Pacific Northwest Council--Our Communication Tool to National

During the latter part of September, the Pacific Northwest Council (PNC) met. The PNC is a gathering of District 12 Sections which meets twice each year to conduct District 12 business. Besides Seattle, the Sections are: Alaska, Oregon, Tacoma/Olympia, Southern Idaho, Montana, Inland Empire, and Columbia. Typical business includes reports and resolutions, and new and old business items.

The Fall PNC meeting was held in Boise, graciously hosted by the Southern Idaho Section. Not only does each Section provide a report, but we also heard from Gary Carroll, our District 12 Director, who reported on the status of PNC resolutions; Larry Wade, Zone 4 Vice President (and senior VP this year) who gives us insights as to the way National is thinking or trending; Gretchen Hyde, our Geographic Services coordinator and this year Norm Buehring, District 11 Director, visited our meeting. Norm was there because a change in the organization on the West Coast is in the works. Zone IV currently consists of Districts 11 and 12. If approved by National, District 11 will be splitting into two Districts, California and "other" (including Hawaii, Nevada, Utah). Because Zone IV joins forces to elect a Vice President and President-Elect when it's our turn, it's important to communicate. In fact, we'll meet with those folks in February in Vancouver B.C. to talk about the new organization and ways of conducting the nominating caucus.

The expansion to 13 districts adds another Director whom will be shared between the PNC and California; PNC will get one three-year term out of three. In other words, PNC will have one and 1/3 voting directors. For the other 2/3 of the time, a representative will serve as a non-voting member of the Board.

At the Fall meeting, we decided how the Directors for District 12 would be elected. The PNC Sections were divided into "large" and "small"; Seattle, Alaska and Oregon are the large sections. The pool of candidates for the continuous director will come from the large sections, except that no section shall serve back-to-back terms unless no other candidate steps forward. The one-third director will be allocated to the small sections. The non-voting representative would serve a two-year term and come from the small sections.

By choosing candidates from a "pool" of sections, those ready and willing to hold a position can do so instead of waiting for or being passed by the 24-year that is the current selection system. For the smaller sections, the non-voting representative position allows a person to "get her/his toes wet" in ASCE on a national level, a possible springboard to other positions.

Resolutions are another important part of every PNC meeting. In this manner, we talk to National. Each resolution is presented and there are frequently extended discussions and precise wordsmithing to produce a product--or reject it. Examples of resolutions that passed during the Fall meeting include one encouraging the name of our organization--American Society of Civil Engineers--to remain unchanged; rumors have it that consideration of a name change might be in the works to sound more international. A second resolution encourages the use of alternative means of communicating instead of paying to have everyone across the nation come to a one-day informational meeting; when that meeting is on the east coast, it takes a big bite out of a west coast work week.

At the Fall meeting, presentations for the Outstanding Civil Engineering Award and the project with the most votes goes to a National level for consideration. This year, two projects will be forwarded: an Alaskan pipeline project that uses horizontal drilling, and dam rehabilitation in Montana. Spring meetings will typically be held at SeaTac and you are invited to attend. However, you'd have to travel to Vancouver B.C. for this year's meeting. Please provide your officers with concerns that should get passed on to national.

In the early morning of September 21, 1999, a Richter Magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the small island country of Taiwan, R.O.C. Recognizing the implications of the reported widespread damage, the Structural Engineers Association of Washington (SEAW) formed a reconnaissance team of engineers to visit affected areas of Taiwan.

Working in cooperation with the City of Seattle, University of Washington, the Taiwan Structural Engineers Association, and representatives from national Cheng Kung University, the SEAW reconnaissance team observed damage to buildings, bridges, roadways, utilities, ports and other infrastructure. The intent of the reconnaissance visit was to observe the earthquake damage and related geotechnical features first hand and to study its implications as it relates to infrastructure in the Puget Sound Region.

The team returned from Taiwan two weeks ago and is in the process of preparing a brief written report to be included in an upcoming SEAW newsletter. In addition, a technical briefing seminar will be provided to describe and present the observed damage and its implications to the infrastructure of our region. The briefing seminar will be held in Seattle during the first week of November. Please watch for a notice on the upcoming event.

The Structural Engineers Association of Washington (SEAW) is an organization of over 780 individuals engaged in the design and construction professions, over half of whom are registered as structural engineers in the state of Washington. Incorporated in 1950, SEAW pursues issues affecting public safety and professional practice in structural engineering through its technical meetings, participation in local and national code development processes, and the providing of continuing education opportunities through its seminars and workshops, among other activities.

The members of the Section Infrastructure, Transportation and Urban Planning Committee voted unanimously to take a position in opposition to Initiative 695, the motor vehicle license fee reduction initiative, on September 16, 1999. Letters stating this opposition have been mailed to interested parties. Submitted by Ron Borowski, past chair, ITUP committee.

ASCE Executive Board also voted unanimously to take a position in opposition to I-695, voted on October 13, 1999. Letters stating this opposition will be arranged and announced to various parties by Dave Schwegel.

For the past five years the Associate Member Forum's (AMF) Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Competition has provided an exceptional opportunity for promoting civil engineering among high school students through a practical hands on engineering experience. Last February approximately 2000 spectators, 300 participating high school students, 45 volunteers, celebrity judges, media professionals, engineering week exhibitors, and practicing engineers descended on the Center House at the Seattle Center for the Fourth Annual Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Competition. It was indeed a smashing success. The winning bridge from Olympic High School in Silverdale smashed national records by holding 1582 lbs.

Preparation for the Fifth Annual Competition (February, 2000) is well under way under the leadership of Ann Epler and Aeli Furtado. School visits and organizational meetings will be starting shortly. Involvement provides fantastic opportunities to play a key role in the lives of tomorrow's engineers and receive outstanding publicity. Delivering high school presentations, designing this year's T-shirt, providing aesthetic judging, donating money and prizes, and discussing civil engineering careers and structural analysis with students are some of the many ways one can get involved. Past volunteers have found involvement to be exceptionally rewarding.

Contacting Ann Epler (Hammond, Collier & Wade-Livingstone, 206-632-2664, aepler@hcwl.com) is your ticket to involvement with the Fifth Annual Popsicle Stick Bridge Building Competition. Thank you.

-David M. Schwegel, Transportation Engineer
Transportation Planning & Engineering, Inc.

Mike O'Neil and Karen Goto, King County Water and Land Resources Division will present planned restoration of Hamm's Creek connection to Duwamish River. The south Fork of Hamm Creek will move from a system of ditches and pipes into a new channel with wetlands, native trees and shrubs, logs, and boulder cascades. It will provide an intertidal home for threatened juvenile chinook, and rearing and spawning habitat for coho salmon. The project had several near deaths, but King County staff kept on reviving it.

The project design was seven years long, and construction has finally started in July 1999, with planned excavation of 60,000 cubic yards to create channel and estuary.

This meeting is at Brown & Caldwell (999 Third Ave., Suite 4000, Seattle) The fee parking is available in the building garage and in the immediate vicinity. Bring your own lunch. Brown & Caldwell will provide light refreshments.

For more details of the meeting contact Felix Kristanovich at (206) 624-9190 or at e-mail: fkristanovich@shap.com.

Being a presenter involves participating in a presentation series sponsored by the Student Chapters. Subjects can include discussions on current projects, research and development projects, careers in civil engineering, or anything else of interest to a student or engineer. In a round table discussion format, presenters typically introduce themselves, briefly talk about a topic of interest, and then let the audience guide the discussion through questions and answers. Previous topics have included the benefits of ASCE membership, effective chapter management, and current issues in civil engineering.

The UW and SU chapters of ASCE would like to thank the following people for their time and effort in contributing to the 1998-1999 lecturer/presentation series:

John Welch ---------------------------------Retired
Gary Carroll --------------------------------ASCE District 12 President
Andy Peplow -------------------------------Kiewit Construction
Larry Wade --------------------------------ASCE Zone IV Vice-President
Bob Montgomery ---------------------------Montgomery Water Group
John Clark ----------------------------------Retired
Dan Turner ---------------------------------ASCE National President
David Cotton------------------------------- Golder Associates Inc

The UW chapter would also like to extend thanks to Boeing, Kiewit Construction, the Army Corps of Engineers at Hiram Chittendom Locks, Skilling, Ward, Magnusson and Barkshire, and the Bureau of Reclamation (Grand Coulee Dam Project) for an excellent series of tours in the local area.

If you would like to join our 1999-2000 Guest lecturer/presenter series, please contact Kim deRubertis at DERUBERTIS@aol.com, (509)782-3434, Chris Yeargin, UW ASCE President, at cyeargin@u.washington.edu or Cliff Williams, Committee Chair at cwill@horton-dennis.com (425) 822-2525.