The Southwest Washington Contractors Association will hold its annual Construction Executive Summit on March 24 at the Vancouver Hilton. The event will feature three keynote speakers, 12 breakout sessions, a supplier exposition and a Young Contractor Forum.

Keynote speakers include Amber Carter, owner of Amber Carter Government Relations, who will present a legislative wrap-up, and Scott Bailey, regional economist for the Employment Security Department’s DATA Division covering Southwest Washington, who will discuss the economic outlook. “Empowering the Next Generation of Construction Professionals” will be presented by Robert Bertini, professor and head of the School of Civil and Construction Engineering at Oregon State University.

“This is a great opportunity for our community to get together and learn about trends in the industry,” Cyndi Holloway, SWCA Board president and Government & Community Affairs director for Waste Connections, said in a news release.

“New this year is our Young Contractor Forum,” noted Sherrie Jones, SWCA executive director. “This is a great opportunity for high schoolers to attend an afternoon panel featuring early career professionals and seasoned contractors – the high schoolers can learn firsthand about how the panel got started in their careers as well as ask questions about their own paths.”

Panelists will feature Matt Olson of Robertson & Olson Construction, Tonicha Farrell of Cadman Materials Inc., Trinity Seger of North Woods Construction Co. and Jeffrey Shaffer of Shaffer Excavating. The panel will be moderated by Mark Wreath, CTE director of Vancouver Public Schools.

For more information and to register for the conference, go to . Conference attendees can earn a certificate for six continuing education credits. Students who wish to attend the Young Contractor Forum should register prior to the event.

SWCA also recently announced its 2022 officers and directors. In addition to Holloway as president, officers are Michael Wagy, CalPortland, vice president; Keith Stewart, Stewart Mechanical Inc., secretary; and Drew Barrett, Barrett & Co. CPAs, treasurer. Chrissy Lyons, Port of Vancouver USA, is the immediate past-president. Directors are Jared Currie, Anchor Concrete; Amy Davis, Columbia Bank; Andrew Gunther, PLS Engineering; Brigham Lambley, Peterson Cat; Tracey Malone, Halbert Construction Services; Steve Niemi, Tradesmen Electric; Jerry Sauer, Columbia Rock Products; Bryce Sinner, Landerholm Law Firm; Karl Tapani, JRT Mechanical; Shane Tapani, Tapani Inc.; Kelly Walsh, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt; Jim West, Jim West Commercial/Wise Move Real Estate; and Michael Wubben, Legacy 6 Inc.

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When Washington Gov. Jay Inslee this week issued guidance calling for most construction projects in the state to shut down, reactions from the building industry came swiftly.

The original “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order from Inslee’s office included construction among industries considered essential and able to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic. But then a clarification issued Wednesday made clear that construction must shut down through April 8. The governor could also choose to extend the order at his discretion.

But the ambiguously worded “clarification” has raised additional questions. What seemed allowable Monday suddenly wasn’t on Wednesday.

“The frustration for us has been that lack of clarity,” Nelson Holmberg, executive director of the Southwest Washington Contractors Association, said Thursday. “We spent the whole week from Monday through last night seeking clarity, and the latest memo still leaves things up in the air a little bit. We’re getting a lot of calls from members concerned about what to do, and we’re advising our members to live to the letter of the law right now.”

Construction, with a few exceptions, is not considered “essential” under the state’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order. Those exceptions are:

• “construction related to essential activities as described in the order;
• to further a public purpose related to a public entity or governmental function or facility, including but not limited to publicly financed low-income housing; or
• to prevent spoliation and avoid damage or unsafe conditions, and address emergency repairs at both nonessential businesses and residential structures.”

A memo issued by the Associated General Contractors of Washington indicated that while the Washington State Department of Transportation is shutting down virtually all of its projects, school districts and other public entities are authorized to make their own decisions whether to proceed with public infrastructure work. Publicly funded low-income housing projects will be allowed to continue, but market-rate residential projects will not.

“We are disappointed in the governor’s decision, but we also realize that the health of citizens and our workforce is paramount,” AGC of Washington Executive Director David D’Hondt stated in the group’s memo. “In the meantime, we will continue to work with the governor’s office to help get construction going as soon as possible.”

Todd Horenstein, assistant superintendent for facility support services with Vancouver Public Schools, confirmed public school work now under way is proceeding under practices recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Our projects are continuing,” Horenstein stated via email. “We have an exemption under the governor’s memo sent out yesterday. School projects are considered necessary for public purpose; all of our contractors are working and practicing safe working condition as guided by the CDC.”

Private-sector jobsites and projects, however, now have to be secured during the shutdown.

“The BIA is deeply disappointed with the governor’s clarification issued last night,” Building Industry Association of Clark County Executive Director Avaly Scarpelli said Thursday. “He significantly narrowed the original order, which allowed for housing construction. (The) clarification of the order is a devastating blow to the building industry and local economy.”

The short-term effect, she added, will be a backlog in builders’ ability to provide housing units.

“Many (builders) are now facing the hard decision to lay off eager-to-work employees at this time,” Scarpelli said.

Perlo Construction builds large industrial and commercial projects – including logistics facilities – in both Oregon and Washington. Todd Duwe, the company’s director of business development, said the firm is approaching its work on a case-by-case basis.

“We’re just trying to get more clarification of that essential business component,” Duwe said. “Our preference is to keep jobs open and keep moving forward. For instance, logistics companies and distribution can be considered essential – they are delivering food, medicines and other things – and I think the governor’s office is still reviewing that, and there is still communication with industry on that.”

Jennifer Spall, communications director for the Building Industry Association of Washington, echoed this.

“We’ve been inundated with calls from members asking ‘Where is the line?’” she said. “We’re taking those on one by one right now.”

The state opened a website for affected parties to ask just that question, while the BIAW and other groups are coordinating with state agencies to ensure unemployment insurance and other benefits will be available to construction workers out of work as a result of the crisis. The pending federal emergency stimulus package is another potential source of relief, Spall added.

“We’re not only spending a lot of time answering questions; we’re just hearing heartbreaking stories about people having to lay off employees,” she said. “They don’t know how they’re going to struggle to make it through this. We’re still coming through all that and trying to understand what it all means.”

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The Southwest Washington Contractors Association (SWCA) held its inaugural Construction Champion Award ceremony recently, and McDonald Excavating of Washougal, Washington, was named General Contractor of the Year.

The awards are intended to highlight leadership, craftsmanship and community service. They were handed out earlier this month during an event in downtown Vancouver, Washington.

Legacy 6 Inc., a Vancouver-based contractor specializing in excavation and heavy civil construction, was honored as Subcontractor of the Year. Peterson Cat was named Supplier of the Year and Bobcat of Portland was named Rookie Member of the Year.

“This is the first year, but it will be an annual awards ceremony during our summit going forward,” said Andrea Smith, marketing and government relations director for the SWCA.

Industry companies submitted nominations for each award category, Smith said. Then the SWCA marketing committee, comprised of representatives of 10 contractors, voted to select the winners.

“The idea for awards was born out of marketing committee, because they wanted to see more recognition for members that were doing good things for the industry, community and the SWCA,” Smith said. “They thought a formal recognition was the perfect way to do this. We’re hoping that more people catch wind of this opportunity to win recognition and will nominate a company next year.”

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