Introducing Our Guest Speakers: Dan Walsh, PLS & Bill Hurdle, PLS May 2014 El Agrimensor Channel Islands Chapter of the California Land Surveyors Association Table of Contents Chapter News 2 Calendar of Events 3 Board of Directors Minutes 3 NSPS Update 4 Caltrans Liaison Report 4 Advisory Committee at COC 4 2014 Chapter Membership Application 5 Jobs for Hire 8 Article of Interest: Biggert-Waters Provision Eliminated 9 Opus Projects Manager Workshop 10 Contacts 14 Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you) and Cinco de Mayo have come and gone – hope everyone is safe and sane. The CLSA workshop committee announced several upcom- ing educational workshops – OPUS Projects (in June) and Dr. Richard Snay (in September). Unfortunately, the OPUS Projects Manager Training workshops (June 9-10 in Riverside and June 11-12 in Petaluma) are already sold out, but my phone call with CLSA revealed that they are attempting to coordinate additional workshops to accommodate the demand (hopefully this fall). Please see Page 10 for information pertaining to the workshop and contact info to stay appraised of potential future event dates. Richard Snay Ph.D. has been a geodesist with the National Geodetic Survey since 1974 and Project Manager for the National CORS system. He also developed crustal motion models to support accurate Horizontal Time- Dependent Positioning, which are incorporated in the HTDP software (available from the NGS website). He will be speaking on the Evolution of the NAD83 Datum in the USA and Coping with Changing Positional Coordinates Due to Crustal Motion – he is a VERY entertaining speaker and I hope we get an opportunity to hear him. I am progressing with the organization of a workshop to train GPS surveyors to take advantage of local GPS Base Station resources – using RTK and Post-Processing methods. We are hoping to have representatives from Topcon, Leica and Trimble present (probably a Saturday morning in August). Upcoming Local Events – please invite a fellow surveyor (member or not): Joint Meeting with Los Angeles Chapter and Channel Islands Picnic (both in July) Bill Hurdle, PLS [email protected]President’s Message Mr. Walsh’s involvement in the land surveying profession spans almost 25 years; he becoming licensed as a surveyor in 1999. His work experience has been in both the private and public sectors. His private experience includes a small 4-person company as well as a large company with over 1000 employees. He is currently a Surveyor III in the Ventura County Surveyor’s Office. Since 1999, he has been assisting the State Board for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors as an expert examiner. Mr. Walsh will be presenting the following topic, “Deed Histories, Grantor/Grantee Document Retrieval, and some other Ventura County Surveyors’ Office Resources.” William (Bill) Hurdle, PLS, CFedS, has been licensed in California since 1984. He has also been licensed in Colorado since 1993. His experience ranges from working in Kern County from 1996 to 2009, tackling projects as an amateur geodesist, and being a GPS specialist. Most notably, he is our current Chapter President. At the Chapter meeting, Mr. Hurdle will be reviewing the Professional Development Program (PDP) resources available on our Chapter website.
Transcript
Introducing Our Guest Speakers: Dan Walsh, PLS & Bill Hurdle, PLS
May 2014
El Agrimensor Channel Islands Chapter of the California Land Surveyors Association
Table of Contents
Chapter News 2
Calendar of Events 3
Board of Directors
Minutes
3
NSPS Update 4
Caltrans Liaison
Report 4
Advisory Committee
at COC 4
2014 Chapter
Membership
Application
5
Jobs for Hire 8
Article of Interest:
Biggert-Waters
Provision Eliminated
9
Opus Projects
Manager Workshop
10
Contacts 14
Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you) and Cinco de Mayo have come and gone
– hope everyone is safe and sane. The CLSA workshop committee announced several upcom-
ing educational workshops – OPUS Projects (in June) and Dr. Richard Snay (in September).
Unfortunately, the OPUS Projects Manager Training workshops (June 9-10 in
Riverside and June 11-12 in Petaluma) are already sold out, but my phone call with CLSA
revealed that they are attempting to coordinate additional workshops to accommodate the
demand (hopefully this fall). Please see Page 10 for information pertaining to the workshop
and contact info to stay appraised of potential future event dates. Richard Snay Ph.D. has been
a geodesist with the National Geodetic Survey since 1974 and Project Manager for the National
CORS system. He also developed crustal motion models to support accurate Horizontal Time-
Dependent Positioning, which are incorporated in the HTDP software (available from the NGS
website). He will be speaking on the Evolution of the NAD83 Datum in the USA and Coping
with Changing Positional Coordinates Due to Crustal Motion – he is a VERY entertaining
speaker and I hope we get an opportunity to hear him.
I am progressing with the organization of a workshop to train GPS surveyors to take
advantage of local GPS Base Station resources – using RTK and Post-Processing methods. We
are hoping to have representatives from Topcon, Leica and Trimble present (probably a
Saturday morning in August).
Upcoming Local Events – please invite a fellow surveyor (member or not): Joint
Meeting with Los Angeles Chapter and Channel Islands Picnic (both in July)
In their efforts to continually improve their service to the nation, the National Geo-
detic Survey (NGS) periodically undergoes a reevaluation and planning process. As
NGS approached the halfway point with their existing Ten-Year Plan (2008–2018),
NGS leadership decided it was time to reevaluate priorities. With changing techno-
logical developments and revised NGS priorities, it became clear that an updated
plan was needed. To represent their goals now and into the future, NGS is pleased
present their new Ten-Year Strategic Plan 2013–2023. To improve business operations, in the new plan NGS
has focused their efforts and resources on four main goals and one enterprise goal. We invite you to review
the updated plan at your convenience: http://geodesy.noa.gov/web/news/Ten_Year_Plan_2013-2023.pdf
DPAC Warehouse Publications Unit by calling: (916) 445-3520 or by visiting:
http://ww.caltrans-opac.ca.gov/publicat.html
El Agrimensor
Page 3
CLSA Professional
Development
Program (PDP) encourages and
supports the
continued professional
growth and
competency of land
surveyors and
recognizes their
continuing education
activities. This volun-
tary program also
provides members a
means to meet out-of-
state licensure
requirements. Visit
californiasurvey-
ors.org/profdev.html
for more information.
Effective July 1,
2012, the State
Board of
Equalization and
the Franchise Tax
Board may share
taxpayer informa-
tion with the Board
for Professional
Engineers and Land
Surveyors. You are
obligated to pay
your state tax
obligation and your
license may be
suspended if the
state tax obligation
is not paid.
For Chapter Meetings, we usually meet on the third Thursday of every month. Social hour begins at
6pm followed by dinner and meeting at 7pm. The cost to attend is $25 and we also raffle off prizes, so
bring a few extra bucks. Everyone is welcome. We work hard to bring you interesting, relevant topics
of discussion led by speakers with diverse experience in the land surveying field. Please join us at the
next Chapter Meeting and other events going on in our area. We value your participation and input!
Date: Event: Location:
5/15/14 Chapter Meeting Marie Callenders
Speakers: Dan Walsh & Bill Hurdle 1295 Victoria Ave., Ventura
Topics: Researching Deeds/ Continuing Education
6/9/14-6/10/14 Opus Projects Manager Training Riverside County Flood Control, Riverside
6/11/14-6/12/14 Opus Project Manager Training Santa Rosa Jr. College, Petaluma
(See Page 10)
7/19/14 Chapter Picnic TBD
July TBD Joint Meeting with LA Chapter TBD
9/17/14 & 9/19/14 Seminar by Richard Snay TBD
Topic: Evolution of the North American Datum of 1983
Calendar
Directors Report for the CLSA Board of Directors Meeting, April 26, 2014
We accomplished one big task: The revisions for the Association bi-laws were finally approved.
Ballets and a copy of the amended bi-laws with instructions will be mailed to Association Corporate
Members soon. Per the current bi-laws, “The adoption of said amendment shall require two-thirds of
such votes cast.” We approved a $3,000.00 budget item to purchase a new CLSA exhibitors booth. If you have
seen the old one, it was held together with rubber bands and duct tape, and the pictures were a bit out-
dated. By the way, this is something our Chapter can borrow; we helped pay for it. We agreed to some revised language for the Discussion Board Guide. Hopefully, the revisions
will clear up the issue of posting someone else’s maps, deeds, etc. without permission. The slate of Association Officers was approved for 2015: 2015 President Elect (this is like Vice
President) is Rodger Hanlin (Northern Counties), 2015 Secretary is D. Ian Wilson (Sacramento Chap-
ter), and 2015 Treasurer is Jeff Steffan (Cascade Chapter). The Workshop Committee has several events in the works. An Opus Seminar, taught by Bill
Stone and Mark Armstrong will be on June 9-10 in Riverside, and June 11-12 in Santa Rosa. They have
confirmed the dates of September 17 and 19 for a seminar by Richard Snay, on the evolution of the
North American Datum of 1983. The locations are yet to be determined. The CSRC is planning
seminars at three locations across the state. They are always looking for webinar and seminar ideas. A committee has presented an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to NSPS and is awaiting
a response. We (the Directors) have not seen those terms at this time, but it appears that it is just a
matter of negotiating a few details, then the MOU will be reviewed for approval by the Directors. Once
approved by the Directors, the MOU should go to all corporate members for a vote on CLSA
participation in 100% membership in NSPS. If any Chapter member would like to see a complete agenda or minutes of any Board of Direc-
tors meeting, we can email a copy to you upon request. These reports are often over 100 pages, much
Become a Member of Our Chapter Today! The success of an association is dependent on the membership. Financial support through annual
dues is important, but even more critical is participation by members. If you are not already a
member of your state or local association, join today and get involved!
Join CLSA at the State Level. Check out the Perks!
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Jobs For Hire
GIT Technical Specialist III Camarillo, Irvine or Ontario, CA
RBF Consulting, a Company of Michael Baker International, has an exciting opportunity for a GIT Technical Specialist III to join our Surveying Geomatics team in our Camarillo, Ontario or Irvine, CA office. The GIT Technical Specialist’s responsibilities will include:
▪ Assist in managing mapping projects in the private land development and public/municipal sectors.
▪ Accept professional responsibility for some specific Land Survey assignments.
▪ Develop and mentor technical staff.
▪ Ensure project goals/objectives are met within prescribed timeframe and funding parameters.
▪ Develop and maintain work plans, budgets, schedules and staffing for all project phases.
▪ Assist in developing and writing proposals, define scopes of work and cost/bid estimates.
▪ Perform mapping related research, boundary analysis, calculations, exhibits, and legal descriptions for a variety of land devel-
opment and public works related projects from small infill developments to large master-planned communities and public re-lated improvement projects throughout Southern CA.
▪ Perform mission planning and post processing for GPS surveys.
▪ Prepare flight plans, control schemes and coordination for aerial mapping projects.
▪ Review construction plans and perform calculations for layout staking and prepare exhibits.
▪ Perform survey data processing and prepare reports for spatial monitoring.
▪ Compile topographic information, compute and manipulate digital terrain models for topographic mapping.
▪ Prepare and/or oversee the preparation of final maps, parcel maps, record of survey and ALTA maps; and prepare and/or over-
see preparation of legal descriptions and associated plats, and boundary analysis, as well as work closely with engineers to en-sure coordination of technical surveying and engineering aspects of a project.
▪ Direct staff in preparation of various survey/mapping related projects.
Requirements:
▪ Professional Land Surveyor License in California
▪ Bachelor’s degree in Surveying Geomatics, Engineering or related field, or equivalent in experience.
▪ Minimum of ten (10) years of Surveying Geomatics experience with increasing levels of responsibility
▪ Knowledge of California Subdivision Map Act and Land Surveyors Act, and a thorough knowledge of drafting standards and
processing project requirements. Baker, founded in 1940, provides professional engineering and consulting services for its clients worldwide. With nearly 3,000 employees in over 100 U.S. offices, Engineering News-Record consistently ranks Baker in the top 8 percent of the 500 largest U.S. engineering design firms and in the top 25 of numerous individual markets. The firm's primary business areas are archi-tecture, aviation, defense, environmental, geospatial, homeland security, municipal & civil, oil & gas, rail & transit, telecom-munications & utilities, transportation, urban development and water. Baker’s headquarters is located in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Baker recently became part of Michael Baker International, LLC, a leading provider of end-to-end engineering, development, intelligence and technology solutions with global reach and mobility. Baker offers excellent benefit packages that includes: Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability Insurance, Life Insurance, Flexible Spend-ing Accounts, Additional Paid Time Off, Flex-Time, 401-K Retirement Plan, Tuition Reimbursement and Employee Credit Un-ion. To learn more, please visit us on the web at www.mbakercorp.com. To apply for this position, please log on to www.mbakercorp.com/careers select “Job Search” and reference IRC47214 in “Keywords.” (Note: if you are unable to apply online, please contact the Systems Administrator at [email protected] ) Baker is an EEO/AAP (M/F/V/H) e-Verify Employer
Engineer Nexus is working with a well-established engineering firm with offices in California and surrounding western states . There is currently an opening for a Project Surveyor in Santa Clarita. Description: Supports our Santa Clarita Survey Team in organizing and coordinating projects including a broad range of assign-ments, requiring knowledge of land surveying/mapping. Duties: This position will support the Survey Team with technical mapping, final drawings for agency submittals, and submittals and specifications for approval. Research and analysis, title reports, ROW/E, ALTA’s, topography, photogrammetry, boundaries and mapping, construction staking for storm/sewer drainage placement, subdivision lots, street design, and grading. Qualifications: ▪ 8+ years of experience in all phases of land surveying ▪ Must have public mapping experience (subdivision maps, parcel maps, record of survey maps, legal descriptions and exhibits, etc. ▪ Must be proficient in AutoCAD and Microstation ▪ Current knowledge of public agency codes, processes and requirements ▪ LS required Contact: Scott McKay Tel. #: 408-404-4078 [email protected] www.EngineerNexus.Com
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) repealed a provision of the 2012 Biggert-Waters
law, which made it impossible for new homeowners or business buyers to assume the property’s
existing flood insurance policy. With rates increasing by double, triple, or even 10 times the previous
premiums, owners of an estimated 1.1 million properties nationwide can achieve new economic
growth.
After passing the House and the Senate, President Barack Obama signed the repeal into law under the
Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, on March 21, 2014. Under this act, premiums can still
rise, but the agency strives to insure that rates don’t rise more than 18% per year.
Prior to the law, realtors said that property values had dropped significantly, likely due to Biggert
Waters high premiums making homes virtually unsellable. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-LA and David
Miller, FEMA’s flood insurance administrator, are currently developing a system to reimburse home-
owners who have already begun paying higher premiums.
Alpert, Bruce. “FEMA Says a Change in Ownership Will No Longer Trigger Flood Insurance Increases for New Owners.”
The Times Picayune. Nola.com, 6 May 2014. Web. 08 May 2014.
Biggert-Waters Provision Eliminated: Safety for Purchases with Existing Flood Policy
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Thanks to our Generous Sponsor!
CLSA Channel Islands P.O. BOX 6572
Ventura, CA 93006
“Recognizing that the true merit of a profession is determined by its service to society, the Channel Islands Chapter of the California Land
Surveyor’s Association does hereby dedicate itself to advancing the profession of land surveying because of its social and economic
contributions to the welfare of the community, state, and nation.”
It is a violation of state law for an unlicensed individual to offer and/or practice civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering, land surveying, geology, and geo-
physics unless he/she is appropriately licensed by the Board. Our Board takes this unlicensed offering and/or practice of professional services seriously. Since
the Enforcement Unit is limited in its resources and cannot proactively search for unlicensed activities, we rely on others to inform staff when unlicensed work
is being offered and/or performed. The Board is asking that any listing of these services by an individual not licensed to perform those services be sent to our
office for review. Licenses can be verified on our websites, www.pels.ca.gov and www.geology.ca.gov, or by calling the Board Office. If you become aware of
unlicensed and/or practiced activities, please provide us with documentary evidence of the alleged unlicensed activity. This may include copies of the adver-
tisement, the written contract, a business card, or other documents that may support the allegation. You may choose to submit the complaint anonymously, if
you wish. The goal of the Board is to ensure understanding of and compliance with the laws through education to prevent future violations and enforcement
actions, when necessary. Any questions or concerns you may have regarding possible unlicensed practice should be directed to Enforcement Analyst Larry
Kereszt of The Board For Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists by email at [email protected] or telephone at (916) 263-2240.
A Message from the Board About Unlicensed ActivityA Message from the Board About Unlicensed Activity
