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phkao
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Post by phkao »

Doug,

I plan on going over a few of your questions at the board meeting.
I can see UCLA publishes their bidding results on projects. Project P026 shows all bids rejected.
This was one snap shot of the UCLA bidding result at the moment you checked the website. UCLA has the right to reject all bids for any reason and rebid the project. I stick to what I said in my last post.
It was said hiring the consultant was a bad idea and we didn't need him. Maybe just the act of hiring him got the government to approve us once they saw we were serious.
This was gone over a few times. Please come to the board meeting, on this topic. I will let you know what Thursday meeting.
I am still not convinced contractors are lowering their rates. The US Labor Department just released their Beige Book with this report for our area and no mention of reduced labor rates in construction:
It is the profit margin that the contractors are cutting. I certainly hope that the labor rate increases to compensate the inflation rate.
"Economic activity in the Twelfth District continued to grow at a moderate pace during the reporting period of January through mid-February. Price increases for final goods and services were limited, and upward wage pressures were minimal. Sales of retail items rose on balance, and demand improved modestly for business and consumer services. District manufacturing was mixed but appeared to expand overall. Demand grew further for agricultural producers but was uneven for providers of energy resources. Activity in District housing markets remained sluggish, and demand for nonresidential real estate stayed weak overall. Financial institutions reported a small increase in overall loan demand.�
If you want to discuss economic activity you should look back to a year ago. Things have picked up recently. I’m speaking on what I see on a daily basis, not read.
My oldest brother represents UC Irvine on the UC Sentate and months ago their biggest concern was was the tear gassing of student protesters over the higher tuition and fees. Along with the Obama administrations pressure on UC to hold back costs this may have contributed to UCLA management starting to bid more competitively.
UCLA has to always bid competitively. It is a law. We can only accept the lowest bidder.
Also if UCLA is starting more construction projects this will reduce the overall available supply of contractors to the rest of us and cause them to raise their rates.
Most of the small contractors that might be interested in bidding our gazebo project and your home improvement project, probably won't qualify to bid most of the UCLA projects. Our projects are too big for them.
The only real screw up I saw while working on the Concrete portion was being shipped re-bar that was too small in diameter that what was ordered and it was not caught until the inspector blocked the concrete pour. The contractor remedied the situation and the inspector approved us. I imaging the contractor ate that cost.
Please come to the next meeting and you won't have to imagine what the contractor did. Have you seen the contract?
The contractor mentioned he also years ago installed a swimming pool but as he was pouring the heat increased to 104 and the concrete set too quickly. He had to jackhammer the whole pool out and start over. A lesson thankfully learned before we poured our foundation and deck.
It doesn't take a seasoned contractor to know it is not a good idea to pour concrete at 104 degrees. Concrete needs water to cure and it takes 28 days minimum.
I am currently researching the flood that overtook the Pacoima dam spillway around 1971ish and killed 2 or 3 people on and around Gridley street. The Army Corp of Engineers moved thousands of trucks of sediment trapped at the Lopez dam and constructed at least 2 berms to protect Symlar from floods. If we built on the berm then it would be as volatile as the San Francisco Marina district which is built from landfill and is subject to increased damage every earth quake from liquefaction. The extra robust Pavilion foundation may have been a good idea.
The extra robust Pavilion foundation was due to the raised container storage. The higher the deck is raised, the deeper the foundation has to be and most certainly, the more expensive it gets.
If we built on the berm then it would be as volatile as the San Francisco Marina district which is built from landfill and is subject to increased damage every earth quake from liquefaction. The extra robust Pavilion foundation may have been a good idea.

This will be discussed during the month of "Design competition and project development". The extra robust is redundant.

Doug, thank you for your input. If you would like to discuss this over the weekend my number is in the directory.

Better yet. If you had the time and wanted to come to UCLA, I’d walk you through some job sites and go over a few questions.
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Busto
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Post by Busto »

There was a lot of acceptance from board members and members that didn't include facts. All we want to do is point them out and make sure they don't happen again.

I'm looking out for every paid members interests. Including the the boards.
Last edited by Busto on Fri Mar 02, 2012 2:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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dhmartens
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Location: Reseda

Post by dhmartens »

I wasn't on the board, I ran against Vanertol and Wolthers as a write in for President a half dozen years ago but Vandertol was better suited for his thicker skin and he is personable. My platform was "Pilot Expansionist Party". I think the report is important and I am trying to help improve it before it is presented. In management training they teach POAC plan, organize, actuate, and control.This is a necessary control step. Its good to proofread things as well. They may be corrections after the fact.

With hindsight maybe a separate club vote should have been taken on the issue of awarding the 68K contract. I'm not sure, its a big amount though. It might have added 2 months to the project. The Board has been transparent about what is going on like purchases, who is leading the work and progress.

If something was unpopular to a large voting block then a forum post with an an online vote would be made to ask what we should do. If 10 or more people say no the board might want to mail out a ballot on the issue. We have seen both online and mailed written ballots on the pavilion.

I stand corrected if I have posted any incorrect facts or amounts.

I was researching the cost of the sewer hook up permit. All that I could find was in Burbank it was between $500, to $5,000. They looked at your estimated water usage. It is possible our waste porta-potty could be used to estimate our water usage for sewer.
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Busto
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Post by Busto »

Vandertol may have had thick skin, but he made many mistakes. This isn't just my point of view, it's a fact. You quoted him sometime back and the quote itself is anything but accurate.

We all make mistakes ... It's what makes us better. Our gazebo situation is not that difficult and dramatic.

We can learn some knowledge from someone that has been doing it for twenty years. I don't know how to say it in a way better then Pi-Hsuan's earlier post.
Every day I have some meetings with Vice Chancellors, Associate/Assistant Vice Chancellors, attorneys, directors, architects, engineers, consultants, contractors and/or vendors regarding building projects. Right now I am managing several multi-million-dollar projects simultaneously.
She's been doing this at UCLA for over eleven years. You should go to UCLA and spend a day with her. You will have a different outlook and realize she is well respected in her field.

How many homes have you or Don done from beginning to end. How many multi-million-dollar buildings have you ran from beginning to end. I can't count all of her projects. In all the years she has been working at UCLA, none of her projects ever ended up in the red. I would say that is someone that understands the business.

Please come to the board meeting for the next four months. She isn't a Witch, and her only concern is the members best interest.
Last edited by Busto on Fri Mar 02, 2012 3:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Busto
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Post by Busto »

I'd like to see the sewer line to be our next project after we get squared away with the budget.

I thought I heard the cost for running all the way to the street is between $15K/$20K, but this was word of mouth. I know when SIBL did their sewer line, we had a chance to hook into theirs for a few thousand ... I think it was about $5K, but there was to many issues to follow through.

Anyway, I think flushing toilets would be a dream come true.
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Jim
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Post by Jim »

In case anyone is interested, the next full moon waxes on the 8th. Not a good time for fishing unless your going at night.

Does anyone know when opening day in Mono county is?
JBBenson
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Post by JBBenson »

Image
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Glenn
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Location: Westchester, CA

Post by Glenn »

I like pie.
Flyyyyy
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Glenn
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Location: Westchester, CA

Post by Glenn »

I heard that some people saw Bob Lazar near the Gazebo during construction overruns, and that much of the money was spent on some strange and secret spherical structure that smelled of elderberries, and is now buried under the foundation.
Flyyyyy
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Jim
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Post by Jim »

It didn't cost anything, Glenn. It was a small time capsule, buried with examples of our sense of humor and tolerance for others.

A very, very small time capsule. I don't expect it'll be resurrected in our lifetime.
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