WRBA The Builder News

August 2011

Highlighted Events 

WRBA Golf Outing  

And General Membership Meeting

When:  Tuesday, August 9, 2011       
Where:  Golden Sands Golf Course 

300 W. Nabor Road, Cecil

Time:  11:00 Registration with

12:00 Shot-Gun start

Networking starting at 5:30
Meal approximately 6:00 

 PLEASE RSVP to Diane 

No later than Friday, August 5

@ 715-853-2310 

OrRSVP via fax: (715) 524-3419 or
email:  wolfriverbuilders@gmail.com  

One meal per membership is free, but we need your RSVP!  Any additional meals for spouse or guests are $15.00 each.  

Are you interested in donating a door prize??   Give Diane a call or just bring it along!

Membership

Members Renewed – Welcome Back!

• J. C. Santy Construction
  Representative:  Brad Santy 

Members – Renewal Due June

• Popp Brothers Construction – Chris Popp 
• Stone Creations – Trish Kieckhafer 

  Members – Renewal Due September

• Bohm Builders – Randy Bohm 
• Crossroads Custom Cabinetry – Cory Klement 
• Gary’s Doors & Service – Gary Felckowski 
• KPT Carpenters LLC – Dave Theis 
• Top Shelf Builders Inc – Bill Rapaich 
• Bank Mutual – Jennifer Stachura 
• Cellcom Wireless Phone – Tom Krause 
• Co Vantage Credit Union – Jeff Spindler 
• Dearco Glass, Paint & Decorating –Mike Moderson 
• Floors Unlimited Inc – Tim Coffey 
• K & S Landscaping, LLC – Scott Breitrick 
• Knope Heating & A/C – Kort Knope 
• L J Sperberg Construction Inc – Larry Sperberg 
• Perry Seamless Gutters – Henry Perry 
• Premier Pond Services – Andy Abhold 
• Schmidt Lumber – Bruce Schmidt 
• Wallrich Agency Inc – Cap Wallrich 

The following members have either chosen not to renew or have been cancelled by NAHB.  If you see any of these past members, encourage them to renew today!

• Bay Therm Insulation Inc.-Doug Nohr 
• Building Performance Solutions –Tim Reeder 
• Sun Comfort Inc. – Bernie Bos 

Membership Dues — Installment Payments

In order to make it easier for members to make their dues payment, it was decided to offer the option of making “installment payments”.    I will try to send notice at least two months ahead of due date.  You may split the payment up into two or three payments, with the final payment due by your renewal date.  There will be no refunds if dues are not paid in full. And one payment in full when due is always an option!

Reminder- Incentive to Recruit New Members! – Members will receive $20 off their next renewal for each Associate member that they recruit and $40 off their renewal for each Builder member that they recruit!  Promote WRBA membership!!

Activities Committee

Our July 12^th meeting was the picnic and pig roast at Pella’s Mill Park Shelter.  Kropf’s cooked our pig for us and did a wonderful job.  Again there were plenty of leftovers for those who wanted to take some home!   It was a wonderful evening at a very nice facility. 

August 9^th will be our annual Golf Outing in conjunction with our general membership meeting at the Golden Sands Golf Course in Cecil, sponsored by

Flyers are out and the deadlines are here!  Get in touch with Cap Wallrich at 715-526-2156 (golf outing chair) or Cory or Diane today to be a Hole Sponsors for $50 or to donate a door prize.  We hope you will consider these options to help make our golf outing a success.

Activities Chair:  Cory Klement – 715-526-3261

Education Committee

Lumber Dealers Supply has announced a continuing education opportunity featuring national speaker Mark LaLiberte at NWTC in Green Bay on Tues., August 9.  Mark’s topic will be “Ideas & Solutions for Building Better Homes”.  Registration prior to July 31^st is $20, after that date - $30.  A flyer on the class has been sent to builder members.  If you did not get the flyer and are interested in getting more information, please contact Diane.

If you are a contractor or subcontractor looking for some type of specific training, please let WRBA know!  If it is something that a group of our members might find useful, we will try to bring in an instructor.  Also - don’t forget to check out the education link on the Wisconsin Builders Association^® website, www.wisbuild.org, for classes being offered by other area builders associations.

Education Chair:  John Maule – 715-745-2256

Newsletter –

Are you still receiving just the hard copy of the newsletter?  Please consider providing an email address to WRBA so that your newsletter as well as other information can be emailed to you.  You will still have the option of a hard copy of the newsletter if you desire. 

Advertising Committee

We are in the third quarter of our advertising campaign with the Shawano Shopper’s Guide.    We get the full front page of the Shopper once per month, giving you prime business card size advertising space for $110 per quarter (three issues-one per month).

If you are unfamiliar with our program or to check availability for this quarter, contact Karen Theis. 

Advertising Chair:  Karen Theis—715-787-4691

Community Service Committee

We are looking to do a couple of new projects at the Heritage Park Historical Society.  Some of the things that they would like to see completed include a new roof and exterior painting of the Oil House, as well as exterior painting of the Archive Center.  For more information, give Diane a call.

Community Service Chair: Scott Breitrick –

715-793-4713

Home Show Committee

We have passed the first deadline for the early bird discount for our 2012 WRBA Home & Cottage Show that was offered to all vendors from the 2011 show.  So far we have nine booths reserved for the April 13th, 14^th and 15^th show.  Packets for open registration are out with the next deadline for discounted booth rates being October 15^th.  Interested in helping on this committee? We’d love to have you! Give Cap or Diane a call.

Are there any limits on the amount a municipality may charge for a license or permit issued by the municipality?   Submitted by Jerry Deschane, WBA

If the state legislature has not established a specific charge or fee for a license or permit issued by a municipality, the license charge or fee established by the municipality must bear a reasonable relation to the service for which the fee is imposed. Wis. Stat. sec. 66.0628(1). Accordingly, a fee may reflect the cost of granting the license or permit (e.g., clerk’s and issuing authority’s time) and of investigating, inspecting and exercising proper police supervision. Where the legislature has set a range for fees (e.g., the fee for a “Class B” liquor license has a minimum of $50 and a maximum of $500), a municipality may set the fee anywhere within the statutory range, without justifying the particular fee. Sluggy’s Lake Front Inn, Inc. v. Delavan, 125 Wis. 2d 199, 372 N.W.2d 174 (Ct. App. 1985). If the charge or fee for a license or permit is not reasonably related to the expenses incurred by the municipality under the regulation, the charge or fee will be deemed an unlawful tax. Municipalities may only impose taxes that have been specifically authorized by the legislature. See FAQ 141 under Taxation for a summary of authorized municipal taxes.

Monitor Your Cell Phone Usage

Submitted by Cellcom

Budgets are an important part of any small business, and an important of that budget is a cell phone plan. Sticking to a wireless plan means avoiding overages by monitoring minute, text message and data usage, often across multiple lines. This may seem like a daunting task but most carriers, including Cellcom, offer multiple ways to easily monitor your account.

To track usage on your Cellcom account(s) and prevent costly overages:

·          Call #MIN on your Cellcom phone – This automated menu allows you to check the minute, text and data usage on your account at any time. If you’re outside of Cellcom’s network, you can dial 866-226-4111 to use this feature.

·          Set up a profile on myCellcom - By registering your account on myCellcom, you can monitor the data, text and minute usage of all the lines on your account. You can also view and pay your bill and manage settings on your account, like calling circles.

·          Contact Cellcom’s customer care team – Our customer care represenatives are here to help. Contact them by calling 800-236-0055, emailing info@cellcom.com or visiting www.cellcom.com and chatting with a representative. Hours vary for each of these services, visit www.cellcom.com/contact for hours.

By consistently tracking usage you can not only determine if you need to ease up on texting, calling or data usage during a particular month, but also determine if you are on a plan that meets your needs. If you find yourself consistently exceeding your monthly limits, Cellcom recommends contacting a local representative to review your account to find a plan that will complement both your usage and your budget.

# # # # #

Cellcom’s renowned network is customized to their rural markets and customers. Cellcom is a sister company of Nsight Telservices and a subsidiary of Nsight, a provider of national communications services with more than 70 retail and agent locations throughout Wisconsin and Michigan. For more information visit www.cellcom.com.

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Monday Morning Review

(A monthly report from Brad Boycks,
the Director of Government and Political Affairs with WBA)

July 18, 2011

Senate candidate campaigns on school time

The open records request comes up gold again for the GOP in northwestern Wisconsin.  The Republican Party of Wisconsin recently obtained e-mail records from Shelly Moore, the candidate challenging Senator Shelia Harsdorf this summer.

Moore, a long time WEAC and NEA advocate seems to have been caught red-handed campaigning using her school district issued e-mail, computer system and all while on school district time.  These e-mails show multiple examples of campaigning starting in February of this year after the announcement of the budget repair bill.

The most damning exchange comes in a March 10th e-mail where Moore writes, “we’re not supposed to use school e-mail, but since all of our rights are being taken away, I frankly don’t care.”

During the 2008 election cycle another teacher, Chris Buckel, challenged Representative John Murtha and fell into the same trap of using school district e-mail to campaign.  This turned out to be a damaging issue during the 2008 campaign where Buckel was unsuccessful in his challenge to Murtha.

To read all of the e-mail exchanges and Republican Party of Wisconsin complaint against Moore click here.

Budget in effect

July 1 marked the first day that the recently signed state budget goes into effect.  Now know as 2011 Wisconsin Act 32 the budget bill contains a number of sweeping changes for the construction industry.

Included in Act 32 is an overhaul of the state’s prevailing wage laws.  Residential developments will no longer be required to use the prevailing wage labor scale on infrastructure that is paid for by a developer and then dedicated over to a municipality. Also gone are requirements to pay donated labor prevailing wage rates when working on volunteer municipal projects.

As of July 1 the conversion fee on agricultural land is dead.  If you are zoning land from agriculture to be developed you will no longer be required to pay a conversion fee on that land as a result of Act 32.

Act 10 becomes law

In early June the “budget repair bill” or “collective bargaining bill” took effect after Secretary of State Doug Lafollette took the maximum amount of time to publish notification of the act.

Since the announcement there have been a number of media accounts of school districts that have used the tools provided in Act 10 to help turn around their finances.  Most notably the school district in Kaukauna went from a deficit to a surplus with the changes allowed for in Act 10.

According to the district, changes “will allow the District to hire additional teachers, reduce projected class sizes from 26 to 23 students at the elementary level, 28 students to 26 students at the intermediate/middle level, and 31 students to 25 students at the high school level.  In addition, time will be available for staff to identify and support students needing individual assistance through individual and small group experiences.

“Due to the law change the District’s projected operating budget has moved from a negative $400,000 to approximately a positive $1,500,000.  Earmarked in the operating budget are $300,000 related to merit pay, a program being explored for all staff by the district for the 2011-2012 school year.”

DNR permitting reform passes on bipartisan vote

Recently the Assembly Housing Committee met in executive session to consider the DNR Permit Reform Bill (AB 177) authored by Representative Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna).  AB 177 will require DNR to define specific timelines to approve Chapter 30 permits.

In addition to better define timelines the DNR would also be required to make one request for information as opposed to additional requests that in the past has delayed a decision on an application.

The bill, with an amendment offered during the public hearing, says that after a public hearing has occurred if the DNR misses a deadline the application is automatically approved.

Finally, the bill changes the burden of proof in contested case hearings.  In the past the permit applicant had the burden of proof during contested case hearings.  If AB 177 is approved that burden of proof would now be on the person or group that brings the case to the DNR.

We are happy to report that AB 177, strongly supported by WBA, passed the Assembly Housing Committee on a bipartisan vote of 7-1 with all GOP members of the committee voted in favor of the bill along with Representative Leon Young (D-Milwaukee).

We expect this bill to be voted on by the full State Assembly early in the September floor period and are working to get the Senate version of the bill, authored by Senator Frank Lasee (R-Green Bay), through the committee process this summer as well.

Chairman's Interim report on Waste, Fraud and Abuse Issued

Recently Craig Rakowski, chair of the Governor's Commission on Waste, Fraud and Abuse, released an interim report to outline specific examples of waste in state government that if addressed could save Wisconsin taxpayers at least $266.6 million.

This is an interim report released by Rakowski to continue the discussion on this important topic.  The public, along with the bipartisan members of the governor’s commission are still encouraged to provide additional information to the commission to weed out waste, fraud and abuse in state government and hopefully increase the total savings that will be presented in the final report.

Reform of public assistance programs gets the most bang for the buck in the interim report, netting $177 million.

Looking forward, Rakowski wrote in the interim report: 
“During the next six months, I look forward to continuing our work with all the members of the Commission, the public, business leaders, and others as we continue to identify and discuss ways of making government more efficient. In addition, I am anticipating strong leadership being provided by the agencies’ WFA task forces as they continue to use their expertise to identify ways state government can run more efficiently.

I appreciate the opportunity to serve as Chairman of the Commission and will continue to do my best to facilitate a meaningful and respectful discussion on waste, fraud, and abuse in state government.”

Click here for the entire interim report.

While the calendar says we are already in the second decade of the 21^st century our organization is still being governed by 20^th century rules and bylaws.  The time has come for changes to streamline the way we do business. The internet and social networking have changed the way we all do business but WBA still proceeds with a governance structure that puts serious limitations on its ability to respond to the needs of its members.

What is our governance structure? As you can see on the chart below, our organizational structure is quite complex, and includes 16 committees that are staffed, yet our staff has changed from 11 in 2008 to a proposed   4 ½ in 2012. Even with a recent effort to reduce the size of the board according to a formula in the bylaws adopted in February 2010, WBA’s board of directors stands at no less than 241 members, including alternates. There are 107 Life Directors who are entitled to serve on WBA's board as long as they are members.  WBA board members take time out of their business and family to attend four Board Days a year at Chula Vista in Wisconsin Dells, while 24 of them meet an additional four times a year for the Executive Committee meetings in Madison.

It is a surprise to no one that our world has changed. WBA’s membership has reached a historical marker no one predicted, with a reduction in members from a high of 9,253 in 2006 to 5,557 in June, 2011. Numbers are similarly reflective in building permits, which reached 30,333 in 2003, yet 2010 closed with 6,356, as well as applications for new development plats, from 693 in 2004 to 89 in 2010.

With these thoughts in mind, President Don Esposito has appointed a Governance Task Force composed of the following members to move us forward in this initiative.

Gary Roehrig       Mid-Shores Senior Officer/Chair

Mark Etrheim      LaCrosse Past President

Kevin Pitts             Brown Past Vice-President

Brian McKee        Madison Builder at-Large

Michelle Beyreis    Chippewa         Associate at-Large

Jennifer Johnson     Northland         Local EO

Wayne Foster          Metro                NAHB Liaison

As a member organization, we need your input, ideas, suggestions and comments as we take a hard look at the strengths and weaknesses of our current structure and formulate a forward-looking plan towards building an association that matches our  resources and needs. I want to thank the task force members, who are committing an enormous amount of time to lend their ears to you, and I commit that I will stay at each meeting until the very last person has had their say, no matter what the time.

Please join us at one of these regional meetings:

1)      Wednesday, August 10, beginning at 4:00 p.m. at the Chippewa Valley HBA, 4319 Jeffers Road, Eau Claire, WI

2)      Thursday, August 11, beginning at 7:00 a.m. at Ferguson Enterprises, 2425 N 14th Avenue, Wausau, WI

3)      Tuesday, August 23, beginning at 4:00 p.m. at WBA, 4868 High Crossing Boulevard, Madison, WI 53704

4)      Wednesday, August 24, beginning at 7:00 a.m. at the Valley HBA office, 920 W Association Drive, Appleton

5)      Wednesday, August 24, beginning at 4:00 p.m. in the Muskie Room at Cabelas, One Cabela Way, Richfield, WI

If you cannot attend, send your input to

Jerry Deschane at jdeschane@wisbuild.org 

(608) 242-5151 x 11 (office)

(608) 514-3693 (cell)

 All feedback will be shared with the entire task force. The task force will be making a preliminary recommendation to the WBA board of directors  October 6, 2011. This effort will continue forward to create a WBA that is built for a solid future and focused on our primary mission. Please join us in mapping out the blueprint that we can build upon to keep our association the strong and viable force it has been for our industry, for your business and for Wisconsin.

Enter the BALA Design Competition

     Posted: 01 Aug 2011 06:00 AM PDT

Entries are being accepted for NAHB’s 2011 Best in American Living Awards (BALA), the foremost residential design competition in the country. Executive officers are urged to encourage members such as, builders, interior designers, architects, land planners, remodelers, developers and marketing and real estate professionals are invited to enter.

Entries are due by Sept. 1.

The competition includes 39 categories — recognizing excellence in custom and spec homes; attached, detached and multifamily homes; affordable housing; remodeling; rental developments; communities; interior design; green homes and communities and more.

For more than 25 years, the BALA awards have fostered design excellence in the building industry and highlighted those builders, architects, interior designers, remodelers, developers and land planners who have achieved superior levels of creativity and innovation.

Submit Entries Online

As with last year’s competition, award entries must now be submitted online electronically — and hard-copy notebooks are no longer required.

In addition, several award categories have been combined, and additional categories have been added for remodeling.

Winning entries will be announced at the NAHB International Builders’ Show in Orlando in January and will also be featured in Nation’s Building News Online.

To Enter

To enter and for information on deadlines, entry requirements and judging criteria, visit www.nahb.org/bala; or email Jaclyn Toole, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8469.