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On the coverThe CAWV’s 2013-2014 President PhilipL. Weser, president of March-WestinCompany, Inc., Morgantown, is anentrepreneur in every sense of the word.His companies have shaped thelandscape of Morgantown and NorthCentral West Virginia. In his unassumingway, he has built a company by fosteringyoung and talented individuals that havebuilt $1 billion worth of constructionprojects over the past 30 years. To seehow he applied his principles to thestate’s largest full service constructionassociation, see page 6. Cover photo byhis son, Austin Weser, in front of one ofMarch-Westin’s signature buildings,WVU’s Alumni Center.

CONTENTS

Cover Story:

2013-2014 CAWV President Phillip L. Weser: Entrepreneur extraordinaire ..................................................................... 6

Features2014-2015 CAWV Board of Directors ....................................................... 14Vision for the future of water theme at annual meeting ............................. 18CAWV members recognized as top exporters .......................................... 32

Construction briefs .................................................................................. 35

Advertisers .............................................................................................. 46

Official Publication — CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF WEST VIRGINIAFor 77 years, "The Voice of Construction in the Mountain State"

July / August 2014VOL. 77 NO. 4

MICHAEL L. CLOWSEREDITOR

The Contractors Association of West Virginia is a nonprofit trade organization representing the building, highway,heavy and utility contracting industries in West Virginia. Its services include establishment of a close workingliaison with state and federal agencies; worthwhile educational and informational programs; the regulardissemination of pertinent information to its members; strong legislative and media relations; as well as all otheractivities deemed necessary and proper to promote the general welfare of the construction industry. The CAWVis a certified chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America and the American Road andTransportation Builders Association.

West Virginia Construction News, the official publication of the CAWV since 1937, is published bimonthly.Advertising and editorial deadlines are on the first of the month preceding the month of publication. Material maybe reprinted only with the permission of the editor. Advertising and editorial offices are at 2114 Kanawha Boulevard,East, Charleston, WV 25311, telephone (304) 342-1166, Fax (304) 342-1074, Web Site www.cawv.org, Email:[email protected]. Yearly subscription rate to CAWV members, $7; non-members, $8; single copies, $1.50.

Officers*President

Daniel B. Flesher

*Senior Vice President

Dan Cooperrider

*Vice President

C. R. Neighborgall IV

Treasurer

Scott Pierson

Secretary

Roger W. Thomas

*Immediate Past President

Phillip L. Weser

Directors

Michael Gianni

Douglas P. Meeks

Nathaniel R. Orders

AGC National Directors

Art King

Charles R. Neighborgall III

Robert O. Orders Jr.

Richard C. Smailes

ARTBA National Directors

John P. Boyle II

Leo A. Vecellio Jr.

Chairman, Asphalt

Pavement Association

Ed Phares

Chairman, Building Division

Jamie B. Ridgeway

Chairman, Highway/Heavy

Division

John P. Boyle II

Chairman, Utilities Division

Tim Spradling

*Chairman, Associate

Division

Christopher L. Slaughter

Vice Chairman, Associate

Division

Eric Ramey

Past President Directors

David B. Alvarez

James E. Brown

John S. Casto

Rodney W. Clay

J. Steven Cvechko

James W. Dailey II

Art King

Jack B. Lively

James Mattingly

Charles R. Neighborgall III

Robert O. Orders Jr.

Richard C. Smailes

John H. Strickland

B. Lee Snyder

Ronald B. Snyder

Gene E. Thompson

Gary D. Young

StaffExecutive Director

Michael L. Clowser

Director of Member Services

Patrick E. McDonald

Director of Administration

Wendy M. Long

Communications/EXPO Manager

Cassidy D. Webb

Planroom Administrator

Cheryl R. Clark

Executive Director

Asphalt Pavement Association

Patrick M. Parsons

Office Manager

Asphalt Pavement Association

Alice H. George

Office Manager

EXPO/Asphalt Pavement Association

Katie G. Bradley

*Executive Committee

His goals were simple. He wanted toescape the corporate world whereshort-term profits were king, and tohave fun while making a living. To getstarted, he created March-Westin’sfirst business plan which projectedrevenues of $2 million by the 10th yearin business. He readily admitscomplete surprise that in 2013, as thefirm closed in on 30 years in business,March-Westin surpassed the $1 billionmilestone in completed constructionprojects. While the financial success isimportant, it takes a back seat to whathe calls the “March-Westinexperiment.”

The son of an Air Force Sargent,Weser was born in Las Vegas, Nevada.The family moved to Alaska and Texasbefore settling in Parkersburg, hisparent’s hometown. His father starteda logging business where Weser andhis brother Bob began working duringsummers and holidays at age 11 and14. He credits his parents for

developing his strong work ethic,positive influences from the WoodCounty school system, and “a greateducation” at WV Tech as thefoundation for his eventual success.

“In the sixties, Parkersburg was avibrant town due to DuPont, Marbonand other petrochemical plants beinglocated there,” Weser remarked. “Theschool system benefited becausemany of the scientists and engineersthat were transferred to the area hadover-qualified spouses that ended upteaching in local high schools. I amhopeful that the gas industry and theproposed cracker plant can lead toParkersburg’s revitalization.”

After high school, the future contractorwanted to get an engineering degreeand chose West Virginia Institute ofTechnology, “because it was thecheapest accredited school.” Aftergraduating in 1973 with a degree inmechanical engineering, Weser

received several job offers and choseto go to work for Bechtel Corporation,an international leader in theengineering and construction industry.He started in the cost and schedulingdepartment and began the process ofdetermining how he would fit into theworking world.

“I was a bit intimidated when I foundout that Bechtel had hired 60 otherengineering graduates and most ofthem had attended prestigiousengineering schools,” he said. “As itturned out, however, I got my firstbreak when my boss discovered that Iwas the only new hire with significantcomputer experience and critical pathscheduling course work in college.This gave me the opportunity to workwith Bechtel’s fledgling computerscheduling program which boostedmy confidence tremendously. I alsofound that I enjoyed working withproject budgeting and financialanalysis more than engineering.”

2013-2014 CAWV President

Phillip L. Weser:

Entrepreneur Extraordinaire

In 1984, Phil Weser was an engineer with a strongentrepreneurial spirit and a unique vision but limitedresources. That year, he decided that it was time to take ashot at fulfilling his dream. With eleven years of experience inthe construction industry, a few tools and $2,000, Weserstarted March-Westin Company, Inc. in Morgantown, WV.

6 J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 4

C O N S T R U C T I O N N E W S 7

Weser worked primarily on nuclearpower station projects both in theoffice and in the field for Bechtel. Herecalled one particular incident that hecredits with changing his outlook onemployer-employee relationships.While working on a project in Ohio, herecalls meeting Stephen Bechtel, thecompany’s president, on one of hisprojects.

“The company kept a list ofemployees that were rising throughthe ranks, and as he flew around thecountry visiting projects, his assistantwould show him photos of theindividuals on the list before he got offthe plane. As he walked around thejob, he would call those individuals bytheir name. I was amazed by hisinsight given that Bechtel had 26,000non-manual employees at the time.We only have 260 employees in ourgroup, but I try to review employeepictures and family information,because that chance meeting taughtme how important it is for all of us tobe recognized by their organization.”

When Weser’s father became ill, hedecided to come home to WestVirginia, where he accepted a positionwith Mellon-Stuart Company as an

assistant project manager. By 1983,he was promoted to team leaderwhere he supervised projectmanagers, superintendents, estimatorsand clerical staff. During this time,Weser also earned an MBA from theUniversity of Pittsburgh, whilebalancing the demands of his career

and raising a young family.

While many would have been contentwith the success that Weser hadachieved at this point in his career,Weser, a self-described “free spirit,”yearned for independence and in June1984 took “a blind plunge.” Limitedcapital made for some lean andchallenging times.

“We started by building a duplex on alot we owned and then got a $2,500job laying a stone wall,” Weser said.

When it became obvious that the newcompany couldn’t make ends meet,he took consulting work with aPhiladelphia architect who wasinvolved in the condo hotel market inMyrtle Beach. That led to providingbudgeting, project management, andCPM scheduling services toarchitects, contractors and developersin Atlanta, Myrtle Beach and Daytona,Florida.

When asked about key turning points,he laughs while saying, “most of themhad something to do with lack ofsurety credit.” The first came after afull year in business. March-Westin bida $20,000 project at WVU using aletter-of–credit in lieu of a bid bond

Many of the signature buildings in North Central West Virginia have been built by March-Westin Company,including the $15 million WVU Alumni Center.

PHOTO

S BY AUSTIN W

ESER

University Park consists of two nine-story dormitory towers containing 904 beds, two five-story buildingscomprising 330 one- to four-bedroom apartments, and a four-story mixed use building with commercialspace on the first floor and three floors of one- to four-bedroom apartments. The $74 million project'scompletion date is August 2015.

based upon assurances from theirlocal insurance agent that approval oftheir bond program was imminent.They were awarded the job, but whenWeser asked their agent to provide thebond, the agent advised that he had“made a mistake” and the Paymentand Performance bonds would not beissued.

“This was a low point for me becauseit meant that we would have to forfeitthe letter of credit and it would haveeffectively been the end of thecompany. I spent the weekend feelingsorry for myself but finally got angryenough to go over the agent’s head,”he remembers. “I forgot that Mondaywas a holiday and called the USF&Goffice in Charleston. A guy answeredthe phone and reminded me that it

was a holiday, but I started telling himthe whole story out of desperation,”Weser recalled. “As we talked, Ilearned that the guy on the telephonewas the bond manager, Frank Oliver,who was responsible for declining ourbond request. After some explanationsof my background and some old-fashioned begging, Frank relented andagreed to issue the bond.”

After that, Weser says, “It was veryfrustrating to see opportunities passus by in the early years because ofbonding limitations but I tried to bepatient and follow the rules. Iremember being a thorn in their side acouple times, and thankfully, bothworked out. In particular, we wanted tobid a demolition project in Long Island,New York for the U.S. Department of

Energy. The surety said that we werecrazy but I threatened to sell my houseand get a LOC. They reluctantly gavein. The $260,000 project was finishedin four weeks with a crew of seven,had no punch list, and was the mostprofitable job, percentage-wise, in thehistory of the company. That singleproject tripled our working capital in amonth.”

Perhaps the company’s biggestturning point came in 1992.

“We used to do a lot of very smallprojects at the DOE facility inMorgantown. One of the engineersthere took a new job with aMorgantown manufacturing firm,Mylan Pharmaceuticals. He liked ourprevious work and talked Mylan’sengineering group into allowing us tobid on an expansion project. Weweren’t familiar with Mylan but wewere low bidder and started theproject. At the same time, we werefinishing the first stadium suitesproject at the football stadium atWVU,” Weser stated. “It was a criticalproject with an extremely tightschedule so I often visited the job. Oneday, a gentleman I’d never met askedme if a column in the suite could bemoved. When I began explaining thecomplexities, he stopped me and said“I didn’t ask how much it will cost, Ijust asked if it could be done.” I said‘yes sir’.”

The gentleman was Milan “Mike”Puskar, founder and president ofMylan, who had purchased two of thesuites.

March-Westin has built many office buildings such as this $36 million structure for Allegheny Energy'sheadquarters in Fairmont, WV.

One of the most impressive transformation of any downtown is Morgantown's water front area. March-Westin has built or remodeled all the buildings in theredeveloped area. Before shot of area and the new buildings which include a 17-story hotel, the Morgantown Event Center, the seven-story WVU ServiceCenter, an eight-story office building and parking garages.

8 J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 4

C O N S T R U C T I O N N E W S 1 1

“Ironically, he was unaware that wewere already working for him,” Weserstated. “After some time, we becamegood friends and he admitted thatafter the column was successfullyremoved, he recommended us to hisengineering group only to find out thatwe were already there.”

The mutually-beneficial relation hasblossomed since then as March-Westin does about 30-40 smallrenovation projects in the plant eachyear. There have been large projectsas well, including a $105 million plantexpansion project. Altogether, March-Westin has built or remodeled over amillion square feet of buildings forMylan.

“We owe our success with Mylan toBob”, Weser states. “Bob” is Weser’solder brother who retired from theWest Virginia Air Pollution ControlCommission and came to work forMarch-Westin in 1995. As March-Westin grew, Weser could no longermeet the demands of servicing Mylan,so he turned the company’s best clientover to Bob.

“They really like his attention to detailand incredible work ethic. Some of usjoke that he is part robot because heroutinely works 14 hour days. I feel

bad for him because he’s been tryingto retire for seven years now but wealways find a way to stick him withanother project. I want him to slowdown because he lives on the familyfarm outside of Parkersburg andcommutes to Morgantown but if heever does really retire, I’ll miss him.”

Recently, the company added not onlyanother repeat customer but a newmarket at the West Virginia High TechConsortium by building the NationalOceanic and AtmosphericAdministration’s data center inFairmont.

“The client had been working with anationally-known contractor thatspecialized in mission-critical datacenters for more than a year but wasunable to meet the government’sbudget,” Weser recalled.

“We were asked to look at the projectwith just one week left before theproject would be withdrawn from theWVHTC campus and moved toanother state. We had never beenallowed to bid at the site before butthe owner/developer called out ofdesperation. Delivering a GMP in aweek for a project with extremelycomplex technology was very difficult.It also took a major effort to help our

client overcome the General ServicesAdministration’s skepticism about ourfirm. Despite a number of designdelays, the client kept faith in us and itended up being one of the mostsuccessful mission-critical datacenters built in the country that yearand lead us into a new market.”

When it opened, the computing centerwas the second largest in the worldand has led to five subsequentprojects at the facility.

“The Mylan and WVHTC stories defineour strategy of servicing morecomplex projects for high-end clients.It obviously isn’t possible in ourmarket to be completely selective butwe’ve been pretty successful becauseover the past 10 years, 90 percent ofour business has come from repeatclients,” Weser explains. “It also pointsout how important dumb luck is. I hadno clue that the Morgantown areawould grow so much after we startedthe company.”

Many of the most visible projects inthe Morgantown and North CentralWest Virginia landscape have beenbuilt by March-Westin. These includethe $15 million WVU Alumni Center,Steptoe & Johnson’s $16 million officealong with seven other commercialoffice buildings in at White Oaks

Sargasso Restuarant, started by Phil and DanaWeser in 2007, has become Morgantown'spremier dining experience.

Churches are a major client of March-Westin suchas the St. James Church in Charles Town.

The 18-story Waterfront Place Hotel andConference Center which opened in 2003 is part ofMorgantown's water front redevelopment project.

Business Park in Bridgeport,Allegheny Energy’s $36 millionheadquarters in Fairmont, the $14million Chestnut Ridge Church inCheat Lake, the newly-completed $36million College Park Apartment projectin Morgantown, the $23 millionFairmont State University RecreationCenter, the $16 million St. FrancisChurch and School, the $22 millionWVU Biomedical Research Center, the$15 million WVU parking garage, andthe $12 million St. James Church inCharles Town.

March-Westin has certainly made itsmark on the impressivetransformations of Morgantown’sWharf District. Once one of the city’smost dilapidated sections, it nowhouses a picturesque landscape ofhotel, conference center, officebuildings, restaurants and other mixeduse facilities thanks to a series ofpublic and private investmentsbeginning in 1997. Cornerstones ofthe redeveloped area include the $25million WVU Services Center, a seven-story facility with an adjacent $6.7million, 750-space parking garage,and the $35 million Waterfront Place,an 18-story hotel and conferencecenter opened in 2003. Followingthese developments were a new officefor the Jackson Kelly law firm, the $3.5million Wharf District Marina, the $14million 8-story Marina Tower featuringoffice, retail and dining elements, and

the $25.5 million Morgantown EventCenter and adjacent $4.9 millionparking garage. All of these projectswere constructed by March-Westin.

To meet the needs of customers,Weser has founded a number ofancillary companies to augmentMarch-Westin’s services. Theseinclude a steel fabrication company, acommercial HVAC business, aresidential building company, amechanical engineering company, fivereal estate entities and an equipmentrental firm.

“These firms put us in a uniqueposition because one, it helps diversifyagainst changes in the economy, andtwo, it allows us to perform our workfaster,” Weser opined. “ContractingEngineering Consultants, Inc., oursteel fabricator, allows us to put steelon the job before many can get shopdrawings using 3D structure modelingin concert with integrated detailsoftware. CEC is an AISC Class Ifabricator, one of three in WestVirginia, and March-Westin is an AISC-certified steel erector. CEC usesrobotic drilling technology to fabricatethe steel and has recently entered thegas market by fabricating steel forcompressor stations. Durer, Inc. is aHVAC subcontractor we have aresidential contracting company,Backeast, Ltd. that builds high-endhouses.”

Weser admits to stealing another ideafrom his former employer, Bechtel.

“It was known that the formula formoving up in the organization was tostart with an engineering degree andadd an MBA after,” Weser stated. “Idid it and realized how it helped me.Since we have always taken theposition we’re in this for the long haul,we have encouraged our risingmanagers to get an MBA and three ofthem have attained the degree. I don’thave children involved in the business,so I decided to begin preparing for thefuture in 1998. Bob and I went to myalma mater, West Virginia Tech, andhired the first of several youngengineers. That was Jamie Ridgewaywho is now the company’s VP ofOperations. We now have a stable fullof competent managers who I havefaith in to keep the “experiment”going. Many of the managers are WVTech graduates. I think that the schoolproduces a more-grounded, practicalengineer than most schools.“

Weser, who has won numerousawards including “West Virginia SmallBusiness Person of the Year,” Ernst &Young “Entrepreneur of the Year,” andWest Virginia Tech “EngineeringAlumnus of the Year,” gave thecommencement address in 2011 tothe graduating class at his alma mater.March-Westin was West Virginia’s firstInc. 500 winner in 1989 and repeatedin 1990.

Providing work for contractors wasone of his goals as president of theContractors Association of WestVirginia. Advocating investment of thestate’s infrastructure was a keycomponent of his tenure.

“West Virginia’s economy is troublingtoday,” Weser opined. “Gaming andcoal revenues that we’ve relied uponare declining. Other states havestarted gaming and this is dipping intothe state’s lottery revenues. Lotteryproceeds fund a lot of infrastructureprojects, from schools to parks towater and sewer facilities. I don’t thinkthat the Obama administrationunderstands the negative impact it hashad on the coal industry and the effect

March-Westin has done numerous projects at WVU over the years, including the $22 million BiomedicalResearch Building on the Evansdale Campus.

1 2 J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 4

this has had on jobs and economicdevelopment.”

The building contractor said he hasparticular empathy for CAWVmembers in the highway industry.

“It would be so frustrating to work inan environment where I have so littlecontrol over my market,” he said.“Highways funds are subject to theactions, or inactions, of Congress andstate legislatures. With the currenthighway funding crisis in West Virginia,I feel for our highway guys. With thestate’s budget figures at low levels, thewhole state is hurting. The CAWVcan’t just go aggressively and makesomething happen. What the CAWVis effective in doing is showing thatinvesting in infrastructure creates jobsand future economic development forall parts of our state.”

For March-Westin, technology hasbecome entwined with its business.During his year president, Weserwanted the CAWV to bring clarity tothe variety of technologies offered bythe industry and how they can be anasset for a construction company.

“We owe the new generation ofworkers an introduction to technologythat can help them get project

information when and where they needit,” according to Weser. “As CAWVcontractors become proficient intechnology, it lets us get better as agroup.”

The president charged the CAWVEducation Committee with developinga lineup of topics to benefit companypresidents to the men and women inthe field. The committee is nowoffering monthly webinars andinteractive sessions on a variety ofrelevant topics.

“We just have to work harder andsmarter to let people have access toeducational programs,” Weserbelieves. “The CAWV is the hub toprovide this catalyst.”

Working in the future is something theoutgoing president hasn’t spent a lotof time considering.

“I’m beginning to slow down a little butI work all the time so I don’t havehobbies or play golf,” he said. “I lovewhat I do so I don’t feel I need ahobby. I do like racing andoccasionally attend Formula Oneraces around the world and March-Westin sponsors two cars in theGNCC Series.”

A passion for the Morgantownentrepreneur is food. In 2007, heopened Sargasso restaurant whichhas become the city’s premier diningexperience. Weser put together aculinary team to create a world fusioncuisine.

“Dana (his wife of 15 years who he metwhen she worked in WVU’sconstruction unit) and I get to travel alot and we found that Morgantowndidn’t provide a unique diningexperience,” Weser stated. “With thepeople and groups that visit WVU ona regular basis, we felt Sargasso couldfill this need. We’re in our seventhyear and I’m pleased to say we’repleased with the impact that it has hadon Morgantown.”

Weser since has opened Terra Cafénear his Morgantown office and plansto begin importing Jamaican coffee

through his Blue Mountain Importscompany. He plans to brandJamaican Blue Mountain coffee underthe Terra Café name and market it onthe internet.

A former CAWV president has becomeclose friends with the outgoingpresident.

“I first became acquainted with PhilWeser through a mutual friend,”recalled David Alvarez, formerpresident of MEC Construction,Bridgeport. “March-Westin wasbuilding an Army Reserve center in theClarksburg area, less than a mile frommy office. However, it was through theCAWV that we really forged arelationship. We had both attendedthe CAWV Midyear Meeting with ourfamilies at The Atlantis Resort in theBahamas.”

While their friendship is surrounded bytheir mutual interest for the bettermentof the industry, it has grown past work.

“We have exchanged a lot of ideasand philosophies over the years,”Alvarez commented. “I can confidentlysay that I got the best end of the deal.I envy his ability to foster the nextgeneration, thus ensuring hiscompany’s continued success. Hiscommitment to training andtechnology for our industry is secondto none.

“I know our association is in a betterplace thanks to his leadership.”


Phil Weser often thanks his wife, Dana, for her helpand support at both March-Westin and in his termas CAWV president. They met when she workedin the Construction Unit at West Virginia University.

DANIEL B. FLESHERPresident

Trimble Engineers & Constructors, Inc.

ROGER THOMASArea Manager

Kelly Paving, Inc.Secretary

DAN COOPERRIDERPresident

Oldcastle, Mid-Atlantic DivisionSenior Vice President

C. R. NEIGHBORGALL IVPresident

The Neighborgall Construction Co.Vice President

SCOTT PIERSONPresident

Pipe Plus, Inc.Treasurer

CAWV PRESIDENT

1 4 J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 4


Directors anD Division chairmen

Art KingPresident

Kanawha Stone Co., Inc.AGC National Director

Robert O. Orders Jr.CEO

Orders Construction Co.AGC National Director

Douglas P. MeeksPresident and CEO

Brewer & Company of WVDirector

Michael GianniPresident

The James White Const. Co. Director

Charles R. Neighborgall IIIChairman

The Neighborgall Const. Co.AGC National Director

Jamie B. RidgewayVP of Operations

March-Westin Company, Inc.Chairman

Building Division

Richard C. SmailesPresident

FAMCO, Inc.AGC National Director

Leo A. Vecellio Jr.President

Vecellio & Grogan, Inc.ARTBA National Director

Phillip L. WeserPresident & CEO

March-Westin Company, Inc.Immediate Past President

Tim SpradlingVice President

Triton Construction, Inc.Chairman

Utility Division

Eric RameySales Manager

Walker Machinery CompanyVice Chairman

Associate Division

John P. Boyle IIPresident

Mountaineer Contractors, Inc.ARTBA National Director

Nathaniel R. OrdersPresident

Orders Construction Co.Director

John P. Boyle IIPresident

Mountaineer Contractors, Inc.Chairman

Highway Division

Christopher L. SlaughterMember

Steptoe & Johnson, PLLCChairman

Associate Division

1 6 J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 4

This year’s CAWV Annual Meeting,held July 10 – 13 at The Greenbrier,discussed what an asset water is toWest Virginia and what could happenwhen that asset is threatened, as whatoccurred on January 9 when achemical spill on the Elk River inCharleston required restricting the useof water for 300,000 users in a nine-county area for over a week.

Jeffrey L. McIntyre, president of WestVirginia American Water Company, andTimothy L. Ball, P.E., general managerof the Morgantown Utility Board, spoke

on their respective organizations andthe opportunities and challenges theircompanies face when bringing waterto residents and businesses in theirareas.

The spill began on January 9 when upto 10,000 gallons of crude MCHMleaked from a one-inch hole in thebottom of a stainless steel storage tankcapable of holding 40,000 gallons andescaped its containment area atFreedom Industries’ Charleston facility.The chemical spill occurred about 1.5miles mile upstream from West VirginiaAmerican Water’s drinking water intakeand treatment plant. When the plant’swater quality staff first detectedindications that some amount ofMCHM had passed through thetreatment processes and was presentin the filtered water, the companyinstructed its customers not to use tapwater for anything but basic sanitationand firefighting needs.

McIntyre recounted the timeline andthe measures immediately put intoplace to assess the risk and implementfuture action items.

“West Virginia American Water hasbeen operating in West Virginia since1886. We serve 171,000 customersand 550,000 people, or one-third of thestate,” McIntyre told members. “We

advised our customers not to drink,cook, bath or wash with the water theafternoon of January 9. This affected300,000 people in an area thatspanned nine counties including theCharleston metropolitan area.”

McIntyre, who joined the company in2002 as director of operations withAmerican Water Canada Corp., saidbringing people together in a crisis canbe very difficult but a good team wasbrought together, including theNational Guard.

Vision for the future of

President Phil Weser welcomed over 350 membersto this year’s CAWV Annual Meeting, held July 10-13 at The Greenbrier.

Water was everywhere at the CAWV’s Annual Meeting as speakers atthe General Business Session helped define a vision for the future ofwater infrastructure in West Virginia.

Jeff McIntyre, president of WV American WaterCompany, recapped the January 9 chemical spillthat affected 300,000 people in a nine-county area.

1 8 J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 4


Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared astate of emergency and activated theWest Virginia National Guard.President Barack Obama furtherdeclared the chemical spill a federalstate of emergency which resulted inthe Federal Emergency ManagementAgency (FEMA) to provide bothassistance on the ground and federalfunding for the state’s emergencymanagement efforts.

The decision was made early to keepwater running, a decision McIntyre saidhe would make again.

“If we had shut down, there wouldhave been a cascading loss of all waterwithin minutes,” the former manager ofwater quality for the City of Hamilton,Ontario, said. “This would haveresulted in a loss of basic sanitationand fire protection. The state andregion was also dealing with the PolarVortex which caused unseasonablycold temperatures. Also, we didn'tknow how long this issue would lastand if we had shut down, our engineershave estimated it would have taken asmuch as 45 days to restore full serviceto customers.”

The “do-not-use” advisory on drinkingwater began to be lifted on January 13,five days after it had been put intoeffect, and West Virginia AmericanWater began phasing in use of thesystem’s drinking water based upondistinct lift zones. The company’sKanawha Valley water treatment plant,which has a 50 MGD capacity, consistsof a 3,000 square mile service area andover 2,200 miles of pipe. It also has175 pressure zones, 107 storage tanksand 120 water booster stations.Because of this, a very detailedprotocol was established for lifting the“do-not-use” advisory and forresidents to begin flushing theirplumbing systems in conjunction withthe systematic lifting of each zone.

“Lift zones were established and westarted testing and flushing mains,starting near the treatment plant andthen working outward,” McIntyrenoted. “If residents flushed out ofsequence, it would have negativelyaffected the process.” The final “do-

not-use” order was lifted January 18.

“Safety is first in everything we do,”said the Brock University graduate.“West Virginia American Waterimmediately followed its water qualityadvisory communication plan tocommunicate the “do-not-use” orderto affected customers. We created aninteractive map which generated10,000 hits in two minutes and 2million hits in six days. The map alertedpeople by area when to begin theflushing process. We created a local24/7 call center and also gave ourcustomers the highest priority at ournational call centers at which callswere answered in 19 seconds.”

Crude MCHM is a chemical foam usedto wash coal and remove impuritiesduring combustion. The chemical isstill relatively unknown but is notconsidered toxic. It does have a sweetsmell – many liken to Licorice – whichis what alerted residents andauthorities to the original spill.

“We knew that as long as the odor wasin the water, people would not feelsafe,” McIntyre noted. “This is why weelected to replace all 16 filters in theplant, so there would be no trace ofMCHM in the system. The filters,which contain approximately 1 millionpounds of carbon, began beingchanged out April 1 and werecompleted in June.”

There have been 58 lawsuits filed thatWest Virginia American Water has beenbrought into.

"These will take years making their waythrough the courts," McIntyrepredicted. “We will continue to defendourselves against these civil lawsuitsand we will continue to communicatewith our customers to restore fullconfidence in their water supply. WestVirginia American has a strongcompliance record with no Notice ofViolations (NOV) in 2013 and we havereceived many Partnership for Safe

Tim Ball, general manager of the MorgantownUtility Board, outlined what contractors andsuppliers who own above ground storage tanksmust do to comply with S.B. 373, the bill passed inthe wake of the January 9 spill.

A panel discussion on the vision for the future of water was held at the General Business session.

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Drinking Water awards, including a 15-year award in Huntington – one ofabout only a dozen in the country.”

The water company president outlinedfor members his company'sconstruction program for the comingyear. It will spend about $40 millionthis year, including $5 million in easternKanawha County. In 2015, thecompany plans to complete $8.45million more work on this project withan additional 39,000 feet of new watermain, a one million gallon storage tank,a booster station and two pressurereducing stations. West VirginiaAmerican Water also plans to replaceapproximately 60,000 feet of new mainacross the state ($4.2 million),complete construction of a $2.9 milliongrit removal system at its Huntingtonplant, spend $1.5 million to automateits Weston plant and complete thedesign to automate its New River plant. The spill spawned a lot of discussion

and debate during the 2014 session ofthe West Virginia Legislature. The resultis S.B. 373, the Aboveground StorageTank Act, a bill which providessweeping changes to above groundstorage tank registration.

"The world of water suppliers changedon January 9 with so many customersfacing inconvenience and fear,"Morgantown Utility Board’s Ball toldmembers. "Of course, there was agovernmental response. What did notchange was water utilities'commitment to safety. But the mostsignificant change is the public'sperception of, and their expectationsfor, the safety their water source andsupply."

MUB’s general manager discussed therequirements of S.B. 373 and what willbe required by owners of tanks 1,320gallons in size and above. He saidmost contractors will have to register

and inspect their tanks. He alsodiscussed whether utilities should haveto provide a secondary source of waterto avoid future events like January 9.

"S.B. 373 requires utilities to evaluatethe feasibility of a second water supplysource, but feasibility is not defined nordoes it state who determines what'sfeasible," Ball stated.

MUB is the largest public utility in thestate and provides water, wastewaterand stormwater services. With anoperational budget of $25 millionannually, it serves 25,300 customersthrough 390 miles of water lines, 300miles of sewage lines and 105 miles ofstorm lines.

Ball, who was appointed generalmanager in October 2010 after servingas assistant general manager and chiefengineer for 14 years, outlined anumber of recent projects undertaken

Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox, left, discussed the WVDOH’s construction program, including theproposed Public Private Partnership (P3) Coalfields Expressway project at the Highway DivisionMeeting moderated by Chairman Nate Orders.

Ross Johnson and his family, Taylor, Dee andWill, and friend Laura Kutz.

Delbert and Stephanie Leatherman were happyto attend the Annual Meeting.

This year’s meeting was a family affair for (LR)Josie, Carrie, Blake and Chad Shamblin, andTanner, Katie, Grace and Derick Foster.

Sharing a laugh were Tony Anders, Terri Binkoskiand Michael Gianni.

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Shannon and Willie Crane take time to pose fora photo at the opening night.

Tina and Scott Withrow enjoyed being at theCAWV Annual Meeting.

Ashton and Chet Rodabaugh proudly show offCarter to John Boyle.

Keith and Summer May at the Welcome NightReception.

Tina and Andy Jenkins attended their firstCAWV Annual Meeting.

John Zimnox and Amy Haden joined over 350members at this year’s meeting.

by MUB, many of which wereperformed by CAWV contractormembers. These include a $40 millionupgrade to MUB’s potable watertreatment plant; a $27 million upgradeof water and sewer piping; an $8.5million stormwater project atBurroughs Run; a $2.5 millionstormwater project at Hartman Run inSabraton; a number of flood mitigationand erosion control projects; andupgrade of storm lines at SuburbanLanes Plaza. A $75 million upgrade tothe waste water treatment plant isscheduled for 2016.

Ball, who began as MUB’s seniorengineer in 1988, discussed MUB’sresponse to the January 9 spill andS.B. 373.

“We have developed soft initiatives andhard initiatives for protecting our watersupply,” Ball stated. “The softinitiatives include information sharing,advocacy, communications andlearning. The hard initiatives include apotential expansion of our current rawwater reservoir and the development ofa second raw water reservoir at CobunCreek.”

Ball said the soft initiatives includesource water assessments andplanning. This includes precautionsto minimize risks that MUB’s sourcewater will be contaminated, ensurethat MUB is immediately notifiedshould contamination occur so that itcan take all necessary actions, ensurethat functional contingency plans arein place and that all parties are awareof their responsibilities, and develop acommunication plan so that, shouldcontamination occur, MUB and otherleaders can communicate in a realisticway with their customers.

“MUB’s hard initiatives to protect ourwater supply would include short termprojects to explore expansion to theexisting Cobun Creek Reservoir andthe development of a second CobunCreek Reservoir,” Ball stated. “Theexisting Cobun Creek Reservoircontains about 60 million gallons ofraw water. A proposed additionwould increase that to about 90million gallons. A second CobunCreek project would add another 120million gallon raw water reservoir.”

The reservoir at Cobun Creek suppliesabout 10 percent of MUB’s waterneeds. The other 90 percent is drawnfrom the Monongahela River, or the“Mon.” Ball outlined a number of longterm plans under consideration.Additional new raw water intakes fromthe Mon River under considerationinclude: 1/ Uffington -- $5 million and2 miles of pipeline; 2/ Hildebrand --$13 million and 5 miles of pipeline; and3/ Opekiska -- $35 million and 13 milesof pipeline. Additional new raw waterintakes under consideration in theCheat Lake area include: 1/ Upstreamof Cheat Lake -- $29 million and 11miles of pipeline; 2/ Cheat Lake -- $40million and 15 miles of pipeline; and 3/Point Marion of Cheat Lake -- $35million and 13 miles of pipeline.

Ball, who received the George WarrenFuller Award by the American WaterWorks Association for service to thewater industry, said that water suppliesshould be looked at regionally, not justlocally.

“Should we be looking at connectingwith other cities?” Ball questioned.“Morgantown could connect with


Fairmont and Clarksburg to create aregional system. We could connect thethree cities by adding 40 miles ofpipeline at a cost of $110 million.”

Ball added that consideringalternatives for such a large regionalproject might also trigger considerationof constructing a second watertreatment plant for MUB, possiblylocated at Cheat Lake.

A panel discussion on future waterissues was held following bothpresentations. Members reviewedWest Virginia’s current status of waterand sewer needs. There are 484community water systems that serve1.5 million people, or about 81 percentof the population. There are 412permitted sewer systems that serveabout 1.2 million, or 63 percent of thepopulation. Of the systems regulatedby the WV Public Service Commission,private systems are comprised of 25water, 36 sewer, and nine water andsewer. Municipal systems control 135water, 140 sewer, and 18 water andsewer. Public service districts (PSD)have 137 water, 89 sewer, and ninewater and sewer. There are also 28water associations throughout thestate.

“All systems, private, municipal andPSDs face challenges today,” saidMcIntyre. “We should also look at thisas opportunities. The AmericanSociety of Civil Engineers estimatesWest Virginia’s water needs total $1billion and our sewer needs exceed $3billion. All utilities in West Virginia arefacing enhanced treatment rules,emerging new contaminates and theneed to replace old infrastructure. It isgetting harder for smaller utilities tocomply.”

Jeffrey McIntyre joined members of theCAWV Utilities Division for their annualmeeting for further discussion. Heexpounded on the projects WVAmerican Water plans to put out forconstruction this year. There was also

much discussion on S.B. 373, theAbove Ground Storage Tank bill.

The water company president wascommended on how he and thecompany handled the eventssurrounding the January 9 spill thatshut down the water plant for over aweek. CAWV members noted howdifficult the situation could have beenhad it not been for WV AmericanWater’s active involvement in theevents that followed.

Utility Division members discussedfunding for water and sewer projectsthrough the West Virginia WaterDevelopment Authority and the WestVirginia Infrastructure and JobsDevelopment Council. Annual meetingattendees reviewed 2014 projectupdate reports and noted that throughJuly 2014, 70 projects totaling $75.3million had been advertised comparedto 64 projects totaling $92.5 million forthe same period last year.

“Members of the Utility Division havebegun attending the WVIJDC meetingson a regular basis,” stated UtilityDivision Chairman Tim Spradling,Triton Construction. “We used toattend every meeting but when theprojects were being approved, we allgot busy bidding and performing work.We are attending the meeting to seewhat money is available to allocate tofuture water and sewer projects so ourmembers will be knowledgeable onfuture construction work.”

The Utility Division re-electedSpradling as chairman for 2014-2015.

Building Division members discussedthe effects of the 2014 West Virginialegislative session on their businesses.Of note was the passage of S. B. 376,a bill to require all employees on allpublicly financed projects over $50,000to complete the OSHA 10-Hour safetyprogram.For the first year, the bill allows up to90 days for employees working on a

public improvement project to betrained, but effective July 1, 2015, thatperiod shrinks to just 21 days. The firstCAWV/BrickStreet OSHA 10-Hourcourse was held June 18 and 19 atBrickStreet and additional courses willbe scheduled.

Also discussed was H.B. 4168, the BuyAmerican bill that was introduced inthe 2014 session. This bill stalled in theSenate Government OrganizationCommittee but the bill’s supporterspledged to reintroduce the bill nextsession. Division members discussedthe importance of educating theirlegislators on the issue before the 2015legislative session.

Division members also receivedupdates on the CAWV/School BuildingAuthority of West Virginia (SBA) taskforce. The task force continues to meetregularly with SBA officials on manyissues. The most recent meetings havebeen concentrated on the SBA’s policyand procedures and the changes thathave been suggested. The task forcehas made comments on the mostlatest proposed changes on the SBApolicy and procedures and willcontinue to meet with the SBA todiscuss issues related to the newlyproposed changes.

One of the ongoing topics ofdiscussion with the SBA is their desireto implement Building InformationModeling (BIM) on all projects in 2015.The task force will continue to workwith the SBA to discuss ways thetechnology can be implementedwithout becoming a burden to allparties involved. The CAWV EducationCommittee is also in the process ofdeveloping a BIM training course thatwill help members become acquaintedwith BIM technology.

Members attending the BuildingDivision meeting re-elected JamieRidgeway, March-Westin Company,chairman of the Building Division.

Doug and Matthew Bourne were ready to tee-offat the golf tournament.

Malcolm Laing, Chris Orders, Bob Orders andNate Orders made the tournament a family affair.

John Farley, right, and Matt Mairn tackled theMeadows Course for this year’s golf tournament.

Norm Daniels, sponsor of the golf tournamentbeverage cart, right, with his partners LeeCooperrider, Matt Campbell and Willie Crane.

Doug Meeks, left, and his son, Wilson, right, onthe green with Paxton and Bailey Gordon.

On the 18th green on the Old White Course wereScott Goetz, Bobby Cook, John Zimnox andPaul Boggs.

Transportation Secretary Paul MattoxJr., P.E., was the guest speaker at theHighway Division meeting. He spokeon the 30 percent reduction in federalallocations and the impact this has hadon West Virginia’s highway constructionand maintenance programs. He notedthe 2013 construction program wasdown, but with some expansionprograms to be bid this year, the 2014program should be in the $400 millionto $450 million range.

“But, the bottom line is we needadditional funding,” Secretary Mattoxtold Highway Division members.

There was much discussion on theWVDOH’s proposal to build aCoalfields Expressway project usingthe Public Private Partnership (P3)method. The secretary said he wouldlike to use P3 as a way to flatten outthe division’s cash flow and get rid ofthe spikes and valleys normallyassociated with major construction

projects. “P3s make DOH better able to paybills,” he told members. However,contractors noted that the successfulbidder will have to provide gapfinancing during the constructionphase and members questionedwhether banks will loan to contractorsif there is not non-recourse financing.The secretary was asked, if not, willWest Virginia contractors be able to bidon future P3 projects? The secretarysaid he hopes the amount of moneycontractors will have to borrow duringthe project will not be much and thegap financing will be within their line ofcredit.

Members expressed concern that theWVDOH is proposing a number ofprojects to be built as P3s. Thesecretary said the division isconsidering the P3 method for projectsother than Coalfields Expressway. Theyinclude Route 35, paving on Route 10in Logan County, the completion of

four-lanes on Route 35, the WellsburgBridge in Brooke County, U.S. Route340, and Corridor H to include a four-mile section near Kerens.

“We don’t have any plans on the shelffor any of the expansion projects in theWVDOH’s six-year plan,” Mattox toldmembers. “We can either do theprojects using design-build, which hasa cap of $50 million annually or $150million over three years, or come upwith some P3 arrangement. If we useP3 to flatten out cash flow, we can getrid of the spikes and valleys that ourprogram has historically followed. Iencourage all CAWV members to voiceyour concerns and ask your questionsat the July 28 meeting the DOH isconducting on the CoalfieldsExpressway project,” he stated.

Division Chairman Nate Orders,president of Orders ConstructionCompany, updated members on theHighway Division’s committees and

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subcommittees. The Construction Subcommitteereported on a number of itemscurrently under review by the CAWVand WVDOH, including potentialchanges to the division’sprequalification process; a new projectdelivery method, IndefiniteDelivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ), thatwill be used first on a statewide trafficengineering multi-year contract; anissue involving city Business andOccupation (B&O) taxes and paymentsto prime and subcontractors; anemphasis on pipe cradle installation;increased truck weight enforcementefforts, including the federal-aid bridgeformula; making the use of warm mixasphalt (WMA) the contractor’s optionin the production of asphalt; and theWVDOH’s move to 31 inch guardrailand how to address issues that ariseon renovation projects.

The Publications Subcommittee hasfocused primarily on revisions to thedivision’s standard details, designdirectives and other engineeringrelated documents. Members learnedthe subcommittee is also working on adirective related to production ratesand were requested to provide input tothe subcommittee.

West Virginians for BetterTransportation (WVBT) will belaunching a strategic campaign toexamine the crisis facing WestVirginia’s transportation system and toencourage the public, legislators,business and labor groups and othersto support measures to address thestate’s highway funding issues,according to Bob Orders, WVBT vicechairman. Orders, CEO of OrdersConstruction Company, provided anoverview of the group’s 2014-2015plan and encouraged members tofinancially support the campaign’sefforts.

John Boyle, Mountaineer ContractorsInc., was elected as the new HighwayDivision chairman, replacing NateOrders who moved up to Division

Director. Nearly 350 members, guests andchildren attended this year’s meeting,which began with a reception at theGolf Club on Thursday. The CAWVBoard of Directors met on Friday anddiscussed a number of industry issues.

A Welcome Night Reception,sponsored by select members of theAssociate Division, was held Fridayevening. Following Saturday’s GeneralBusiness Session, the Building,Highway and Utility divisions met andelected officer. The Associate Divisionmet and elected Christopher Slaughter,Steptoe & Johnson, chairman, and EricRamey, Walker Machinery Company,vice chairman. Golf, trap and fishingtournaments followed the meetings,and a number of children’s programswere offered.

Outgoing CAWV President Phil Weser,March-Westin Company, thanked themembers for their hard workthroughout the year.

“I’ve found that one of the mostimportant functions of the CAWV isadvocacy,” he said in his outgoingpresentation. “If there is an issueaffecting our industry, we cannot fight italone. But, the collective voice of ourmembership allows the CAWV to be aneffective voice. I thank all of you forparticipating in the committees andtask forces.”

He also encouraged members tocontinue to talk to their legislators onthe need to invest in infrastructure,roads, bridges, schools, and water andsewer facilities.

“West Virginia needs to invest ininfrastructure to improve the state’soverall economy but getting money intoday’s climate is not going to beeasy,” he stated.

The Morgantown building contractorthanked his colleagues and staff atMarch-Westin for their support whileserving as CAWV president. He also

thanked his brother, Bob, for “havinghis back” during his year at the helm ofthe association.

“I want to particularly thank mybeautiful wife, Dana, for putting up withme over the years,” he said. “She hasalways been there and I cannot thankher enough.”

CAWV’s 2014-2015 President DanFlesher, Trimble Engineers andConstructors, Morgantown, thankedthe outgoing president and praised himfor his service to the association.

“One of Phil’s main goals was to bringtechnology to the association and tothe members. The creation of ourBrickStreet webinar series that isproviding learning opportunities for allmembers would not have beenpossible without the support of Philand the March-Westin group,” said thenew president.

The new CAWV president has beenwith Trimble since 1988 and has beenowner and president since 1995.Trimble provides a full range ofengineering and construction servicesto the coal, utility and ski industries.Other major projects include coalpreparation plants, sewer and watertreatment plants, bridges, and variouscommercial and light industrialbuildings. He resides in Morgantownwith his wife, Doris, and has threechildren and one granddaughter.

“I look forward to working with CAWV’sofficers, committee chairs andmembers to foster the goals andobjectives of the association,” Fleshertold Annual Meeting attendees. “Ihope to continue the successesbrought on by Phil Weser and hisleadership.”

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Tom Kittredge and Chris and Nicole Slaughtercaught up on items at the President’sReception.

Annual Meeting speaker Jeff McIntyre and wife,Shona, shared a moment with Ruth Cannonand Jeremy Still.

Daniel and Allison Cirillo joined Jane and CarlBelt at the President’s Reception.

Buddy McGlothin is joined by wife, Veronica, anddaughter, Lauren Rose.

New Associate Division Vice Chairman EricRamey and wife, Julie.

Eric and Ivy Brooks take time to pose during thePresident’s Reception.

Amanda and John Lynch joined members forthis year’s Annual Meeting.

Carrie and Matthew Bourne enjoyed time withtheir daughters, Carter and Macy.

Jill and Rob Williams and Erica and Bobby Cookenjoyed talking at this year’s meeting.

Matt and DeAnna Farley enjoyed the President’sReception.

Newlyweds Lynn Flink and Brant Moorheadshared a moment during the reception.

Mike and Cindy Harvey shared a laugh at thePresident’s Reception.


Jamie Ridgeway and new Highway DivisionChairman John Boyle discussed contractingissues at the Annual Meeting.

Polly and Tori Hunter posed for a photo beforethe President’ s Banquet.

Phil Weser thanked his wife, Dana, for hersupport while serving as CAWV President.

Bob and Cathy Brookover shared a moment atSaturday evening’s reception.

Sheila and Johnny Coe enjoyed being at thisyear’s Annual Meeting.

New CAWV President Dan Flesher had his familyjoin him for his inauguration including sonNathan, Krista Lovell, son Matthew and wife,Doris. Daughter Elizabeth could not attend.

Trap tournament winners included (left to right):Rob Hunter, Lucille Saunders, Will Hunter andWyatt Loflin.

Dan Flesher congratulated and thanked PhilWeser for his service and leadership as CAWVPresident.

President Phil Weser awarded the grand doorprize to Lee Cooperrider.

Incoming President Dan Flesher outlined hisgoals and objectives as the new CAWV leader.

HUB/PAC Chairman Dan Cooperrider explainedthe importance of donating to the CAWV’sPolitical Action Committee.

Golf tournament winners included (left to right): Phil Browne, Mike Gianni,Abigail Schmidt, Tom Ostendorf, Annalee Ostendorf, Tom Kittredge, RonJacobs, John Farley, Lee Cooperrider and Steve Humphreys.

John and Pat Strickland enjoyed a dance withtheir grandaughter, Katharine.

Shawna, Maggie and Doug Meeks danced tothe sounds of “Soul Alchemy.”

Fishing tournament winners included (left to right): Beth Radford, ThomasXanders, Randy Cirillo, Kathy Cirillo and Griffen Madden. Greg Gordonaccepted for son, Bailey.

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President’s BanquetBrickStreet Insurance

President’s ReceptionBelt PavingBrickStreet InsuranceWalker Machinery CompanyLanham O’Dell & Company

Business SessionBowles Rice

RegistrationALL Construction, Inc.Rish Equipment CompanyBB&T InsuranceTrumbull CorporationMVB InsuranceSafety Caution Equipment Company

Early Bird ReceptionMountain State Insurance Agency, Inc.

Promotional Safety Caution Equipment Company

Trap TournamentHeeter Construction CompanyWalker Machinery CompanyWorldwide Equipment Company

Golf TournamentBrewer & Company of West VirginiaBB&T Carson InsuranceBrown Edwards & Company, LLPCharleston Steel Company, Inc.Daniels Law FirmJohnstone & Gabhart, LLPRish Equipment CompanyC.I. Thornburg Company, Inc.Triton Construction CompanyTri-State Roofing and Sheet Metal CompanyUnited BankUSI Insurance Services, LLC

Welcome Night ReceptionArnett Foster Toothman, PLLCAsphalt Materials, Inc.Baker Truck EquipmentBB&T Carson InsuranceBowles RiceBoxleyBrickStreet InsuranceBrown Edwards & CompanyDaniels Law FirmDyno NobelEssrocFriedlander CompanyGuttman Oil CompanyJackson KellyJohnstone & Gabhart, LLPKay Casto & ChaneyLanham O’Dell & Company

Martin Marietta AggregatesMassie ReclamationMatson Machinery CompanyMead & HuntMountain State Insurance AgencyMary K. Prim Attorney at LawMVB InsurancePotesta Associates, Inc.Permatile Concrete Products, Inc.Petroleum Products, Inc.Pounding Mill Quarry CorporationRish Equipment CompanyE. L. Robinson Engineering, Inc.Robinson & McElwee, PLLCRollins, Cleavenger & RollinsRudd Equipment CompanySauls Seismic, Inc.Shamblin Stone, Inc.State Equipment, Inc.Steptoe & Johnson, PLLCSuttle & StalnakerC. I. Thornburg CompanyThrasher Engineering, Inc.TRC EngineersTriad Engineering, Inc.United BankU. S. BridgeWalker Machinery CompanyUSI Insurance Services, LLCWilliamson Shriver ArchitectsGeorge L. Wilson Company

While West Virginia may be one of thecountry’s smaller states, itsbusinesses play a big role in theinternational market. Three CAWVmembers were recognized forexporting their goods overseas.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin in June joinedCabinet Secretary Keith Burdette, theWest Virginia Development Office andthe West Virginia Export Council topresent the Governor’s Commendationfor International Market Entry torepresentatives of 37 West Virginiabusiness exporters, celebrating topsmall and medium businesses in theMountain State.

“West Virginia has shown the worldthat we have the quality products,services and workforce to compete in the global marketplace,” Gov. Tomblinsaid. “Nearly 95 percent of the world’sconsumers live outside the UnitedStates. West Virginia businesses thatexport enlarge their own markets whilethey also expand our state’s economyand support jobs here at home. Iappreciate the opportunity to honorthem for their success.”

West Virginia companies continue toexport to traditional trade partnerssuch as China and Canada, and manyof this year’s honorees exported to

emerging markets in Africa and theMiddle East. These regions includedestinations such as Ghana,Mozambique and Sierra Leone inAfrica and Qatar, Saudi Arabia andUnited Arab Emirates in the MiddleEast.

This year, more than 100 awards weregiven to 37 small and medium-sizedWest Virginia companies recognizingexport sales to 72 different countries.

Among those recognized this yearwere three CAWV members:Charleston Steel Company, Dunbar;Valtronics, Inc., Ravenswood; andWalker Machinery Company, Belle.

Charleston Steel Company won forsupplying fabricated steel products toJamaica. Valtronics won for supplyingsample conditioning equipment inBrazil, South Korea and UnitedKingdom. Walker Machinery’s awardwas for mining and construction

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin presented the Governor’s Commendation for International Market Entry to37 West Virginia business exporters, including three CAWV member firms. Accepting their awardsfrom Gov. Tomblin are: John Goetz, president of Charleston Steel Company, above, and GlennRinehart, Valtronics, Inc.’s Sales Engineer, and Laura Thompson, Mustang Sales and Building ProjectCoordinator, right.

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equipment in Bolivia and United ArabEmirates.

According to the U.S. Department ofCommerce, 1,119 companiesexported from West Virginia locationsin 2012. Of those, 76.9 percent weresmall- and medium-sized enterpriseswith fewer than 500 employees. WestVirginia’s export shipments ofmerchandise in 2013 totaled $8.6billion.

West Virginia’s exports to 72 differentcountries represent a wide range ofproducts including truck parts,marbles, china, industrial ceramics,cooling towers, rope sandals,bioanalytics, pipeline corrosion testkits and more.

Each business received theGovernor’s Commendation forInternational Market Entry award – aframed piece of currency from the newcountry where the business began toexport.


Assistant Manager of Used Equipment Kenny Judge accepts the award on behalf of Walker MachineryCompany.


constrUction BrieFs

n After standing high above theElk River for nearly 90 years, the oldHartland Bridge in Clay County is nomore. An eight person crew for ReclaimCompany, Fairmont, and Demtechbrought it down. The detailed planinvolved five different torch workersburning the bridge into five differentsections before strategically placingfifty detonation charges onto thestructure. Once the explosives were inplace a crew stood by to guard the area.A 1,000 foot perimeter was secured andthe waterways were monitored byfiremen to ensure safety of the area. Aloud blast preceded the 250-tonstructure falling into the water in justunder two seconds.

Steve Gabbert, operations manager ofReclaim Company, said the demolitionwent exactly as planned. “Thanks to thecooperation of the people of bothHartland and Clay, as well as theemergency officials from the ClayVolunteer Fire Department, the ClaySheriff’s Office and the West VirginiaState Police, the explosive demolitionoccurred without any injuries ordamages. We couldn’t be more gratefulto the folks that helped make thathappen”…

n West Virginia University atParkersburg is continuing to moveforward with plans to eventually builda National Guard ReadinessCenter/event center on its campus.Joe Campbell, chairman of the Campus

Development/Readiness CenterCommittee, stated they have finalizedthe ground lease agreement with theNational Guard for land that wouldaccommodate the more than 57,000-square-foot facility that would be locatednear the old soccer fields near theCaperton Center…

n Monongalia General Hospital isawaiting a state green light for an$11.4 million operating room renovationproject. The work will involve all eightMon General operating rooms — sixgeneral rooms and two open-heartrooms — Mon General spokeswomanLori Savitch said. Among other costs,construction is estimated at $7.03million, with equipment and furnishingscoming in at $2.79 million. No outsidefunds will be used — it’s all part of thecapital budget…

n Columbia Pipeline Group (CPG), aunit of NiSource Inc., announced atotal of $1.75 billion in new investmentin infrastructure that will enable it totransport up to 1.5 billion cubic feet perday of natural gas from Marcellus andUtica production areas to marketsserved by its Columbia GasTransmission and Columbia GulfTransmission pipeline systems. Thenew investments include two significantprojects, one of which involvesconstruction by Columbia Transmissionof a new natural gas pipeline in Ohio andWest Virginia that will enhance itsexisting infrastructure and support

natural gas supply development inwestern Pennsylvania, northern WestVirginia and eastern Ohio…

n In an agreement with Rex Energyand EdgeMarc Energy, MarkWestEnergy Partners LP will be expandingmidstream infrastructure at its Keystonecomplex in Western Pennsylvania tosupport growing shale gas production,MarkWest recently announced.MarkWest is the largest processor ofnatural gas in Marcellus, with fullyintegrated processing, fractionation,storage and marketing operations inSouthwest and Northwest Pennsylvaniaand Northern West Virginia…

n West Virginia State University willopen the first new residence hall onits campus since 1969. The residencehall features two-, three- and four-bedroom suites, along with a studylounge, cafe and gaming room forstudents. Last year the Kanawha CountyCommission approved up to $30 millionin bonds to pay for construction…

n Years in the making, BooneMemorial Hospital broke ground forits new facility in Madison. CEO TommyMullins said the hospital has spent thepast 12 years trying to make it happen.The replacement hospital will beconstructed adjacent to the existingfacility in Madison. The contract wasawarded to Neighborgall ConstructionCompany, Huntington…

Demolition of the 90-year-old Hartland Bridge in Clay County went exactly as planned as crews from Reclaim Company felled the 250-ton structure in justunder two seconds. Photos by Allegheny Image Factory, Morgantown.

n New details of the renovationsplanned for Milan Puskar Stadium,including improving the concession andrestroom areas and a possible policeprocessing area, were in documentsrecently released by WVU. WVU issearching for a construction manager atrisk for the renovation project. Theperson will collaborate with the architecton the design, constructability, costand schedule of the project. Companieshave until Sept. 9 to submit their bids.The project’s construction budget is $35million…

n Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin joinedAmerican Woodmark Corporation inannouncing a major expansion of thecompany’s Moorefield, West Virginiacabinet-manufacturing facility. AmericanWoodmark will add 80 new jobs and100,000 square feet of manufacturingspace at the Moorefield operation. The$30 million project will increase the

Moorefield center’s workforce to morethan 650 employees…

n More than a decade in themaking, residents’ petition for acounty water line in Bradley in RaleighCounty is finally becoming a reality.Nearly three miles of water line willextend from Smithfield, servicing morethan 80 residents. The project costsnearly $1.2 million and was officiallyfunded with the signature by RaleighCounty commissioners on a loan for thework…

n The West Virginia Division ofHighways is planning to expand theshoulders on Van Voorhis Road,Morgantown, and put in a sidewalknext spring. Van Voorhis Road has nosidewalks between W.Va. 705 and WestRun Road. Many residents in nearbyapartment buildings walk to where theyneed to go. Only a dirt path along part

of the busy road’s west side offerspassage…

n U.S. Senator Joe Manchinannounced that watershedmanagement projects in four WestVirginia communities will receive atotal of $14,200,099 through the U.S.Department of Agriculture (USDA)Natural Resources Conservation Service(NRCS) assistance program for planning,design and/or construction of watershedstructures. The funds will be used tomake critical improvements to dams andwatershed structures that protect publichealth and safety…

n The Marshall County Commissionhas approved an agreement for aproposed natural gas-fired power plant.Under the agreement, the commissionwould own the 549-megawatt plantand lease it back to Moundsville Powerto operate. Moundsville Power would

3 6 J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 4

constrUction BrieFs


pay about $1 million annually to thecounty over 30 years in lieu of propertytaxes…

n Work on Corridor H through partsof Tucker and Grant countiescontinues. Construction workers werehosted to a Labor Day thank youluncheon by the Robert C. Byrd CorridorH Highway Authority. “When you haveinfrastructure like this put in place,people look for the finished product. Butthey forget about the people whoactually made it happen. So we wantedto show our appreciation by providinglunch, and be able to say thank you toeach and every one of the workerswho are working on Corridor H,” saidRobbie Morris, authority president. Theauthority wants to remind people thatCorridor H is still a work in progress, andit wants to also remind people thefuture it plays for the region. “We’removing along, things are happeningand we’re going to keep pushing untilthe funding is in place, and theconstruction begins, and it’s completedon the remaining sections of Corridor H,”Morris said.

A 16-mile stretch between SherrMountain and Davis is the latest sectionof Corridor H that is under construction.Last year, the rainy summer delayed

work on the road, but this summer,construction workers have made steadyprogress. This stretch, which includesa section by Trumbull Corporation,Pittsburgh, and a section by J.F. AllenCompany, Buckhannon, will have partsopen this fall, but the entire segment willbe open sometime in the Spring of2015. After that, 75 percent of Corridor

H will be complete. The final section isfrom Kernes to Parsons …

n Although school has alreadystarted, Jefferson County Board ofEducation members are already lookingahead to next fall because they want tomake sure a replacement bus garage willbe ready. Site work is expected to cost

A contract was awarded in December 2010 to Trumbull Corporation, Pittsburgh, for the construction of6.2 miles of Corridor H, from the existing corridor at Bismark in Grant County to the WV 93 connector atMount Storm in Tucker County. The $82.5 million project is scheduled for completion in fall 2014. Photoby Eric Steele, WV Division of Highways.

J.F. Allen Company, Buckhannon, is constructing a 9.9 mile portion of the Davis to Bismark section of Corridor H, from east of WV 32 to the WV 93 connectorat Mount Storm. The $55.8 million project is anticipated to be completed in the summer of 2015.

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about $1 million, facility renovation willbe $975,000 and the fueling facilityprice tag is set at $530,000, bringing thatsubtotal to about $2.5 million. Additionalcosts include fees, permits and testing($240,000) and contingency fee(279,000)...

n U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., isasking Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin to placethe King Coal Highway into the state’ssix-year transportation improvementplan. Rahall said members of the KingCoal Highway Authority have proposeda plan that involves the construction oftwo-lanes as opposed to four lanes —at least temporarily — in Mercer Countyin hopes of getting the project back

under construction. It is estimated thatit will take $66 million to build a useablesegment of the interstate from itsexisting termination point at StoneyRidge, near the Mercer Mall, to Route123, near the Mercer County Airport. Thecost of that could be cut nearly in halfby building — at least initially — two-lanes instead of four-lanes…

n A $46.7 million renovation to theHuntington Federal Building on thecorner of 5th Avenue and 8th Street,which houses the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers Huntington District and its 500employees, is scheduled to be completeby November, officials said. Constructionon the seven-story building began in

2011, under the deadline of necessaryupgrades to comply with securitymeasures for federal buildings, alongwith other changes…

n Construction is now underway ona new multi-million water projectthat will replace antiquated water linesalong the U.S. Route 52 corridor inMcDowell County. “Right now they areworking in the Elkhorn area,” said a PSDrepresentative. “And they are clearingthe area for construction to begin nearthe water plant in Maybeury. They (thecontractors) are working 10-hour shiftsMonday through Thursday. It is an $8million project funded with USDA RuralDevelopment funds —grants and loans.

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3 8 J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 4


It is $6 million in grants and $2 million inloans.” The engineer is E.L. RobinsonEngineering, Cross Lanes, andcontractor is Famco, Inc, Huntington...

n Confronted with a bevy ofexperts, nearly all of whom are inagreement that Ronceverte’s agingsewer plant needs to be replaced, notjust patched up, a judge has forwardedan order to the Public ServiceCommission recommending theregulatory agency grant permission forthe city to build a new $27.6 millionwastewater treatment facility…

n The Capitol Building Commissiongave approval to plans to renovate theHolly Grove mansion on the capitolcomplex in Charleston. The building,constructed in 1815, hasn’t been usedfor 10 years according to commission

member Steve Canterbury. The stateDepartment of Administration and stateDepartment of Education and the Artsare promoting the project, which alreadyhas a $2 million commitment…

n The West Virginia Division ofHighways began repair work on thestone bridge at Military Road andWashington Boulevard in Huntington.The bridge has been closed for twoyears because of structural damage. TheDOH is attempting to preserve thestone side walls of the bridge byinserting a steel sleeve under thestructure and repaving...

n The Putnam Public ServiceDistrict’s roughly 9,200 water customerswill begin paying higher rates to fund aslate of projects. Putnam PSDCommunications Coordinator Scott

Jones said the district is almost finishedwith about $3.95 million worth ofconstruction on its 2012 water project.The project includes repainting andrehabilitating two water tanks, oneholding 1.3 million gallons and the other100,000 gallons; building a new 1.3million-gallon tank that would increasepotable water storage from 1.5 days to2.5 days in the rare case the Scott Depotwater treatment plant failed; installingabout 3,000 new meters that don’trequire readers to exit a vehicle togauge a home’s water usage; and layingnew water line along Winfield Road toconnect a section of the system dead-ending near the end of Bills CreekRoad with another section ending at theScary Creek Industrial Park, near theJohn Amos power plant.

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(304) 529-3328 Fax No. (304) 529-3325

Famco, Inc.GENERAL CONTRACTORS

RICHARD C. SMAILES BOX 1577President HUNTINGTON, WV 25716

WV CONTRACTORS LICENSE: WV 000408

PROFESSIONALDIRECTORY


P.O. Box 31083601 7th AvenueCharleston, W.Va. 25331(304) 744-5314(800) 642-8598 US WATS

683 Hornbeck RoadMorgantown, W. Va. 26508-2472(304) 296-7438

1221 Hedgesville RoadMartinsburg, W. Va. 25403(304) 262-8103

Offering Fire Suppression and Fire Alarm Services

4 0 J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 4



Shamblin Stone, Inc.Fast Courteous Service is our Business

Providing the following state

specification materials

• Sand • AgLime

• Gravel • Bedding Materials

• Salt • Limestone/Rip Rap

Trucking & Barge Unloading

Ohio and Kanawha Rivers

USDOT 188865 ICC MC 183455

Wilson Island, Dunbar, WV Port Amherst, WVRt. 61, Marmet, WV Hugheston, WVRT. 35-Scary Creek Robertsburg, WV


304-766-7316/FAX 766-7325

WV Contractors License #WV041715

LICENSED

TO

MILL!Asphalt & concrete planing, profiling

and deck scarification

DONEGAL

Construction Corporation

1-800-864-4206

1235 Marguerite Lake RoadGreensburg, Pennsylvania 15601

WV CONTRACTORS LICENSE WV025398


4 2 J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 4



Martin Marietta Aggregates

Branches:Burning Spring Mine (Parkersburg-Rt. 50)

Charleston

Institute

Manheim (Clarksburg-Grafton)

New Martinsville

Parkersburg

Ravenswood

St. Marys

Apple Grove, OH

Wheeling/Martins Ferry, OH

LIMESTONE • SAND • GRAVELBY TRUCK, BARGE OR RAIL

300 Star Avenue, Suite 312Parkersburg, WV 26101

(304) 485-7341

Charleston (304) 343-4571

www.TRCSolutions.com

David E. Clevenger, P.E.

One Kenton Drive, Suite 200

Northgate Business Park

Charleston, WV 25311-1256

Voice (304) 346-2599

FAX (304) 346-2591

MAILING ADDRESS: LOCATION:P.O. Box 429 575 New Golf Mountain RoadInstitute, WV 25112-0429 Cross Lanes, WV 25313Phone: (304) 776-0448 Fax: (304) 776-0451

Contractors License #WV006833

TEAYS

RIVER

CONSTRUCTION


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S M H Construction Co., Inc.P.O. Box 1912

Beckley, West Virginia 25802-1912

Sumith P. Hapuarachy Residence: 304/253-7610President Office: 304/877-6451

WV 000572

www.smhconstructiongroup.com

Show your support for the construction industrywith an official DMV-issued “Hard at Work”

license plate. Visit www.cawv.org



SERVINGWEST VIRGINIA

ROOFING & SHEET METAL COMPANYSheet Metal - HVAC Design - Roofing

HVAC Service - Shop Fabrication

Parkersburg Morgantown304-485-6593 304-328-5244

Charleston Cumberland, MD304-755-8135 304-738-0502


Potesta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Pounding Mill Quarry Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Professional Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Rish Equipment Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Rudd Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Shamblin Stone, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Shoap Process Equipment, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

State Equipment, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

The C.I. Thornburg Company, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Trinity Rebar and Concrete Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

USI Insurance Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Vecellio & Grogan, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Walker Machinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Welding, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

West Virginia Tractor Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Anderson Equipment Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Anderson Excavating, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

BB&T Carson Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Boca Construction, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Bowles Rice LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Boxley Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

BrickStreet Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Brown Edwards & Company, LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

C & R Materials, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

CEC, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Daniels Law Firm, PLLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Donegal Construction Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

The Friedlander Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Johnstone & Gabhart, LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Greer Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Martin Marietta Aggregates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

ADVERTISERS

4 6 J u l y / A u g u s t 2 0 1 4

West Virginia Construction News2114 KANAWHA BOULEVARD EAST

CHARLESTON, WV 25311

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

PRESORTEDSTANDARD

U.S. Postage PAIDCharleston, WVPermit No. 568

d6k2 $2,714. - cawv 2014 for...walker-cat.com nitro, wv 304-759-6400 beckley, wv 304-253-2706...

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