The Alaska Contractor - Summer 2008

8005 Schoon St.
Anchorage, AK 99518
(907) 561-5354
Fax: (907) 562-6118
www.agcak.org
Dick Cattanach
Margaret Empie
Roger Hickel
Mary Killorin
John MacKinnon
Brook Mayfield
Vicki Schneibel
George Tuckness
Lyn Whitley
8537 Corbin Dr.
Anchorage, AK 99507
(907) 562-9300
Fax: (907) 562-9311
Toll Free: (866) 562-9300
www.AQPpublishing.com
Robert R. Ulin
Heather A. Resz
Susan Harrington
Karen Copley
Justin Ritter
Clem E. Mewmaw
On the cover:
AGC member Graff Contracting LLC
poured the concrete for the new
Crown Plaza Hotel on the corner of
International Airport Road and
C Street in Anchorage.
The Official Publication of the Associated General Contractors of Alaska
Table of Contents
by John MacKinnon
by Tracy Kalytiak
by Eowyn LeMay Ivey
by Heather A. Resz
by Tracy Kalytiak
by Tracy Kalytiak
by Heather A. Resz
by Rob Stapleton
by Heather A. Resz
by Patricia Liles
by Patricia Liles
by Nancy Erickson
Photo essay
by Heidi Bohi
by Ginger Cooley
by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski
by Brook Mayfield
by Heidi Bohi
by Heidi Bohi
by Nancy Pounds
by Heather A. Resz
by Victoria Naegele
by Roger Hickel
by John MacKinnon
by John MacKinnon
by Larry Wilson
by Robert Cress
by Robert J. Dickson
by Rep. Craig Johnson
Senior Editor Note
The Alaska Supreme Court
granted a joint motion to dismiss
all appeals to Clean Water 1 on
June 9. According to a press release
from Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell’s
office, the court’s action means
the initiative will not appear on the
Aug. 26 ballot, in accordance with
a lower court ruling by Judge Blankenship
in a Fairbanks case. The
Supreme Court was scheduled
to hear oral arguments on the
remaining water initiative – Ballot
Measure 4 – on June 16.

Category January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Total
Building
Military
Other
Trans
Low Bids for 2008
TOTAL
RUSSIAN MISSION K-12
REPLACEMENT SCHOOL
$22,200,000.00
SKW/Eskimo Inc.
RUSSIAN MISSION K-12 SCHOOL RE-BID
$20,832,900.00
Bering Pacific Construction
ATKA AIRPORT RUNWAY
EXTENSION/RESURFACE
$17,956,915.00
Brice Inc.
ST MARY SCHOOL COMPLEX RENOVATION
$14,296,461.00
Mantech Mechanical Inc.
BETHEL AIRPORT IMPROVEMENTS
PHS 3 STAGE 2
$9,743,265.00
Knik Construction Co. Inc.
KAKTOVIK WARM STORAGE BUILDING
$8,076,000.00
Kaktovik Constructors
POINT LAY WARM STORAGE BLDG
$7,442,000.00
SKW/Eskimo Inc.
KIPNUK/KWIGILLINGOK
WATERSORAGE PORJECTS
$6,775,000.00
Bering Pacific Construction
BETHEL YUUT ELITNAURVIAT
TESS COMPLETION
$4,913,900.00
TBI Construction Co.
DILLINGHAM HOSPITAL NEW BOILER
PLANT FACILITY
$4,835,116.00
F & W Construction Co. Inc.
KING SALMON AIRPORT IMPROVEMENTS
$4,751,265.00
Knik Construction Co. Inc.
ATMAUTLUAK ALEXIE SCHOOL
WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY
$4,570,000.00
SKW/Eskimos Inc.
$14,629,542.45 $96,819,173.00 $72,830,508.83 $34,641,707.66 $20,799,578.50
$0.00 $0.00 $14,394,350.00 $195,858.00 $76,600.00
$7,268,077.22 $3,299,783.22 $30,616,160.80 $54,813,210.56 $25,601,215.47
$16,462,545.97 $2,311,158.00 $57,717,618.89 $66,462,654.08 $80,942,828.11
KOTZEBUE FRONT ST WATER
LOOP IMPROVEMENTS
$3,696,040.00
Drake Construction
NOME WARM STORAGE BUILDING
$2,476,587.00
Pro West Contractor
BETHEL WATERFRONT IMPROVEMENT
$1,938,000.00
Ridge Contracting Inc.
BETHEL UAF KUSKOKWIM CAMPUS
SIDING/ROOFING
$1,594,000.00
Concor Construction Inc.
EKWOK AIRPORT SNOW REMOVAL
EQUIPMENT BLDG
$1,228,450.00
Pro West Contractors
DALTON HIGHWAY MP334.5 HAPPY
VALLEY STOCKPILE
$1,097,000.00
Cruz Construction
NOME FRONT STREET STORM DRAIN
IMPROVEMENTS
$1,057,500.00
QAP
AK ALASKA HIGHWAY
MP-1267-MP1314 REHAB
$18,961,688.50
Great Northwest Inc.
RICHARDSON HWY MP267-MP276 REHAB
$3,638,047.75
HC Contractors Inc.
DENALI PARK ROAD 4 MILE SLUMP/
AUFEIS SECTION
$2,401,807.70
D & L Construction LLC
ESTER FSA FIRE STATION ADDITION
$1,481,954.00
Chugach Industries Inc.
NORTH POLE MS TRAFFIC SAFETY/SITE
UPGRADE
$1,270,000.00
Great Northwest Inc.
DELTA JUNCTION 2008 ROAD SURFACING
$1,015,582.00
HC Contracting Inc.
ANCH AIA T/W RELO/RECONSTRUCT
$18,991,930.00
QAP
ELMENDORF 176TH ANG PARARESCUE
OPS FAC
$15,263,800.00
ASRC Construction Inc.
ELMENDORF AIRCRAFT
MAINTENANCE COMPLEX
$14,394,350.00
Alcan General Inc.
ANCH GAMBELL ST/AIRPORT HEIGHT
RECONSTRUCTION
$13,602,690.40
Alaska Interstate Construction LLC
ANCH 80TH/72ND/SPRUCE ST/LORE ROAD
UPGRADES
$10,991,576.00
QAP
EAGLE RIVER LOOP ROAD
REHABILITATION
$10,612,237.65
Wilder Construction Co. Inc.
PALMER OLD GLENN HWY
REHAB/CHANNELIZATION
$9,884,337.53
Pruhs Corp.
ANCH UAA PARKING
GARAGE/AMENITY BLDG
$9,757,000.00
Roger Hickel Contracting Inc.
ANCH E STREET COORIDOR
ENHANCEMENTS PHS I
$9,006,690.50
Construction Unlimited Inc.
$38,360,165.64 $102,430,114.22 $175,558,638.52 $156,113,430.30 $127,422,222.08 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$239,720,510.44
$14,668,808.00
$121,598,447.27
$223,896,805.05
$599,884,570.76

HOMER WATER TREATMENT PLANT
PROJECT
$8,639,359.00
Udelhoven Oilfield Systems Service
ANCH 100TH/POINTE RESOLUTION/
VICTOR RD REHAB/UPGRADES
$6,601,406.40
Annette’s Trucking Inc.
ANCH CHESTER CRK AQUATIC
ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION
$5,864,668.28
Hamilton Construction
ANCH BAYSHORE SUBDIVISION AREA
RECONSTRUCT RID
$5,308,488.60
Alaska Frontier Services LLC
CORDOVA AIRPORT IMPROVEMENTS
STAGE I
$4,698,412.00
Swanson General Contractors
CHUGIAK S BIRCHWOOD LP SEWER
IMPROVE
$4,060,331.00
Pruhs Corp.
ANCH CREEKSIDE TOWN CENTER ROAD
IMPROVEMENT
$3,299,592.64
Neeser Construction Inc.
ANCH TOWN/COUNTRY ESTATES STREET
RID/RECONSTRUCT
$2,804,425.00
Annette’s Trucking Inc.
ANCH RESIDENTIAL SOUND INSULATION
PACK 10
$2,437,151.00
Koch Corp.
ANCH MERRILL FIELD REHAB BLOCK 5
PHS III
$2,034,046.00
AIC Alaska Interstate Construction LLC
WASILLA HIGH SCHOOL REMODEL PHS III
$1,750,000.00
Pinnacle Construction
WASILLA MIDDLE SCHOOL CAFETERIA
ADDITION
$1,692,122.00
CYS Management Services Inc.
ANCH G/H ALLEY 10TH/13TH WATER
UPGRADES
$1,365,628.00
Tam Construction Inc.
ANCH SAN ERNESTO WATER/SEWER
UPGRADES
$1,293,486.00
North Star Paving & Construction Inc.
ANCH 58TH/ARCTIC/SILVERADO WAY RID
RECONSTRUCT
$1,245,299.00
Roger Hickel Contracting Inc.
ANCH UAA JOINT PSYCHOLOGY
RENOVATION
$1,163,000.00
SR Bales Construction Inc.
JUNEAU HARBORVIEW ELEMENTARY
RENOVATION
$16,543,421.00
McGraw’s Custom Construction
HAINES FERRY TERMINAL/UNION ST
$12,910,339.10
Southeast Road Builders
JUNEAU GLACIER VALLEY ES RENO PHS II
$11,497,000.00
Dawson Construction Inc.
PETERSBURG MITKOF HWY UPGRADE
PHS II/ISLAND PAVING
$5,987,248.00
SECON Inc.
SKAGWAY COMMUNITY HEALTH CLINIC
$5,930,000.00
Dawson Construction Inc.
YAKUTAT MULTI PURPOSE DOCK
$5,802,000.00
West Construction Co. Inc.

JUNEAU LOWER BASIN ROAD
RECONSTRUCTION
$5,516,324.00
Arete Construction Corp.
THORNE BAY SEA LEVEL ROADS
$4,624,746.00
Southeast Road Builders
SITKA AIRPORT ACCESS IMPROVEMENTS
$3,856,912.00
S & S General Contractors
JUNEAU THUNDER MOUNTAIN HS TRACK/FIELD
$3,482,680.00
Miller Construction Equipment Sales
HOONAH MARINE INDUSTRIAL CENTER PHS III
$3,011,500.00
Kelly Ryan Inc.
ZAREMBO ISLAND BAHT ROADS
$2,858,190.00
Ketchikan Ready Mix & Quarry Inc.
HAINES YOUNG ROAD IMPROVEMENTS/WATER
TANK
$1,700,000.00
Southeast Earthmovers Inc.
JUNEAU MENDENHALL VALLEY SEWER LID 98 PHS I
$1,631,892.00
Southeast Earthmovers Inc.
ACTIVITY
Highway
$500,000,000
$500,000
$450,000
$400,000
$350,000
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$500,000
$450,000
$400,000
$350,000
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$1,200,000,000
$1,000,000,000
$800,000,000
$600,000,000
$400,000,000
$450,000,000
$200,000,000
$400,000,000
JANUARY
JANUARY
JANUARY
$350,000,000
WRANGELL SCHOOLS RENOVATION PHS II
$1,460,000.00
McGraw’s Custom Construction
JUNEAU SOB PARKING GARAGE
LEVEL 4 UPGRADE
$1,389,850.00
McGraw’s Custom Construction
JUNEAU EAGLECREST CHAIRLIFT/ACCESS RD.
$1,282,400.00
Arete Construction Corp.
JUNEAU NORTH DOUGLAS SEWER PHS III LID
95
$1,204,452.00
Miller Construction Equipment Sales
JUNEAU CAPITOL FIRE
ALARM/SPRINKLER SYSTEM
$1,045,000.00
McGraw’s Custom Construction
SHAKWAK HWY PERMAFROST TEST
SECTIONS
$1,948,290.00
Golden Hill Ventures Ltd.
FEBRUARY
FEBRUARY
FEBRUARY $300,000,000
$250,000,000
MARCH
MARCH
MARCH
$200,000,000
APRIL
APRIL
APRIL $150,000,000
MAY
MAY
$100,000,000
MAY
$50,000,000
JUNE
JUNE
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
$-0
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
JUNE
JULY
JULY
building
JULY $450,000,000
AUGUST
AUGUST
$400,000,000
AUGUST
$350,000,000
SEPTEMBER
SEPTEMBER
SEPTEMBER
$300,000,000
OCTOBER
OCTOBER
OCTOBER $250,000,000
NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER
$200,000,000
NOVEMBER
$150,000,000
DECEMBER
DECEMBER
DECEMBER
$100,000,000
$50,000,000
$-0
2004
2005
2006

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
New issues face industry
I’d like to review some of the highlights of my first six months
as your AGC Chapter President. So far it has been an educational
and interesting time. I’ve had the opportunity to attend
the Western Chapters Conference in February, the National Convention
in March and the National and Chapter Leadership Conference
in Washington, D.C., in April. At these events I’ve met with
numerous construction professionals and attended many sessions
regarding issues challenging our industry. Collectively our industry
is trying to improve its image. We need to refer to our construction
managers as “professionals.” Architects and engineers are referred
to as professionals and many construction managers have degrees
that are no less important than theirs. Our many years of practical
experience add incredible value to a project. Some important new
issues relating to our industry are as follows.
AGC’s Contracts and Construction Law Area provides a single
source for construction contract knowledge for all building methods.
AGC is one of the key organizations in ConsensusDOCS,
which has 21 participating organizations that represent designers,
owners, contractors, subcontractors and sureties. The groups
worked together to draft contracts that are in the best interests of
the project, rather than representing only one association’s constituency.
The unprecedented buy-in for these contracts reflects
a genuine effort to identify and employ best practices to better
the industry. American Institute of Architects chose not to participate
in ConsensusDOCS. AGC endorses ConsensusDOCS
and we hope that they will replace AIA documents, which have
dominated the industry for many years. We also hope that public
agencies and private owners will revise their contracts to incorporate
many provisions contained in ConsensusDOCS. For the
first time AGC has not endorsed the new versions of the AIA
documents because they are shifting an unreasonable amount of
risk from the designers and owners to the contractor. Please visit
the AGC Web site for free samples.
Building Information Modeling, “BIM,” is the process of generating
and managing a building information model through the
use of three-dimensional, intelligent design information. Technology
improvements and integration fostered by expanded use
of BIM are dramatically increasing efficiency in the industry. The
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers recently adopted the Bentley platform
as its standard. There are several other competing platforms
in the industry. BIM is not only beneficial for contractors who are
trying to coordinate many disciplines in a confined space but it is
also useful after occupancy for facility management and maintenance.
Recently AGC added the Building Information Modeling
Addendum to the ConsensusDOCS comprehensive catalog of
contracts and forms, which address all project delivery methods.
This addendum is the first and only industry standard document
ROGER HICKEL
President
to globally address the legal uncertainties associated with using
BIM. The BIM Addendum further establishes ConsensusDOCS’
reputation as a leader in innovative construction contracts.
Environmental issues are continually challenging contractors.
It’s no coincidence that the largest office buildings in
Washington, D.C., are occupied by the Environmental Protection
Agency. Federal environmental policies seek to minimize and
mitigate the environmental footprint of the construction process.
Meeting environmental requirements has become a huge and
growing responsibility for contractors, delaying if not threatening
construction projects, and increasing the cost of doing business.
To minimize the environmental barriers to business opportunities,
environmental policies must be reasonable and achievable.
AGC has partnerships with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and with the International Erosion Control Association.
Our local chapter is very active in training Certified Erosion Sediment
Control Leads, “CESCL.” We also have information on how
to write and implement a SWPPP plan.
Another environmental issue is the National Clean Diesel
Campaign. So far it is voluntary, but the state of California is trying
to make it mandatory in California. Federal and state agencies
have had a tendency to adopt stricter California regulations
in the past. Did you know that a 175 horsepower bulldozer emits
as much particulate matter as 500 cars? The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency currently has available nearly $50 million
in grant funding to reduce emissions from diesel engines nationwide,
including those used in exiting fleets of construction
equipment. These funds are only available for voluntary compliance
and not available for meeting new state or federal agency
requirements. Visit the AGC Web site for more information.
Another important issue facing our industry, especially in the
southern states, is immigration reform. What is important to all
contractors is the pending legislation that puts the burden of enforcement
on employers and increases the penalties to $16,000
for multiple violations. The Department of Homeland Security is
expected to rule this year to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulations
to require that contractors and subcontractors use the E-
Verify system to verify immigration status of employees, not just on
federal funded contracts but on the contractor’s entire workforce.
There are so many new regulations and requirements
placed on contractors every day. Remember how much easier
it was to build 10, 20 or 30 years ago? I often wonder why we
do not value these new regulations and requirements in our
bids. Does the added risk really justify working at margins that
are historically lower than what they were 10 years ago? We all
know that contractors are plagued by being very optimistic and
competitive by nature!

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
We all want clean water
Voters in the primary election this August may still have
the chance to offer their opinion on “The Clean Water
Initiative.” Put forward by the Anchorage-based and nationally
financed Renewable Resources Coalition, purportedly
to protect the salmon runs of Bristol Bay, petitioners cleverly
captured the attention of signers by characterizing the initiative
as an effort to guarantee “clean water.” Consequently, they
turned in more than 60,000 signatures.
If passed, the initiative would override existing state and
federal environmental requirements and scientific review of
mine operations. It would prohibit storage or disposal of metallic
mineral mining wastes and tailings on land and water. If
neither land nor water can be used, then mining is impossible
– just about anywhere in our state.
Obviously, the coalition hopes Alaskans won’t read beyond
the title to learn what the initiative really means to our state.
In truth, the initiative is an effort to stop the Pebble Mine from
advancing to the extensive, exhaustive and lengthy permitting
process. If passed by voters in August, it will have the effect of
saying, “Stop now, do not proceed to permitting.”
Many believe Pebble should be allowed to go through the
regulatory process. Although all the rules and regulations that
are currently on the books can safeguard the public’s interest in
protecting the environment and the valuable fisheries resources
of the region, the project must pass numerous tests and meet
detailed requirements before it obtains the approvals necessary
to operate. And for this particular project, the level of scrutiny to
pass these tests will be done with a microscope. If Pebble can’t
pass muster it will not and should not be allowed to go forward
– but like every project, it deserves a chance to pass the test.
Not every proposed mine gets developed through production.
The list of prospects that began but never finished the
arduous process of permitting and environmental compliance
includes some big names.
In the 1970s, U.S. Borax spent hundreds of millions of dollars
on the Quartz Hill molybdenum deposit near Ketchikan. Borax
even got approval from Congress for a marine tailings disposal
in the deep waters of Wilson Arm. The claims have since become
an in-holding in one of the many Alaska National Interest
Land Claims Act Conservation Units that blanket Alaska.
Echo Bay Mines spent more than $100 million trying to reopen
the historic A-J mine in Juneau only to pull the plug because
environmental compliance affected the project’s feasibility.
In northern Southeast Alaska, Coeur d’Alene Mines has
invested some $270 million in the Kensington gold mine and
constructed a complete facility in a valley that had a handful of
JOHN MACKINNON
Executive Director
mining operations 100 years ago. They have yet to pour a single
bar of gold because environmental groups sued over their previously
permitted tailings disposal plan.
If this initiative passes, every proposed large-scale mining
operation in Alaska will be at risk. The targeted Pebble project
could not move forward and Donlin Creek gold project would
likely come to a screeching halt.
If the initiative passes, the unintended consequences (are
they really unintended?) are that all existing mining operations
in Alaska would have to cease. Although the folks at the Renewable
Resources Coalition say this will not affect existing permitted
large-scale mines – that is not true. The lifecycle of every mine
consists of a continuous process of permitting, amending permits,
re-permitting and compliance with a myriad of ever-changing
laws and regulations. The permitted mine of today will be applying
for new permits tomorrow. Existing mines like Greens Creek, Red
Dog, Fort Knox and Pogo would soon fall under the requirements
of the Initiative. In the hands of a zealous regulator (not even an
overzealous regulator) this new law, if passed, could even impact
sand and gravel operations, which by definition, are mining.
The initiative as written prohibits any discharge or potential
discharge of “toxic pollutants” into any groundwater, surface
water or stream. It’s not just major streams, but every tributary
to every stream that may be used for human consumption or
support salmon for survival or propagation. That sounds like
just about every stream to me.
Looking at the list of chemicals defined in the initiative as
“toxic pollutants” one notices a long list – benzene, carbon tetrachloride,
dieldrin, DDT, PCBs – to name a few of the more common
and pronounceable ones. These are already highly regulated,
and who would argue with preventing their discharge and
release into our water? I certainly don’t want them in my water.
Also on the list of “toxic pollutants” are metals, such as silver,
lead, nickel, copper and zinc. Natural waters contain many
of these trace metals. These metals are also found in the outfalls
of most municipal sewage treatment plants. Fortunately, municipal
sewage systems don’t involve mining or the initiatives
could jeopardize them, too.
We all want clean water. This initiative is not about clean
water; it is aimed at stopping one proposed mine and would
impact many more. Alaska’s exemplary record of responsible
development and stewardship of our lands and resources is the
envy of every other state and unequaled anywhere in the world.
In Alaska, we have worked very hard over the past few years
to hang out the sign that says “We’re Open for Business.” Why
turn out the lights on that sign now?

Associated General Contractors of Alaska
2008 Legislative Session Report
In mid-February, AGC made a trip to the Capitol
as part of its annual “Legislative Fly-In” to discuss
issues of importance with the Alaska Legislature.
By JOHN MACKINNON, Executive Director
Integral to this effort were more than 22 AGC members
who made the trip on their own time and expense to
participate in the process. During the two-day event,
we split into teams, met with almost all 60 legislators,
shared a reception with the Alaska Trucking Association
and the Alaska Miners Association, and met with Gov.
Sarah Palin. As has been AGC policy, we brought with
us just three of the most important issues facing our
members and the state.
Our top three
Gas line contract – Alaska can’t afford to delay this
project any longer while a perfect contract is produced.
A good contract timely executed is better than the best
contract never executed. As this is being written, the
Legislature is getting ready to go into special session
to consider the TransCanada proposal under the Alaska
Gasline Inducement Act and the Denali Project brought
by BP and Conoco Phillips. They do not have an easy
task ahead of them.
A state funded transportation program – The current
transportation infrastructure of Alaska is inadequate
and requires continued planning, upgrades and expenditures
to assure the citizens of Alaska are provided with
essential services. To address its needs and realize its
potential, Alaska needs a transportation program that is
adequately and predictably funded, provides continuity
between succeeding administrations and considers all
modes of transportation.
The Associated General Contractors of Alaska supported
the establishment of the governor’s $1 billion
Transportation Endowment Trust Fund as a “good start,”
but only if there were assurances of future deposits into
the trust so that it could support an annual construction
program of at least $250 million. As an alternate, if it were
to be only funded as proposed, we suggested the fund
spend down like an annuity over the next 10 years to address
the important transportation needs that are here
and now. There was a healthy debate and the bill did not
advance for passage, but the good news is the Legislature
is very cognizant of the pressing transportation needs in
Alaska. They built upon the original capital budget and
constructed a healthy list of good projects dealing with
congestion improvements and deferred maintenance
that the governor approved in her signing the bill.
Funding for vocational/technical education – The
AGC and its partners have long worked for increased
funding for vocational training at the secondary level
and an emphasis at the post-secondary level to capture
those who did not receive such training. For the
last several years we have been successful. In 2006 and
2007, the Legislature took the initial steps to address the
problem and funded a pilot program at the King Career
Center in Anchorage, and then expanded to five similar
programs in other urban areas. Initially, these funds
were in the capital budget and had to be secured every
year. This year the Legislature moved the $3.5 million to
the operating budget, which is a clear recognition that
it is an ongoing program. The program represents a true
public/private partnering effort and initial indications
are that the model will help address the long-term labor
needs of the construction industry.
Other bills in the works that were of concern to the
AGG were:
House Bill 2/Senate Bill 124 – vocational education
– In the last two days of the regular legislative
session, these two bills regarding vocational education
were melded into one. Senate Bill 124 was stuck in the
House Finance Committee with no prospect of further
action. HB 2, which established a vocational education
fund and its beneficiaries, was in Senate Finance. SB 124
increased the percentage of wages employees contribute
for the Alaska technical and vocational education
program from 0.01 percent to 0.015 percent. The Senate
Finance Committee amended HB 2 to included SB 124
and changed the program beneficiaries. The governor
signed the bill May 28.
HB 61 – voc ed tax relief – Beginning Jan. 1, 2009,
businesses can get a credit against state taxes for cash

contributions to high school and state operated vocational
education programs. A 50 percent tax credit is available
on donations up to $100,000. Donations between
$100,000 and $200,000 are given 100 percent tax credit.
The maximum credit is $150,000. The governor signed
the bill May 28.
HB 314 – general obligation bond package – The
governor’s original general obligation bond bill grew from
$220.6 million to $315.05 million after moving through
the Senate. This was one of the last pieces that passed
before adjournment. This package will be put before the
voters in the general election on Nov. 4 this year. Like
the capital budget, this represents projects throughout
the state that will address some of our many needs. The
governor signed the bill May 22.
SB 120 – unemployment insurance – AGC did not
support the original version of SB 120. AGC’s position
paper stated that we would support an increase in UI
benefits only if it could be accomplished with no increase
in cost to the employer. In the end, this was accomplished
by reducing the employer share of the UIC premium and
increasing the eligibility level. The bill will allow a poten-
tial maximum weekly benefit of $370 per week, up from
the current $248. This is the first increase in 11 years. The
governor signed the bill May 28.
SB 59 – gaming bill – AGC participated in a flurry
of activity at the end of session in 2007 to remove an
amendment to SB 59 that would have prohibited the use
of funds raised through raffles for Political Action Committees
such as AGC-PAC. We were successful in getting
the Senate not to concur with the House changes. The
conference committee met on the bill several times and
ultimately removed the offending section. The governor
signed the bill April 21.
The 2008 session was a very successful for the AGC. I
believe the success we achieved – especially in a 90-day
session, would not have happened without the enthusiasm
and decorum of the AGC members who took part
in the fly-in. For some members, it was their first fly-in,
other members had been before and for all who attended
it was an educational and informative trip. Every year the
fly-in gets a little bigger and better. I encourage all members
interested in participating to keep an eye out for the
announcement next January and join the fly-in.

Behavior-based safety
and the construction industry
Although thousands of companies
worldwide have dramatically reduced
their injuries, improved participation
levels in safety programs, and improved
employee morale by implementing a
behavior-based safety process, the construction
industry has been reluctant to
follow suit.
Why? There are two main obstacles
to running successful behaviorbased
safety processes in construction
environments.
• Until recently, behavior-based safety
was considered a long-term payback
process, possibly taking three to five
years, and most construction projects
do not last that long.
• Implementing a behavior-based safety
program in a construction environment
is expensive and time consuming. It
takes time and money to implement
a behavior-based safety program, and
construction contracts are usually rewarded
for reducing costs and minimizing
completion times.
Unless these problems are overcome
or sidestepped, it will be a long time
before behavior-based safety is as common
in the construction industry as it is
in other industries.
This is not to say that there have not
been successes. One construction project
at a power plant went 18 months
without a serious (lost-time) injury, with
more than 2,000 workers on the project.
Another construction company had a
lower injury rate for a three-year project
than the host petrochemical company.
So it is possible to have successful behavior-based
safety processes in a construction
environment. And although
there is no methodology that is guaranteed
to bring success, here is what some
construction companies have done:
Because of the workforce’s transient
nature, a company may choose only to
SAFETY REPORT
train managers, superintendents, general
foremen and foremen. For some companies,
training costs can be minimized by
the fact that foremen devoted most of their
time to the company providing the training.
When all levels of management make
observations, give positive feedback and
encourage people to work safely, behavior-based
safety activities go a long way.
Although not as effective as peer-to-peer
feedback in real-time, supervisor observation
and feedback can still be very effective
at reducing injuries. Once the workforce
understands that behavior-based safety
is not designed to punish employees, it
becomes easier to gain buy-in for the
system. In addition, training sessions give
management an opportunity to encourage
employees to think more about their
own safety and the hazards present.
Some companies have even taken
these training sessions further by including
advanced safety awareness concepts
and techniques. Advanced awareness
training looks at all of the necessary
ingredients for an accidental injury: the
hazard, something unexpected happening,
and the hazard contacting the worker
or the worker contacting the hazard.
Although hazards are usually the
focus of safety programs, the “source of
the unexpected” should be given more
attention. A worker does something unexpectedly,
a coworker does something
unexpectedly, or the equipment activates
unexpectedly.
Surprisingly, more than 90 percent
of all injuries are caused by the individual
doing something unexpectedly,
rather than as a result of a coworker or
the equipment doing something unexpectedly.
These unexpected occurrences
by the individual are mistakes or errors
(which are always unexpected).
The following mistakes cause more
than 90 percent of injuries:
By Larry Wilson
• Eyes not on task
• Mind not on task
• Moving into or being in the
line-of-fire
• Losing balance, traction, or grip
There are also human factors that
contribute to errors. The four states that
cause more than 90 percent of the four
critical errors above are:
• Rushing and frustration
• Fatigue and complacency
While mistakes will happen, it is
possible to teach people to recognize
when they are in one of these four states
before they make a critical error.
There are four techniques to reduce
critical errors:
• Recognize the state or hazard to avoid
a critical error.
• Analyze close calls and small errors to
prevent big ones.
• Look for the patterns that increase the
risk of injury with other people.
• Implement good habits that reduce
the risk of injury.
Training employees to handle critical
errors and then following up with on-thejob
observations drives injuries down dramatically
and swiftly. Some companies report
injury reductions of 80 percent within
four months, although typical reductions
are 60 to 90 percent within a six- to 12month
period.
Is that quick enough for the construction
industry? In some cases yes
and in others no, but at least it gives
the construction industry a model to
improve safety through behavior-based
safety programs.
Guest columnist Larry Wilson is
the author of SafeStart: An Advanced
Safety Awareness Training Program, a
common sense approach to working safely
on and off the job. Go online to learn more:
www.safestart-safetrack.com

You can’t win if you don’t enter.
Yes, it’s that time of year again. THE ALASKA USA INSURANCE BROKERS EXCELLENCE IN CONSTRUCTION AWARDS
and the MARSH USA EXCELLENCE IN SAFETY AWARDS deadlines are Sept. 5, 2008. So start now to get
your projects and programs submitted. Contact Kimberley at the AGC office and request the full award
rules, category information, and entry forms. Your organization deserves the credit for its hard work and
although not everyone will win an award, everyone receives the satisfaction of knowing their work was
examined by a panel of their colleagues. Some of AGC’s best known names have entered and won, and
now so can you.
Here is what our members and previous winners are saying…
CONSTRUCTION
CALL FOR ENTRIES
EXCELLENCE
in Construction & Safety Achievements
Brad West, WEST CONSTRUCTION
The Excellence In Construction Award is the end result of the dedication, hard
work and perseverance of all our employees. West Construction takes pride in
receiving this annual award, working toward receiving one year after year. To us,
there is no greater achievement than being recognized by our peers in the industry.
Dick and Jennie Weldin, WELDIN CONSTRUCTION INC.
Our company is not as “high profile” as many Alaska contractors because most of our
work occurs on military installations, both in Alaska and the Pacific Rim. Submitting
projects for awards packages lets our peers know what we’re up to. It is also a tremendous
morale boost for our employees to know they were part of an award-winning project.

SAFETY
Kevin P. Welker, KIEWIT BUILDING GROUP.
Safety is job one at Kiewit, and acknowledgement of our safety program assures
our clients that every employee will go home safely at the end of every work day.
Our employees take personal pride in our excellent safety record and appreciate the
recognition of our peers at AGC. The three aspects of attitude, family responsibility
and good work plans is the road map we use to this safety success.
Richard Podobnik, INTERIOR ALASKA ROOFING INC.
Regardless of a company’s size, employee, job site and customer safety should
always be the number one priority in our industry. Creating and implementing a
quality safety program takes a lot of time, effort, and money which is returned many
times over. Winning the Marsh 2006 Excellence Award for Contractors Safety Program
and being recognized by our industry was a great honor.
Brad West, WEST CONSTRUCTION
Receiving the AGC Safety Award was no accident. Pun on words aside, receiving
this award was actually the result of each and every West Construction employee
diligently making safety in our workplace priority number one on a daily basis. There
is no award taken in such high regard by us than one that rewards the safety of our
employees.
Thomas Ulrich, Vice President, AMERICAN MARINE CORPORATION
When competing in a competitive bid process and work is awarded to the
lowest bidder, many times safety is one of the areas that is compromised in order
to win projects. It’s gratifying to be recognized by the AGC and my peers for safety
achievements – It shows my clients and competitors that we can get the job done on
time, within budget and while still maintaining the highest safety standards.
HOW TO ENTER
So what are you waiting for? The time to enter is now.
Award rules and categories are available on the
AGC Web site http://www.agcak.org under Hot Topics,
mailed to all member companies in early July.
The DEADLINE to enter is 5 p.m. Sept. 5, 2008, at the
AGC of Alaska Anchorage office on 8005 Schoon Street.
Call Kimberley at 561-5354 or e-mail Kimberley@agcak.org for more information.

By Heidi Bohi
AGC of Alaska Legacy Members
Hector’s Welding offers fast, quality
fabrication and design services
When a livelihood has been a part of your day-to-day existence for almost your entire
life, Ken Therriault of Hector’s Welding says it gets to the point where you’re never quite
sure if you’ve learned something or if you just know it
simply because the business has always been at your
front door.
He’s vice president and general manager of this North
Pole-based welding company,
now in its 51st year of operation,
that his late father Hector
and his mother Jeanette
started in 1956 after moving
to the Fairbanks area from
Los Angeles, Calif., where his
father had worked for North
American Aviation during
World War II.
At first, Hector spent
summers working for various
general contractors in
equipment maintenance and
repair for the Richardson
Highway and Eielson Air
Force Base, while taking on
moonlighting welding jobs
during the winter months.
When it became apparent
to him there was enough
business for him to be able
to make it on his own, he
opened a storefront in 1969,
purchasing some land and
a shop building. Since then,
Therriault says, this second-generation family business
has operated in five different shops in the North Pole
area, continuing to expand and grow everything from
inventory and equipment to personnel.
Today, Hector’s Welding is known statewide for its
fast, quality fabrication and design services, employing
the best craftsmen in the industry to take on small and
large retail and commercial projects ranging from repairing
a bicycle or broken parts and equipment to custom
built parts, new school installations, oil field development
projects and developing clients’ custom designs. Although
welding is the biggest part of the business, the company is
also one of the largest suppliers of steel for wholesale and
retail markets, offers heavy equipment rental and spe-
Ken Therriault stands in front of one of the many custom built
sluice boxes that the company fabricated for miners during a
15-year period when gold mining in the Interior was booming.
cializes in manufacturing and rebuilding mining equipment
and parts such as sluice boxes, grizzlies, trommels,
blade and truck liners, cutting edges and ripper shanks.
Hector’s also custom builds aluminum and steel water,
chemical and fuel tanks, or
modifies existing tanks for
homes, businesses, trucks,
boats, planes and job sites.
Many clients have been
using Hector’s for 20 to 25
years, Therriault says, because
they appreciate what he says
is the company’s prime area
of specialization: knowing
what the customer needs or
what they should have. This
is especially important in an
industry where people don’t
typically realize what welding
involves, he says.
“A lot of people don’t
understand what it takes to
mend two broken pieces,” he
says. “They think it’s bubble
gum and that ain’t gonna
make it – if something isn’t
going to work we’ll tell
them, or they’ll go someplace
else.”
Although most clients
are in the Fairbanks area, several come from across
the state. Clients include Cruz Construction (Palmer),
Alaska Frontier Constructors (Anchorage), Colville, Inc.
(Prudhoe Bay), Flowline Alaska (Fairbanks), and ATEC
Industries in Elkridge, Md.
The oldest of seven siblings – who have all worked
in the business at one time or another – Ken Therriault
oversees day-to-day operations that include five
other employees. His mother and middle sister Donna
share administrative and bookkeeping responsibilities,
and his youngest brother Ron is a welder and machine
operator. His sister Laura is president and lives in Valdez,
and the remaining siblings are also co-owners so
that everyone is involved in the family corporation. At

55, Ken says he has worked for the
business on and off since junior high
school, 30 years total, and of that time
20 years was spent working under
his father’s direction before Hector
passed away four years ago. He assumed
the managerial responsibilities
in the early ‘80s when his father
retired and the business became a
family corporation.
Although working with family has
advantages and disadvantages, he
says, the trade-off of having control
over the business and their personal
livelihoods is worth working through
any sibling conflicts that ever arise.
At the same time, he says, he doesn’t
have anything to compare it to.
Whether he was sweeping floors,
“cutting stuff,” or drilling, “the company
has always been at the front
door,” Therriault says, adding that the
only two breaks he has taken from
the family business were to earn his
civil engineering degree at the University
of Alaska Fairbanks – he is
also a welder himself – and to work
seasonal construction for about four
years, before realizing that his family’s
business was some of the most
interesting work and probably one of
the best opportunities.
Although his father was one of
his greatest influences, especially in
the area of work ethics and employee
and customer relations, Therriault says
a lot of what he learned was simply
from being exposed to the industry
and the business for so many years. It
becomes so second nature, he says, it
is difficult to discern between what he
naturally knows and what he continues
to learn.
Even after more than 50 years in
business, Hector’s Welding contin-
Hector and Jeanette
Therriault and their
seven children have all
worked for the family
business at different
times over the past 51
years. Ken’s dog Ginger
was responsible for
greeting customers as
they entered the shop
and had a special
bond with a few, select
customers.
Back row, from left: Ken,
Bonne, Laura, Donna,
Eugene
Middle row, from left:
Dwayne, Jeannette,
Hector, Ron
Front row, Ginger
ues to look for new ways to improve
and grow the business. In addition to
investing in new technology and shop
processes, Therriault says, Hector’s
Welding also joined Associated General
Contractors six years ago and especially
values the opportunities to network
with other businesses in the industry
and to track industry bids by using The
Plans Room.
Heidi Bohi is a freelance writer and
marketing professional who divides her
time between Anchorage and Arizona.

Asphalt oil is almost as
valuable as fuel oil
BY JOHN MACKINNON
I had always been under the impression
that asphalt oil was the bottom of
the barrel in the refining process, almost
a waste product that the refiners were
happy to get rid of. This may have been
the case years ago, but today it is almost
as valuable as fuel oil.
The end product or base material that
is used for asphalt road oil can be further
refined with minor effort and sold as
“Bunker C” oil, the fuel that powers most
of the world’s merchant fleet. In Puget
Sound, there is a good market for Bunker
C. Asphalt oil markets there are competing
with the market for fuel for the merchant
fleet.
Some refineries have installed new
coking towers that can take the asphalt
oil material and refine it into fuel oil and
market it for heating oil for the commercial
market. In areas where coking towers
are refining the product further, they
Fairbanks International Airport
R/W 1L-19R Reconstruction
• Bids Opened – July 18, 2007
• Contract Amount - $32,987,400
– Electrical - $10,816,000
– HAP – 112,000 tons – $4,699,350
– Asphalt Cement and Tack Coat – 6,248 tons
– $5,072,627
• Alaska Asphalt Material Price Index at Bid Opening
– $376.67
• Paving during summer of 2009
• Bid Opening to Paving – 2+ years
• Average (65% Increase)
– Increase - $238.99/ton
– Total Increase for 6,248 tons – $1,493,181
• High Increase (260% Increase)
– Increase - $979.34/ton
– Total Increase for 6,248 tons – $6,118,891
• Low (36% Decrease)
– Decrease - $135.60/ton
– Total Decrease for 6,248 tons – $847,229
Annual Crude Oil Price
June 2008

are producing little to no asphalt oil,
and have to import it from refineries
where coking towers are not installed.
The whole supply cycle has changed
while demand for asphalt continues to
increase.
Simply put, the raw material can
be refined into more valuable product
than asphalt oil, thus the price of asphalt
has to go up to compete with the
other more expensive products.
The two state refineries that supply
Alaska – Tesoro and Flint Hills – are not
producers. They buy oil from the producers,
refine it and market the refined
products, working on a thin margin between
the price of raw material per barrel
(>$125) and the wholesale (or retail)
price for gasoline, heating oil, etc.
If you look at the profits of the refining
companies such as Tesoro and
Valero, you won’t see stellar results. It
is the producers that have billions of
dollars in quarterly profits because they
own the raw material in the ground.
For asphalt oil, Alaskans are victims
of the marketing and refining
efficiency of the refiners. This affects
some, but not all of the contractors.
Some buy the oil at the time of bid,
locking in their bid price. They can
do this only if they have the capacity
to store quantities of oil. This is
something few can do. Most contractors
are subject to market exigencies
or vagaries. Since asphalt is a long
lead-time item, contractors face the
risk of price variations that make bidding
perilous and only for the most
adventurous.
John MacKinnon is the executive director
of the Associated General Contractors of
Alaska.

By Heidi Bohi
AGC of Alaska Legacy Members
SENCO Alaska sells, services
air-powered fastening systems
How a company gets the name SENCO Products out of what was originally called Springtramp
Eliminator Company is a mystery to Teri Gunter and her sister Jackie Glatt, owners of the
Alaska division of one of the world’s leading manufacturers
of air-powered fastening systems. In fact, it’s a
mystery to the parent company.
But as these second generation owners celebrate 40
years of doing business in Anchorage, what is certain,
the two sisters will tell you, is that they are proud to
continue to serve the construction trade and do-it-yourselfer
with the most innovative, quality merchandise in
the tools and fastening industry. The “service what we
sell” repair department and the all-customer-service, allthe-time
philosophy is what keeps the building trade
coming back, including customers who are referred by
their competition, Gunter says proudly.
Founded in Cincinnati 50 years ago, SENCO Products
Inc. has a network of authorized dealers, distributors and
sales representatives in North and South America, Europe,
Asia and Australia, as well as worldwide manufacturing
operations in Australia, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy,
Korea, The Netherlands, South Africa and Spain.
Originally known as a hammer and nails company,
today, in addition to having the widest selection of staples,
nails and screws in the industry, it is also known
for leading the market by carrying the newest innovations
in products and materials: the extended line includes
Max Rebar Tiers, FOMO insulation applications,
and the newer space-efficient, noise-reduced compressors.
SENCO is also known as the leader in fastening
solutions for use in the residential home construction
market; framing, interior finish and trim carpentry, drywall
installation, exterior residential decks, roofing, siding
and fencing. It also produces fastening solutions for
industrial markets; in-plant housing, cabinets, pallets,
furniture, bedding and recreational vehicles.
Originally, a prominent homebuilder in Anchorage,
Jack and Barbara Butt purchased SENCO Alaska in 1968
from a construction associate after he introduced the
line of tools to Gunter and Glatt’s father and then approached
him about becoming the exclusive distributor
in Anchorage. It began in small quarters and moved to its
present location near the corner of Old Seward Highway
and Dowling Road in Anchorage in 1974, which includes
more than 7,000 square feet of warehouse and shop,
1,600 square feet of office space, and a newly remodeled
showroom. In addition to the Anchorage office, there is a
Wasilla location and seven dealers in Fairbanks, Kodiak,
Seward, Soldotna, Nome, Bethel and Delta Junction.
As SENCO Alaska continues to grow – last year
alone there was more than a 6 percent increase in new
business – besides the residential market, the company
is focusing on securing more commercial accounts and
getting large housing contracts on local military bases
in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Today, 75 percent of the
company’s clientele is in the commercial sector including
F & W Construction, Builders Choice Inc. and FM
Construction. One of their primary sources of customers
is the Associated General Contractors of Alaska organization,
Gunter says, and almost every contractor associated
with AGC is a client of SENCO’s.
Gunter says her father ran SENCO Alaska as a family
style business from the beginning, including his wife,
who was the company’s secretary, and daughters, sonsin-law
and grandchildren who worked in various capacities
before Gunter and Glatt purchased it. Although
their father passed away five years ago, Gunter says they
still have many customers who attribute part of their
success to him for his generosity and trust.
It was not uncommon for him to sell customers a tool
for a handshake and tell them to pay him when they
had the money. Although that was a sign of the times
and she and her sister don’t run the business quite that
way today, Gunter says laughing, they still turn to the
business ethics and examples of integrity and leadership
their father taught them.
“We were raised in a wonderful learning situation
where we were able to see first-hand the day-to-day
requirements needed to run a successful company,”
Gunter says.
After growing up with the business for 30 years, as
general manager, Gunter works with the financial and
marketing divisions of the company, and as office manager,
Glatt, who has worked for the family business for
29 years, focuses on the sales and product areas.
Having grown up with the business – as a small child
Gunter started sweeping floors then worked her way
up – she says that while she understands that working
with family isn’t for everyone, she enjoys every moment
with her sister, who she has worked with for 28 years.
When they are not working they spend free time to-

gether at one of the family cabins and
if they are not together, they are talking
on the phone.
One of the keys to their success,
Gunter says, is that they also consider
the other seven employees family, too,
and in turn the employees invest in
the company with the same heart and
soul she and her sister do.
“We view our staff as a team that
works together. In this sense, we are
carrying on the values which our
parents instilled in us – the strong
work ethic and hands on approach
are the foundation to our success,”
Gunter says. “We believe our staff to
be the finest available and are proud
of the service they provide to our
customers.”
Although there are several children
in the family who may one day work
for the company, Gunter says, right
now it’s too soon to tell if the next
generation of leadership will come
from within the family.
SENCO Alaska has been a member
of AGC for 33 years. Gunter says
her father joined in 1975 because he
believed that the growing Anchorage
SENCO’s store in the Mat-Su Valley is located at 420 E. Snider at Mile 1 of the
Palmer-Wasilla Highway. SENCO also has a store in Anchorage.
Team SENCO poses with a selection of SENCO nail-guns at the Anchorage
SENCO store, 817 E. Dowling. Pictured are: back row, Mary Wilts, Michael
Springel, Jackie Glatt; bottom row: Greg Black, Jason Macrander, Teri Gunter.
Not pictured are: David “Nick” Nichols – Wasilla facility and Michael Coles,
IT staff – Anchorage facility.
community would benefit from people
in the contracting industry working
together toward a common goal.
She and her sister continue to stay
involved with the organization; one
more way they carry on their father’s
legacy. When they decided to diversify
the company from the residential
market to also include products for
commercial and industrial customers,
she says the company relied on the
networking and educational opportunities
offered through the organization
and this involvement encouraged
her to take on a more active role in
AGC. In addition to attending events,
she is also the co-chair for the annual
conference.
“We have already seen the benefits
of making connections and staying
current with the evolving industry,”
Gunter says. “The members are the key
to this great networking opportunity
because they work together to make
the industry, as a whole, stronger.”
Heidi Bohi is a freelance writer and
marketing professional who divides her
time between Anchorage and Arizona.

Urban Alaska
EDUCATION, TRAINING &
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT REPORT
“Our Mission: through Alaska Construction Academy
effort, Alaskan students and adults will be recruited, trained
and placed into jobs in the construction industry.”
– Kathleen Castle, Executive Director
of the Alaska Construction Academy
This year, 2008, Construction Academies statewide will
teach basic skills to 1,000 high school students and 300
adults to prepare them for jobs in construction. Through
$3.5 million appropriated by Gov. Sarah Palin and the Legislature,
Construction Academies were established in urban
communities that had a local chapter of the Alaska State
By ROBERT CRESS,
Training Director
Together with the effective efforts of our many partners in industry, government, and education, AGC of Alaska continues to see
substantial gains in workforce development and specialized contractor training throughout Alaska.
In Ketchikan, nine adult students recently
completed the academy’s first class, held
at the University of Alaska Southeast Ketchi-
BY PAM ROTH
kan campus. Basic Construction Techniques,
a 50-hour class, used classroom teaching and hands-on experiences
that provided an overview of tool usage, building procedures
and codes, job site planning, layout and foundation,
floor, wall and roof framing methods.
“It’s a great way to train a workforce in the community
where they’ll live and work,” says Wendy Gierard, assistant
director of workforce development at UAS-Ketchikan.
“We’re teaching them what is expected from an entry
level laborer on the job,” says Charles “Chas” Edwardson, a
UAS adjunct professor and a general contractor in Ketchikan
for the past 14 years.
The Southern Southeast Alaska Building Industry Association,
SSEABIA, is working to place the students into
on-the-job training summer work with local builders, and
is working in partnership with the Ketchikan Gateway Borough
School District to make sure the curriculum being
taught meets the needs of the local industry.
Additional courses will be offered at UAS-Ketchikan. A
unique aspect of the academy is that there is no cost to the
participants – the academy pays for all tuition, books, tools
and supplies.
Similar to other academies, Ketchikan reaches out to
high school students as well as adult learners. Construction
Academy grant funding is provided to hire an additional
construction trades teacher at the high school. The academy
is setting up a “tech-prep agreement” for dual credit.
Chas Edwardson said he believes the focus on high
Home Builders Association. Construction Academy training
is offered in two components: high school students and
adult learners. High school students receive high school
credit and in some cases, college credit for the courses (dual
credit). The adult component offers training in the evenings
and Saturdays. Both receive hands-on training by experts in
the construction trades.
While you will find similarities and differences among
the individual academies, all share the same mission: giving
student and adult participants new opportunities to explore
one or more construction trades that may lead to rewarding
careers in construction.
Academy adult students working on their shed project being built at the
Ketchikan Indian Community parking lot.
school students is especially important.
“We’re getting older and the younger people are not
stepping in,” he said. “We need to focus more on vocational
training in the high schools. Hopefully, the academy will
help generate more students from the high school.”
Partners include the SSEABIA, UAS-Ketchikan, Ketchikan
Gateway Borough School District, AGC of Alaska, Ketchikan
Job Center, Ketchikan Indian Community, Ketchikan
Youth Initiatives and Alaska Works Partnership.
Pam Roth is the executive officer for Southern Southeast
Building Industry Association.

Juneau’s “in school” program of the Juneau Construction
Academy, served more than 422 students in construction and
construction-related classes this school year. These classes included:
Creative Woods, Computer-Assisted Drafting, Basic Construction,
Metals and Small Engine Repair. Some 43 students participated in after
school classes in Basic Construction, Computer-Assisted Drafting and Welding.
In February, a select team of five Juneau Douglas High School students won
first place in the National Residential Construction Competition in Orlando, Fla.
(See Alaska Contractor Spring 2008, Pg. 69)
The Southeast Regional Resource Center, SERRC, facilitated the adult training
program. SERRC screened 98 applicants and trained 32 adults in Basic Construction,
Drywall, Welding, Plumbing and Heating, First Aid and CPR, OSHA 10,
Scaffolding and Forklift Safety classes. Training was coordinated with UAS-Juneau,
BY CARIN SMOLIN
Adult student Alphonozo Hampton grinding
away in the academy’s welding program. He is
now employed with Channel Construction at
the Greens Creek Mine.
Alaska Works Partnership and local
unions. The program provided assistance
with job placement and apprenticeship
applications. Charlie Carlson is
the SERRC admissions coordinator.
As a residential contractor and former
SEABIA president, Russ McDougal has
already experienced the benefit of hiring
a Construction Academy graduate.
“I was very pleased with his attitude,
desire to learn and his work ethic,”
he said.
Juneau Construction Academy partners
include the Juneau School District,
SERRC, UAS-Juneau AWP, AGC of
Alaska, Southeast Alaska Building Industry
Association, Alaska Department
of Labor and Workforce Development,
Alaska Plumbers and Pipefitters Local
262 and Juneau Building Trades Council/IBEW
1547.
Carin Smolin is the career and technical
education coordinator for the Juneau School
District.
Bob Hammer,
president of the
Alaska State Home
BY BARB ROPER
Building Association,
ASHBA, and a Kenai contractor,
remembers a time when vocational
education students built an entire
house with the guidance of a master
journeyman in the construction trades.
That memory has become a vision
for the future as Construction Academy
partners work together to bring
hands-on construction training to the
Kenai Peninsula.

Soldotna High School seniors Darren McGrady, Jackson
Kahn and Billy Duncan built this storage unit for the
school’s soccer fields. The welding department worked on
the locking system.
“I think the sky’s the limit with this
construction academy concept,” Hammer
said. He and other local homebuilders
are teaching the introductory
carpentry class to adults.
Parents, high school counselors,
contractors, voc-ed instructors and experienced
journeymen have all stepped
up to assure that the next generation of
construction workers is trained according
to best practices in the industry.
The Kenai Peninsula Construction
Academy’s after-school program was
conducted at Nikiski High
School, KCHS Workforce Development,
Soldotna High
School, Homer High School,
Ninilchik School and Susan B.
English in Seldovia. Carpentry,
plumbing, residential wiring,
framing and welding were
studied in two, four-week
sessions at each location. A
total of 56 students participated
peninsula-wide, receiving
completion certificates on
May 12. The Kenai Peninsula
Borough School District encompasses
more than 25,000
square miles, so there were
many distance-related challenges
in delivering construction
training to all areas. Many students
from the Russian villages (Voznesenka
and Nikolaevsk) traveled to Homer or
Ninilchik for training, a round trip of
more than 50 miles.
Throughout the Kenai Peninsula
there is tremendous interest in the upcoming
fall sessions.
Barb Roper is the project coordinator for
the After School Construction Academy.
The Fairbanks
Northstar Borough
School District, Youth
Construction Academy
Program graduated 23 students
May 5. Students from Ben Eielson,
Hutchison, Lathrop, North Pole and
West Valley enrolled and completed
the NCCER CORE Curriculum – Introductory
Craft Skills during the second
semester of 2008. All of the students
completing this program followed
NCCER Standards and fulfilled the required
number of instructional hours
to qualify for the NCCER Certificate
for the CORE Curriculum in Basic
Carpentry and Construction.
These very motivated students attended
the evening NCCER CORE
Class in addition to maintaining a
full-time course load as 11th- or 12thgrade
students.
The construction program has
established a solid partnership with
Alaska Works Partnership, AGC of
Alaska, Alaska State Home Builders
Association, Alaska Department
of Labor and the UAF Cold Climate
Housing Research Center based in
Fairbanks. The Fairbanks school dis-
BY GARY MUNYON

trict, community, parents and educators
are quite proud to be a part of the
six Construction Academies, which
are advancing workforce initiatives
and opportunities in construction.
Expansion of the Youth Construction
Academy to more sites with additional
course offerings is being planned
for 2008-09 in Fairbanks.
Gary Munyon is the Career and
Tech Education (CTE) Coordinator
for the Fairbanks North Star Borough
School District.
The Mat-Su Construction
Academy
has very innovative and effective construction-related
training and delivery
programs throughout the high schools
in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough
School District. These programs range
from the specialized “Project Lead The
Way” curriculum at the Career and
Technical High School (see winter
2008 issue) to the “SkillsUSA” interschool
building competitions held at
Wasilla High School and the advanced
welding program and industry partnering
at Colony High.
In a further demonstration of the
Mat-Su’s commitment to excellence,
students with construction trades
teachers Ken Rezendes, Alan Johnson
and many construction trades volunteers
have recently completed their
Weld Air employee Ben Parker gives a congratulatory handshake to Wasilla High School senior
Jake Blessent, who earned his Job Ready welding certificate through Project 232 Flux Core.
Mat-Su student designed and built home .
18th home, which was student designed
and built. A new home built by
students each year for nearly 20 years
is a real commitment.
Ray DePriest, director of the Career
and Technical Education Department
in the Valley says, “The Construction
Academy is helping provide students
with the much needed exposure to basic
construction skills.”
Seven schools districtwide have
construction tools for training and
portable training modules that can be
used year after year.
The adult component of the academy
includes basic construction in
carpentry, electrical plumbing, drywall
and surface finishes. The construction
academy in Mat- Su is well
underway with contractors looking
forward to new recruits for the summer
building season.
Partners include AGC of Alaska,
the Mat-Su Home Builders Association,
the Mat-Su Borough School District,
Alaska Works Partnership, Alaska
Department of Labor and Workforce
Development and Weld Air Alaska.
With partial funding
provided by the
Anchorage Construction
Academy, the Anchorage School
District has increased the number
of students enrolled in construction
and construction related classes significantly.
For this school year there
have been 861 students enrolled in
construction classes and 1,165 students
enrolled in construction related
classes. Read King Career Center article,
“The journeymen of tomorrow:
KCC hiring event introduces students,
employers” on Pg. 37.
Gary Gaard and Career Guide Gary Abernathy
speaks with motivated and prepared students
prior to the opening of the very successful
King Career Center Seniors/Employers Day.
Middle School students
build sheds
BY GARY MARTIN
Gruening Middle School’s (Eagle
River) Colts Construction Club began
its first season building storage sheds
as part of a new after-school program
designed to get students interested in
the field of construction. Eight girls and
10 boys met daily after school for four
weeks learning the process of building
a 4’ x 8’ storage shed complete with
a shingled roof, framed window and
a door. Students were organized in
groups of four or five and each group
built a shed. All four storage sheds were
sold within a week of completion to local
people in the community of Eagle
River. Students took great pride in each
of their sheds. Only a few students had
any kind of construction experience.
By the end of the program all students
knew the process of a building a simple
structure and could apply those skills to
larger construction projects. It also gave
students valuable insight into the various
fields of construction.

Gruening Middle School students Kimberly
Richards and Andrew Shortridge proudly
stand in front of their shed.
Spring Construction Institute
This Alaska Works Partnership added
an extra training session called the Spring
Construction Institute. The institute was
an intensive training taught by Mike
Tucker. These sessions are funded by
the Anchorage Construction Academy.
The additional training was done after
school during the regular school year.
Amanda Johnson makes a miter cut at the
Alaska Works Spring Construction Institute.
Twenty graduating seniors attended
the classes, increased their skill level in
carpentry and received certifications for:
forklift, OSHA 10 and HILTI equipment.
AWP and the Department of Labor and
Workforce Development career guides
are working with students to get them
placed with good employers this summer.
So far, 10 of these students have
been hired and we are working with
employers on the other graduates. The
Summer Construction Institute began
on May 19 for 14 graduates. DOLWD
and AWP are working together to place
the 14 students this summer also.
Freelance writer Kaylene Johnson of
Wasilla assisted in organizing and writing
portions of these essays.

Rural Alaska
As in urban Alaska, the interest in construction trades continues to increase.
Through the Denali Commission, AGC of Alaska has trained teachers and distributed
textbooks to 42 school districts this year. We are also providing funding or “seed
money” for sustainable building projects in nine schools from Klawock to Brevig Mission.
It’s much more than just a great idea.
Nenana
BY BLAIN MORRIS
Things at Nenana are moving right
along. Our boarding school, Nenana
Student Living Center, is now accepting
applications for the 2008-09 school
year. Currently, we have about 85 students
enrolled in vocational programs.
Classes include, welding (UAF dual/
credit approved), craft woods, small
engines/basic auto shop, construction
trades with CAD drafting, home economics,
culinary arts and bakery.
We’ve just finished remodeling our
new woods and construction trades
center and are very excited to be able
to expand into this new facility. Students
and staff are looking forward to
building multiple projects in the new
construction center. These will include
ATV trailers, storage sheds and snowmachine
trailers. (Funded by the Denali
Commission for sustainable projects.)
Nenana graduate Clayton Active of
Kongiganak was featured on the front
page of the Fairbanks Daily News Miner
while receiving training at the sixth
pipeline training class Nov. 15, 2007.
Nenana has many other graduates that
are excelling in the vocational fields
and apprenticeship programs throughout
the state.
The Nenana Student Living Center provides
housing for up to 88 high school students who
attend Nenana City High School. More than 40
communities throughout Alaska are represented.

Announcements
Contractor Training
AK-CESCL
• Demand continues for the AK-CESCL classes. Through
June, AGC of Alaska has certified nearly 700 attendees
in 16 AK-CESCL classes held in Anchorage, Fairbanks
and Juneau since August 2007. A very special thanks
to Alaskan Instructors Mike Travis and Eddie Packee for
their great instruction and enthusiastic support and to
Alex Zimmerman and Carl Menconi for program guidance.
Go to www.agcak.org for more information.
Stormwater Pollution
Prevention Plan
• This Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan is considered
an AK-CESCL follow-up one-day class. It is
being developed based on industry demand and will
be offered as soon as available, likely fall 2008.
Construction Quality
Management
• Construction Quality Management classes are offered
with the schedule posted on the www.agcak.org Web
site. This required course is directed toward contractors
doing business with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
CQM Certifications are valid for three years.
Coming soon
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design classes
for contractors and Building Informational Modeling,
are two in-demand classes that will be offered soon.
AGC of Alaska is looking for qualified instructors.
Build Up!
Volunteers,
sponsors needed
• Re-energized by AGC members Kevin Norton and
Vance Taylor, Build Up! is a hands-on building and
construction career promotional activities program
directed toward elementary school students.
Norton is looking for school sponsors and AGC
members to participate in Anchorage, Mat-Su,
Fairbanks and the Kenai Peninsula. Contact Norton
at (907) 349-3333, or send an e-mail to Kevin.
Norton@anchsand.com or Julia@agcak.org for
more information.
Archives
• The Alaska Contractor magazine archival issues
may be accessed online through our Web site at
www.agcak.org. A topic search engine is being
developed. Together with our Web site and “This
Week at AGC” much information on classes and
events is readily available.
An
Invitation
• We at AGC encourage you to be part of the
growing and personally rewarding opportunities
in construction education and workforce
development occurring throughout Alaska.

AGC of Alaska forms
Construction Education Foundation
BY TRACY KALYTIAK
Nearly two decades ago, the Associated
General Contractors
of Alaska faced a dilemma.
Experienced, capable workers in the
construction industry were retiring
and only a few people were stepping
into the jobs that were being vacated,
at a time when Alaska’s growing population
needed more homes to live
in, more buildings in which to work
and shop, and more roads to drive on.
Dwindling energy sources highlighted
a pressing need for construction of a
natural gas pipeline, a massive project
that would require thousands of workers
to accomplish.
“We had to take proactive action,”
said Dick Cattanach, AGC’s executive
director emeritus.
AGC of Alaska launched a flurry of
education and training initiatives that
were so successful the organization earlier
this year formed the AGC of Alaska
Construction Education Foundation,
which will independently oversee and
get funding for those programs.
“AGC is a contractor group whose
main function isn’t education,” said
Terry Fike, secretary/treasurer for the
new foundation and president of Alcan
General Inc. “Education and training
programs have spread out to such
an extent we felt it was better to move
them into a foundation. They were just
getting too big to handle as an entity
inside AGC.”
AGC is now deeply involved in a
near-statewide network of construction
academies for high-school students;
coordinates support for the
Build Up! program for older gradeschool
kids; supports a Denali Commission-funded
effort to promote
construction education in 42 school
districts throughout rural Alaska;
helps young adults access training in
the construction trades and college,
and coordinates other training courses
aimed at helping workers enhance
the knowledge they already have or
explore another specialty within the
construction industry.
“It evolved over time,” Cattanach
said. “We started really working with
the schools, trying to get them to reinstitute
some programs and then we
built up the university component.
When the state started getting a surplus
from oil price increases, we saw
that as a way to create an experimental
program, the construction academies.
Everything’s really been coming to a
head in the last five or six years.”
Cattanach said the idea for the
foundation coalesced about a year ago.
“We had got a grant the year before
for the academy in Anchorage,”
he said. “We were going to expand it
to Fairbanks. All of a sudden we found
ourselves spending more and more
time on the education component and
less and less time on the overall activities
of AGC of Alaska.”
Cattanach said they decided to
move existing construction academies,
the rural construction education program
and AGC’s training program
under the umbrella of the foundation,
along with the three full-time AGC
staff members who had handled education
and training programs and the
executive director of the construction
academy program.
“We’re going to transfer all the
grants – $250,000 from the Denali
Commission, $3.5 million from the
Department of Labor – to the foundation,”
Cattanach said. “It will be basically
self-funded. Plus, there will be
any revenues from training activities
from members.”
Cattanach said discussions are taking
place with the Alaska Housing Finance
Corp. about training its work force in
weatherization, as well as with ConocoPhillips
for pipeline-related training.
“If they want a trained work force,
they need to start training now,” Cattanach
said. “Requiring the executive
director of AGC to keep track of that
and other parts of AGC would make it
almost impossible to provide service to
our members.”
Legally, the new foundation will be
totally independent, Cattanach said,
though it will initially be housed in
AGC’s building.
Fike said a construction education
foundation opens up funding options
AGC didn’t have. Individuals may now
contribute, tax-free, to the construction
education foundation. Under AGC’s
sponsorship, contributions were only
tax-free for businesses.
“It’s one of the benefits of setting
it up the way it’s set up,” Fike said. “It’s
another avenue for collecting funds,
endowing scholarships. People in the
trades who want to move into management
but don’t have funds to train
can apply for grants. It’s an infant;
we’re just trying to get it launched.”
Fike said the model for the new
construction education foundation is a
similar program put together by AGC
of Washington state.
The foundation was approved in
March, Cattanach said, and will officially
begin functioning when the new
fiscal year begins July 1, which also
happens to be when the construction
academy grants start.
“It’s just a lot easier to finish under
the old name and start the new grants
under the new foundation,” Cattanach
said.
Nine board members have been
selected, and each will serve a oneyear
term, Fike said.
In addition to Cattanach and Fike,
members of the education foundation’s
board of directors are Jan van den Top,
president of The Superior Group Inc.;
Glen Knickerbocker, immediate past

president of AGC’s executive board
and owner of Construction Solutions of
America; AGC executive director John
MacKinnon; Robby Capps, F & W Construction
Co.; Mike Swalling, Swalling
Construction Co.; Phil Anderson, Phil
Anderson Co., and Dick Engelbretson,
Aurora Construction Supply Inc.
Foundation board members have
been drawing up a mission statement,
setting up a budget and figuring out how
to fund that budget. AGC’s training and
education directors will move over to the
foundation.
“We have plans for more construction
academies in the state but we have
to have a staff that has time to handle
the workload,” Fike said.
AGC’s training director, Bob Cress,
said the foundation will have three
components.
“One is work force development,
for people who are not in the industry
yet,” he said. “The second is education,
considered the post-secondary part after
high school, including apprenticeships.
And the third is training – offering specialty
contractor classes for people already
employed and in the industry.”
Cress said the training courses include
Alaska Certified Erosion Sediment
Control Lead (AK-CESCL) certifications,
in which nearly 700 attendees have been
certified through the AGC classes offered
through June. Other training is available
in Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) and Building Informational
Modeling (BIM), Cress said.
“We’re going to do our part to provide
opportunities for students,” Cress
said.
Cattanach said the situation now
with construction-related training and
education is no longer the way it was
back in the days when work began on
the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.
“We didn’t train Alaskans in preparation
for the jobs that would exist,” he said.
“It happened quickly. Alaska was, from a
training standpoint, unprepared. A lot of
jobs went to outsiders. This time will be
different. We’ve had enough lead time
on this so that we should be able to train
Alaskans for jobs on the gas pipeline. And
hopefully, we will have trained people so
they’ll have careers after the pipeline.”
Tracy Kalytiak is a freelance writer in
the Palmer area.

Construction Career Day introduces
500 students to careers in the industry
STORY AND PHOTOS BY EOWYN LEMAY IVEY
It’s not just that we’re getting older that these workers
look so young. The boy at the wheel of the big rig is nowhere
near 16, and the girl with the welding helmet and
cutting torch is still in high school.
These two were among hundreds of students getting to
test drive construction at the new-to-Alaska event. Construction
companies, labor unions and state and school
district groups introduced 500 high school students to hard
hats, heavy equipment and hammers at the Construction
Career Day at the Alaska State Fairgrounds in Palmer April
30. The goal: get today’s youth excited about a future in construction
trades by letting them get their hands a little dirty.
“Anytime you get to really try it, it becomes more real. You
see more possibilities,” said Mari Jo Parks, event coordinator.
Plans and funding for the career day were kicked off by
a federal Department of Transportation grant, but Parks and
others say the industry really made it possible. Partners included
the Associated General Contractors of Alaska, Alaska
Railroad Corp., Alaska Department of Labor, the National
Association of Women in Construction, Alaska Ironworkers
Training Center, Wilder Construction and Alaska Teamsters,
to name just a few of the many.
“The industry has really been driving this,” agreed Mike
Shiffer with Alaska Department of Labor. The state needs
approximately 1,000 new construction workers each year,
he said, and that doesn’t include the potential for a gas line
going in. At the same time, vocational programs in public
schools have declined during the past few decades. The industry
has stepped in to fill this void.
Colony High School student Ashley Placzek, left, gets some advice from
first-year apprentice Michael Yewell as she cuts metal with a torch.
Placzek said she would like to become an aviation mechanic.
Other career fairs in Alaska offer students a glimpse
at construction trades. What made this day different, and
hopefully more inspiring, were the hands-on activities. Outside
Raven Hall, students climbed on heavy equipment and
cut and welded metal. Inside the building, stations allowed
young people to try their hands at hammering, soldering,
painting and even surveying.
This last was Grace Amundsen’s favorite. She is a junior at
Service High School who is interested in a construction career.
“There’s a lot more here than I thought there would be,”
she said.
Her friend, sophomore Charlene Harris, said she was
expecting “millions” of boring presentations and a string of
booths to walk through. The event was a pleasant surprise.
“We get to play with the big boy toys,” she said with a grin.
Nearby, Dimond High student Leonard Dauphin was
talking concrete with Kevin Norton of Anchorage Sand &
Service High School students Grace Amundsen and Charlene Harris
try out the view from the heavy equipment at the Alaska Construction
Career Day in April. They said they were surprised how many handson
activities were available.

Gravel. They were discussing a recent
cable television program that looked
at a company’s worst nightmare – a
truck full of hardened concrete. No way
around it, Norton said. You’ve got to put
some elbow grease into it.
“I’ve chipped out numerous trucks.
But hey, you get paid by the hour,” he
joked with Dauphin.
Norton put students on the hot seat,
asking them what kind of truck he was
standing next to. No, he would say again
and again, it’s not a cement truck. Cement
is to concrete what flour is to bread,
and that, he said, is a concrete truck.
Like many of the tradespeople at the
event, Norton seemed to have a natural
way with the young people. But he’s an
old hand. For years he has been teaching
sixth-graders in the Anchorage School
District through a business partnership.
He seems to enjoy a back-and-forth camaraderie
with students, but he also has
ulterior motives.
“We are having a really difficult time
forming our crews,” Norton said. The average
age of a construction worker is 47,
he said, and, by middle school, young
people are already eliminating construction
trades from their lists of possibilities.
“I tell them, some of you might not
be destined for construction, and that’s
all right,” he said. But for at least a few, it
is a perfect fit.
“We all shine in a different light,”
he said.
Colony High student Ashley Placzek
seemed to shine in that light. She handled
a cutting torch with ease outside
Raven Hall and said she wants to go
on to be an aviation mechanic. She and
the other students who came through
the station impressed Michael Yewell, a
first-year apprentice who was instructing
the torch cutting. He said the teenagers
were eager and paying attention
even while they were standing in the
long line waiting their turn.
And a few of the students went above
and beyond in taking advantage of the
opportunities the career day offered.
“I got three jobs lined up today,” said
Palmer High senior David Needham,
who hopes to someday be a plumber
or do mechanical work on the North
Slope. He said a series of family and
friend connections, combined with the
trade representatives at the fair, allowed
him to get three apprenticeship possi-

ilities during the few hours he was at
the fairgrounds. He had just learned of
the career day that morning.
He was lucky to get a last-minute
spot. Coordinator Parks said they were
only able to offer 500 Mat-Su Valley
and Anchorage students the chance
to attend, and they had to fill out an
application showing their interest. She
said she is hopeful the Construction
Career Day will become an annual
event and expand each year, allowing
more students to attend.
Parks said she especially wants to
reach freshmen and sophomores so
they can begin to take appropriate
classes and get involved with vocational
programs. She said in her role as
a career planner she often asks young
people to write down every job they
can think of.
“They hardly think of construction
at all,” she said.
This is a national trend the industry
is trying to buck. Like others
at the career day, Parks observed that
the construction workforce is aging
and that not enough young people
are coming on. She said events such
as the one at the fairgrounds have
become popular across the United
States in recent years.
In addition to hammering nails
and cutting pipes, students could also
browse information booths to learn
about programs such as the Mat-Su
Career & Technical High School, the
Mat-Su Job Center and the Alaska Vocational
Technical Center.
Kevin Norton of Anchorage Sand & Gravel,
left, cracks jokes with Dimond High student
Leonard Dauphin. The Alaska Construction
Career Day was an opportunity to introduce
young people to trades that will desperately
need workers in the next years.
Wearing hard hats, groups of teenagers
migrated around Raven Hall to
gather advice on writing resumes and
collect hand-outs on what employers
look for in new hires – problem solving
skills, pride in work, good manners
and the ability to manage stress.
But at the end of the day, it was the
tools and big equipment that grabbed
the students’ attention.
“Come on,” Grace Amundsen
called out to her friend after completing
her interview. “Let’s go find something
else to climb on.”
Eowyn LeMay Ivey is a freelance
writer who lives in the Chickaloon area.

The journeymen of tomorrow
STORY AND PHOTOS BY HEATHER A. RESZ
Kevin Norton with Anchorage Sand and Gravel visits with South High School
graduates Robert Russell and Kevin Stark at a hiring event April 11 sponsored by the
King Career Center Senior Job Club.
A
first of its kind hiring event
brought together 36 Anchorage
construction industry employers
with 55 King Career Center students
April 11 in an effort to introduce
employers to students who are
ready to work.
Businesses affiliated with AGC of
Alaska, the Alaska Homebuilders or
the Association of Builders and Contractors
of Alaska were invited to meet
students, get their resumes and consider
them for summer positions at
their businesses.
“Students are ready to go to work
– literally,” said Gary Abernathy,
who organized the event with Laura
Hohman. The two are career guides
with the Department of Labor and
Workforce Development.
Sponsored by the career center’s
Senior Job Club, the event showcased
Anchorage School District students
from the Construction Academy and
King Career Center carpentry class
who said they were interested in construction
careers and who also met a
list of other requirements. Of those
students, 20 were graduates from the
Construction Academy.
Abernathy said the job club and
its hiring event grew out of a couple
of meetings he and Hohman had with
industry representatives.
“Employers recognize they needed
to be more involved and active,” Abernathy
said. “Companies know they
need to hire these students.”
At the first meeting they asked
employers about the hiring hurdles in
the construction industry. The second
meeting focused on solutions, he said.
“We are taking the suggestions of
the industry instead of doing our own
thing,” Abernathy said.
Anne Williams, KLEBS human resources
administrator, praised the hiring
event.
“I’ve been to a million of these
events,” she said. “I’m just blown away.
This is the best fair I’ve ever seen.”
Josh Sundstrom with Willowridge
Construction brought a secret weapon for
sizing up the candidates: Justin Rhoades.
“I already have a job, so I’m just kind
of here helping my boss,” Rhoades said.
Sundstrom hired Rhoades this spring
after meeting him at a Homebuilders
meeting he’d attended with Abernathy
and Hohman. Sundstrom hired him at
Dale Barkley with Builder’s Choice visits with East High
School graduate Rigoberto Gomez-Garcia at the April
11 hiring event. Some 36 businesses and 55 King Career
Center students participated in the first-time event.
the meeting and put him to work parttime
that afternoon, he said.
“I started out that way working as
a young guy,” Sundstrom said. “These
are the journeymen of tomorrow.”
He said he plans to hire two or
three students this summer.
Total, 15 students were hired within
a few days of the event and more are
expected to go to work as the season
gets underway.
Hohman said she hopes the hiring
fair will be an annual spring event.
Robert Cress, education coordinator
for AGC of Alaska, described the
“One Stop Shop” the career center Abernathy
and Hohman operate at KCC
as effective, innovative and unique in
Alaska. “They are making the very difficult
connection between students in
school and jobs.”
AGC members who participated
in the event were: Alaska Demolition
LLC, Anchorage Sand and Gravel,
Central Paving, Comanche Corp.,
Cornerstone Construction Inc., Door
Specialties of Alaska, Holland Roofing
Company Inc., Knik Construction
Company Inc., Raven Electric, Spenard
Builders Supply, Ukpik LLC, Unit
Company, Wilder Construction Company
and Wire Communications.
Senior editor Heather A. Resz is an
Alaska writer who lives in the Wasilla area.

First UAA graduates earn four-year
construction management degree
BY TRACY KALYTIAK
S even
years ago, Lynnette Warren was driving south on Old
Seward Highway near O’Malley when a truck suddenly
slammed into the right front side of her Nissan Sentra.
“My grandmother was visiting from Idaho,” Warren said.
“We were going to pick up some shampoo stuff for her hair
and get some lunch. He pulled out from the Mapco station
without making sure no one was coming.”
Her grandmother wasn’t injured, but Warren felt excruciating
pain after the adrenaline from the experience subsided.
The crash had damaged discs in her back and neck.
Warren was a 12-year journeyman carpenter who had
done everything from installing metal studs to welding to
pouring concrete to finish work. Six days a week, 10 to 12
hours a day, she routinely did things like hoisting and muscling
12-foot, 5/8-inch sheets of Sheetrock that weighed
more than 100 pounds.
That crash injury ended Warren’s career, but set her on an
academic trajectory that ended with a job orchestrating the
intricate Glenn Highway widening project in Anchorage.
In May, Warren became one of the first four people – and
the only woman, so far – to receive a Bachelor of Science
degree in the University of Alaska Anchorage fledgling construction
management program.
UAA’s construction management program is in its fourth
year, and more than 100 students have chosen it as a major,
said Jeff Callahan, director of UAA’s CM department.
The program offered associate-level courses until February
2007, when UA’s board of regents approved the expansion
of the two-year CM program into a four-year Bachelor
of Science program.
Construction management students can tackle a variety
of jobs – construction foreman to construction management,
cost estimators, project superintendents, field engineers, assistant
field engineers, working in government agencies,
Callahan said.
Warren, 43, is a project engineer with CIRI-affiliated
Alaska Interstate Construction.
She accepted that position in March 2007, after twice
serving the company as an intern while earning her construction
management degree.
“I did the Tok road reconstruction in the summer of
2006,” Warren said of her first internship. “I’ve done the Eureka
paving from Miles 118 to 127. On each of those I was
project engineer.”
Warren worked on the first phase of the Port of Anchorage
expansion and will oversee the resurfacing of Merrill
Field this summer in addition to organizing the widening of
the Glenn Highway.
Lynnette Warren, a project engineer for AIC, was the first woman to
graduate from UAA’s new construction management bachelor’s degree
program in May.
“It’s called multi-tasking,” Warren laughed. “We have
two engineers on the Glenn project because it’s so massive.
It’s a big deal; we want to make sure we cover our bases.”
The crux of the $14-million Glenn project, Warren says,
is eliminating the bottleneck where the highway splits into
Fifth and Sixth avenues and creating three lanes east and
west all the way through.
“It’s a big project,” she said. “There’s lots of traffic. We
hope people will be nice to us. Keep in mind that at the end
it’s going to be better.”
Warren’s career in the construction industry began when
she was 27 years old, after she applied for and earned admission
into a carpenter’s training apprenticeship program.
“I’d worked as a security guard, I worked at Safeway,
got a lot of training in the social service industry,” Warren
said. “Nothing clicked. I’ve done a lot of different things
– from working on a fish processor to working for CSP as
a medic.”
Carpentry work suited Warren, and satisfied her desire
to see something substantial taking shape as a result of
her toil.
“See, I like building stuff, I like making things happen,
seeing an end result after you do something,” Warren said.
“That’s probably the biggest thing. I can go and I can drive
around town and say OK, I built that, or I did that and a lot of
people can’t do that. They shuffle paperwork and the paperwork’s
gone and they don’t have anything, an end result, that
they can physically show somebody, ‘Hey, I did this.’”

The crash forced Warren to examine
her life and what she would have
to do to create a new livelihood.
“You go through the panic, the depression,
the denial,” she said. “It’s just
how you deal.”
Warren spoke to a vocational rehabilitation
counselor and learned
that there were plans to launch a construction
management degree program
at UAA.
“Instead of going into something
that I didn’t have any relation to, I
chose to go into construction management,”
she said. “I found resources, got
scholarships, got loans. Vocational rehab
helped me. It wasn’t easy – I was
on food stamps for awhile. It was kind
of a dramatic time in my life. It only
takes two seconds and your life as you
know it can be done.”
The most challenging course Warren
took in the CM curriculum was statics.
“The last time I had calculus was
1984,” she explained. “I did well in it
the first time I took it, but just trying to
remember back that far … that’s probably
the most challenging, trying to
remember the stuff you took beforehand.
It’s not like I just got out of high
school and it’s all fresh and new. It was
a challenge to get back into the math
type of thing. And I’m good at math.”
That grounding served Warren well
in her CM courses.
“You can’t move dirt without knowing
how much you’ve got to move, how
much it’s going to take to fill a hole or
how much you’ve got to take out of a
hole to put a building into it or to build
a road or any of those type things,” she
said. “It all comes down to your basics,
math and English. If you don’t have
those, you can’t do anything.”
The newly instituted CM curriculum,
presented by instructors with experience
in the field, taught Warren a
complex network of financial and organizational
skills that result in a successfully
completed construction endeavor.
Warren said that at the beginning
of a project, probably 90 percent of it is
all computer-based: figures, facts, paperwork,
trying to get things ready, ordering
materials, doing research on the
phone, calling people, getting quotes.
“Adding up the numbers so you
know where you can get the best deal
for whatever you’re buying or whatever

subcontract you need on your job,” she
said. “As the project goes on, you don’t
have all your pre-stuff you’ve got to
do, so it’s just basically follow-up. Bit
by bit, it gets more where you’re out in
the field and you get to do more out in
the field. Plus, there’s more out in the
field that you’ve got to keep track of.”
Warren said the skills she acquired in
the classroom now help her considerably
when she is faced with paperwork on the
job. She is able to develop spreadsheets
for quantity calculations and other tasks,
which enables her to streamline her paper
workload considerably.
“Once you develop it, you have it,”
she said, “and you don’t have to do it
again. You just enter in your numbers
and the spreadsheet does it for you.
That makes it kind of nice, to be able
to develop that stuff to help you out.”
Warren said the CM courses offered
her tutelage in basic, general project
management. She took courses that
covered such topics as soils, cost estimating,
civil and architectural drafting,
construction law, financial management
and statics.
Courses in the CM curriculum are
closely tied to the industry that needs
and supports it, Callahan has said. The
curriculum was designed in accordance
with requirements of the American
Council for Construction Education,
according to UAA’s CM Web site.
Callahan and other architectural and
engineering technology faculty at UAA
first discussed the possibility of forming
a CM program in 2001, but a needsassessment
survey done the following
year by UAA’s David E. Gunderson, Dr.
Jang W. Ra, Dr. Herb Schroeder and H.R.
Holland accelerated their efforts, sparking
conversations between industry and
academia representatives and bringing
forth Alaska’s first CM program.
The survey stated that while Alaska’s
construction industry contributes
7.5 percent of a $24.4-billion gross state
product, and is expected to experience
a 27-percent increase in employment
from 2005 to 2045, the closest postsecondary
construction education program
was situated 2,435 miles away, at
the University of Washington. Alaska
was one of seven states – Delaware,
Hawaii, New Hampshire, Vermont,
West Virginia and Wyoming – without
a CM program. The other states (with
the exception of Hawaii) were located
within 260 miles of a university with a
CM program, however.
“The purpose of this research effort
was to investigate the perceived
needs of Alaskan contractors in hiring
entry level construction management
personnel,” according to the survey.
Ninety-nine people in the construction
industry – most of them general contractors
– returned their surveys, which
indicated the need for approximately 31
CM graduates annually. Respondents
said they would be willing to pay an average
starting annual salary of $39,004
to someone with little or no experience,
but an average starting salary of $42,233
to a CM graduate with six months of
internship work experience.
“The required skills identified in the
survey will be used as a basis to develop
a new construction management program
curriculum specific to the unique
Alaskan environment,” wrote the survey
authors. “These findings correlate
well with existing research that predicts
the supply and demand for construction
education graduates nationwide
and indicate the need for a Construction
Management Bachelor of Science
degree program in Alaska.”
Salary levels for construction managers
in this state have risen considerably.
The annual mean wage for the
880 construction managers employed
in Alaska in May 2007 was $96,790,
according to figures compiled that
month by the U.S. Department of Labor’s
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those
figures did not include information
about the number of years of collegelevel
coursework those construction
managers had completed.
The top-paying state, according to
those statistics, was New York, with
an annual mean wage of $122,580 for
construction managers.
Callahan was teaching in a two-year
AET program back when the Gunderson
needs assessment survey emerged.
When they started to look at the
development of CM curriculum, half
of the courses were already ready
– building codes and standards, methods
of building construction. Callahan
and his colleague then developed civil
and building cost estimating, scheduling,
construction safety and construction
project management courses.
“We essentially leveraged existing
courses and added new courses
essentially dealing with CM subjects
and were able to create a viable twoyear
degree program,” Callahan said
in a 2007 Contractor interview. “We
always had in mind a four-year degree
was going to come behind it in
a short period of time. We knew the
associate degree that was in place
was designed as the first two years of
a four-year degree. It’s rare in higher
education to have that kind of design
to that program.”
Warren said many of her instructors
brought with them a background
in construction.
“Some of them have been out of
the construction industry, as far as
working in it, for a number of years,”
Warren said. “But in my equipment
course, they brought in someone from
the field to teach us what he’s doing
right now. He told us, ‘This is what I do
on my job, how I keep track of equipment,
costs.’ He showed us spreadsheets
that he uses. It was more reallife,
up-to-date type stuff, which was
very helpful.”
Warren said the courses she took
as part of the CM bachelor’s program
hadn’t been taught before at UAA.

A back injury forced Lynnette Warren to leave
her career as a journeyman carpenter in 2001.
She received training for a new career in
construction management at UAA and was
one of four people in May who received a
Bachelor of Science in Construction
Management degree from the university.
“We were the guinea pigs,” she
laughed. “For it being a new course right
out of the box, they do a pretty good
job. Over time, overall, it will improve
and be a program to be proud of for the
university and the state of Alaska.”
Construction is a good career in
Alaska, she said.
“Look around us,” Warren said.
“In the 30 years I’ve lived here, things
have changed so much. The construction
industry is just growing leaps and
bounds. The gas pipeline goes through,
you don’t even want to know what
the construction is going to be like.
I mean, when the gas pipeline goes
through, we’ll have probably another
100,000 people here in town added to
what we already got. So construction,
it ain’t going away.
“We don’t have enough stuff to support
the people we have here already,
so it’s going to continually grow and
we’ll just keep growing with it.”
Tracy Kalytiak is a freelance writer in
the Palmer area.

CM students intern
at Anchorage construction firms
BY TRACY KALYTIAK
Nate Seymour had been enrolled
in the civil engineering program at the
University of Alaska Anchorage for a
year when he decided the classes just
weren’t a good fit for him.
He thought UAA’s new construction
management program might be a
better choice.
“I had always really enjoyed construction
and thought it would be a rewarding
industry to get into,” Seymour
said. “That next fall I started in the CM
program and have really enjoyed it
ever since.”
That was three years ago. Seymour
is now working at Davis Constructors
and Engineers Inc. to fulfill the CM
coursework’s internship requirement.
“I have been doing paperwork
such as submittals and daily reports, a
little bit of quantity takeoffs and cost
estimating, and helping do SWPPP
(Storm Water Pollution Prevention
Plan) inspections,” Seymour said of
his internship at Davis, which he began
earlier this year and is expected to
complete in September.
Seymour has worked as a laborer
and carpenter for a residential construction
company and a commercial
contractor in Anchorage, but says his
time at Davis is providing a muchneeded
opportunity for him to apply
his classroom knowledge in a realworld
work environment.
“Davis is an incredible company,”
he said. “I am learning more now than
I have ever learned before. After my
internship, I believe I will have a better
understanding of the entire construction
process.”
Seymour says he is most interested
in high-rise and large commercial buildings,
as well as in LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design).
Jeff Callahan, director of UAA’s CM
program, says there are more than 100
students taking CM courses. Each student
seeking an associate degree must
complete a three-credit internship
course, with a total of
220 hours spent in a
workplace setting.
Those students
who pursue a bachelor’s
degree must
attend a weekly class,
complete regular written
assignments and
complete a journal
documenting their onthe-job
experiences.
“We’ve got interns
at nearly every major
construction firm in
town,” Callahan said
of the CM interns.
“Some work all summer
and into the
school year. Students are required to
arrange their own employment.”
Callahan says UAA’s career services
center provides a link between companies
that need skilled employees and students
who need to complete internships.
Companies interested in taking on
an intern may post an ad for free on the
UAA career services center’s Web site,
http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/careerservices/index.cfm.
Dan Sandvik, superintendent of
the Clark Middle School construction
project for Davis Constructors, says he
has supervised “two or three” interns.
“We try to get these kids while
they’re young, impressionable, and
train them the way we want them to
be trained,” Sandvik said.
One of those interns, Sheen Bjelland,
later became a Davis employee,
Sandvik said.
“He’s been working on submittals,
he’s been working on shop drawings,
change-orders, RFIs, substitution requests,”
Sandvik said of Bjelland. “He’s
doing great, he’s doing us a good job.
Sandvik said he has known Bjelland
for years.
“Sheen used to work out in the
field as a Sheetrock taper,” Sandvik said.
Former UAA CM intern Sheen Bjelland, now of Davis
Constructors, works on the Clark Middle School construction project.
“Being in the construction background
helped him step ahead of anybody else.”
Jerry Bryant, project manager for
Davis Constructors, has been working
with Bjelland for about a year.
“I keep him pretty busy,” Bryant
said. “He was just going to be
on for about three months but I put
him on permanent because he does
a good job for me and he’s going to
school. That was my requirement,
that he keep going to school. I think
right now he’s working on finishing
up his associate’s and going for his
bachelor’s. Every semester he comes
to me and asks about what courses
he should take, what courses would
benefit him in his job.”
Bjelland now runs the company’s
safety plan and does all of its safety
orientations, Sandvik said.
“He has a better understanding of
what we’re asking, of just grasping it,”
Sandvik said. “Anytime you get anyone
in the industry who’s been in the field
for a while, they’re much more knowledgeable
in the office. It’s always a
great combination.”
Tracy Kalytiak is a freelance writer in
the Palmer area.

BY HEATHER A. RESZ
n May, the National Association of Women in Construction’s
Alaska Chapter received the Region 9 “Construction
Industry Benefit” award for its partnership with the
Girl Scouts Susitna Council.
For the second year in a row, the Alaska Chapter partnered
with the Girl Scouts to provide a day of construction
activities, called “Breaking New Ground to Build the Future,”
for about 200 first- to 12th-grade students.
Program coordinator Chris Jett said the chapter previously
sponsored the Block Kids competition in the Anchorage
School District as a way introduce students to careers in
the construction industry.
This year NAWIC members decided to expand the day’s
events to include more in-depth learning about opportunities
in the construction industry, she said.
The March 22 Breaking New Ground event was divided
into morning and afternoon sessions that moved Girl
Scouts through various stations where they learned skills
like using a hand saw, swinging a hammer, reading plans,
using a power drill and screw gun, crimping conduit, read-
Makenna Tresnak, with Brownie Girl Scout Troop 590, practices using a hand saw March 22 at a day of construction activities called “Breaking New
Ground to Build the Future” sponsored by the National Association of Women in Construction’s Alaska Chapter and Girl Scouts Susitna Council.
Girl Scouts completed a lesson on construction safety before moving
onto the hands-on portion. About 200 first- to 12th-grade students
participated. Next year’s event will move to larger quarters March 28,
2009, at the BP Energy Center.

Girl Scouts earned this patch for
participating in the “Breaking New Ground
to Build the Future” event.
Girl Scouts in first through third grade built
birdhouses from kits.
ing a tape measure, mixing concrete
and stripping wire.
Jett said both sessions began with
a general overview that introduced
Girl Scouts to basic information about
safety information and what contractors
do.
The day also included four separate
Block Kids Competitions, with
between 30 to 45 scouts in each.
Jett said it was an interesting challenge
designing learning opportunities
that would be age-appropriate for
students in grades first to 12th. Girl
Scouts in first to third grades used a kit
to build a birdhouse. While other Girl
Scouts built note holders and miniature
saw horses, she said.
“Many people who love construction
are more tactile by nature,” she said.
The International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers and the Associated
Builders and Contractors of Alaska
provided apprentices at the event who
showed Girl Scout skills such as how
to crimp conduit and how to strip wire
and make connections.
Jett said it was invaluable to have
the young women apprentices working
with high school students at the event.
“They really saw them as role
models,” she said. “It’s different when
it’s a girl who is very close to their own
age talking about the opportunities in
construction.”
After this year’s event, Jett said organizers
met to talk about what they’d
like to do different next year. At the
top of that list is finding a bigger facility
to host the 2009 event, she said.
“We’d like to be able to accommodate
as many as 500 scouts.”
Jett said Girl Scouts also received
a program patch to signify their participation
and completion of the day’s
projects.
Senior editor Heather A. Resz is an Alaska
writer who lives in the Wasilla area.

Anchorage Assemblyman Chris Birch admires the view
from the south windows of the ballroom in the new
Dena’ina Convention Center during a walk-through
inspection by the Anchorage Assembly in March.
Destination
Downtown:
The Changing Face
of Anchorage
STORY AND PHOTOS BY ROB STAPLETON
It’s a bit funny when you think about how Anchorage
got its start on the banks of Ship Creek and
the Knik Arm as a railroad camp. Selected as the
mid-point construction ca mp for the Alaska Railroad
– Anchorage full of tough workers was soon to
grow into its own city.
Tents lined the creek and a smattering of single-
and two-story buildings rose from the mud to
eventually become Alaska’s largest city.
A trip by dog team from Seward along the Johnson
Trail, by boat, or the railroad were the only means of
traversing the mountains and waters of southcentral Alaska
into the upper Cook Inlet in the early days.
In 1915 the U.S. government auctioned off 655 50’ x 140’
lots in three days. The first lot sold for $825 – today the same
downtown lot could sell for more than $1 million.
Downtown Anchorage is far different from those gold
rush days of the early 1900s. Today it bustles with businesses,
restaurants, conventions and travelers eager to experience
the wonders of Alaska.
Some say that the motivation to rebuild Anchorage came
from the disaster and destruction of the 1964 earthquake,
Anchorage has always spiced up the city with plants, now hanging plants are part of the
streetlights along Fourth, Fifth and Sixth avenues. Beyond this hanging plant in front of
Cafe Savannah is the recently remodeled JC Penney’s downtown parking garage.
others say planning and vision are driving the city to revitalize
its downtown.
Despite the rivalry between Anchorage and other Alaska
cities, there is no denying the face of downtown Anchorage
is changing into a major metropolitan city.
An entity called Destination Downtown is facilitating
the 11 major construction projects taking place downtown.
It also is responsible for the thrust of the makeover at downtown
Anchorage – to keep Anchorage as a contemporary
northern latitude city with amenities that support the lively
lifestyles of the community throughout the entire year.
“Anchorage is a cosmopolitan city with a downtown that

A tourist walks along Fifth Avenue between the Egan Convention and
Visitors Center and the Alaska Center for Performing Arts across from
Town Square. As part of the joining of the Egan and the new Dena’ina
Convention Center a community gathering focus will shift blocks south
away from downtown Fifth Avenue to Seventh Avenue.
will eventually grow up – as in there is little new space to expand,”
said Patty DeMarco, past president of the Anchorage
Economic Development Corporation in the late 1990s.
How right she was.
Evidence of DeMarco’s observations are now showing
themselves with the addition of a new parking garage,
the remodeling of the $106 million Anchorage Museum of
History and Art that is expanding by 80,000 square feet at
the Rasmuson Center, the Augustine Energy Center, Pacillo
Parking Garage and the Dena’ina Convention and Visitors
Center.
Perhaps the most obvious change downtown is the museum
expansion designed by David Chipperfield Architects.
The mirror silver building to the east of other downtown
Anchorage projects will reflect the skyline of its neighbors to
the west. Alcan General was brought on board as the general
contractor in August 2005, and has a myriad of subcontractors
and suppliers currently working on the project.
“A key element of any thriving city is a vibrant downtown,”
said Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. “That’s true for downtown
Anchorage as we continue to make improvements.”
The largest construction zone ongoing today is located in a
quadrant between 5th Avenue and 8th Avenue from A Street
to F Street just behind City Hall to the west to just across the
street from the new Federal Building along A Street.
Surrounding streets only blocks away from cranes, loaders
and man-lifts are also showing improvements in lighting,
signage, sidewalks and new condominium developments.
The changing complexion of downtown Anchorage has
been in the works for more than 20 years. Today’s construction
is not only necessary but has been the vision of a core
group of community leaders.
Among them Begich, much like former mayors George
Wuerch, Tony Knowles and Rick Mystrom, has supported
the concept of making downtown attractive not only to visitors
but to Anchorage residents.
“There may be small growing pains associated with the
changes, but the outcome will positively benefit Anchorage
residents as well as downtown business owners,” says Begich.
Anchorage Assembly
members bask in light
reflected into the new
Dena’ina Convention
Center from the Atwood
Building in a special event
meeting room to the east of
the main ballroom.
The growing pains have annoyed some downtown business
owners who have seen a drop in revenues due to a lack
of parking downtown. The Dena’ina Center project closed
off parking for one city block square and rendered E Street
and F Street one way between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue.
To make matters worse, the Anchorage Parking Authority
reduced parking times downtown for metered parking
and increased the rates. One downtown restaurant owner
in favor of the new convention center can hardly wait for the
project to finish.
“I lost over $50,000 last year alone because of the lack of
parking,” said Alex Vargas, co-owner of Café Savannah. The
café is popular with downtown workers as it is located on
6th Avenue directly in front of the Pacillo Garage and across
from Town Square.
As a winter city, facilitating drivers is a necessity as Vargas
experienced.

The changing skyline of downtown Anchorage can be seen above and behind the Port of Anchorage, which is undergoing a $700 million renovation
to add 1.8 miles of dockage to facilitate container ships, barges and petroleum tankers.
“It’s all about parking and the new garage will draw local
people, once its finally done,” said Vargas. After buying two
buildings side-by-side on 6th Avenue, Vargas has rented one
of them to a new wine store called “Grape Expectations.”
“The beauty of this is it will also attract more local businesses
to get in on the action, which will attract more people to
the restaurant and wine store – I can hardly wait,” said Vargas.
Despite the growing pains planners see the changes as a
new magnet for downtown activity.
“There will be a trickle down effect, more restaurants,
more business, and the use of the Dena’ina as a community
center and the focal point to the arts district,” said Rollie Reid,
project manager for RIM Architects. “I wouldn’t be surprised
if this didn’t trigger another hotel tower in downtown or
expansion to the current downtown hotels, it’s an economic
generator we think.”
On the corner to the east of Vargas, the JC Penney Garage,
managed by the Anchorage Development Authority, has been
completely upgraded, painted inside and out and the first floor
snack shack was removed to add more sidewalk space.
After 50 years of rebuilding Anchorage, Alaska construction
companies are well aware of the differences between

southern U.S. building techniques and
those needed to build in the sub-Arctic.
Considered the air crossroad of the
world in the 1950s up until the end of
the 1980s, today Anchorage status as
an Arctic city is bolstered by its geographic
position for air cargo.
Ted Stevens Anchorage International
Airport’s No. 1 landed weight
for cargo in the U.S. is not lost on FedEx
and UPS, both of which have hubs
here along with Northwest Air Cargo
which uses the airport as a fuel stop
and freight transfer station.
Located between Europe and China
at the top of the world makes Anchorage
a top competitor with major
cities in the world.
Taking advantage of the city’s winter
attributes Anchorage is now billing
itself as a winter city.
“The changes will not only help
increase business downtown, but projects
such as the ice-free sidewalks in
the downtown core will help make Anchorage
a true winter city,” Begich said.
Widened sidewalks with rounded
corners on the streets that access both
the Egan Convention and Visitors
Center and the soon-to-be-completed
Dena’ina Convention and Civic Center
will be heated to keep them clear of
ice and snow for convention-goers.
The new $107 million Dena’ina
Convention Center built by Neeser
Construction is meant to showcase the
Convention Center District of downtown
Anchorage, according to Begich.
The Dena’ina is slated to open in
October with the new Linny Pacillo
Parking Garage built by Davis Constructors
and Engineers Inc. opening
in September.
Across the street from the Atwood
Building just next to the Dena’ina Civic
Center the $37 million Pacillo Garage
will host 836 parking spots in its 10story
structure. The bottom floor will
be filled with retail, a restaurant and a
branch of the Northrim Bank.
“At the same time that this is opening,
the Egan Center will be getting a
renovation to upgrade it to the standard
of the Dena’ina Center,” Begich said.
The Egan Center is receiving a muchneeded
facelift, new carpet, paint, named
rooms and alcoves and some redecoration
to fit the theme of the Dena’ina.
“The Egan Center has been a wellused
venue by the city, its residents and
Workers, complete with safety harnesses,
belay via a cable system to install windows
and retainers on the outside of the Linny
Pacillo Parking Garage.

Construction workers use a man-lift to put
the final touches on the windows at the top of
the 10-story Linny Pacillo Parking Garage.
as a venue for the ACVB (Anchorage
Convention and Visitors Bureau), according
to Larry Cash with RIM Architects.
The $107 million construction
project in Downtown Anchorage is on
budget and on time, with more than
85-95 percent of the project completed,
with the building considered substantially
complete according to Reid,
a principal at RIM Architects, the
group responsible for the Dena’ina
Civic and Convention Center design.
“The site work is now ongoing with
the change in the season to summer.”
The project budget includes the
land cost, building design, construction,
streetscape, financing costs,
management, art, some of the Egan
renovation work, as well as an operating
reserve, F Street redevelopment,
furnishings and equipment, said Kent
Crandall of Rise Alaska, the project
manager for the center.
The new center’s construction and
operations are funded by a 4 percent
increase in the hotel/motel bed tax.
The convention bureau operates the
facility and books its events.
Developers and the convention
bureau are finding that Anchorage has
a lot to offer as a year-round city both
to its residents and visitors.
Reid said “These new amenities
give visitors more to see while they
are here, and offers local business a
chance to grow.”
Coming soon to the downtown
skyline is the 596,000 square foot Augustine
Energy Center on the corner of
6th Ave between G and H streets. The
21-story building will have 365,000
rentable square feet with 14,566 square
feet of rentable retail space. Owned by
NANA Development Corp. and Augustine
Land LLC, construction will
be completed by Neeser Construction
Inc. and is designed by kpb architects
and LMN Architects.
Supporting the downtown Anchorage
construction are improvements to
the access streets E and F. Along this
corridor the new multi-use Crystal
Plaza is planned in accordance with
the Anchorage Comprehensive Plan.
The Crystal Plaza seeks to build a
mixed-use structure similar to what
the city’s comprehensive plan recommends,
according to Chris Schutte,
with Destination Downtown.
“Most of the design guidelines are
to develop a mixed-use structure with
ground level retail and pedestrian
amenities, to integrate parking, provide
a rooftop garden, put high density
residential units on the top, and use
massing and stepping techniques that
can provide wind protection, maximize
sunlight and minimize shadows,
said Schutte.
The cornerstone to all of these projects
is a plan to further enhance Town
Square, an open air multi-use gathering
place that is set in the center of the
Downtown Anchorage right on the
doorstep of the Alaska Center for the
Performing Arts.
The plan calls for more shrubs and
greenery, a summer fountain that will
double as a skating rink in the winter,
tiling, brickwork and additional seating.
In effect the changes to downtown
Anchorage will draw the focus a block
more to the south where the new
Dena’ina Convention Center will become
the meeting place of choice, according
to Cash with RIM Architects.
“We believe that all of these changes
will make Anchorage a more vital and
cosmopolitan city,” said Cash.
Rob Stapleton is a longtime Alaskan
reporter and photographer.

Steel bridge
team wins
regional
competition
BY HEATHER A. RESZ
The University of Alaska Fairbanks steel bridge team
finished first in the 2008 ASCE/AISC regional Student
Steel Bridge competition at the American Society
of Civil Engineers Pacific Northwest Conference at
Portland State University.
The team also finished eighth among 41 teams that competed
in the 2008 National Student Steel Bridge Competition
May 23-24 at the University of Florida – Gainesville,
according to team member Jacob Horazdovsky. He also is
the vice president of the student chapter of the Associated
General Contractors of Alaska at UAF.
“It was a blast,” Horazdovsky said of his experience
competing.
Jennifer M. Towler, Fairbanks branch manager of AGC of
Alaska, said AGC contributed funding support for the team
to compete at the regional and national levels.
“We are awfully proud of our local chapter and they always
seem to do well,” she said.
The six-member team was among 16 teams from universities
across the Pacific Northwest competing in the annual
regional contest, which requires students to design and build
a 20-foot steel bridge capable of supporting 2,500 pounds,
according to a UAF press release announcing the team’s win
at the regional contest.
Competition rules require teams to follow a set of complicated
rules for the bridge’s design and assembly. Teams are
then judged on how quickly they can assemble their bridge,
as well as the aesthetics of the structure and its construction
economy, lightness, stiffness and structural efficiency,
according to the press release.
Team adviser and engineering professor Leroy Hulsey
said class members who make up the team began design on
the bridge this spring semester.
“They did the bulk of construction over spring break,”
he said.
Some team members put in up to 40 to 50 hours a week
on this one class, Hulsey said.
“Most team members put in many hours beyond what is
required for a three-credit class,” he said. “It’s not a trivial task.”
UAF teams have proven tough competitors at the regional
and national levels of this contest since 1992, including winning
the national competition in 1993 and 1996 and finishing
fourth in the nation in 1995. In 1998 the team’s steel bridge
design also was used to obtain a provisional patent.
Members of the UAF steel bridge team pose with their winning bridge
at the 2008 regional student steel bridge competition in Portland, Ore.
Pictured, top row, from left, is Larry Mosley, Jonathan Hutchison, team
adviser Leroy Hulsey, Nick Belmont and Ricky Pitts; and front row,
from left, Jacob Horazdovsky and Elliot Wilson.
Following are the team’s regional and national scores:
Regional
• Construction Speed 5th
• Lightness 1st
• Aesthetics 2nd
• Stiffness 3rd
• Economy 1st
• Efficiency 2nd
• Overall 1st
National
• Construction Speed 11th
• Lightness 8th
• Display 5th
• Stiffness 21st
• Economy 9th
• Efficiency 12th
• Overall 8th
In 2003 and 2005, teams from UAF won the regional competition
and took sixth place at the national level both years.
Last year students sacrificed a year of competition to plan
and host the 2007 ASCE/AISC Pacific Northwest Regional
Student Conference and Student Steel Bridge Competition.
They added a special Alaska event: A concrete snowshoe
race where teams competed for the fastest time through a
course in their concrete shoes.
For more information about the UAF steel bridge building
team visit www.alaska.edu/uaf/cem/cee/.
Senior editor Heather A. Resz is a writer who lives in the
Wasilla area.

CONTRACTORS & THE LAW
Union benefit trust risks
A March 2008 decision by the Alaska Supreme Court has
demonstrated that routine communications between contractors
and union benefit trusts over normal business matters
can create unexpected liabilities to both the contractor
and the trust fund.
Since the late 1980s, a long-established Anchorage construction
contractor had been making contributions to the
bricklayer’s trust fund to cover health insurance benefits not
only for the contractor’s union employees, but also for its
nonunion employees.
In 1991, the bricklayer’s trust merged with a similar
trust for the benefit of three local carpenters’ unions to
form the Southern Alaska Carpenters Health and Security
Trust Fund.
Following the merger, the
contractor continued to make
contributions for health insurance
coverage for both union and nonunion
employees. The trust fund
continued to accept all of these
contributions without comment.
In May 1997, the contractor
hired a young project engineer, a
nonunion position. The contractor
agreed to provide health care insurance
for the engineer through
the trust, just as the contractor
had done with its other nonunion
employees. Because the new
health insurance would not take
effect until 90 days after the date of hiring, the engineer purchased
COBRA insurance for that period. The engineer was
particularly concerned about insurance coverage because
his wife was pregnant.
During the summer, the engineer checked with the
contractor’s bookkeeper to confirm when coverage
would start. The bookkeeper in turn checked with the
trust administrator. The trust’s administrator assured the
contractor’s bookkeeper that coverage would begin on
September 1. This was relayed by the bookkeeper to the
engineer. The engineer, being an engineer, again asked
for confirmation on a number of occasions. Each time the
bookkeeper would reconfirm with the trust administrator
that coverage would begin September 1, and passed
that on to the engineer. Then in late August, when the
engineer again asked for confirmation, the Trust told the
bookkeeper this time that coverage would not begin until
By ROBERT J. DICKSON
October 1. In September, the contractor began making,
and the Trust began accepting, contributions to the Trust
for the engineer’s account.
When the Trust received the contractor’s reports, it decided
to audit the contractor’s books and records; and internally
ordered a freeze on any claims submitted by the
engineer. The Trust, however, failed to mention any of this to
the contractor or to the engineer.
Even the engineer’s wife spoke with the contractor’s
bookkeeper to confirm that insurance coverage would begin
October 1. The Trust assured the wife directly that not only
would the coverage start on October 1, but also that it would
cover her pregnancy.
This assurance was made after
the Trust had internally frozen
any insurance claims from the
engineer. With this assurance, the
engineer and his wife cancelled
First, contractors should their COBRA coverage effective
require that assurances
October1. On October 4, the wife
gave birth to a son who was born
about insurance coverage
with Down’s Syndrome and other
from union trust funds be challenges. The cost of the delivery
and subsequent hospital care ap-
in writing.
proximated $60,000.
The following February the
Trust sent a letter to the engineer
and his wife indicating that there
was “a problem with coverage.”
Then in May, seven months after
the birth, the Trust formally disclaimed any coverage. The
Trust relied on federal law, which prohibited a trust fund
from covering nonunion employees unless there was “a
special agreement” between the trust and the employer. The
contractor had no such “special agreement” with the merged
trust, even though he had been making contributions for
nonunion employees since the late 1980s. To add a twist to
the knife, the Trust apologized for the delay in making its
determination, blaming the delay on the contractor’s failure
to cooperate with the audit.
The engineer and his wife filed suit against the Trust and
the contractor, his then-former employer. After a trial, the
court awarded damages not only for the uncovered medical
costs, but also for $30,000 in emotional distress damages.
The court held that the Trust was liable for negligent misrepresentation,
and was 75 percent at fault. The court also held
the contractor 25 percent at fault for its role in passing the

misrepresentations on to the engineer.
The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed.
Although the contractor had relied
on the Trust’s assurances and only
passed them on to the engineer, the
court found that the contractor was
negligent because it had relied merely
on the verbal telephone statements
of the Trust’s administrator. Said the
court, “one would expect a prudent
employer to have written documentation
concerning fixed matters already
of importance dealing with insurance.”
Further, the court thought that the
contractor should have “taken affirmative
action” to determine what was required
to assure nonunion employees
were covered by the union trust fund.
Simply taking the Trust’s spoken word
for it apparently was not enough. The
court allowed that the contractor’s
position was “a sympathetic one,” but
held that the contractor had a duty “to
take affirmative action to determine
the nature and extent of the healthcare
coverage,” and had failed to meet
that duty.
There are several lessons to be
drawn by this case.
First, contractors should require that
assurances about insurance coverage
from union trust funds be in writing.
Second, contractors should take at
least some affirmative action in verifying
the accuracy of what they are told
by the trust funds.
Third, trust fund trustees should
understand that they and their employees
are not necessarily immune
from liability claims. ERISA preempts
only those state laws that “relate to any
employee benefit plan.” If a state law,
meaning a statute or a judicially created
claim, applies to everyone generally,
such as the tort of negligent misrepresentation,
it is not preempted by the
federal statute. Trust funds can be held
liable for their run-of-the-mill negligence
in dealing with others. Trustees
should assure that their administrators
and employees understand that
they are subject to the normal duties
of reasonable care in conducting their
routine business, which the court held
was similar to that of an insurer.
Robert J. (Bob) Dickson is a partner
of the Anchorage law firm Atkinson,
Conway and Gagnon Inc.

MEMBER PROFILE
DAVIS CONSTRUCTORS By NANCY POUNDS
Davis Constructors posts steady growth
General contractor reveals its secret of success
General contractor Davis Constructors and
Engineers Inc. has taken skills learned
from its early days of rural construction to
become a powerhouse with several highly visible
projects now under way.
The Anchorage-based business refined planning
abilities and an eye for details 30 years ago while
handling Bush school projects. This summer Davis
Constructors is building major projects, including
the new downtown Anchorage parking garage and
the 14-story JL Tower office building in midtown.
Davis Constructors has built projects across the
state, from north of the Arctic Circle to Southeast
and from the Aleutian Islands to Western Alaska.
Its employees have handled various materials and
construction methods, from cast-in-place concrete
and structural steel to precast concrete panels and
wood-frame structures. Besides school, hotel, retail
and office building construction, the project resume
also includes rural church restorations, like
St. George Church on St. George Island and St.
Alexander in Akutan.
The company’s portfolio lists increasingly larger
projects, in dollar amount and scope. Davis Constructors
has completed more than 200 projects
statewide, which compiled stack up to more than
$1 billion, according to the company’s Web site.
The secret to success is practicing the Golden
Rule, according to president Kyle Randich.
“We’ve had a lot of cool projects and we have a
lot we’re proud of,” Randich said.
“I really think our top accomplishment is treating
people right and in return we are treated right.”
As a result, subcontractors, suppliers and other
people want to work for Davis Constructors, Randich
said.
And the treat-them-right philosophy has allowed
the company to land bigger projects, he noted.
Bright beginnings
Jeff Davis started the company in 1976. In the
late 1970s and early 1980s Davis Constructors specialized
in rural school construction, according to
Randich. The work required company staffers to be
very detail-oriented, he added.
“We were very successful,” said Randich, a 22year
Davis Constructors employee.
In the ’80s, the company started competing for
Materials were shipped to Aniak in 1982 for a school.
projects in Anchorage and Fairbanks, carrying over
skills learned from rural projects successes.
Davis Constructors opened a Seattle office in
the 1980s during a construction slowdown in Anchorage.
That office was closed later in the decade
when founder Jeff Davis died in a plane crash, Randich
said.
In the late 1980s Davis Constructors started handling
design-build work, he said. Throughout the
1990s design-build and negotiated projects increased,
growing to 80 percent of the company’s total work
compared to 20 percent competitively bid work.
Today, the majority of Davis Constructors’ work
is design-build or negotiated, Randich said.
One big break for the company was landing the
contract to build Anchorage’s first large national retailer,
Kmart. The store opened in 1992, and Davis
Constructors also built a location in North Anchorage
and Fairbanks. After a frenzied Alaska debut,
Kmart officials closed the Alaska locations in 2003
based on the company’s lagging financial performance
nationwide.
“Those projects really put us on the map,” said
marketing coordinator Lynn Steeves. After completing
the Kmart work, the size and type of projects
began to change, she said.
Randich said the Kmart construction provided
new exposure for the contractor.

Past projects
Other major past projects have included the Arctic Slope
Region Corp. building in Midtown Anchorage. The 10-story
building was completed in September 2002, Steeves said.
The company also handled two phases of the Elmendorf
Housing Privatization, which was one of Davis Constructors’
all-time biggest projects. Phase One was completed in
June 2002, Phase Two in 2006, Steeves said.
The company also led work on the Eagle River High
School, which was completed in 2005.
Another project was the 12,000-square-foot, two-story
Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program facility at
the University of Alaska Anchorage. The uniquely designed
building was completed in August 2006.
Davis Constructors’ largest project to date, based on dollar
amount, has been work at Providence Alaska Medical
Center in Anchorage, according to Steeves. The contractor
led construction on Providence’s southwest expansion,
which included a sky bridge, parking garage and office addition,
which was completed in December 2006. Phase Two
called for expanding the parking garage, building the Heart
Institute, Cancer Center and the Walter J. and Ermalee Hickel
House for long-term family hospital stays. This phase was
completed in December 2007, she said. Davis Constructors
also gutted the former Alaska Psychiatric Institute building
and renovated for Providence offices.
Current projects
This summer is a busy one for Davis Constructors. The
company has several major projects under way.
In Anchorage, the general contractor is working to finish
tenant improvements in the occupied 14-story JL Tower
by mid-year, Steeves said. The office building is located in
Midtown near the ASRC facility. Another project heading
toward completion later this year is the Linny Pacillo parking
garage in downtown Anchorage. Construction continues
on Clark Middle School, Steeves said. The project called
for demolishing the old facility and rebuilding a new school.
Completion is estimated for July 2009, Steeves said.
Aerial of the Target store in Anchorage. (above)
Fort Wainwright Army Barracks renewal project. (left)
Their latest military housing project, on Fort Richardson,
will house 105 families when complete late this winter.
Davis Constructors is also handling upgrades at the Fairbanks
International Airport this year. The project is renovating
some sections, including upgrading gates to accommodate
747s, Steeves said. The project also calls for demolition
of older areas next year, she said.
Business partners
Davis Constructors’ President Randich can adeptly list
benefits of membership with the Associated General Contractors
of Alaska. He praised the AGC personnel and resources
available to industry members. He also commended
the networking and training opportunities offered by AGC.
Aerial of Providence Alaska Medical Center southwest expansion.
“I couldn’t imagine doing business without AGC,”
Randich said.
AGC staffers are well-versed in issues facing the industry
and “portray a good voice of the contractors,” Randich said.
Steeves lauded AGC’s education program in the Palmer-
Wasilla area, which, in turn, benefits Davis Constructors. She believes
AGC staffers “have a finger on the pulse of the industry.”
With Randich at the helm, Davis Constructors aims to
follow its successful business formula for the long term.
“Going into the future we will continue doing what we’re
doing,” Randich said. “The cornerstone is treating people
right. It’s paid dividends.”
Nancy Pounds is a freelance writer who lives in Anchorage.

Coeur hopes to
begin production at
Kensington gold mine
in 2009
BY PATRICIA LILES
With completed underground mine workings and surface
processing facilities, the Kensington mine northeast
of Juneau should be producing about 150,000
ounces of gold annually, employing about 200 people in the
year-round operation.
But instead, the recently constructed underground hardrock
mine and surface processing facilities sit idle, even after
the mine’s developer, Idaho-based Coeur d’Alene Mines
has spent some $270 million to build the new operation.
Problem is – the mine’s planned operation for disposal of
tailings, which is the rock left over after gold is extracted, has
to be changed to a process that will not only meet regulatory
approval, but will pass muster with environmental groups
that protested the project’s waste storage plan.
Managers at Coeur Alaska had planned to store the leftover
rock in the Lower Slate Lake, a 23-acre alpine lake. That
process was included in Kensington’s plan of operation that
concluded in 2005 with the approval of federal and state regulatory
permits and the start of construction in mid-2005.
Environmental groups argued against the tailing disposal
plan and appealed the permits issued by regulatory agencies,
a conflict that ultimately resulted in the wetlands permit for
the tailings disposal plan to be suspended by federal regulators.
The previously approved plan was argued thorough a
variety of court proceedings, concluding with a March 2007
ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that vacated the
permits associated with the tailing facility.
Meanwhile, construction crews working for Coeur continued
on the underground mine workings and the surface
processing plant and other related facilities. That work was
concluded in August 2007, according to Coeur.
In January 2008, Coeur submitted a modified plan of operation
to the U.S. Forest Service, the lead regulatory agency

for the project. Coeur asked regulators to
consider using an alternative site for tailings
disposal near Comet Beach on the
Lynn Canal side of the project, a location
that was previously approved for tailings
disposal by state and federal regulators.
“This process has been going on for
a long, long time,” said Rich Hughes,
development specialist in the state’s Office
of Economic Development/Minerals.
“The cost of placing tailings in that location
was quite high, so the company and
regulators chose to permit the Slate Lake
site for tailings. That plan, was, of course,
opposed and stopped.”
In its new plan, Coeur proposes using
paste technology, rather than drystaking
the tailings. Plans call for pumping
slurried tailings through the tunnel
from the mill site on the Jualin mine
side of the Lion’s Head Mountain to the
Lynn Canal side of the property. A paste
plant will produce a tailings mixture
containing about 25 to 30 percent water
that will be stored behind a berm on a
terrace on the Comet side of the project.
About 40 percent of the tailings will be
used for mine backfill through the life of
the mine.
The tailings will be thick, “similar to
toothpaste,” explained Jan Trigg, Coeur
Alaska’s manager of community relations
and government affairs. “They will
be placed in the tailings facility behind a
berm, which will be engineered to dam
design standards.”
Estimated costs for the revised tailings
disposal process are currently being
developed.
Construction of the Kensington gold mine
northeast of Juneau included development
of the Slate Creek Cove dock facilities. If the
mine’s developer, Coeur Alaska, can secure new
permits for tailing storage and gold processing
begins next year as anticipated, workers for
the underground hard rock gold mine will be
transported by boat to the new job site.

“We’re excited about completing
this,” Trigg said. “We’re hoping to have
the Modified Plan of Operations approved
by the Forest Service this fall,
and we’re currently working on other
permits that need to be modified.”
Coeur’s new tailings disposal proposal
included input from one of the
environmental groups that initially
launched the permit appeal, according
to the mining company. The modified
plan that the Forest Service will consider,
which is supported by more than
900 studies, includes an environmental
monitoring component and extensive
reclamation requirements, Coeur said.
The city and borough of Juneau
helped facilitate meetings between the
mining company and the environmental
groups and indicated support for the new
tailings disposal plan by all parties involved
in a press release last November.
“The conservation groups believe
that the potential adverse environmental
impacts of the Comet Beach
site are less than the impacts of alter-
native sites that have been identified,”
according to the press release. “If the
Comet Beach site is approved, Lower
Slate Lake would not be used in any
way for tailings storage or disposal.”
In May, Coeur announced that the
U.S. Forest Service will complete an
Environmental Assessment on the revised
tailings storage plan. That could
allow for conclusion of permitting for
an alternative tailings facility later this
year, Coeur said.
“The EA process will provide a welldefined
and timely permitting pathway
for the paste tailings plan,” said Dennis
E. Wheeler, chairman, president and
CEO of Coeur, in a May 9 press release.
“Coeur is now confident the environmental
review process can be completed
in 2008, allowing Kensington to be
brought into production in 2009.”
In a separate press release, the Southeast
Alaska Conservation Council indicated
their support for the paste tailings
plan as a preferred alternative over the
dry tailings facility, according to Coeur.
Once completed, Kensington is expected
to produce gold for at least 10
years, based on the current proven and
probable mineral reserve of 1.352 million
ounces. Cash costs to produce at
Construction crews completed work on the
mill and crushing facilities and other surface
buildings at the Kensington gold mine,
located northeast of Juneau, last August. The
buildings remain idle, as permits to store
tailings from the gold processing facility were
withdrawn after environmental challenges.

Kensington were estimated by Coeur
at $310 per ounce, according to a mid-
2007 press release.
Coeur has been working on plans
to develop Kensington near the historic
Jualin underground mine since 1990,
initially with former partner Echo Bay
Exploration. Coeur is now the sole operator
and developer of Kensington.
This new permit consideration will
be the fourth time regulatory agencies
have reviewed the Kensington project
under the National Environmental Policy
Act since the original plan of operations
was submitted in 1990. While receiving
past regulatory approval, no mine has
ever been built at Kensington.
Low gold prices in the late 1990s
caused Coeur to look for ways to reduce
capital costs and to accomplish
that, the company modified its proposed
development. Coeur submitted
an amendment to its approved 1998
Plan of Operations, changing the
location for site access to the Jualin
prospect, with a nearly three mile
horizontal tunnel connecting to the
Kensington ore body.
In addition to changes in the tailings
disposal plan, Coeur announced
this April a new Memorandum of Un-
derstanding with Goldbelt Inc., regarding
transportation for mine workers.
The new agreement between the
mining company and Goldbelt, an
Alaska Native village corporation, will
focus on an alternative marine transportation
center at Yankee Cove that
will move workers to and from the
Kensington mine, which is located
about 45 miles north of Juneau.
Workers will be bused from Juneau
to Yankee Cove, then will be moved
by boat from Yankee Cove to the mine
site, according to Coeur.
“This plan will put Goldbelt shareholders
back to work,” said Gary Droubay,
CEO at Goldbelt. “The delay caused
by the lawsuit adversely impacted both
jobs and services in which Goldbelt
shareholders would have benefited. I
know the recent developments to progress
the project are good news for Juneau
and all of Southeast Alaska.”
Patricia Liles is a freelance writer
living in Fairbanks.

MEMBER PROFILE
ALASKA ROADBUILDERS By HEATHER A. RESZ
Alaska Roadbuilders welcomes third
generation into paving family
Alaska Roadbuilders uses a pair of paving
machines to lay asphalt near Gulkana.
Since Alaska Roadbuilders Inc. – 44482 Frontier
Ave., Soldotna – began in 1973, the company
has made a name for itself completing
projects across the state.
Jim Richards and Ron Davis started Harley’s
Trucking 33 years ago with one dump truck.
“Every year we’d get one more truck,” Davis said.
At first, the two just leased the trucks back to
Arctic Asphalt, which Davis’ father owned.
But things changed in 1976 when Harley’s
Trucking bought out Arctic Asphalt.
“We just started growing from there,” Davis said.
At first the two bid small jobs, like parking lots.
As their company and expertise grew, so did the
dollar value and complexity of projects.
With the company’s growth came other changes
such as replacing their old asphalt plant with a
drum mix plant in 1981, Davis said.
Things changed again in 1989 when Richards
died of lung cancer.
At that time, Davis changed the name and structure
of the company and created Alaska Roadbuilders.
A third generation bought into the family business
about three years ago when Davis’ wife Terri, son Ron
Jr., and cousin Chuck Davis joined the partnership.
This summer Alaska Roadbuilders will start a
job on the Parks Highway.
The Cantwell area was getting snow through
the end of May, Davis said.
“The ground is still frozen at Igloo, so we can’t
start yet,” he said.
Until the ground warmed, crews were working
on a four-mile overlay project on the Sterling Highway.
Since part of the contract required the company
to maintain two-way traffic, Davis said work
is going on at night to keep traffic flowing.
“It’s not going to take very long to do the job,”
he said. “Stuff like logistics and traffic flow are a big
part of the work we do.”
Paving Alaska
From Valdez and Cordova to Kodiak and Kenai
– Alaska Roadbuilders has spent the past three decades
completing paving projects across the state.
“We did the very first foam job in the state down
by Homer,” Davis said.
The company also repaved a 26-mile section of the
road between Sutton and Caribou Creek in 2005.

“The Sutton job was a big overlay
job that was going over the frost
heaves,” he said.
Part of the highway between Mile
65 to Mile 92 also runs beneath a hill
face prone to rock slides.
“We had rocks coming down off the
hill in front of the paver,” Davis said.
The Sutton project is one of many
Alaska Roadbuilders has done in the
Mat-Su Borough, he said.
Others include upgrading and
paving projects for Hatcher Pass Road,
Deshka Landing, Nancy Lake roads,
Talkeetna, Petersville and Willow.
“We just go everywhere,” Davis said.
Closer to home, Alaska Roadbuilders
did the original paving for the road
rebuild going from Ingraham Creek
to Bertha Creek in 1984 and 1985.
They’ve done paving projects at the
Soldotna and Kenai airports. And a
paving project near Canyon Creek by
the Hope cutoff.
Other airport projects were completed
at the Northway and Gulkana
airports, Davis said.
Near Delta Junction, Alaska Roadbuilders
worked on projects near Clear
Water Creek and Remington-Jack
Warren road.
Asphalt prices soar
Record high oil prices are adding
to the business challenges faced by
Alaska Roadbuilders, Davis said.
At the end of the 2007 construction
season last October, Davis said he paid
$380 for liquid asphalt.
“When we woke up this spring it
was $500,” he said. “By the time we
could get it shipped it was $600.”
Prices climbed to $625 in June and
Davis said he expected them to continue
to increase.
Contracts allow for price changes
for liquid asphalt, but not the increased
costs for freight, which also have risen
on a course parallel to the price of
gasoline, he said.
“It’s something to start talking
about,” Davis said. “We have something
for the cost of liquid asphalt but
we don’t have anything for fuel.”
He said he and other paving companies
are working with Associated
General Contractors of Alaska to see
what can be changed so fuel cost increases
can also be passed on.
“Companies want a hard number,”
Davis said. “But when the price doubles
on you, what are you going to do?”
Business partner Chuck Davis said
AGC helps to bridge the communication
gaps between owners, contractors
and suppliers. He said he’s been involved
with AGC since the early 1980s.
“They’ve always been a great resource,”
Chuck Davis said. “They always
seem to be proactive about concerns.
If I have a concern, AGC is the
best place to voice it.”
New opportunities
Chuck Davis lost half his heart to
Alaska – his Alaskan bride claimed the
other half – when he spent a couple
of summers working here for his uncle
Leonard Davis as a general laborer at
Arctic Asphalt. During the school year
he was studying engineering at a Seattle
university.
“I grew up in Seattle, he said. “I didn’t
know the difference between gravel and
dirt. I was a little naive I guess.”
Back in the summer of 1974, the
first contract he worked on with his
uncle was a series of parking lot paving
projects for Kenai Peninsula Borough
School District schools.
“It was quite an abrupt change
from sitting in the classroom to shoveling
asphalt,” Chuck Davis said.
For 20 years he co-owned Davis
Block Company with his cousins Rusty
Davis and Scott Davis. Eventually the
company was split into two parts and
Chuck Davis sold Davis Concrete to
Quality Asphalt Paving in 2001.
He stayed on for three years after
the sale. But he said what he was really
looking for was a career change.
“I was burned out from being a
supplier,” Chuck Davis said.
That’s about the same time his cousin
Ron offered him the opportunity to
be a partner in Alaska Roadbuilders.
“It was an excellent opportunity to
share the risks and opportunity,” he said.
In his fourth season with Alaska
Roadbuilders, Chuck Davis said he
still hasn’t had a bad day at work.
“I love the day-to-day challenges of
getting a job done,” he said. “A bad day
to me is when someone gets hurt.”
Senior editor Heather A. Resz is an Alaska
writer who lives in the Wasilla area.

Mining industry prepares for water
ballot initiative vote this fall
BY PATRICIA LILES
Alaska’s mining industry, experiencing record value and
growth in the last four years and poised to continue that
economic success, is preparing for this fall’s statewide public
vote on proposed environmental regulations that would
curtail existing mine operations and stop new mine developments
throughout the mineral-rich state.
Global market increases of metals currently mined in
Alaska, construction of new mine operations and successful
exploration work in the search for new mineral deposits
in the Last Frontier boosted the state’s mineral industry to
record values of nearly $4 billion in 2007. That industry value
is nearly 300 percent more than the $1.067 billion in mining
industry value recorded in 2003 in the annual Alaska’s Mineral
Industry report produced by the state.
Alaska map shows mine sites in development and production and
communities with mining industry employees.
Yet Alaska’s mining industry is facing the potential for
dramatic change in its regulatory environment, specifically
in proposed new rules regarding the handling of water and
waste rock, or tailings.
Mining industry opponents, forming a coalition that is
working to stop development of the Pebble copper-goldmolybdenum
deposit near Iliamna Lake, put forward two
voter initiatives that would change key regulatory laws impacting
the bulk of Alaska’s mining industry.
A Superior Court judge struck down one of those initiatives
earlier this year and in mid-May, the initiative’s supporters
asked that it be withdrawn from the ballot.
In mid-June, the Alaska Supreme Court agreed to let
the initial ballot initiative be withdrawn, and to determine

whether the second measure should
be put to a public vote, a challenge
from industry and Alaska Native corporations.
A decision is expected by
mid-July, in order to allow the Aug. 26
primary ballot to be properly printed.
Supporters of the ballot initiatives
agreed with opponents in that having
two similar initiatives on the ballot
would be confusing to state voters.
Additionally, the ballot sponsors
believe that the second initiative, Ballot
Measure 4, accomplishes their principal
goals, which would set new rules
overriding existing state and federal
regulations regarding water handling
and release, and the storage and disposal
of mining waste – which includes
overburden, tailings created after mine
processing, and rock considered waste
as it does not contain enough minerals
to be processed economically.
Both areas of mine operations are
already regulated by a variety of state
and federal rules, according to state
regulators, who were prohibited at
press time from talking about the specifics
of the remaining ballot initiative.
“In general, any mine discharges
have to meet clean water standards.
They allow certain amount of toxic pollutants
described, in amounts proven
not to be harmful to humans or fish,”
said Ed Fogels, director of the state’s
Office of Project Management and Permitting
in the Department of Natural
Resources. “Those standards are federally
blessed, and so the system is already
in place to regulate the release of
those toxic agents. Natural waters contain
many of those agents and many are
required for life to exist in those areas.”
Without discussing the specifics of
the proposed new rules, Fogels said
that Alaskan voters should carefully
read Ballot Measure 4 before making
a decision at election time.
Called the Alaska Clean Water Initiative
III, it was supported by a voter
signature drive carried out by the Anchorage-based
Renewal Resources Coalition,
an organization critical of mining
in general and in particular, the proposed
Pebble project in southwestern Alaska.
Still in the exploration stage, Pebble
has employed as many as 700 people
during the seasonal summer work
program in the past recent years. Last
year, project developers spent about

$95 million on the property and plan
to spend about $140 million this year.
At current metal prices, the publicly
released resource estimates at Pebble
show that the deposit contains about
$450 billion worth of copper, gold and
molybdenum.
Pebble’s developers, Northern Dynasty
Minerals and Anglo American,
are investing substantial time and
money into preparing an environmental
baseline document, expected
to be finalized in the first quarter of
2009. That document “…will be used
to evaluate various mine design alternatives
prior to the submission of
a proposed development plan for permitting,”
said Northern Dynasty, in an
April 2008 news release. “Once begun,
permitting for the Pebble Project will
proceed under a rigorous and transparent
process set out under the National
Environmental Policy Act, including
the completion of an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS).”
Those plans to seek federal and
state regulatory approval for Pebble
would likely be nixed, should the ballot
initiative be passed by state voters
and implemented as proposed.
The initiative applies the new water
and waste handling rules to “large
scale metallic mineral mining operations,”
which are defined in size by an
operation that exceeds 640 acres of
land, according to the proposals.
That size calculation includes all
components of a mining project, including
the actual mine site, processing
facilities, ore treatment facilities
and waste storage; support facilities
to include roads, transmission lines,
pipelines and separation facilities;
treatment plants or equipment connected
with the project and any tunneling,
shaft-sinking, quarrying or rock
excavation for other purposes, such as
construction of water or roadway tunnels,
drains or underground sites for
housing industrial plants.
In 2007, Alaska had six large-scale
operating mines contributing to the
state’s mining industry value – of
which most would surpass the 640acre
size criteria included in the proposed
new rules.
Mining industry advocates say the
proposed rules could end up including
some placer gold mine operations,
specifically by the initiatives’ language
that includes mine support and ancillary
facilities and transportation access
routes that, in remote areas, can
include airfields and roads linking the
mine to the airfield.
The remaining initiative includes
sections that state the new rules would
not apply to existing large-scale metallic
mining operations that have received
all required federal, state and
local permits before the new regulations
become effective. It includes an
additional phrase saying it would not
apply to “future operations of existing
facilities at those sites.”
But large-scale mine operations
covered by the proposed new rules
typically expand and update operational
plans and seek revised regulatory
approvals throughout the mine
life as the operation advances.
“The problem is, a mine never has
all the permits to operate throughout
the mine life,” said Lorna Shaw, executive
director of the Council of Alaska
Producers, a mining industry advocate
organization. “A mine doesn’t open,
knowing it will be around for 50 years.
Exploration is a continuous process. A
mining company finds enough ore to
build a mine, then continues exploration
to continue the mine…different
opportunities present themselves in
different stages of the mine life.”
Until recently, Shaw worked fulltime
at Alaska’s largest gold mine, Fort
Knox, located about 20 miles northeast
of Fairbanks. The open-pit, hard rock
mine and mill complex, producing
gold since 1996, has already surpassed
its original end-of-mine-life projection
of eight years, through discovery of additional
ore in the existing mine pit and
from satellite deposit sources nearby.
Just last year, Fort Knox received
state and federal regulatory approvals
to add a new, lower-cost processing
facility to the mine’s existing operation.
Construction of a valley heap
leach began in late 2007, a new facility
which will allow Fort Knox to extract
gold from rock that formerly was considered
waste, because the amount
of mineralization was so low that it
could not be economically processed
through the existing mill.
Combined with a 500- to 600-foot
pit expansion to the west, called Phase
7, the new heap leach will add about
seven more years of operational life

to the Fort Knox mine. Kinross Gold,
owner and operator of Fort Knox,
plans to spend about $270 million on
the two expansion projects.
Even with the grandfather clause
added in the ballot initiative III, it “…really
does limit what mines would be
able to do,” Shaw said. “An existing mine
could finish out its life as it exists today,
but would not be able to extend the life.
“All of the mines in Alaska are concerned,”
she said. “They all have exploration
programs and are hoping to extend
the mine life, but this would limit
interest that mine companies have in
our state.”
The first proposed initiative was
struck down in February by Superior
Court Judge Douglas L. Blankenship,
who ruled that the ballot initiative was
unconstitutional because it usurps the
Alaska Legislature’s duty of allocating
state resources.
“Initiative law in Alaska requires
that the Legislature retain discretion
to allocate public assets such as water
to all uses, including large-scale metallic
mining, and not just to salmon
and downstream communities,” Judge
Douglas L. Blankenship wrote.
Blankenship also said in his decision
that banning the water use to
large-scale mining “changes the function
of water from mining use to only
human or fish use and foils the Legislature’s
role as the sole appropriator
under the Alaska Constitution.”
The second initiative, the Alaska
Clean Water Initiative III, which contains
more generalized prohibitions regarding
water and waste handling at mine
operations, was allowed to proceed to
the state election ballot by Blankenship.
That decision, as well as his order striking
down the first initiative, was appealed
to the state Supreme Court.
“It’s important to get certainty and
finality on these significant water and
mining issues,” said Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell,
in a prepared statement following
Judge Blankenship’s ruling. “Though
the decision will likely be appealed, it
brings us one step closer to an Alaska
Supreme Court decision on whether
the initiative is the proper route for
deciding these issues or whether that
is the Legislature’s exclusive domain.”
The lieutenant governor rules on
the validity of ballot initiatives and last
year, Parnell initially rejected the first

Red Dog Mine
Lead, zinc, gold, and silver
• World’s largest zinc concentrate producer
• Largest taxpayer in the Northwest Arctic Borough
• Discovered in 1968, producing since 1989
• 465 jobs in 2007
Rock Creek/Big Hurrah
Gold
• 2008 expected production start date
• $58 million invested by 2007
• 135 expected production jobs
Chuitna Coal
Coal
• Currently in the permitting process
• 300-350 expected production jobs
Pebble Project
Copper, gold, and molybdenum
• Discovered in 1987, continued exploration since
2002
• Approximately $200 million invested by 2007
• 1,000 potential production jobs
Usibelli Coal Mine
Coal
• Alaska’s only operating coal mine
• Fuels 40% of Interior Alaska’s electricity
• Founded in 1943
• 95 jobs in 2007, 100% local hire
Kensington Mine
Gold
• 2008 expected production start date
• $180 million invested by 2007
• 390 construction jobs in 2007
• 200 expected production jobs
Fort Knox Mine
Nixon Fork
Gold and copper
• Discovered in 1917, intermittent exploration since
Gold
• Alaska’s largest gold mine
• Largest property taxpayer in the Fairbanks
Greens Creek Mine
Silver, zinc, gold, and lead
1920s
North Star Borough
• World’s 5th largest silver producer
• 75 jobs in 2007
• Discovered in 1984, producing since 1996 • Largest taxpayer in the City & Borough of
• Production suspend ed in late 2007 for additional • 380 jobs in 2007
Juneau
drilling
• Discovered in 1979, producing from 1989 to
Pogo Mine
1993, and since 1996
Donlin Creek Project
Gold
• 280 jobs in 2007
Gold
• Largest taxpayer to the City of
• Discovered in 1988, continued exploration since 1995 Delta Junction
• 200 exploration jobs in 2007
• Discovered in 1994, producing since 2006
• 90% Calista shareholder hire
• 190 jobs in 2007
• 500-600 potential production jobs
Alaska
Mining Activity

water ballot initiative. Parnell later approved
the ballot language after his
decision was rejected in October by
Superior Court Judge Fred Torrisi, who
disagreed that the ballot initiative was
an appropriation.
But Judge Torrisi, in his decision allowing
the ballot initiative to go forward,
noted that the proposed rule changes
would ban new large metallic mines for
the foreseeable future, if state voters
decide to make the initiatives law.
In that same court case, Richard
Mylius, DNR’s director of mining, land
and water, said in his deposition that
mining in Alaska would be impossible
under the initiative and that it would
prohibit existing mines from renewing
or obtaining new permits.
“Clean Water Initiative I clearly sets
a much stricter standard than what’s
in place. Essentially new large mines
would not be able to operate, as well as
existing mines with renewals,” Mylius
said, in an interview in mid-May. “Clean
Water III is not so clear about the prohibitions
… it’s pretty vague about the
standard that they’re setting.”
Mining industry groups have joined
forces with Alaska Native corporations
and other support industry organizations
to provide information about the
state’s mining industry and the impact
of the proposed ballot initiatives.
NANA, the for-profit Native regional
corporation in northwest Alaska and a
partner in the Red Dog zinc and lead
mine, has released a 16-page document
explaining the ballot issue, its
potential impacts to the mining industry
and the economic impacts of the
state’s largest mine contributor – Red
Dog – to the region and to Alaska.
“Circulated under the guise of
“clean water” petitions, these initiatives
would devastate the economy of
large parts of Alaska by shutting down
existing and future mining operations
– and potentially impacting other economic
sectors, such as oil and gas,”
NANA said, in its report. The initiatives
“…essentially rewrite Alaska’s environmental
laws without public hearing
or legislative oversight and establishes
a standard so high no one can meet it
– not even municipalities with the most
advanced treatment systems.”
Patricia Liles is a freelance writer
living in Fairbanks.

MEMBER PROFILE
MARSH USA By VICTORIA NAEGELE
Marsh USA offers in-depth services
to Alaska customers
Company develops client-specific risk management ratios
A
s a company “devoted to finding opportunity
in risk,” Marsh is thriving in Alaska
by offering an unprecedented depth of
services to its customers using a local view and a
global vision.
Marsh USA opened an office in Anchorage when
it acquired Brady & Co. in 2004. Jim Brady, head of
the Marsh Alaska office, said, “The transformation
from a local business to part of a global organization
allowed our company, which opened in 1977, to bring
services to Alaska not provided by other brokers.”
Marsh offers a full line of traditional insurance
and surety brokerage services, as well as extensive
risk management advisory services. These services
run the gamut from operational and asset risk
management to safety programs, workforce strategies
and claims advocacy. But it isn’t just the long
list of services that sets Marsh apart, according to
Brady and Brandon Allen, senior vice president and
Brandon Allen and Kris Burnett, Marsh Anchorage.
multi-lines leader for Marsh Anchorage. It is also
the manner in which those services are provided.
Marsh uses a team approach to customize products
to meet client needs. Marsh clients know which
insurance companies have been approached, the premium
and even the commission from those quotes.
Each area of service is provided in such a transparent
manner so that clients can select their coverage
based on their needs and their best options.
“It’s incumbent on us to make sure the clients
are getting the best service for the premium dollar,”
Brady said.
Each client’s needs are evaluated and Marsh
specialists work to meet those needs on an individual
basis. With their low client-to-consultant
ratio, Marsh is able to invest the time necessary to
develop client specific risk management programs.
Meeting the varied needs of Alaska’s construction
industry means not only having an experi-

enced Marsh Alaska staff, it means tapping into the Marsh
network of companies worldwide.
“If someone comes to us with a challenge, we meet it,”
Brady said. “It’s the level of specialists that we bring to bear
that makes the difference. We definitely bring many different
Marsh resources to our Alaska clients.”
Marsh’s specialists can provide insight in areas from
workers’ compensation for trucking firms, job site training
to office ergonomics. They can utilize consulting specialists
from any of Marsh’s 362 offices worldwide.
“We’re more than a transactional broker,” Allen said.
“We’ve become a trusted business partner, much as a CPA
or a law firm. We want to be part of the company.”
The primary mission of Marsh’s risk management optimization
practice is to help clients build a valued risk management
function, starting with the review of any current
risk management strategy. When claims must be filed because
of a loss, Marsh becomes an advocate for its clients as
they seek to recover damages.
Surety bonds are a critical component of the construction
industry. Marsh’s Anchorage office has the largest surety team
on the ground with five experienced professionals on staff.
“We bring together long-standing relationships with the
surety industry, a detailed knowledge of the construction
business and extensive resources to help each company anticipate,
understand and respond to conditions in the surety
industry,” Allen said.
Responding to emergencies is a critical component. If a
client faces an emergency or complex situation, Marsh calls
in resources to develop a solution.
“It’s this combination of local consultants and a worldwide
vision that sets Marsh apart,” Brady said.
In an economy where rising energy costs and a declining
dollar are cutting into profit margins, there is an increasing
need for risk management to reduce down time, supply
chain issues and other avoidable delays. Its proactive and
adaptive approach to meeting the needs of clients keeps
Marsh in the forefront of the industry.
In Alaska, Marsh Anchorage is sponsoring a “Risk Management
101” training course to help clients understand risk
management concepts. “Reducing total cost of risk enhances
our contracting clients competitive advantage and improves
their profitability,” Brady said.
Safety is such a key component for contractors that Marsh
sponsors the Associated General Contractors of Alaska’s
annual Excellence in Safety Awards. Through membership
in AGC the company builds a strong relationship with the
contracting industry in the state of Alaska.
According to Allen and Brady, it is Marsh Anchorage’s
strategy to incorporate the various aspects of insurance coverage
and risk management into a fluid, customized, strategic
package for each of its clients, emphasizing its local
knowledge and connections while benefiting from a global
network – the best of both worlds.
Marsh USA is online at http://global.marsh.com/. The
Anchorage office, at 1031 West 4th Avenue, Suite 400, may
be contacted at (907) 276-5617.
Victoria Naegele is a freelance writer who lives near Palmer.

What will it take to build
a gas pipeline? BY NANCY ERICKSON
A
menagerie of concepts and engineered drawings of
a pipeline that would someday move North Slope
natural gas to markets have been stacking up in
corporate boardroom file cabinets for decades.
Now with two proposed pipeline projects in the works,
Alaskans might just realize their long-held economic dream.
But not any time soon.
Both TransCanada Corp. and the combined forces of
ConocoPhillips and British Petroleum have proposed similar
gas lines that would stretch approximately 2,000 miles from
Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay east into Canada, through the Yukon
Territory and British Columbia, connecting to Alberta’s gas
line grid. From there, gas could be shipped to the continental
United States through existing pipelines or if needed, an additional
line could be constructed extending into the Midwest.
The large-diameter pipeline is estimated to move approximately
4 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas to
markets, about 6-8 percent of daily U.S. consumption.
TransCanada was the sole successful bidder in a stateled
effort to build a pipeline under Gov. Sarah Palin’s Alaska
Gasline Inducement Act, or AGIA, which passed the Legislature
last year.
The fate of its project awaits the nod of Alaska legislators
who convened in a 60-day special session June 3 to consider
whether to grant the Canadian pipeline company the
license plus half a billion dollars in incentive cash to begin
the process of taking a pipeline to fruition.
The joint venture of BP and ConocoPhillips announced
their Denali Pipeline Project in April and plans to spend
$600 million in planning and field data collection over the
next three years with the milestone of beginning an “open
season” before year’s end 2010.
The two oil producers hold leases on approximately twothirds
of the North Slope’s prodigious 35 trillion cubic feet
of gas. Exxon holds another third, with some minor holders,
as well.
Part of any pipeline construction, open season is a crucial
process during which the pipeline company seeks customers
to make long-term, firm commitments to ship their gas
through the pipeline.
“No shipper, there’s no pipeline. That’s the market test
for the project,” said Steve Rinehart, press officer for BP Exploration
in Anchorage.
Executives of BP and ConocoPhillips have pledged to
move forward with their $30 billion project whether or not
TransCanada is issued a license to proceed.
“We’re starting. We’re off,” said Rinehart. “Our train has
left the station.”
Company executives feel it’s worth gambling at least
$600 million to bring their proposal to open season, and
then to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC.
“The North American market is hungry for Alaska’s natural
gas,” stated Angus Walker, a senior vice president and
head of BP Alaska’s gas line team. “Our focus is on creating
an efficient project at the lowest cost so as to successfully
attract shippers who want to transport gas from Alaska’s
North Slope to market. We believe our project offers the
most promising opportunity to do that.”
Can both pipeline projects move ahead? For now they
can. But only one will be built. TransCanada is proceeding
under AGIA with the hopes of getting state approval and the
incentive cash to proceed through open season. The Denali
Project is moving ahead through open season on its own.
If both proposals continue beyond open season, it could
put the federal regulatory commission in a position to decide
which gas line project gets a certificate to build and operate,
said Larry Persily, a former associate director for Oil, Gas,
and Renewable Energy; Commerce and Transportation in
Washington, D.C., under the Palin administration.
“FERC does not want to be the decision-maker,” he
said. “They would much rather see the market decide rather
than them.”
Joe Balash, special assistant to Gov. Sarah Palin said the
market could conceivably result in a “settlement” project that
combines or merges the two applicants.
“The ambivalence of FERC, combined with their desire
to not decide, will put pressure on both sets of parties to
resolve their differences cooperatively,” he said.
Natural gas 101
Natural gas is a fossil fuel often found mixed with oil
and water and produced from reservoirs deep in the earth’s
surface. Prudhoe Bay’s reservoir is between 8,000 feet- and
9,000 feet deep, according to Rinehart.
According to the Natural Gas Facts Web site, 57 percent
of U.S. households heat with natural gas. It is currently the
nation’s fastest growing energy source, with demand forecast
to increase by approximately 22 percent by 2030.

Aerial shot that shows the scope and scale of
Prudhoe Bay, which holds about 25 trillion cubic
feet of gas, the main reserve that would underpin
a gas line project. The facility in the foreground is
Flow Station One, operated by BP.
The United States imports the largest
amount of natural gas in the world,
according to a March 2008 paper from
the Energy Information Administration,
Office of Oil and Gas. In 2007, the U.S.
received 99.8 percent of its pipeline-imported
natural gas from Canada, with the
remainder coming from Mexico.
Natural gas cooled to minus 260 degrees
Fahrenheit becomes liquid natural
gas, or LNG. Liquefying natural gas
reduces the volume it occupies by more
than 600 times, making it a more practical
size for storage and transportation.
Gas produced from wells in Cook
Inlet near Anchorage is liquefied and
exported to Japan. Consumers in the
Anchorage area and some parts of the
Kenai Peninsula also enjoy the benefits
of natural gas from Cook Inlet wells.
But supplies are dwindling. A nitrogen
fertilizer plant on the Kenai Peninsula
was forced to close its doors last fall
due to lack of natural gas, the highest
cost component in the production of
ammonia at the plant.
Gas line for Alaska
Constructing a gas pipeline in Alaska
has been discussed since the first North
Slope oil lease was sold more than 40
years ago. But time and again, plans were
shelved when financial experts evaluated
costs versus benefits and didn’t like the
bottom line.
Oil prices topping $138 a barrel in
June may have prompted a new interest
in a gas pipeline, Persily said.
Speaking as a private citizen, Persily
said building a gas pipeline has previously
never penciled out, but now appears
feasible.
“Will it happen before a meteor
strikes the earth? I think eventually it
will happen, but I don’t think it will hap-

pen as fast as Alaskans want,” he said
of an operable gas pipeline.
Persily cites the carrot and stick
scenario of rising costs as one reason
for hesitancy in pursuing a pipeline.
As fuel prices go, so goes the price of
construction materials and the risk of
cost overruns.
Steel prices have risen 50 percent
since December, he said. The proposed
gas line would require five million tons
of steel, 10 times the amount used during
construction of the oil pipeline.
Length of the gas line would be
more than twice that of the 800-mile
oil pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez,
and more than twice as thick, he said.
Natural gas pipelines operate at
high pressure – 2,500 pounds per
square inch according to TransCanada’s
proposed $26 billion Alaska Highway
Pipeline Project – and could flow
through the pipeline at speeds of up to
25 miles per hour.
Persily estimates it will be 2018
before gas begins flowing from the
North Slope. That coincides within a
year with both the TransCanada and
BP/ConocoPhillips proposals.
Top Ten Fields
Field Name Location
2006
Estimated
Production Discovery
Value Year
1. PRUDHOE BAY AK 92.1 1967
2. WASSON TX 24.7 1937
3. BELRIDGE SOUTH CA 38.9 1911
4. MISSISSIPPI CANYON BLK 807 FG 61.6 1989
5. SPRABERRY TREND AREA TX 24.2 1949
6. KUPARUK RIVER AK 45.5 1969
7. MISSISSIPPI CANYON BLK 778 CA 0.0 1999
8. MIDWAY-SUNSET CA 39.6 1901
9. ELK HILLS CA 17.21 1919
10. KERN RIVER CA 30.8 1899
Step by step
Laying the groundwork is crucial in
avoiding delays in a lengthy gas pipeline
process – from design to the first
flow of gas.
Permitting and reviews could take
months if not longer. Rinehart said it’s
beneficial to begin the permitting process
early in order to identify potential
problems sooner rather than later.
The permitting phase includes
submittal of applications for an U.S.
Environmental Impact Statement and
Canadian Environmental Impact Assessment.
The primary goal is acceptable
National Environmental Policy
Act/Canadian Environmental Assessment
Act decisions and receipt of Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission/
National Energy Board approvals, according
to the “Project Summary for a
Proposed Gas Pipeline Project” paper
developed by BP, ConocoPhillips and
ExxonMobil in 2006.
Timing is everything
BP’s Rinehart said he believes the
timing is right to move ahead with a
gas pipeline – for a couple of reasons.
Increases in gas prices and a strong
market are good reasons to forge
ahead, but marketing gas could help
keep Prudhoe Bay’s giant, expensive
infrastructure running, Rinehart said.
The press officer said he believes
marketing the North Slope gas could
prolong the life of the oil field as much
as 50 years.
Oil production is said to be declining
by 6-7 percent a year, Rinehart said.

As production drops, there will come
a point when it will no longer make
economic sense to continue keeping
a giant machine running on reduced
volume, he said. Marketing the gas
could help support infrastructure used
for gas and oil.
But it’s a fine line between oil production
and selling off excess gas.
Gas provides the pressure that
drives the oil to the surface. When the
two fuels are brought to the surface,
some components of the gas – called
natural gas liquids – are added to the
oil but the majority is pumped back
into the ground to maintain the pressure
and force more oil to the surface.
Rinehart said this “cycling” process
has played a factor in why almost 12
billion barrels of oil have been produced
from the Prudhoe Bay reservoir
that was originally estimated to produce
about 9.5 billion barrels.
With an estimated 2 billion barrels
of light oil yet to be produced from
Prudhoe Bay, it’s the responsibility of
the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation
Commission to make sure enough gas
is left to maintain the pressure necessary
to utilize remaining oil.
“The later we build the gas pipeline
and the lower the rate of gas off-take,
the smaller the losses will be. That’s
what science will tell you,” said AOGCC
Commissioner Cathy Foerster.
“Later and smaller is always better,”
she added.
Asked if now is a good time to
begin marketing natural gas, Foerster
replied, “Not considering economics
or politics, no, we’re not there yet.”
Commission studies show the
soonest large quantities of gas could
be taken off with little risk to oil development
is seven years, Foerster said.
While the Prudhoe gas cap is estimated
to hold between 24 trillion and
25 trillion cubic feet of gas, another
important field is Point Thomson, with
8 trillion to 9 trillion cubic feet, Rinehart
said.
“That’s gas you can potentially
bring on line early without compromising
Prudhoe,” Rinehart said. ”That’s
crucial to the success of anybody who
builds the gas pipeline.”
Nancy Erickson is a freelance writer
living in Seward.

AGC
members’
projects
Hick’s Creek
Scheduled for completion in June 2009, Alaska Interstate Construction began work on the Hicks
Creek project, Mile 92 to 97 on the Glenn Highway, in April 2007. The $30 million project will rebuild
and rehabilitate a five-mile segment of the Glenn Highway, including a new bridge over Hick’s
Creek, realigning and reconstructing the road, adding passing lanes and replacing several culverts.
Clark Middle School
Davis Constructors and Engineers’ new $65
million Clark Middle School in Anchorage is set
to re-open in August 2009.

Do you or your company have professional
photos to share on recent AGC
member construction projects in Alaska?
Send us your PRIDE photos, along
with a brief description of the project
and photo credits. All photo submissions
may be mailed or dropped off at
AQP Publishing Inc., 8537 Corbin
Dr., Anchorage, AK 99507.
If you prefer e-mail:
Contractor@AQPpublishing.com

Historic Moody Tunnel
he demolition this spring of the 262-foot-long historic
Moody Railroad Tunnel, an 88-year-old landmark along
the Alaska Railroad 600 feet north of the Nenana River
Bridge, marked the end of an era. Moody Tunnel was built in
the early 1920s during construction of the Alaska Railroad and
was the last of two remaining tunnels north of Anchorage.
The four-phase project included constructing the access
road to the job site from the top of the George Parks Highway,
blasting an equipment access road from the top of the tunnel
site down to track level, removing the bedrock over the top of
the tunnel, the tunnel demolition through schist bedrock, a
safety realignment scheduled for October that will move the
track off old timber cribbing, and the final clean up.
Advanced Blasting Services, one of only a few technical
explosives engineering contractors in Alaska and the company
responsible for the demolition that now makes the railroad
safer, says that technically the job was more challenging
than the typical rock excavation project because the rock had
to be excavated while preserving the tunnel’s structure so that
it could still be in use while undergoing demolition.
“That was the key,” said Mikel and Julia Saunders, owners
of Advanced Blasting Services, explaining how they worked
within scheduling windows between trains, maintaining
traffic with only one track. “We had to be able to shoot one
part while keeping the other part attached, safe and secure
so trains could continue to run until the project was done.”
Although the Alaska Railroad planned for a 36-hour shutdown,
the longest downtime was 12 hours.
demolished
BY HEIDI BOHI
The Moody Tunnel, which is eligible for listing on the
National Register of Historic Places, is a federally assisted
undertaking with funding through the Federal Transit Administration.
By the time the project is complete, the Alaska
Railroad will have spent between $3.5 million and $4 million
on the Moody Tunnel Demolition Project. The tunnel demolition
was divided into three shots or “blasts.” A total of 9,000
pounds of explosives, including 5,000 of dynamite and the
rest blasting agents, were used resulting in 260 feet of tunnel
collapsing into an estimated 4,000 cubic yards of rock, timber
and debris. For the entire project, to date, 45,000 pounds of
explosives have been used, including 10,000 pounds of dynamite,
resulting in a total of 35,000 cubic yards of debris.
Mikel Saunders said a lot of dynamite was required to
assure complete collapse because if the tunnel shook, but
did not completely come down, it would have been increasingly
dangerous to re-shoot the unstable tunnel.
The fourth and final phase of the demolition – safety realignment
that moves material further back from the rail – will
be completed this fall after passenger season ends in mid-September.
An “open cut” remains where the tunnel once stood.
Tunnels have always been a maintenance issue, said Regan
Brudie, Alaska Railroad Project Engineer for the Moody Tunnel
Demolition Project. But when the tunnel was first built in
1921 it was the only solution for getting around the corner
of Healy Canyon, which was a 10-degree curve through the
tunnel. As trains have gotten bigger, load sizes were limited to
what would fit through the Moody Tunnel. By removing the

The blasting crew from
Advanced Blasting Services
loads explosives in the rock
above Moody Tunnel during
the demolition in April.
structure, trains will ultimately be able
to haul double stacked loads between
Anchorage and Fairbanks with two 40foot
containers stacked on top of each
other. Higher, wider loads mean more
revenue for the railroad.
Located at Mile 353.6 of the Alaska
Railroad in an area known as Healy Canyon,
which has a long history of landslides,
sinkholes, and tunnel cave-ins, the
tunnel was originally built with drill and
blast methods through schist bedrock. In
the 1940s, the tunnel was lined with 12
inch by 12 inch untreated vertical timbers
as structural members to increase the
tunnel and portal strength and stability
using a standard style of construction.
The north portal area of the Moody
Tunnel collapsed in June 2005 when a
high load on a south bound train with
a piece of equipment onboard struck
some of the supporting timber sets, requiring
the railroad to shut that section
down for three days.
The incident prompted the Moody
Tunnel demolition, which included
mapping the bedrock and conducting
rock-engineering studies to decide how
to stabilize it. The section of track just
north of the tunnel was perched on old
timber cribbing. The decision was made
by the railroad to blast more bedrock
along this section of the canyon wall to
make room for the safety realignment
and move the track off the cribbing.
What the railroad found was that
that as long as it was going to pull the
tunnel offline, it should also take advantage
of the opportunity to realign
the tracks through the curve, which will
be done during the fourth stage.
Operating in Alaska since 2004,
Advanced Blasting Services, one of
AGC’s newest members, has so far
completed blasting projects for about
40 clients, including the Deadhorse
and Barrow airports. The company
has a perfect safety record, Saunders
says, and in addition to explosives
engineering and blasting services,
offers quarry and pit development,
material production, roads, highways
and bridges, harbor and land development,
housing pads and utilitiy
trenches. It also provides assistance
in mine exploration, seismic activities
and vibration monitoring.
The Moody Tunnel demolition,
Saunders says, was particularly interesting
to the company because it included
Demolition charges cut through the wood and steel tunnel lining.
shooting down rock, timber and steel –
materials that all act differently – which
involved carefully planned timing so
that the different materials came down
according to appropriate intervals.
“The project went according to
plan, with no injuries, accidents or
damage, and it was on schedule,”
Saunders said, an incredible accomplishment
considering that the project
was considered to be dangerous.
Heidi Bohi is a freelance writer and
marketing professional who divides her
time between Anchorage and Arizona.

Anchorage residents and visitors can’t help but notice the
new JL Tower – 3800 Centerpoint Drive – especially at
night.
The new, 14-story building, owned by developer JL
Properties, stands out from other Anchorage office complexes
as the first, multi-story commercial “green” building
in Alaska.
Leonard Hyde, JL Properties partner, said the idea was to
build a large LEED-certified project to show that building to
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards
makes economic sense for Alaska’s private sector.
Hyde said the company has used LEED standards on
other projects, such as the National Park Service Alaska Region
building downtown, but this is the first time it has had
New JL Tower
lights the night
By Ginger Cooley
a private sector project and had it LEED certified.
“Our projects need to make economic sense,” he said.
“We’ve shown through this project that it is possible.”
Tenants also were willing to pay a slight premium to
lease commercial space in JL Tower, Hyde said. The building
was fully leased before it opened, he said.
“From an aesthetic and an environmental standard we
tried to go beyond what is typical in Anchorage,” Hyde said.
Inside, visitors will see that commitment in the form of
$300,000 in public art, he said.
Outside, it’s the approximately 150 LED lights that
bathe the building’s top four floors in color that catch
the eye and make it a new landmark in the Anchorage
skyline.

“My partner and I are fans of art
and architecture and are doing our
best to raise the standard,” Hyde said.
Project manager Luke Blomfield,
24, with Davis Constructors and Engineers
Inc., is one of Alaska’s first
LEED-certified project managers.
He said the building also uses
more efficient glass and more insulation
to reduce heat-loss and energy
consumption and more efficient mechanical
and electrical equipment.
The JL Tower is achieving certification
at the LEED core and shell levels.
Office space in the building’s suites
feature big windows that flood the
space with natural light and oversized
views of the city. The tower has leased
office space to Chugach Alaska Corp.,
Chevron Corp., Fluor Corp. and ENI,
an Italian oil company.
Ginger Cooley is a freelance writer
who lives in Palmer.

Alaska must see gas line
built for good of state, and soon
Nearly 50 percent of Alaskans were not in the state
when construction began on the trans-Alaska oil
pipeline in 1974. The tremendous economic boost
the construction of such a major energy project gave the
state, and the way it transformed our infrastructure and way
of life, is not always recalled or given credit.
Yet today, we have another tremendous opportunity
for an economic shot in the arm with the construction of a
natural gas pipeline. We should all remember, however, the
reasons behind the bumper stickers on Railbelt trucks that
say things like, “Please Lord, give us one more boom. This
time we promise not to throw it away.”
It is expected that whichever project moves forward,
whether it is TransCanada’s bid under the AGIA process, or
the Denali Project submitted by Conoco-Phillips and BP, or
another proposal not yet considered, there will be hundreds
of jobs created during the environmental planning, design
and engineering phases – possibly as soon as this summer.
It is likely the project will produce somewhere between
9,300 and 18,000 direct jobs in state over the three years of
Alaska construction. The direct payroll should generate another
23,400 indirect jobs, pumping $5 billion into the state’s
economy. Once the pipeline is in operation, there are likely
to be another 500 permanent jobs.
Beyond the creation of jobs, the state of Alaska estimates
that the gas pipeline project should generate $2 billion in
new state taxes annually, once a tax structure for the gas has
been decided, and provide another $50 billion to $100 billion
to the treasury with the sale of the state’s royalty gas. That
means another $25 billion could be placed into the Alaska
Permanent Fund, with the dividends putting an additional
$500 million annually into the state’s economy.
But for all of these rosy economic numbers to become
reality, the state must get Alaska’s gas into the American
market quickly. We should not be lulled into thinking Alaska
is the only source of natural gas for the market to turn to.
Beyond imports of LNG, today’s record high prices are driving
a rush of new exploration domestically and increasing
pressure to open additional areas in our Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS) to development. From the Gulf of Mexico to the
Marcellus Shale field in the Appalachians, from the Barnett
field in Texas to the shale deposits in the Rocky Mountains,
there are some 800 drill rigs at work today looking for gas
– nearly three times the number of rigs looking for oil.
BY U.S. SEN.
LISA MURKOWSKI
In addition to the increasing competition, the cost of
building a pipeline is skyrocketing. This year alone, steel
prices have almost doubled and material prices for everything
from heavy machinery to compressors have sharply
escalated. Couple that with an increased shortage of skilled
workers and it is clear that any delay threatens a pipeline’s
financial viability.
A loss or even a delay in our ability to move Alaska’s
gas to market has even more serious, far-reaching repercussions
for our state than just the loss of potential revenue
and jobs. It is easy to have a false sense of security
when record oil prices are providing for large state budget
surpluses. But those prices paper over a real threat to
Alaska’s future – our rapidly declining oil production from
our northern fields.
In 2008, Alaska is likely to produce a little more than
700,000 barrels of oil per day from the North Slope, far from
the high of 2 million barrels in 1991. While at today’s prices,
smaller, more marginal wells are coming online and helping
to fill the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), any future
drop in oil prices will speed the downturn in Alaska’s production.
The Energy Information Administration forecasts
that Alaska will produce less than 500,000 barrels of oil
per day next decade, with oil flows potentially falling low
enough by 2030 to force the closure of TAPS, shutting in the
remaining oil on the North Slope.
A gas line, however, will not only produce another revenue
stream for Alaska, but also spur new oil exploration.
Since oil is usually found during the search for natural gas,
it is estimated that getting our gas to market will trigger the
discovery of another 2 billion barrels of Alaska oil. It is entirely
reasonable to argue that getting our gas to market is
needed to keep our oil flowing.
Adding together the uncertainties surrounding climate
change legislation and the potential impact of endangered
species listings on future permitting, there is no question
that Alaska cannot risk a delay in building a natural
gas pipeline by prompting regulatory or court fights, or by
complicating the financial arrangements of an agreement.
Getting Alaska’s gas to market is vital for the future of our
state, for our children and our grandchildren. There is no
time to waste.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski represents Alaska in the U.S. Senate.

The Politics of Construction
Vote ‘No’ in support
of clean water, mining
Each year when you go to the ballot box your decisions
are pretty clean cut – candidate A or candidate B? Are
you in favor of road improvement bonds, or against
road improvement bonds? Unfortunately this year, Alaskan
voters face a much more difficult question in the primary
Aug. 26. Are you for clean water, or against it? At first, it may
seem like a pretty easy answer. Who is against clean water,
right? Well, there’s a lot more to the question than meets the
eye and the proponents of two clean water initiatives that
may appear on the August ballot aren’t being completely
honest with the voters.
First, the drafters of the two initiatives have said from
the beginning that these initiatives were about stopping the
Pebble Mine. You’ve seen the television advertisements, the
print ads and heard how Pebble will kill off salmon fishing
in Alaska. But in actuality, the way these initiatives were
written would shut down all large-scale mining in Alaska.
That’s a lot of jobs, economic stimulation and tax revenue
for state and local communities.
Both measures are embroiled in court battles. Clean Water
1 (CW1) because there are questions as to its constitutionality.
Clean Water 3 (CW3) due to questions about the
vague language used.
Recently, admitting that CW1 has gone too far, the sponsors
of the initiatives have asked that CW1 be removed from
the ballot. They did so in a recent letter to Lt. Gov. Sean
Parnell, citing “voter confusion” and “the time it will take to
clarify the legal status of both initiatives.” But Parnell has
said there’s no precedent for taking such action and that it
may be that only the Supreme Court can remove an initiative
from the ballot once it has been certified.
The fate of CW3 is also in the hands of the Supreme
Court. That’s because various interpretations of the measure
are contradictory. Interpreted one way, it is just like CW1
and would also be unconstitutional. Interpreted another
way though, CW3 would not make any significant change
to Alaska’s current statewide water quality standards. It
would accomplish nothing. So even if its drafters believe in
the latter interpretation, why waste voters’ time? And if it is
really harmless, it begs the question of why the measure’s
proponents would go through an extensive campaign solely
to affirm existing standards.
The truth is that one legal interpretation of CW3 suggests
it would prohibit any release of water, similar to CW1,
and thus would have the same drastic consequences: a total
mining shutdown in Alaska.
BY REP. CRAIG JOHNSON
So, with the primary election right around the corner,
there are a lot of serious questions about these initiatives
left unanswered. Will CW1 be removed from the ballot because
it’s unconstitutional? And what would CW3 really do?
Unfortunately, clarification from the courts won’t come until
the end of June.
I would argue such issues should not be handled by
citizen initiatives. Alaska already has very stringent, effective
environmental policies in place to monitor mining
and other resource industries. Those policies and procedures
are updated as new technologies emerge to ensure
Alaska’s water is clean, the air is pure and our soil is free
from contaminants. Every Alaskan cares about the environment.
Whether we fish, hunt, hike or kayak we want
to know that the outdoors is safe for our families and ourselves.
And no industry or amount of money is going to
change that.
As a legislator, I understand the critical need to diversify
Alaska’s economy and develop our state’s vast resources.
It truly holds the promise of our future. And I am equally
confident that we can do that in an environmentally safe
manner – by both letting industry know that we’re open for
business and making it clear that responsible development
is the only way we will conduct business here.
I have grave concerns about confusing, muddied initiatives
being brought up for a vote. One has to ask, what’s
hidden in these initiatives? If they’re so cut-and-dry, why
are both mired in court challenges? Alaskans deserve the
opportunity to vote on issues that are clear and understandable.
These initiatives are the opposite.
So when you vote in this year’s primary election,
please remember that everyone is in favor of clean air
and water. But these initiatives aren’t about clean water;
they’re about completely shutting down mining in our
state. And mining is an industry that’s been a part of our
state’s history and economic engine for more than a century.
It’s an industry that provides jobs and stability to our
communities, while at the same time holding themselves
to some of the strictest environmental standards in the
world. So before you vote, please understand the importance
of this issue.
By voting “no,” you will send a strong message that Alaska
supports clean water and its valued mining industry.
Rep. Craig Johnson represents Anchorage House District 28
in the Alaska Legislature.

Member NEWS
In Memoriam
Hubert ‘Glen’ Glenzer Jr.
continued
Alaska Pioneer and longtime Anchorage resident, retired U.S. Navy Captain Hubert “Glen” Glenzer Jr., died of
natural causes in his home March 10, 2008.
He was born in the township of Green Grove, Washington, on April 15, 1924, to Hubert and Hilda Glenzer. He
attended River Falls State Teachers College before enlisting in the U.S. Navy on Oct. 9, 1942.
During a Navy career that spanned three decades he served in three wars, logged more than 10,000 flight hours in
every aircraft imaginable, and distinguished himself with a host of accomplishments, promotion and citations. After
several tours of duty including assignments at the Pentagon and Commanding Officer on Adak, he earned a Bachelor
of Science in Business Management degree from the University of Maryland, and a Master’s degree in Engineering
Management from George Washington University.
Upon graduating, he moved to Alaska and took a job as the manager for the Alaska Chapter of the Associated
General Contractors where he helped lead Alaska through the oil boom period of the 1970s. He was then appointed
to serve in many Department of Transportation offices, including Deputy Commissioner of the Northern Region, acting
Commissioner of the state Department of Transportation, director of Public Works for the city of Anchorage. He
retired from public office in 1992.
Stan Smith
Some of you knew him as the AGC Convention Committee Chairman, some knew him only as the Dolly Parton
or Tina Turner “wanna-be” at an annual AGC Dinner Dance celebration, but at AGC he was known as a strong supporter
of AGC and a staunch advocate for the construction industry. On May 28, 2008, Stan Smith passed away from
cancer and his passing will affect many AGC members. Those who turned to him for business advice, those who
counted on his support of the industry, but most of all by those who called him friend. He was a past Hard Hat Winner,
a national and local board member, a long standing AGC committee member, and a dedicated friend of AGC.
He will be greatly missed.
Alaska Contractor
available online
Links to the electronic versions
of the current and archive
issues of the Alaska Contractor
Magazine are available online
at agcak.org under “Hot Topics,”
or at aqppublishing.com
under “Business” publications.
Northern Air Cargo ESGR nomination
Northern Air Cargo is one of 2,199 businesses nationwide nominated for the
Secretary of Defense’s Employer Support Freedom Award. The honor is the highest
recognition given to employers of National Guard or Reserve members for
their exceptional support above the requirements of federal law.
This nomination originated with a Northern Air Cargo employee serving in
the National Guard or Reserve.
“NAC is proud of all its employees who serve in the Guard or Reserve and we
are thankful to them and to their families for their service,” said Margot Wiegele
with Northern Air Cargo.
Secretary of Defense William Perry instituted the Freedom Award in 1996 to
publicly recognize employers who provide exceptional support to their employees
who serve in the National Guard and Reserve. The award is the highest in a series
of awards that include the Patriot Award, the Above and Beyond Award, and the
Pro Patria Award.
The 2008 recipients will be announced midsummer and honored in Washington,
D.C., at the 13th annual ceremony on Sept. 18. For more information, visit
www.esgr.mil.

Graduates of CH2M Hill’s pilot program in
King Salmon, along with their instructors.
The students completed a three-week course
in sheet metal and scaffolding, preparing
them to enter the workforce.
CH2M Hill
pilot program trains,
hires North Slope
workers
Fifteen students graduated April
12 from a pilot program offered by
CH2M Hill at the Southwest Alaska
Vocational & Education Center
(SAVEC) in King Salmon.
Students from Bristol Bay to the
Aleutian and Pribilof Islands spent
three weeks learning how to safely
work with sheet metal and scaffolding
from CH2M Hill’s certified instructors.
Graduates were offered employment
on the North Slope.
“We focused on Southwest Alaska
because it is essentially an untapped
resource for workers. With the significant
amount of oil and gas work in
Alaska on the horizon, our long-term
goal is to develop a transferable work
force to meet the needs of our company
and our clients,” said Trevor O’Hara,
CH2M Hill.
The program is designed to prepare
students to succeed in a real-life work
environment, he said. Training also
included other job skills like resume
writing and construction math.
Beginning in May, CH2M Hill offered
a training session on electrical
apprenticeship at the school in King
Salmon.

Member NEWS
Carlile receives
national honors
for ads,
promotional
materials
Carlile Transportation Systems
received two prestigious national
awards from the Transportation
Sales and Marketing Association of
America, a national transportation
organization dedicated to improving
knowledge and communication
skills through sales and marketing.
Carlile received two first place
awards for its 2007 “Zen” print ad
campaign and the development of
services marketing materials April
8 at the Transportation Sales and
Marketing Association of America
annual convention in Phoenix, Ariz.
Carlile worked with the marketing
and advertising agency, Marketing
Solutions and graphic artist
Mariajose Echeverria, to create the
ad and correlating support pieces.
View the ad series and promotional
materials online at www.
carlile.biz.

continued
Anchorage Museum
Expansion
wins landscape
award
The Anchorage Museum Expansion
has received a merit award
from the Washington Chapter of
the American Society of Landscape
Architects. Projects were awarded
on the quality of design, analysis,
planning and research; functionality;
context and environmental
stewardship; presentation; and relevance
to the profession, the public
and the environment.
The landscape design has been a
collaborative effort between Charles
Anderson Landscape Architecture
of Seattle and Earthscape Inc. of
Anchorage. The installation is due
to be completed in 2009.
Alcan General Inc. leads the
project as the general contractor.
Fairbanks
scholarship
winner announced
Congratulations to our Fairbanks
AGC original endowment winner,
UAF Engineering student Jacob
Horazdovsky, who received AGC’s
2008 scholarship. He is the vice
president of the AGC/UAF Student
chapter and is active in design and
construction of the ICE ARCH as
well as the Steel Bridge competitions
supported by the local AGC of
Alaska, Fairbanks chapter.
NEWS

Member NEWS
Three to compete
on $200 million
prison
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough
and the Alaska Dept. of
Corrections selected Hunt/Lydig/
Kiewitt Pacific Co., a joint venture;
Cornerstone/ JE Dunn, a joint
venture; and Neeser Construction
Inc. to compete for a contract to
build a medium-security prison
at the corner of Alsop Road and
Point MacKenzie Road.
One of the three will likely be
selected in September or October,
according to a Mat-Su Borough
press release.
Timber is being cleared now
from the site. Groundbreaking
for the more than $200 million,
1,536-bed Point MacKenzie Correctional
Center is expected in
spring 2009.
A joint project between the
borough and the state, the project
is expected to generate 600 to 700
construction jobs and 350 prison
jobs. The Department of Corrections
will lease the prison from
the Mat-Su Borough, operate it,
and eventually own it when the
lease-revenue bonds are repaid
in 25 years.
Carlile expands
in Fairbanks
Carlile Transportation Systems
broke ground for its new state-of-the
art shop in Fairbanks May 21. Carlile
owners Harry McDonald, CEO, and
Linda Leary, president, were on hand
to help celebrate.
Carlile’s existing Fairbanks terminal
opened in 1984 and employs about
100 people.

continued
“Carlile continues to recognize
and address our customers’ shipping
needs,” said Carlile Transportation
CEO Harry McDonald. “With the addition
of the new shop we can service
up to six tractors or trailers at the same
time and operate a new tractor wash
bay at the same time.”
Carlile terminals serve Alaska from
Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Kodiak,
Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse, Seward, Forest
Lake, Tacoma, Houston and Alberta.
Do you or your company have information
to share on recent pro-jects,
and construction updates in Alaska?
Send us your AGC member news. All
submissions of copy and photos may
be mailed or dropped off at AQP
Publishing, Inc., 8537 Corbin Dr.,
Anchorage, AK 99507.
If you prefer e-mail:
Contractor@aqppublishing.com

ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building
60 percent complete
Once the exterior siding is complete, Cornerstone
Construction will focus on the interior laboratories and offices.
UAA’s new science building includes a planetarium. (top right)
The atrium shown here from the office wing will provide a gathering place for students.
BY BROOK MAYFIELD
Cornerstone Construction Company
continues with the construction of the
University of Alaska Anchorage Integrated
Science Building – now known
as the ConocoPhillips Integrated Science
Building. This newest UAA science
facility combines state of the art science
and teaching laboratories with offices, a
large atrium/gathering place, a large lecture
hall, classrooms and a planetarium.
As Construction Manager at Risk,
Cornerstone provided pre-construc-
Exterior of the ConocoPhillips
Integrated Science Building, which is
60 percent complete, is on schedule for
completion by September 2009.
tion services, working with the architects
(ECI-Hyer and ZGF) and UAA
staff to perform value engineering,
constructability review, project scheduling
and other pre-construction services.
A Guaranteed Maximum Price
was reached and the project began in
spring of 2007. Currently, the project is
60 percent complete and Cornerstone
is on schedule to complete construction
by September 2009.