may submit your own article if you wish.)
UPCOMING TECHNOLOGY TRAINING!
Website Do’s & Don’tsA Lunch n’ Learn on Nov. 27
Presented by Armor InteractiveCall the office at 222-2400 or email [email protected] for more info!
BMHBA News & EventsCongratulations to our 2012 Fall Parade of Homes Winners!
Under $200,000Mitzel Homes
Judge’s and People’s Choice
$275,000-$359,999K & L Homes, Inc.
Judge’s and People’s Choice
$360,000-$399,999Knutson Homes, Inc.
People’s Choice
$360,000-$399,999Paramount Builders, Inc.
Judge’s Choice
$400,000 and AbovePrairie Aire Homes, Inc.Judge’s and People’s Choice
$200,000-$274,999Jacobson Contracting, Inc.
Judge’s and People’s Choice
Elect a New Board Member at the Associate GMM on Nov. 8
The Associate GMM will be held on Nov. 8 at the Bismarck Elks Lodge. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and a program to follow. As our general membership meetings wind down for the year, it is time to name the Board members for 2013. Scott Duchsherer will be stepping down from the Board leaving one builder position available. Candidates will be able to speak to the membership at the meeting and you will cast your vote.
The BMHBA Builder and Associate of the Year will be awarded that evening, as well as Spike awards and the presentation of the BSC Scholarships. Mandan City Commissioner and Chamber of Commerce Marketing & Communications Director Dot Frank will also join us to give a report on the recent Growth Summit. Special thanks to our sponsors: Boulder Homes, Hallmark Homes, Hopfauf Custom Homes, K & L Homes, Knutson Homes, Milestone Builders, Schlomer Construction, Tobias Marman Construction, Vance Vetter Homes and Well Built Homes! If you have any questions or would like to RSVP, call the office at 222-2400 or email [email protected].
Have you ever walked into your office on Monday morning and found your computer’s slow or your entire network is down? If yes, the typical response is to call your IT guy/neighbor’s kid and wait for them to show up, while you take an extra-long morning coffee break. This type of IT support is known as reactive. The reactive approach has major faults:
1) You can’t work until your computers fixed. However, you do become awesome at Angry Birds.
2) The unexpected cost to fix the computer means no Christmas bonuses.
The solution? Stop being frustrated and start using proactive support. Proactive support is when an IT company monitors your computers for errors 24/7/365 and preforms monthly maintenance like patch installs, disk defrags, backups, and antivirus scans. The proactive measures will help identify issues before it results in downtime and unexpected cost — a.k.a. a case of the Mondays. For more information about proactive support feel free to give Armor Interactive call at 221-0948.
Totally Awesome Tech TipsBrought to you by Armor Interactive
Avoiding a Case of the Mondays
BEAM Award Winner Named
Congratulations to Dana Schlomer of Schlomer Construction on being named the BMHBA 2012 BEAM award winner. He was recognized for his work with our associate members. Dana was also awarded the NDAB BEAM award and will now be competing at NAHB!
Don’t forget to VOTE on Nov. 6!Find your polling place at http://vip.sos.nd.gov.
City Beat: A Letter from Bismarck Mayor John WarfordDear Homebuilders,
This is an exciting time for Bismarck. The recent Growth Summit hosted by the Chamber highlighted the success and challenges related to growth. Approaching is the November 6 vote to expand the Civic Center. You are at the forefront of both.
The Bismarck-Mandan area is virtually exploding with growth. The impacts are everywhere, but nowhere are they felt more keenly than in your efforts to provide housing resources for this expanding population. Over the past several years we have been pleased to enter into discussions with your members about enhanced planning, engineering and building services. We are currently exploring development of utilities to areas that only yesterday were fields and woods.
The city is delighted to work with you. We have hired additional personnel and streamlined several processes so that housing can be provided by your members more quickly while being careful to preserve the safe and well planned environment we have all come to value. We have convened, under the watchful eye of Commissioner Seminary, a continuing dialogue with your industry to ensure attention to your needs.
The second important topic is related to the first; finding ways to continue the growth of our community. One such action is to consider the expansion of the Bismarck Civic Center. The building, built in 1969, is tired. It has hosted hundreds of events each year.
While we are very familiar with its role as host for basketball, concert and theatre events, it is being increasingly sought after as a site for large meetings. It is this need that is driving the present expansion plans for the facility.
Today, meetings and conventions are looking for venues in our region with ample meeting rooms and banquet capability. Event planners want facilities that can host a large meeting, breakout sessions and meals. Millions of dollars are budgeted for these events and
many are looking at cities our size to host them. We have great transportation facilities to get people here and an expanding lodging market to house them, but limited meeting space. Even your own home show is hampered by the lack of contiguous exhibit space at the Civic Center.
The lodging community came to the city and proposed a Civic Center expansion project to provide meeting rooms, exhibit space and a ballroom. The price tag is $90 million and the source is primarily the lodging and hospitality tax. These taxes, primarily paid by visitors, will pay for $67 million of the costs. Private fundraising will provide $10 to 15 million and interest savings will produce about $5 million. The remaining $3 to 8 million is planned to be raised through partnerships with hotels and enhanced hospitality tax collections. If the funds raised are not sufficient the project will be tailored to meet the available budget. The hospitality tax will end in 20 years. No property tax will be used on this project.
Please carefully consider this project as one strong initiative to keep our community growing. As we look back on this time I am hopeful those who come after us will say we did the right things for the city and that we met the challenge of growing this community.
I thank each of you for the leadership you have shown in producing housing resources for our region. I look forward to a bright future for your organization and for our city.
National News: What Are NAHB’s Priority Issues? Housing’s Important Role in Economy & Low Income Housing Tax Credit
As you all know, your membership in the BMHBA is a tri-fold membership including the NDAB and NAHB. Your membership dues and PAC donations support advocacy efforts on the national scale. That is why you should know what NAHB’s top priorities for 2012 are. This article continues an explanation of the top seven NAHB priorities. Take a look at the August, September and October issues of the Building Buzz for priorities one through five.
6. Recognize Housing’s Important Role in the EconomyAs policymakers debate on housing finance and budget
issues that will impact job creation and future growth, they must understand the important role that housing plays in the U.S. economy. Considering the enormity of the total number of jobs attached to housing, a sector that accounts for 15% of the nation’s GDP, now is hardly the time to step back from the nation’s long-standing commitment to homeownership.
Building 100 average single-family homes generates more than 300 jobs and nearly $9 million in taxes and revenue for state, local and federal governments that supports local schools and communities across the land. Perhaps more than any other consumer product, housing is “Made in America.” New homes and apartments don’t get shipped from other nations and more of the products used in home construction and remodeling are manufactured here in the United States.
More than 1.4 million residential jobs have been lost since April 2006. But, based purely on population growth and demographics, the U.S. will need to build 17 million additional homes over the next decade. The gap between current production and potential housing production is more than a million homes. That represents more than
3 million untapped jobs. The gap is a result of multiple factors, including deferred household formations, a lack of construction financing, and flawed appraisal practices.
There can be no economic revocery without a housing recovery. The path forward is clear: Congress needs to take actions to restore the health of the housing industry and put America back to work.
7. Defend the Low Income Housing Tax CreditAs Congress looks at tax expenditures and all programs
come under review, it is important to protect the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the most successful affordable rental housing production program in U.S. history. Eliminating the LIHTC would bring production and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing to a standstill.
Since its inception, the program has made possible the production of more than 2 million affordable apartments. It creates approximately 95,000 new full-time jobs, adds $7.1 billion in income to the economy and generates approximately $2.8 billion in federal, state and local taxes each year. In recent years, the LIHTC has produced about 75,000 new apartment homes annually.
The demand for affordable housing is acute and far exceeds the ability of LIHTC projects to keep pace. The program is essential to address the shortage of affordable housing options in our cities and towns.
Look for more of NAHB’s top priorities in the November issue of the Building Buzz.
TOP PRIORITIES
NEW! BMHBA Affiliate Membership Now Available
The BMHBA is now offering an affiliate member option for only $50. Are you frustrated that your company only gets one primary member listed in our member directory? Would you like to get your own copy of the monthly newsletter, event updates and more? Affiliate membership is available for employees of current member companies. For only $50, you can be listed individually on our website and receive all of our communications directly. This is a great option for real estate agents whose brokerage is a member or companies with multiple branches or individual sales people.
Interested in learning more about this exciting, new membership opportunity? Call the office at 222-2400.
Recruit new members and WIN prizes this November!
The BMHBA is hosting a November Membership Drive from Oct. 29 - Nov. 30. Each week a prize will be given away to the member who recruits the most new members that week! The recruitees can be builder, associate or affiliate members, but must list you as their sponsor.
The great prizes include: a $50 Scheels gift card from Capital Electric Cooperative, On-the-Go Cooler Package from MDU, Night at the Movies basket from Capital Credit Union, four Sunday Brunch tickets from the Doublewood Inn and a $50 gas card from Ferguson Enterprises, with a grand prize of two Hawktree Golf Course passes from Starion Financial! To learn more, visit www.bmhba.com or call the office at 222-2400.
