The Alaska Contractor - Alaska Quality Publishing, Inc.

Associated General 

Contractors of Alaska 

8005 Schoon St. 

Anchorage, AK 99518 

(907) 561-5354 

Fax: (907) 562-6118 

www.agcak.org 

Contractor@agcak.org 

Editorial Board 

Dave Cruz 

Dick Cattanach 

Margaret Empie 

Mary Killorin 

John MacKinnon 

Brook Mayfield 

April Reilly 

Vicki Schneibel 

George Tuckness 

Lyn Whitley 

8537 Corbin Dr. 


(907) 562-9300 

Fax: (907) 562-9311 

Toll Free: (866) 562-9300 

www.AQPpublishing.com 

Publisher 

Robert R. Ulin 

Editor 

Rachael Fisher 

Graphic Designer 

Justin Ritter 

Project Sales Manager 

Clem E. Mewmaw 

Advertising Coordinator 

Carol Choi 

Th e n e w Ko d i aK p o l i c e s TaT i o n b u i lT 

by Ro g e R hi cK e l co n T R ac T i ng in c. 

cov e R p h oTo by 

ch R i s aR e n d 

Features 

Table of Contents 

12 Bonding Proposition B by J. Mark Dudick 

32 Smoothing the transition AGC members and community businesses help 

wounded warriors settle in 

37 Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans 

38 Building the big picture Contractors, Native Corporation and cinema chain 

create maximum entertainment 

46 Coming to the AGC of Alaska Convention in November: David Rabiner 

50 Changing face of Kodiak by Drew Herman 

59 In Memoriam – Senator Ted Stevens 

66 Anchorage and Fairbanks Annual AGC Golf Scrambles 

72 Traffic relief Lake Otis Parkway-Tudor Road intersection 

76 Kodiak Launch Complex 

79 Local contractors and cooperatives pitch in 

to salvage oily Gulf of Mexico by Drew Herman 

83 Project Update: Hiland Mountain Correctional Center, 

S.A.V.E. High School and more by Jessica Bowman 

86 Taking pride in what we do photo essay 

Pr o F i l e s 

22 Cruz Construction Inc. by Tracy Kalytiak 

40 H&K Sheetmetal Fabricators Inc. by Jamie Rogers 

60 Uresco Construction Materials Inc. by Rachael Fisher 

DePartments 

The Alaska Fall 2010 

The Official Publication of the Associated General Contractors of Alaska 

www.agcak.org 

4 Winning Bids & Construction Activity 

8 President’s Message by Dave Cruz 

10 Executive Director’s Message by John MacKinnon 

18 Why join AGC of Alaska? by Barbara Rowland 

20 Alaska Construction Academies by Kathleen Castle 

28 Financial Services & Contractors by Betsy Lawer 

35 Human Resources Update by Barbara Stallone 

48 AGC Annual Conference 2010 Registration 

64 Contractors & the Law by Robert J. Dickson 

70 Contractors & Ethical Contracting by Julia M. I. Holden 

74 Safety Report by Chris Ross 

78 WorkSafe by Matthew Fagnani 

92 Member News 

Correction: Christine M. West, TheBusinessMD, is working on her PhD, thus the required designation of PhD-c. 

The Alaska Contractor is published by AQP Publishing Inc. for the Associated General Contractors of Alaska. Contents of the magazine are not necessarily endorsed by AGC of Alaska or AQP Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. 

Copyright 2010 by the Associated General Contractors of Alaska. For information about articles in this edition or for permission to reproduce any portion of it, contact AQP Publishing Inc. 

Fall 2010 The Alaska conTrAcTor 3

Note: Winning Bids and 

Construction Activity 

1) Source from projects advertised 

in the AGC of Alaska Bulletin 

2) Calculations based 

on date of bid 

3) Supply/Service; Non-Construction 

bid results are not always 

advertised in the bulletin 

4) RFP results are not always 

advertised in the bulletin 

ArcTIc & WESTErn 

KIPNUK AIRPORT RELOC PHS II 

$13,477,354 

Knik Construction Co. Inc. 

NULATO AIRPORT IMPROVEMENTS 

$5,903,129 

Brice Inc. 

NAPASKIAK TEACHER HOUSING 

$1,976,310 

Bethel Services Inc. 

KING COVE AIRPORT FENCING 

$1,395,100 

D & L Construction Co. Inc. 

ATQASUK FIRE STATION FLOOR 

REPLACE 

$627,000 

Concor Construction Inc. 

InTErIor 

EIELSON FALL PROTECTION 

$10,000,000 

Weldin Construction Inc. 

NORTH POLE SEWER LIFT 

STATION REHAB 

$3,167,000 

Great Northwest Inc. 

DELTA HS BIOMASS HEATING SYSTEM 

$2,111,000 

Richard Stanton Construction Inc. 

FBKS UAF SKARLAND HALL SHOWER 

REPAIRS 

$1,598,000 

Richard Stanton Construction Inc. 

FBKS RESEARCH 

HEADHOUSE CONSTRUCT 

$1,210,593 

Alaska Commercial Construction 

COPPER CENTER SINGLE 

FAMILY HOMES 

$789,000 

W M Construction LLC 

SoUTHcEnTrAL 

ANCH 40TH AVENUE EXTENSION 

$9,070,013 

Pruhs Corporation 

MAT-SU SAFETY/ 

SECURITY UPGRADES 

$4,940,000 

ATS Inc. 

ANCH 88TH AVE UPGRADES 

$3,037,097 

Roger Hickel Contracting Inc. 

EAGLE RIVER CIVIL/INFRASTRUCTURE 

$2,483,404 

Granite Construction Co. 

ANCH VAN BUREN ST/48TH AVE 

$ 2,179,798 

Southcentral Construction Inc. 

KODIAK CHEMICAL STORAGE BLDG 

$1,755,000 

Jay-Brant General Contractors 

ANCH INDEPENDENCE DRIVE 

UPGRADE/EXT PHS I 

$1,468,387 

Southcentral Construction Inc. 

HOPE PORCUPINE CAMPGROUND 

RECONST 

$1,190,834 

Janssen Contracting Inc. 

ANCH SAND LAKE ROAD RECLAMATION 

$1,188,852 

Granite Construction Co. 

KODIAK ROOF REPLACE/LIBRARY 

PAINTING 

$1,043,400 

Brechan Enterprises Inc. 

MAT-SU BRIDGE REPLACEMENT 

$979,500 

Swalling Construction Co. Inc. 

4 The Alaska conTrAcTor Fall 2010

ANCH PROVIDENCE/ 

SPIRIT WAY SIGNAL 

$966,899 

Ancor Inc. 

ANCH S GAMBELL ST DRAINAGE 

$893,853 

Bristol Design Build Services LLC 

SoUTHEAST 

CORDOVA CENTER 

CONSTRUCT PHASE 1 

$8,305,653 

Dokoozian Construction LLC 

JUNEAU PORT CUSTOM/VISTOR CTR 

CONSTRUCT 

$8,039,869 

North Pacific Erectors 

SHAKWAK HWY SURFACE TREATMENT 

$5,862,520 

Yukon Engineering Services 

PETERSBURG FIRE/EMS 

FACILITY PHS II 

$4,222,400 

McGraw’s Custom Construction 

JUNEAU BRH MEDICAL EAST WING 

RENO 

$3,420,500 

McGraw’s Custom Construction 

KAKE JENNY CREEK BRIDGE INSTALL 

$3,088,458 

Southeast Road Builders 

KETCHIKAN RESEARCH FACILITY 

$2,650,000 

BAM LLC 

HAINES CHILKOOT DOCK 

IMPROVEMENTS 

$1,886,697 

Southeast Road Builders 

JUNEAU GLACIER SPUR RD REHAB 

$1,135,309 

Secon 

CRAIG PORT SAINT 

NICHOLAS ROAD PAVING 

$1,002,500 

Bicknell Construction Inc. 

OUZINKIE DOCK DEMOLITION 

$806,600 

Pacific Pile & Marine LP 


$650,000,000 

$600,000,000 

$550,000,000 

$500,000,000 

$450,000,000 

$400,000,000 

$350,000,000 

$300,000,000 

$250,000,000 

$200,000,000 

$150,000,000 

$100,000,000 

$50,000,000 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

$450,000,000 

$400,000,000 

$350,000,000 

$300,000,000 

$250,000,000 

$200,000,000 

$150,000,000 

$100,000,000 

$50,000,000 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

$1,200,000,000 

$1,050,000,000 

$900,000,000 

$750,000,000 

$600,000,000 

$450,000,000 

$300,000,000 

$150,000,000 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

$-0 

$-0 

$-0 

highway 

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC 

building 


annual 

TRENDS 



PrEsiDEnt’s MEssagE 

It’s Time to Walk the Talk 

I 

am using this venue for personal reasons as I am writing 

this with a heavy and troubled heart. In the past seven 

months fi ve people I knew well have been lost due to 

accidents. These people were not only business associates, 

I considered them friends. As most of you Alaskans well 

know, friends are an integral part of our livelihood. 

Jim Bowles with Conoco Phillips was not a typical president 

of an oil company. He was very down to earth and 

treated all people equally. It was easy to see that he did 

indeed have that “Alaskan Spirit.” 

Bill Michel – this guy, he was amazing. He was a bush 

pilot, but not your ordinary bush pilot. If you needed 

anything anywhere, he’d fi gure it out. If there wasn’t a safe 

place to land, he’d build it. He provided transportation to 

meet the demand for food, fuel, and cargo. He didn’t take 

short cuts; he took the time to ensure things 

were done right the fi rst time – safely and 

effi ciently. 

John Eshleman owned Steppers 

Construction. He was my competitor and 

my friend. He was a standup guy who will 

be truly missed. His participation in the Wolf 

Lake Airport is an example of the kind of 

man he was. He joined with other community 

members in the effort to develop this 

airport over the past 26 years. Up to 2008 all 

improvements and developments were done 

by and at the sole expense of the developers. 

No funds were received from the Mat-Su 

Borough, the State of Alaska, or the FAA for development. 

He used his own money, time and equipment to build and 

maintain a 3,800-foot paved runway. He was integral in 

helping the Wolf Lake community come together. 

Paul Quartly was not rough around the edges; he was 

rugged around the edges. He came to Alaska in 1975 working 

as a heavy equipment operator. Not many people know this, 

but he was run over by a log loader as a young man. This 

is something that would have killed or crippled most men. 

Not Paul - he was broken but he got back to work in a year’s 

time. And work he did. He was the Jack of All Trades and 

Master of Most. His communication skills would not pass 

the HR political correctness guide within the current work 

environment. His brutal truth would school the newbies as 

well as the experienced men on any crew. If you watched 

and listened, you learned. If he was assigned a task, he got 

it done on time and better than expected. He was my uncle, 

and I will miss him greatly. 

We need to 

help guide our 

great state to 

become what our 

forefathers had 

visions of – 

or better. 

DAV E CR U Z 

President 

Ted Stevens. I don’t think I can say anything that hasn’t 

already been said about Uncle Ted. He was my Scout Master 

in the Cub Scouts. And, I am proud to say that I was one of 

Ted’s Tigers. 

Each of these people leaves an individual void. However, 

combined that void is frightening. 

Their untimely deaths make me think about their 

accomplishments. 

Each had faced unique challenges and great opportunities 

not given to every person. They rose to their challenges and 

seized opportunities presented. They made things happen. 

They listened to the people around them. They helped guide 

the younger generations as well as their peers – no matter 

their political point of view – mentoring them to recognize and 

seize their own opportunities. They loved their families, and 

friends as well as their work and the people 

they represented. Whether as a senator for 

our state or the folks who depended on them 

to lead their companies into the future. They 

cared. They cared beyond their own worries 

and wanted to make our lives better. 

I’m afraid that we may never see the 

like of these folks again. I’m hoping to see 

better. 

Let’s hope that with our experience, 

we will help guide the next generation to 

become better than the last generation. Isn’t 

that the basic measure of success? The next 

generation learns from the prior and does at 

least one step better. 

So, current leaders of this state, it’s time that we, as a 

community, step up to the plate and learn from each of 

these gentlemen. 

We need to come together to put a stop to the palm up 

attitude that seems to be running rampant throughout our 

state and nation. 

We need to step up, as each of these people did, within our 

communities, groups or as individuals and walk the talk. 

We need to help guide our great state to become what 

our forefathers had visions of – or better. 

We need to regenerate that Can Do attitude that no 

matter how many failures there are, we pull ourselves up by 

the bootstraps and keep on keeping on until the goal is met. 

And then, together, set the next goal. 

We need to know when to throw the political b.s. to the 

side and get things done. Get it done right for the people of 

Alaska. 


EXECUtiVE DirECtor’s MEssagE 

Fiscal Certainty or an 

Adjustable Rate Mortgage? 

A 

few years ago, while the housing market boomed, 

people were sold adjustable-rate mortgages at 

“teaser” interest rates that ballooned after a few 

years. Houses were being fi nanced like some furniture 

store marketing ploys – “No payments for two years” – with 

promises to refi nance as the value goes up and interest 

rates go down. 

Unfortunately, the rates of those ARMs jumped at the 

same time that overbuilding softened the housing market, 

foreclosures skyrocketed and banks fl oundered, resulting 

in the bankruptcy or sale of many fi nancial institutions. 

Good sense dictates to you that one does not agree 

to unpredictable fi nancial terms. Imagine what it would 

be like if ARMs were the only kind available. What if your 

mortgage did not include information on when the interest 

rate would balloon, or what the new rate would be? 

What if lenders could change the terms of your loan 

anytime they wanted? That would make borrowing much 

riskier than it already is. While that proposition sounds 

absurd, it is not unlike what the North Slope producers 

face when they consider bidding their company’s future on 

the Gas Line Open Season. 

Why? To answer that question, it’s important to understand 

how pipelines are built and just who bears the risk. 

Much like any other project, a pipeline owner must line up 

adequate fi nancing to build the pipeline. Pipeline fi nancing, 

like most other projects, comes from the private fi nancial 

institutions that perform their due diligence, evaluate the 

risk in lending and set the terms. The higher the risk of not 

being paid back, the more costly the fi nancing; the lower 

the risk, the cheaper the fi nancing. 

For pipeline projects, lenders look to see if the pipeline 

owner has fi rm transportation commitments from gas 

shippers – in this case, the producers. Have gas producers 

committed to ship a suffi cient quantity of gas to allow the 

fi nancing to be paid back? The banks look to the producers 

and not the pipeline company to guarantee the debt. The 

reason these are called fi rm transportation commitments 

is that the producers agree to pay the transportation cost 

of the gas through the pipeline regardless of the price of 

gas on the other end. By doing so, the producers agree 

to pay for the debt and operation of the pipeline whether 

they ship all or any of their gas. The fi rm commitment or 

JO H N MA CKI N N O N 

Executive Director 

risk taken by the producers gives the banks the confi dence 

they will be paid back and allows the pipeline company to 

leverage the producer’s risk to obtain adequate funding to 

construct the pipeline. The pipeline company passes most 

of the risk on to the shippers. 

So why is fi scal certainty so important? On a project 

this size ($30 billion to $40 billion) the fi rm transportation 

commitments are long-term and substantial. Because of 

the magnitude of the risks associated with a project of this 

size – over $100 billion of fi nancial commitments, potential 

construction delays and cost escalations (TAPS grew 

10-fold) and the risks associated with the commodity price 

of the gas – more than once in the last twenty years, the 

wholesale price of natural gas has fl uctuated up and down 

between $2 and $14 – fi rm fi scal terms that are predictable 

and durable are necessary. The state and the shipper need 

to agree on fi scal terms – how the revenue from the gas 

going through the pipeline is going to be shared. 

What the state is asking of the producers is little 

different from an adjustable rate mortgage where the 

terms and conditions aren’t known. Through the Open 

Season process, the North Slope producers must guarantee 

to fi nance North America’s single largest construction 

project and the single-most important project to the 

economic future of Alaska. The producers can manage the 

risk associated with their ability to supply the gas; they 

accept the risk associated with the commodity price of 

gas, confi dent in the increasing curve of U.S. natural gas 

consumption. But the unknown is what the state will do 

with industry taxes in the next few decades. 

In just 10 years, through statute and regulation, our 

politicians have increased oil and gas taxes fi ve times 

that I can think of, and there are probably more I don’t 

know about. One increase was even retroactive! That is 

a signifi cant increase every two years to prop up government 

spending! 

Now think about that adjustable rate mortgage. 

Would you be willing to invest your money in the pipeline 

under these conditions? The Permanent Fund sure 

wouldn’t. The producers of Alaska’s gas need fi scal 

certainty or they can’t make a reasoned investment decision 

and without reasoned investment decisions, Alaskans 

don’t have a gas pipeline. 


Bonding Proposition B 

Nearly $400 million to renovate and build projects around 

the state is up to the voters in November 

By J. ma r K Du D i C K 

In the waning moments of the 2010 

session, state legislators came up 

with a bond issue to fi nance nearly 

$400 million to renovate and construct 

buildings throughout the state. 

The legislature passed and the 

governor signed the bill, but the voters 

will have the fi nal “yea” or “nay” on the 

Nov. 2, 2010, ballot under the heading 

of Bonding Proposition B: “Shall the 

State of Alaska issue its general obligation 

bonds in the principal amount 

of not more than $397,200,000 for the 

purpose of design and construction 

of library, education, and educational 

research facilities?” 

With many schools at or over 

capacity, educators view the bond 

as essential to the state’s future. In 

fact, six of the top-10 schools on 

the state’s renovation list are in the 

Lower Kuskokwim School District – 

two of which could benefi t from the 

bond, Kipnuk K-12 and Kwigillingok 

K-12, said Gary Baldwin, district 

superintendent. 

Chief Paul Memorial School in 

Kipnuk, for example, would receive 

$49.9 million to expand and renovate 

the K-12 school with 200 students. 

“We haven’t really added anything 

since the ‘80s,” said site administrator 

Jami Whedbee. “What we do have may 

help students go out in the world. But 

if we don’t stay cutting edge, we are 

robbing our students of their future, 

and that’s not fair.” 

Overall, the district is operating at 

200 percent above capacity, and most 

of the schools are “bare bones” at best, 

said Baldwin. The 30-year district 

resident described the evolution as: 

“You build a new school with plenty 

of specialized space, but as the school 

grows you do what you have to do to 

accommodate. You replace the library 

with a classroom. The shop becomes 

a classroom. Before you know it, the 

books sit in a corner and there’s no 

shop class anymore. In the end, it 

affects the kids.” 


An artist’s rendering of a KPC’s proposed tech center in Soldotna. 

Prop B will affect the state’s 

construction industry, as well, said John 

MacKinnon, the Associated General 

Contractors of Alaska’s executive 

director. After consulting national and 

local trends and statistics, MacKinnon 

estimated that “the $400 million of 

projects in the bond issue should yield 

about 933 construction jobs a year for 

three years and 900 to 1,200 indirect 

and induced jobs.” 

Though state legislators agree on 

the need for renovation and new jobs, 

some contest the wisdom of borrowing 

money to fi nance the projects, especially 

when oil revenues are declining, 

warned Rep. Les Gara, D-Anchorage 

in the Juneau Empire. 

But the low interest rates are subsidized 

for these types of bonds, countered 

Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, co-chair 

of the Senate Finance Committee, in 

Details of Bonding 

Proposition B include: 

• $60 million for a new UAA 

sports arena in Anchorage 

• $128.5 million for schools in 

western Alaska 

• $18.5 million for a state library, 

archives and museum in 

Juneau 

• $40 million for Dept. of Fish 

and Game research building in 

Kodiak 

• $23.5 million for a 

UAA-Mat-Su arts and learning 

center in Wasilla 

• $88 million for a UAF sciences 

classroom and lab in Fairbanks 

• $30.5 million for Kenai 

Peninsula College student 

housing and Tech-ed center 

• $5 million for Prince William 

Sound Community College 

campus renovations in Valdez 

• $3.2 million for Klawock Voc-ed 

center 

• $20 million for Mount 

Edgecumbe HS pool in Sitka 


An artist’s rendering of UAA’s proposed sports complex in Anchorage. 

the same Juneau Empire article. Prop 

B would take advantage of a federal 

subsidy – Buy America Bonds. 

“There’s some extremely low 

interest rates, with the Obama administration 

paying part of the interestrate 

costs.” 

With $12 billion in a savings account, 

not counting the permanent fund, the 

state could easily afford bond interest 

over the years, Stedman added. 

The University of Alaska system 

would benefi t considerably to the tune 

of $207 million, including a sports 

complex at UAA and a life science 

classroom and lab at UAF. 

The Wells Fargo Sports Complex, 

for example, is more than 30 years old 

and barely meets the university’s need 

for academic achievement, student 

recreation, varsity practices and spectator 

enjoyment, said UAA Alumni 

board director Lori Davey. 

“The new center is vital for 

Anchorage residents, UAA athletes 

and UAA students.” 

In UAF’s proposal to state legislators, 

Chancellor Brian Rogers echoed 

sentiments similar to other state 

educators. 

“Enrollment and research in this 

area has been surging, but we’ve packed 

too many people into too-small classrooms 

and laboratories for too long 

already,” he wrote of UAF, which ranks 

in the top 100 of the nearly 700 U.S. 

universities that conduct research. 

“Our students are not being served 

when we try to teach them in antiquated 

biology laboratories. Our state 

is not being served when we don’t have 

the proper space to conduct biological 

research in areas of vital importance 

to Alaskans, from avian infl uenza to 

sudden infant death syndrome, and 

from climate change to emerging 

diseases.” 

Aside from the teaching and 

research advantages, according a recent 

McDowell Group study, every $1 

million invested by the state in university 

research creates 149 jobs with $4.8 

million in payroll and another $1.5 to 

$2 million in purchases. 

In the end, all of these new buildings 

and renovations are “needed now 

– for UAF, for UA, for all of Alaska,” 

Rogers concluded. 

An artist’s rendering of UAA-Mat-Su’s proposed arts and learning center in Wasilla. 


Scholarship testimonials 

How to 

apply 

Ryan Hammel 

In fall 2010, I will be returning to Gonzaga University 

in Spokane, WA, for my fi nal year of undergraduate 

classes. I greatly appreciate this generous scholarship from 

the Associated General Contractors of Alaska. This award 

helps to make it possible for me to fi nish my college career. 

As a civil engineering student, with a focus in structural 

design, I hope to eventually return to Alaska and enter the construction 

industry. Thanks again to AGC for helping to make this goal a reality. 

Pete Clements 

The decision to return to college and work toward 

my goals has been challenging in many ways. With the 

help of AGC, I was honored to receive a scholarship to 

help ease the fi nancial burden synonymous with higher 

education. The Construction Management Program at 

UAA is providing me with the knowledge and skills for 

success in the construction industry. 

Jacob Mathiesen 

As far back as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed 

attending the AGC Family Fun Night and I still fi nd it 

irresistible to cut the rigid insulation with a plastic saw! 

I am in my second year in the Construction Management 

Program at UAA. When I graduate, I will be the 

third generation of my family involved in construction 

in Alaska. I look forward to building Alaska along with AGC. 

Lyle Axelarris 

After working as a carpenter for several AGC of 

Alaska contractors in Fairbanks, I decided to study civil 

engineering at University of Alaska Fairbanks. Working 

on a civil engineering degree and raising a family is 

tough work. But AGC’s assistance has made it easier for 

me to focus on my studies and receive a 4.0 GPA. I am 

very excited to continue working in Alaska’s construction industry after I 

graduate. Thank you, AGC! 

The Construction Education Foundation is involved in all levels of construction education in Alaska – from 

students in secondary schools to older university students, to students looking to change careers or to take 

short courses to upgrade their skills. The foundation’s goal is to provide the next generation of construction 

workers in Alaska. To that end, CEF works with the Associated General Contractors of Alaska to offer scholarships 

to students taking (or will be taking) classes toward a degree that will support the state’s construction 

industry. To apply, download the forms at www.alaskacef.org/scholarships.html and return by deadline to the 

CEF offi ce at 8005 Schoon St., Anchorage, AK 99518. For more information, call (907) 770-1826.



WHY JOIN AGC OF ALASKA? 

Leadership – 

How AGC pulls the parties together 

One of the benefi ts of AGC of Alaska membership 

that is very hard to quantify, yet which our members 

benefi t from, is leadership to effect positive 

change for the construction industry. By offering vision and 

bringing stakeholders together to solve industry problems, 

AGC allows members to go about their business doing what 

they do best – building Alaska. 

By the time I came on board seven years ago as membership 

coordinator, AGC of America and Alaska were already 

involved with the looming crisis of an aging workforce and 

lack of interested and qualifi ed youth to replace retiring 

baby-boomers. AGC of America had collected and tracked 

the necessary data to identify the problem and then set out 

to tackle it. First, they created “Build-Up!” and “On-Site!” 

programs to introduce construction to elementary and 

secondary classrooms in a 

fun and engaging way using 

volunteer members of the 

construction industry. Next, 

they promoted the National 

Center of Construction 

Education and Research 

curriculum to provide 

national standards and certifi 

cations for skilled trade 

education. 

AGC of Alaska’s former 

executive and training directors 

also tirelessly educated 

and lobbied legislators and 

school districts around the 

state to re-introduce and 

promote vocational education in the schools to motivate 

students to choose construction as a career path. 

To that end, AGC brought several members interested 

in reversing this downward trend together with representatives 

of organized labor unions to create the Construction 

Industry Progress Fund. This fund would use money from 

the negotiated “nickel-an-hour” employer contributions to 

the Welfare and Benefi ts packages. Next, AGC and the CIPF 

Board aggressively set out to change the negative image of 

the construction industry by creating cool TV commercials 

targeted at the “infl uencers” - parents and school counselors 

- of their youthful market. 

BA R BA R A RO W L A N D 

Membership Coordinator 

On another front, AGC’s Education Committee had 

long been giving university scholarships in Anchorage and 

Fairbanks with proceeds from the summer golf tournaments. 

But many students went out of state for construction 

management degrees and didn’t return, so the committee 

lobbied the University of Alaska Anchorage to introduce 

a Construction Management program. After they found a 

champion at UAA to anchor the program and raised a great 

deal of private money to fund it, a two-year degree program 

was launched! By the time the fi rst set of students neared 

graduation, a four-year degree curriculum was ready to go. 

And similar coursework soon opened at the University of 

Alaska Fairbanks, as well. 

As AGC was focusing on construction education and 

training, and with other new programs to launch, the 

Construction Education 

Foundation was formed 

to handle this huge multifaceted 

workforce development 

effort. Receiving 

grants from the Denali 

Commission and the Alaska 

State Legislature, the CEF 

has worked closely with 

school districts throughout 

the state to create the Alaska 

Construction Academies to 

develop a qualifi ed workforce 

for the next generation. 

With cooperation 

from the Alaska Department 

of Labor and such 

supporters as construction companies and labor unions, 

CEF has sponsored the successful Construction Career Days 

for high school students and invitational “hiring events” for 

the high school students who’ve shown serious interest and 

potential. 

We’ve come a very long way to insure a qualifi ed workforce 

for the years to come. 

Another leadership example involved the Alaska 

Construction Industry Substance Abuse Program, also 

known as the AK Clean Card Program. Previously, contractors 

would plan signifi cantly ahead in hiring workers to allow 

time for pre-employment test results. In cases of hiring many 


new workers for weekend-closures 

of road intersections, for example, 

contractors spent a great deal of time 

and money on workers for only two to 

three days. Employees suffered terrible 

inefficiencies, as well, since many of 

them worked for multiple companies 

during a construction season and 

underwent a drug test each time they 

were dispatched and then lost wages 

waiting for the results. 

Listening to concerns of contractors 

and labor representatives, AGC 

brought the various parties together 

to create a workable program. Experts 

on drug-testing and a program “guru” 

from Spokane, WA rounded out the 

committee, and after about a year 

formed the AK Clean Card Program. 

As an employer-sponsored program 

endorsed by most of the local trade 

unions, it’s become a “win-win” solution 

for both parties. 

Yet another example is the certification 

program for handling erosion 

and storm water on construction 

sites, Certified Erosion and Sediment 

Control Lead and Storm Water Pollution 

Prevention Plan. When the Environmental 

Protection Agency began 

threatening contractors and owners for 

Clean Water Act violations a few years 

ago, AGC called in the Department of 

Transportation, the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, the Department of Environmental 

Conservation, the Municipality 

of Anchorage, the Alaska Railroad and 

the Department of Natural Resources 

to determine a proper response to the 

EPA’s new enforcement efforts. Three 

years ago the CESCL certification 

course was created, instructors were 

certified to teach and AGC immediately 

began sponsoring classes. Soon 

thereafter the SWPPP class followed. 

Although open to anyone, AGC 

members receive significant discounts 

on these courses. 

I do not have the space to share 

all the leadership examples, but 

perhaps you see the point with these 

I’ve shared. AGC works very hard and 

effectively every day to connect the 

dots and act on behalf of the construction 

industry. It is unlikely you can 

put a dollar value on most of these 

membership benefits, but you know 

they are indeed invaluable. 


Alaska Construction Academies 

Student survey yields positive results 

By Kat h l e e n Ca s t l e 

aKCa ex e C u t i v e Di r e C t o r 

Construction Education 

To make sure the Alaska Construction Academies are 

providing the best job training for high school students, 

the Construction Education Foundation, Inc. contracted 

LifeTrack Services Inc. to survey second-semester seniors 

registered in construction-related classes. 

The AkCA staff designed 17 questions to determine: 

• the student’s preliminary plans for the future 

• will the student choose a career in construction 

• will the student remain in Alaska 

• how the student rates the construction classes 

• what/who influenced the student’s choice of classes 

What area(s) do you plan to pursue immediately 

after high school? 

In 2009-2010, more than 4,000 high- and middle-school 

students attended AkCA construction-related classes in 

Fairbanks, Mat-Su, Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula, Juneau and 

Ketchikan. Of those students, 260 second-semester seniors 

completed the survey in May 2010. 

Results indicate that the academies are following the 

right track. More than 80 percent of the seniors rated the 

classes’ influence on their self-confidence from “some” to 

“powerful,” and 90 percent landed in the same rating for 

helping to prepare for a career. The classes also increased the 

desire of 78 percent of the respondents to attend school. 

Immediately after high school you plan to . . . 

Other survey outcomes reveal: 

• 66 percent are “likely” to “absolutely likely” to choose a 

construction career 

• 75 percent are aware of construction jobs available after 

high school 

• 71 percent plan a career in Alaska 


How would you rate your construction trade classes 

in preparing you for a career? 

As far as the biggest influence on their post-high-school 

plans, students indicated: 

• 43 percent – parents 

• 20 percent – friends 

• 12 percent – teachers 

Contractors frequently emphasize nationally recognized 

certifications to increase the potential for landing an entrylevel 

job. 

Thanks to the academies’ classes, students received 

certificates in: 

• 29 percent – National Registry for the National Center for 

Construction Education and Research 

• 13 percent – an OSHA 10 class 

• 13 percent – HILTI Powder Actuated 

• 9 percent – First Aid/CPR 

• 8 percent – Forklift Driving 

To determine the program’s overall influence on their life 

paths, the Construction Education Foundation will survey 

these same students two and five years after they graduate. 

The CEF funds AkCA through grants from the Alaska 

Department of Labor and Workforce Development and 

the Alaska Department of 

Commerce, Community and 

Economic Development. In 

late spring 2010, the Denali 

Commission also supported 

classes in the Bethel, Nome 

and Kodiak Regions. 

View the LifeTrack survey 

results at www.alaskaca. 

org. If you’d like to hire an 

AkCA graduate, contact 

your local Alaska Construction 

Academy or call AkCA 

Executive Director, Kathleen 

Castle at (907) 222-0999. 


MEMBER PROFILE 

CRUZ CONSTRUCTION INC. By tr a C y Ka ly t i a K 

Cruz Control 

Palmer contractor acquires equipment, 

employees to accommodate almost any project 

F 

Four years ago, Cruz Construction fi nally 

found a way to put out fi res that for 40 years 

had been seething and moving underground 

near the abandoned Slipper Lake coal mines. 

Water couldn’t douse those fi res; they burned 

so hot the fl ames actually fed on oxygen molecules 

in the water. Workers instead dug up and 

cooled 81,000 dump-truck loads of smoldering 

coal waste, smothering the blaze. 

“There would be no snow in that area, it 

was that warm on the surface,” said owner 

Dave Cruz about the subterranean confl agration. 

“It always had the potential for coming to 

the surface.” 

The coal fi re is just one example of the inge- 

nuity and drive the company has shown in its 

three decades of operation. 

“Any job, if you enjoy it, is not work,” Cruz, 

52, explained as his motivation for launching 

the business. “Getting to go out and do these 

projects, I don’t consider it work.” 

Hauling rig components on an exploration ice road. 

The endeavor that started with a sole employee 

now boasts 150 during peak season, with a core of 50 

year-round. Cruz’s partner and wife of 27 years, Dana, 

manages the company’s fi nances. Their daughter, 

Heavy equipment hauls gravel from a barge on the Yukon River to 

Cruz Construction’s nearby worksite at the Grayling Airport. 

22 The Alaska conTrAcTor Fall 2010 

ph oTo s: co u R T e sT y o f cR u z co n sT Ru c T i o n in c. 

ph oTo: © sTephen no w e R s/al a s K a ph o To llc

Cruz Crusher Spread Operation 

Arianna, assists with takeoffs, bidding 

and logistics. Their son, Ben, shares his 

father’s passion for construction but 

works as a certified crane operator for 

North Star Equipment. 

Able employees such as Jeff Miller, 

general manager, and Kevin Weiss, 

director of marine operations, anchor 

the business, Cruz said. 

“The two of them have been very 

instrumental in both those companies 

succeeding. Both of them move 

forward on their own initiative and 

they’re good at it.” 

The company originally concentrated 

on forestry-related jobs, such 

as building roads and campgrounds, 

but then ventured into land clearing, 

horizontal directional drilling and 

such heavy civil construction as roads, 

bridges, airports and runways, pipelines, 

excavation, erosion control and pads. 

“We are like the Marines because 

we do more with less, for example 

some of our competitors support their 

projects with twice the overhead staff,” 

he said. 

One of its first larger tasks came in 

1994 — the $1 million Palmer Industrial 

Park Phase 2. 

Five years later, the business landed 

a $2.2 million Chena River dredging 

undertaking in Fairbanks. That twowinter 

performance earned the 

Commander’s Medallion from the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers. 

Flood damage from a Mount Redoubt 

eruption created the next assignment 

– replacing 2,100 feet of 20-inch oil 

pipeline beneath the Drift River. That 

pursuit, combined with Cruz’s construction 

of Northern Intertie ice roads, won 

the Associated General Contractors 

of Alaska’s Excellence in Construction 

Awards for 2002 and 2003. 

Next came the challenge of carving 

an access road to Teck Cominco’s Pogo 


gold mine near Fairbanks. 

“There were steep hills and 14 river 

crossings on that 50 miles of ice road,” 

Cruz said. 

Through the years, Cruz Construction 

has built lodgings, shops and 

other facilities on the North Slope and 

elsewhere in the state for ConocoPhillips, 

Chevron, BP, FEX, CH2M Hill, 

Anadarko, Pioneer Natural Resources 

Alaska, ENI, Jacobs Engineering and 

Aurora Energy. 

The general contractor expanded 

the scope of services after acquiring 

most of Western Geophysical’s equipment, 

vehicles and Prudhoe Bay shops, 

hoping to massage business from 

energy companies exploring in the 

NPR-A. That was a big step, Cruz said. 

“In oil-field work, the most important 

thing you can provide the client 

is service. We traditionally like the 

remote projects, so we increased the 

size of the company to accommodate 

the expanded workload, and added to 

our fleet of equipment.” 

These days, massive tundra vehicles 

haul fuel, freight, drill rigs and 

other items to arctic work sites. The 

company also builds ice roads and pads 

and rapidly sets up camps that feature 

maintenance and waste-management 

facilities. In the case of Pioneer Natural 

Resources Alaska, for instance, the outfit 

supported drilling a well in Anchor 

Point and exploring for oil and gas on 

the North Slope. 

“He’s a stand-up guy,” said Vance 

Hazzard, Pioneer Natural Resources 

Alaska drilling manager. “One thing 

about Dave Cruz is that what he works 

on, he delivers. It’s been my experience 

that with ice road construction, 

rig-site support, campsite and camp 

maintenance, he’s done a very good 

job of delivering to the customer.” 

As example of that “delivery” was a 

job for Chevron’s White Hills. For two 

consecutive years and 232,000 manhours 

without a recordable injury, the 

company maintained three main camps, 

built a 3,800-foot lighted, manned 

airstrip, paved 100 miles of ice road and 

erected five 5-acre drilling pads. 

“We manifested more than 5,000 

loads of freight to and from the project 

and handled over 2 million gallons of 

fuel without a spill,” Cruz said. Chevron 

recognized that accomplishment with 


ph o To s: ©sTephen no w e R s/al a s K a ph oTo llc 

Cruz Construction operations at the Franklin Bluffs and Musk Ox 

camps March, 2009. 


Workers use a snow blower to clear an ice road. 

the Midcontinent Safety Achievement 

Award. And Alaska Business Monthly 

magazine featured Cruz Construction 

in its Top Corporate 100 for 2008, 2009 

and 2010. 

Recent and ongoing 

ventures include: 

• 28 miles of ice road to the 

eastern North Slope’s Badami 

unit for CH2M Hill 

• an access trail for Usibelli’s 

Wishbone Hill area. 

• resurfacing the Fort Yukon airport 

• new alignment built for the 

Grayling airport runway 

Because the Grayling airport undertaking 

required barging 130,000 yards 

of gravel seven miles down river, Cruz 

decided to bolster its marine fleet with 

a 92-foot tugboat. The triple-screw, 

1,800-horsepower craft dubbed “Dana 

Cruz” features a 45-inch draft good for 

river or coastal chores. 

“You won’t find a tug in the world 

that can do what that tug can do,” Cruz 

said. “It allows us to provide marine 

services with state-of-the-art equipment 

and support.” 

A second tug, the “Millie Cruz,” will 

join the fleet in April 2011. 

Among his many responsibilities, 

Cruz is serving a term as AGC of 

Alaska’s president for 2010. He joined 

the group to enhance his company’s 

productiveness and later gleaned a 

choice nugget of knowledge while 

participating in AGC’s training and 

political activities. 

“Competition is not your enemy,” 

Cruz said. “If you all work together 

with collective effort, you can get things 

done. AGC represents 650 companies. 

It has political clout. People listen.” 

Tracy Kalytiak is a writer who lives 

near Palmer. 


FINANCIAL SERVICES & CONTRACTORS 

For Alaska’s Economy, 

the Future is Now 

You’ve heard a lot about the future 

of Alaska’s economy lately, and I hope 

I can add something positive to the 

discussion. But before we look ahead, 

let’s take a look at the state’s economy 

50 years ago. Those of you who were 

here, as I was, know that life was good 

but much different than today, especially 

economics-wise. 

In 1960, the state depended on 

the federal government for half of 

its 90,000 jobs. And those jobs were 

extremely seasonal – the number of 

private sector summer jobs was double 

the amount in the winter. Household 

income was 10 percent to 20 percent 

below the U.S. average, and the fl edgling 

infrastructure was primitive by 

today’s standards. 

We all know that picture has brightened 

considerably. Today, the state 

boasts more than 350,000 jobs, income 

has risen from $3 billion in 1960 to $24 

billion, as has population from 230, 

000 to 660,000. So, what happened to 

fuel that growth? 

We all know the answer to that 

one, too. Prudhoe Bay happened. 

With the discovery of billions of 

barrels of oil on the North Slope in 

1967, Alaska entered a new era that 

signifi cantly and permanently changed 

the economy. With oil revenue fl owing 

into state coffers (85 percent of general 

fund revenue comes from oil), the 

economy became a dynamic engine 

for accelerated growth and increased 

income, with a certain stability, too. 

The petroleum industry became a 

key support in a “three-legged stool” 

economy, with federal spending 

another. All other basic industries 

combined, such as fi shing, tourism 

and mining, make up the third. 

We’ve been extremely fortunate to 

have that underpinning. For 40 years, 

we’ve enjoyed unparalleled prosperity 

in all corners of the state, in all 

sectors of our economy. Construction 

workers know that fact more than 

most, especially in building the state’s 

infrastructure. 

It’s a fact of life: 

a healthy petroleum 

industry is essential 

to a healthy Alaska 

economy, which 

helps all sectors 

thrive, including 

the construction 

industry. 

But things are changing. 

The easy-to-reach oil is running 

out. Production has been declining 

for a number of years, a fact masked 

by the higher oil prices of recent years. 

As far as future investments, petroleum 

corporations have taken a waitand-see 

attitude due to uncertain 

tax structures and fi scal policies. This 

scenario isn’t new. 

In the 1980s, oil prices dropped 

precipitously, which in turn led to 

plummeting taxes and royalties from 

oil sales. An unprecedented fi scal crisis 

followed. That “three-legged stool” 

started wobbling uncontrollably and 

then thousands of jobs disappeared, 

income plunged and the bottom fell 

out of the housing market. Nearly 12 

percent of state’s population, more 

than 60,000 people, headed south. 

No one expects a repeat of those 

dramatic events but, if we don’t quickly 

By Be t s y la w e r 

vi C e Ch a i r 

Fi r s t na t i o n a l Ba n K al a s K a 

change our course, we’ll see a long, slow 

strangling of the economy, prompting 

conditions just as challenging as those 

of the late ‘80s. 

It’s a fact of life: a healthy petroleum 

industry is essential to a healthy Alaska 

economy, which helps all sectors thrive, 

including the construction industry. To 

encourage continued investments, our 

state must become more businessfriendly. 

That’s an uphill battle considering 

CNBC’s “America’s Top States for 

Business” recently listed Alaska as last. 

So what can you do? AGC of 

Alaska’s executive director John 

MacKinnon put it well in the last issue 

of this magazine: “Your voice counts.” 

Alaska’s leaders need to know that it’s 

time to take defi nitive action on the 

future of the state’s economy. I suggest 

that you pose three specifi c questions 

to your elected offi cials and candidates 

in the November elections and 

demand specifi c answers. 

Ask them what 

steps we can take to: 

• Encourage new responsible investment 

in resource development 

that produces lasting benefi ts. 

• Build a fi scal plan that conserves 

assets and provides long-term 

stability. 

• Ensure that all Alaskans share in a 

commitment to a stable economic 

future. 

Encourage everyone you know to 

pose these questions to candidates 

running for offi ce as well as elected 

state offi cials. Because it’s not just 

about us anymore – the decisions 

we make over the next few years will 

greatly affect future generations. We 

can wait no longer. That’s why I say, 

when it comes to our economy, the 

future is indeed now. 




Smoothing 

the transition 

AGC members and 

community community businesses 

help wounded 

warriors settle in 

When an eligible active-duty 

soldier from Alaska becomes 

disabled, the AGC of Alaska 

is proud to provide support through 

Operation Opening Doors, our community 

project aimed at improving the 

livability of the home for soldiers and 

their families. 

To support disabled members 

of our military AGC partners with 

our members and the community, 

following the lead of the South Dakota 

AGC Chapter who successfully began 

their OOD program few years ago. 

The program is designed to provide 

accommodations for special needs 

caused by the injury – from installing 

ramps, to widening hallways and 

doors, to enlarging bathrooms and 

kitchens. The participating contractor, 

subcontractors and suppliers provide 

the labor and materials necessary to 

make life easier for wounded Alaska 

service members. 

AGC oversees all volunteer and 

contribution efforts, and the general 

contractor for the OOD project 

provides coordination and performs 

some of the work. 

On August 12, John MacKinnon, the 

executive director of AGC Alaska and 

Gary Donnelly, the project’s manager 

from Neeser Construction Inc., cut the 

ribbon on the fi rst Operation Opening 

Doors project in Alaska. SFC David 

Waite was the program’s fi rst honoree. 

In less than a heartbeat, a barrage 

of Russian-made missiles shredded 

U.S. Army SFC David Waite’s usual 

“kicking-in-doors” routine while 

deployed to Afghanistan in 2004. 

“I tried to catch a 107 mm rocket 

without a whole lot of luck,” Waite 

recalled in typical understatement 

and humor about the explosion and 

shrapnel that ripped through his 

legs and back, shattered bones and 

joints and eventually took part of his 

stomach, spleen and intestines. 

As a member of the OOD board, 


ph oTo s: co u R T e sy o f az i m u T h ad v e n T u R e ph oTo g R a p h y

Gary Donnelly asked Jerry Neeser to 

volunteer Neeser Construction Inc. as 

the general contractor to oversee the fi rst 

project. Partnering with AGC, he then 

set out to fi nd like-minded businesses 

and was quickly overwhelmed with the 

outpouring of generosity, he said. 

“Everyone we asked said, ‘Just tell us 

what you need.’ Not what do you want 

or how much will it cost? ‘Just tell us 

what you need.’” 

The scope of work included hand 

rails in the entry way along the stairs 

and on the back deck; the installation 

of an energy-effi cient wood burning 

stove and new accessible toilets with 

grab rails in the bathrooms. Plus, a 

driveway redesign to level some of the 

steepness out so SFC Waite could park 

without concern that his vehicle might 

sled down into the street. When redesign 

was not a solution, because of 

limited space, the volunteers went to 

work tearing out the old driveway and 

installing a new heated driveway. 

“Neeser measured and installed 

carpentry work, tidied up and made 

sure everything was done,” Donnelly 

said. “Grazzini Brothers volunteered the 

tile materials and labor for the woodstove 

hearth, fi re wall and installed the 

chimney. Superior Plumbing & Heating 

installed the mechanical system for the 

snow melt on the driveway, Megawatt 

Electric handled the wiring and heating 

elements and Earth Stone Inc. made 

the forms and then placed and fi nished 

the concrete.” 


Alaska Concrete Services provided 

equipment and the labor to pump 

the concrete. Material suppliers were 

Anchorage Sand and Gravel, Central 

Plumbing and Heating Inc., Ferguson 

Enterprises Inc., Insulfoam and 

Spenard Builders. 

The AGC Associates Council, 

Construction Industry Progress Fund, 

Eagleglen Golf Course, Golf of Alaska 

and Juanita Kardell provided cash 

donations which gave the program 

seed money to get started. 

The volume of companies that 

participated was amazing in its own 

right; but when combined with the 

individuals that gave their time and 

expertise to this project it provided an 

outpouring of warmth and goodwill 

directed toward SFC David Waite and 

his family, and the Alaska military in 

general. 

“We sit over here with our comfortable 

lifestyle while all these men 

and women are over there risking 

their lives to make sure that lifestyles 

continue,” Donnelly said. “At the very 

least we’re honored to be able to give 

something back.” 

Military and civilian, community 

and contractor – together they’re 

mending the wounds of war. AGC 

members and volunteers have begun 

the program’s second project in 

Fairbanks. GHEMM Company has 

volunteered for the project that will 

honor SGT Tony Senecal. Operation 

Opening Doors looks forward to more 

successful projects in the future. 


hUMan rEsoUrCEs UPDatE 

Document and comply 

before you reply 

This column provides information 

about the law to help users competently 

cope with their legal needs. But legal information 

is not the same as legal advice – 

the application of law to an individual’s 

specifi c circumstances. Although we go to 

great lengths to ensure accurate and useful 

information, we recommend consulting a 

lawyer for professional assurance and your 

interpretation of a particular situation. 

I 

recently attended the 2010 Workplace 

Strategies Seminar sponsored 

by Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak 

& Stewart, P.C. law fi rm and thought I 

would pass on a few human-resource 

tips that may affect your business. 

First, the U.S. Department of Labor 

will increase its presence in the Offi ce of 

Federal Contract Compliance Programs, 

Occupational Safety & Health Administration, 

and the Wage and Hour Division. 

So you want to be prepared for a 

visit or other communications. 

To cover all your bases, audit all 

of your human resource compliance 

programs and then address any issues 

that arise. Too often employers conduct 

audits and then do nothing with the 

information. Good business sense calls 

for addressing audit items post haste 

and documenting how and when you 

corrected the defi ciencies. 

Key areas include compensation, 

record keeping, affi rmative action plans 

and compliance with federal contracts. 

Hardly a day goes by that the 6 o’clock 

news reports a workplace tragedy 

somewhere in the country. No employer 

is immune, so establish a catastrophe 

and/or fatality plan and make sure your 

employees from top management on 

down understand it. 

Also ensure that your workers know, 

understand and comply with such OSHA 

standards and regulations as process 

safety, combustible dust, machine 

guarding, and excavating and trenching. 

The new fi nes and penalties for violations 

will cause shudders to many construction 

companies’ bottom lines. 

A strong violence-in-the-workplace 

policy is also a major concern, as is making 

sure all employees live by it. To that 

extent, stress zero tolerance for violence 

and thoroughly investigate each allegation. 

Treat threats, for example, as actual 

acts of violence, and train your managers 

and supervisors on how to document all 

threats or acts of violence and how to 

respond to them in specifi c situations. 

By Ba r B a r a sta l l o n e 

Depending on the culture of your 

business, you may want to develop 

written standards of conduct for your 

workforce. If you do, make sure all 

employees understand the rules and 

the disciplinary process, and then train 

your managers how to document any 

violations. 

Even annual employee performance 

evaluations require a consistent 

company policy, effective communicators 

and honest feedback. If an 

employee loses their job, for example, 

based solely on poor performance but 

has a history of outstanding evalu- 


ations, that employee may have legal 

grounds to take the employer to court. 

Failing to audit job classifications 

can also cause headaches in the form of 

violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. 

Make sure to specify policies for off-theclock 

work, travel time or use of company-owned 

Blackberry and cell phones on 

and off the clock. 

Some states have even banned cell 

phones while driving, but not Alaska, 

even though national statistics reflect cell 

phones are involved in 25 percent of all 

auto accidents. It’s frightening to watch 

drivers with cell phones pressed to their 

ears – weaving in and out of traffic at 

high rates of speed. 

In any case, if your employee causes 

an accident while driving a company 

car and talking on a cell phone, your 

company may be held liable. Even worse, 

the company could be held responsible if 

the employee’s driving their own car on 

company business. Given the possibility, 

many companies prohibit cell-phone use 

by any employee while driving a company 

or personal vehicle on the clock. If you 

don’t already have a cell-phone policy, 

establish one, train your managers to lead 

by example and then have each employee 

sign and acknowledge the policy. 

Another predicament looms in preemployment 

tests to determine a potential 

worker’s qualifications. Make sure the 

exams have been validated according to 

consistent industry standards because any 

off-the-cuff or one-of-a-kind tests could 

be grounds for discrimination. 

As these examples point out, employers 

need to establish and communicate 

specific human-resource policies and 

then train their managers and supervisors 

to adhere to and administer those policies, 

and lead by example. When infractions 

occur, employers must deal with them 

quickly and consistently and follow up on 

the outcome. You don’t want to be caught 

with your pants down if some regulatory 

agency starts asking questions. 

Barbara Stallone is a partner in 

The Human Resource Umbrella LLC, 

an Anchorage-based human resource 

consulting company and AGC member. 

Send questions about this column or 

suggestions for future columns to Barbara@ 

HRUmbrella.com, or call (907) 727-2111 

or (888) 470-0903. Also check out the 

website at www.hrumbrella.com. 


Storm Water 

Pollution 

Prevention 

Plans 

Polluted stormwater runoff pollutes 

nearly 40 percent of surveyed 

U.S. water bodies. If left untreated 

or uncontrolled, this pollution can 

destroy fi sh, wildlife and aquatic life 

habitats and threaten public health 

due to contaminated food, drinking 

water and recreational waterways. 

To prevent and control further 

contamination, Congress, under 

the Clean Water Act, established a 

comprehensive two-phased national 

program under the auspices of the 

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination 

System. This permitting mechanism 

requires contractors to prevent 

harmful pollutants from washing into 

local watersheds. 

Basically, before obtaining a 

construction permit, each contractor 

must show proof of a stormwater 

pollution prevention plan – commonly 

known as SWPPPs – that meet best 

practices guidelines and effectively 

reduce or prevent the discharge of 

pollutants into any nearby waterways. 

The permits, like the one pictured, 

are usually displayed on a light-refl 

ecting green sign on the construction 

site. 


Contractors, Native Corporation and cinema chain 

create maximum entertainment 

In 2007, CIRI and Oakland, Calif.-based Browman 

Development Co. broke ground on Tikahtnu Commons 

in northeast Anchorage. Three years later, the 95-acre 

shopping and entertainment center features such major 

national retailers as Target, Kohl’s, The Sports Authority, Best 

Buy and Lowe’s. 

On June 11, 2010, the latest and largest addition to the 

950,000 square-foot, $100 million project opened – the 

Regal Tikahtnu Stadium 16 with the state’s first IMAX 

theater. Nearly three weeks later, a second IMAX theater 

debuted at the Regal Goldstream Stadium 16 in Fairbanks. 

“The IMAX brand is world famous and stands for highquality, 

immersive entertainment,” said Dick Westerling, Regal 

Entertainment Group senior vice president of marketing and 

advertising, on the company’s website. “Our new theatre 

also features all-digital projection capable of RealD 3D 

presentations.” 

IMAX combines a specially-designed, 70-foot wide 

slightly-curved screen that is moved forward to immerse the 

audience in the action and a crystal-clear digital surround 

sound system. The theater also offers IMAX 3D. 

RealD is a new generation of digital 3D and gives 

moviegoers a stunningly realistic movie experience by 

activating the senses and inviting the audience not only to 

watch a film, but also step inside the story. 

The 16 screen-cinema covers 72,000 square feet and 

includes more than 3,000 seats, as well as: 

• Alaska’s first IMAX® and IMAX 3D experience on a 

70-foot-wide screen 

• Digital projection in every auditorium 

• RealD 3D projection systems for 3D-enhanced movies 

• Digital surround sound 

• Alternative programming including concerts, opera, 

Broadway shows and sporting events 

• Stadium seating and unobstructed screen views in 

every auditorium 

• High-back rocking recliner seats with retractable cup 

holders that move out of the way to form seats for two 

•Computerized box office and automated ticket 

purchasing at Regal Express kiosks 


Re g a l TiK a h T n u sTa d i u m 16 & imaX (gR a p h i c: Re g a l en T e R Ta i n m e nT gRo u p) 



H&K SHEETMETAL 

FABRICATORS INC. By Ja m i e ro G e r s 

Press Play 

Anchorage contractor fashions big 

‘metal’ in ‘roll’ of a lifetime 

I 

If H&K Sheetmetal Fabricators 

Inc. was cast for a blockbuster 

movie, you’d need some brawn, 

some beauty, some stylish set design 

and a whole lot of extras. 

The brawn and beauty can be seen 

in the company’s many commercial 

and specialty projects. But the “whole 

lot of extras” elevate the sheet metal 

contractor — a respected fabricator 

and operator of Anchorage’s only 

full-coil line — to an instant classic 

when it comes to creative design 

and customer service. 

H&K Sheetmetal Fabricators Inc. fabrication shop, above, and custom bridge railing at H&K. 


ph o To s: co u R T e sy o f h&K sheeTmeTal fa b R i c aTo R s in c.

Custom fabrication. 

Behind the scenes 

The producers behind this boxoffice 

smash, Dale Houston and Tom 

Koski, started their company in 1991 

“with little money and lots of ambition,” 

Koski said. 

Three years later Koski sold his 

share, but he still plays a big part in 

day-to-day operations. Today the H 

and K of the company are Houston and 

Larry Kampen P.E. As a plan and specification 

contractor until 1999 – with 

little-to-no design-build experience 

– Kampen has single-handedly transformed 

the company into a designbuild 

powerhouse, Houston said. 

“Aside from marrying my first wife 

28 years ago, bringing Kempen in as 

a partner was the smartest move I’ve 

ever made.” 

Houston, Kampen and Koski have 

all watched the industry and the business 

— mainly heating, ventilating 

and air conditioning but custom fabri- 

Air handler on isolation rail. 


Outdoor custom deck railing, above, and 

kitchen countertop. 

cation, as well — develop a lot in their 

time together. 

“When we started, all of the layout 

was done by hand. You made cut sheets 

with blank out sizes for all the fi ttings 

and then stood by the shear cutting out 

all your fi ttings,” said project manager/ 

estimator Koski. “Today the fi ttings are 

input into a computer and cut on a 

computerized plasma table.” 

As an apprentice, Houston spent 

countless hours perfecting his ability 

to generate pattern layouts for every 

imaginable fitting. Decades later, 

H&K’s president resembles a movie 

director, calling “Action!” on many 

fast-paced projects. 

“Today we have a plasma machine 

with every imaginable fi tting in its 

library ready to be cut in minutes,” 

he said. “Our Welty Way coil line can 

produce a complete joint of duct every 

minute and a half.” 

In-house engineers also give the 

company an advantage toward fast-paced 

completion schedules and faster project 

estimates and proposals. Combine all 

these abilities with a 17,500-square-foot 

fabrication facility, a 12-foot power shear 

and a wide array of additional tools, and 

H&K is bound to produce sequel after 

sequel for a long list of clients. 


A talented crew 

The business has earned a reputation 

as a competent and aggressive 

contractor with a willingness to “go 

the extra mile.” And the entire staff frequently 

exceeds customer expectations. 

“H&K has been so successful 

because of the people that work 

here,” Houston said. “I have been 

blessed to watch the company grow, 

the employees grow and prosper and 

— most importantly — the various 

benevolent acts of kindness and 

support H&K has been able to offer in 

the lives of others less fortunate.” 

And despite the company’s evolution, 

one thing hasn’t changed: the 

close-knit camaraderie among the 37 or 

so crew members. Jeremy Ketchum, an 

employee for 13 years, has felt a sense 

of integrity and teamwork first-hand. 

“In those years, I have seen this 

company go through large changes,” 

Ketchum said. “The thing I have 

enjoyed the most about H&K has 

been the people. It has always been 

a family-like environment. And the 

people I have had the chance to learn 

from have always been more than 

willing to teach me what I needed and 

Maximum security jail. 

wanted to learn.” 

Indeed, the entire company shares a 

desire to learn what’s new and exciting so 

it can deftly meet all market demands. 

“The trend over the past few years 

for homeowners is that commercial 

kitchen look — stainless steel range 

hoods, backsplash and stainless 

counter tops,” Houston said. “Additionally, 

handrails have become a hot 

item lately. An existing deck, a set of 

stairs or loft area are transformed and 


change the entire appearance with the 

addition of a custom metal handrail.” 

Whether designing handrails 

in-house, sconces on Anchorage’s 

Century 16 theater, sculpture at 

Chugiak High School or décor at the 

new Humpy’s restaurant at Ted Stevens 

International Airport, H&K gives each 

client a unique product and raises the 

value of the property. 

Fab and fabulous 

Specialty foreman Jeremy Williams 

explained that customer’s specialty 

projects — including side tables, fireplace 

screens, burn pits and beyond — 

are just as individual as the people who 

order them. 

“(Projects) range from very small 

to very large. We routinely make small 

accent pieces like trim that give little 

highlights. And on the other end, we 

will build the entire stairs, railings and 

then do the kitchen all in one house.” 

No kitchen is complete without a fine 

wine to complement the food. Custom 

metal wine racks are another way for 

employees to let their creative juices flow. 

“The fabricators at H&K are all artists 

in one form or another, so there is a lot 

of interesting things that come out of the 

shop. Some commissioned, some just 

being creative,” Williams said. 

And some don’t just hold delicate 

bottles of wine. One exhibit-quality 

support held in its slender design a 

much older, vintage piece of history. 

“Someone had a huge mammoth 

leg bone they wanted to display, so 

we made a really nice support that 

didn’t take away from the piece itself,” 

Williams said. “The range of projects we 

get into is amazing.” 

Not every custom design is as 

deceptively simple as the ancient fossil 

stand. But when a request isn’t so easy a 

caveman could do it, the AGC of Alaska 

member finds a solution. 

“The creativity is really encouraged 

and helps out a lot with some of the 

more custom work we do,” Williams 

said, “especially when getting from Point 

A to Point B is not necessarily going to 

be a straight line.” 

Beauty takes shape 

Jealous Salon illustrates the shop’s 

talent for matching function and 

fashion. Owner Kyle James was familiar 

with H&K’s custom fabrication work 


and knew they would be perfect for 

the concepts she had throughout her 

Midtown Anchorage location. 

“I knew that I wanted metal. It’s 

what my whole thing was because it’s 

right in an industrial district,” she said. 

James worked with Williams to turn 

her visions into reality, even some of the 

more unusual ideas. 

“I said I want metal trim around my 

doors, and he was like, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ 

Actually, I’ve had a ton of clients call 

them and put that in their entryway.” 

Though the brushed metal designs 

around the hair stylists’ workstations 

and mirrors create an overall look of 

sophistication in the modern salon, they 

serve a practical purpose as well. 

“You can’t hurt metal, you can’t beat 

it up, you can’t stain it … You know you 

splatter hair color, so for us, it’s like 

working art.” In fact, James said, “The 

more you beat it up, the better it is.” 

And the work at Jealous continues, 

with more unique interior improvements 

for the future. 

“They’re always willing to go down 

that road, where most people aren’t,” 

she added. 

Thanks to everyone 

It’s not just their customers who feel a 

sense of pride when H&K yells “Cut!” at 

the end of a project. The owners’ mission 

– to use only the best practices to ensure 

innovative, cost-effective solutions – will 

drive the sheet-metal fabricators through 

the next 20 years and beyond. 

“As the years have flown by, H&K 

has completed many projects that have 

been satisfying,” Koski said. “But most 

of all, it’s satisfying to see that H&K 

has a good reputation and has been a 

contributor to the Alaska construction 

industry.” 

Jamie Rogers is a writer who lives in 

Anchorage. 


Coming to the AGC of Alaska 

Convention in November 

David Rabiner 

The Value of Developing Personal Leaderships 

Men and women in our fi eld know that growing and keeping a profi table 

business takes more than quality work and competitive prices. They know that 

connecting positively with prospective and existing customers – as well as 

employees – is critical to building confi dence, loyalty and satisfaction. This program 

is perfect for people who know how to get work done but want to learn skills to 

maximize their infl uence and effectiveness with customers and colleagues. To that 

end David Rabiner teaches self-management, relationship and communication 

skills. At the end of his The Value of Developing Personal Leaderships program, 

participants will know such critical tools to run a business as how to: 

• Stay poised and positive, regardless of what happens around them. 

• Show clients and work colleagues they understand and care about their issues. 

• Maintain goodwill, even when communicating with diffi cult people or 

delivering unfavorable information. 

Safety Leadership 

Rabiner will also speak about Safety Leadership and Communicating for 

Safety during a pair of sessions Thursday, Nov. 4: Safety Leadership from 1:30 to 

2:45 p.m. and Communicating for Safety from 3 to 4:15 p.m. 

Everyone knows the importance of safety in the workplace, but motivating 

everyone to make safe choices consistently is still a challenge. When the economy 

is down and times are tough, for example, a company and its employees tend to 

nudge safety toward the back burner. But good leaders know if their companies 

establish a “culture” of safety, then policies and choices consistent with safety 

become simply business as usual – regardless of the economy. In Safety Leadership 

and Communicating for Safety, Rabiner discusses the most important leadership 

qualities to create a culture of safety and teaches how to overcome the most 

signifi cant obstacles to effective leadership. 

Communicating for Safety 

Everyone involved in safety is involved in infl uence – whether it’s getting top 

management to buy into policies and procedures or motivating another worker 

to do a single task in a safer way. In Communicating for Safety, Rabiner identifi es 

communication concepts and techniques to make people listen and then react in 

a positive way. 

David Rabiner’s Biography 

Rabiner is a rare combination of subject-matter expert and humorist. A lifelong 

student of leadership and personal effectiveness, he has presented his ideas 

to more than 1,800 audiences in 44 states and 12 countries. 

Rabiner graduated from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at 

Washington State University. Before becoming a speaker, trainer and facilitator in 

1993, he enjoyed a 15-year career in radio news broadcasting and executive-level 

public service. He was also an entrepreneur. 

In 2003, Rabiner earned the coveted Certifi ed Speaking Professional designation, 

the international benchmark for speaking excellence held by fewer than 600 

presenters worldwide. 

Information for this preview can be found on David Rabiner’s website, 

www.rabiner.com/Index.asp. 

THURSDAY EVENTS 

WHO: David Rabiner 

W HAT: Safety Leadership and 


W HEN: 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. Safety 

Leadership, 3 to 4:15 p.m. 


W HERE: The Hotel Captain 

Cook, 939 West 5th Ave., 

Anchorage, AK 99501, 

(907) 276-6000. 

H OW MUCH: Free, if registered 

for the full conference, otherwise 

$175/members, $210/nonmembers 

and $90/students 

and includes breakfast and 

admission to any other events. 

FRIDAY EVENTS 

WHO: David Rabiner 

W HAT: The Management 

Symposium sponsored by 

Parker, Smith and Feek Inc. 

W HEN: 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. 

Friday, Nov. 5 

W HERE: The Hotel Captain 

Cook, 939 West 5th Ave., 

Anchorage, AK 99501, 

(907) 276-6000. 

H OW MUCH: Free, if registered 

for the full conference, otherwise 

$175/members, $210/nonmembers 

and $90/students 

and includes breakfast, the 

Alaska USA Insurance Brokers 

“Excellence in Construction” 

Awards Luncheon and all 

Friday sessions. 


LEADING THROUGH 

CHALLENGING TIMES 

This powerful program explores 

the time-and-crisis tested principles of 

achievement and the leadership practices 

that are critical to achieving organizational 

results and a resilient, spirited 

workforce during challenging times. 

LEADERSHIP IN THE 

NEW MILLENNIUM 

Today’s business climate is different. 

The labor force is different, consumers 

are different, and today’s leaders need 

to be different. While strong leadership 

has always been important to business 

success, this program focuses on 

the leadership practices that are critical 

now to achieving outstanding results. 

“Recently, several 

people started to 

spontaneously 

gush about David’s 

presentation last 

summer. One colleague 

exclaimed, ‘David 

Rabiner changed my 

life!’ He went on to 

recite word-for-word 

several of David’s 

stories that really 

worked for him.” 

– PG&E National Energy Group 

HOW TO SUCCEED, STAY SANE, AND 

HAVE FUN AT WORK: A SURVIVAL 

GUIDE FOR THE ROAD WEARY 

Too much work? Testy customers? 

Offi ce politics? Nasty commute? Learn 

to eat problems for breakfast! 

CREATING A DREAM TEAM AT 

WORK: THE MAGIC IS IN THE MIX 

This fun program explores the differences 

among us that make working 

together a creative, productive, yet some- 

times diffi cult experience. Learn how 

to capitalize on differences and turn 

everyday challenges into opportunities 

to create an amazing team. 

THE ART AND TECHNIQUE 

OF NEGOTIATING 

The perfect breakout session, this 

program builds skills! Using a mock 

negotiating exercise, attendees learn 

key negotiating strategies in a way 

they will never forget. 

“Once again the 

highest rated speaker 

by our attendees.” 

– National Aerospace 

FOD Prevention 


AGC Annual Conference Conference 2010 2010 


Large and small projects keep local contractors 

busy but sometimes invite off-island competition 

st o r y a n D P h o t o s B y Dr e w he r m a n 

For about 7,000 years, people who paddled into Kodiak’s Chiniak Bay in 

kayaks and baidarkas saw the same thousand-foot Pillar Mountain sloping 

gently to the shore above an intimate cluster of small islands. 

In 2009, three wind turbines – topping out at 384 feet, including the blades 

– considerably altered that view. And the massive, tapering, gleaming white 

forms often tower above low fog banks that frequently smother the town 

and mountain. The Kodiak Electric Association’s wind farm was just one of 

several recent high-profi le public projects. 



(Previous page) The city-owned large boat lift in 

Kodiak’s St. Herman Harbor services vessels 600 

tons and smaller. 

Three wind turbines owned by Kodiak Electric 

Association went into operation in 2009 and now 

stand as the most prominent landmark over the 

hillsides that give Kodiak the nickname “Alaska’s 

Emerald Isle.” 

(Above) Koniag Inc., the regional Native 

corporation for Kodiak, moved into its new local 

headquarters this year, the fi rst building in a row 

of lots slated for commercial development on 

Near Island. 

Fewer than 14,000 people live in or 

around the City of Kodiak and its road 

system — less than 60 miles from end 

to end. Commercial fi shing dominates 

the local economy, but tourism, the 

large Coast Guard base, a rocket launch 

facility and logging drive development. 

That diversity helps the area weather 

the local and national economic cycles. 

“It adds a real important stability to 

this community,” said Michael Martin, 

president of Brechan Enterprises shared the recent building boom on 

Inc., a local contracting company and the nation’s second largest island. 

AGC of Alaska member that special- “Contractors around the state 

izes in vertical construction, concrete, are hungry,” said Ken Smith, project 

asphalt and sewer projects. “It’s one of manager for Kodiak Island Borough. 

the beauties of this island that makes It makes a difference when local 

it unique.” 

contractors have a personal involve- 

From Brechan, which began in ment in their community, he added. 

1954, to Golden Alaska Excavating “I think we probably get a better 

LLC, started three years ago by Lori product out of them because they’re 

and Rick Ryser, local contractors have going to be here.” 


On a foggy morning, Kodiak Elec†ric offi cials cut the 

ribbon to open the wind turbines. 

But mainland companies have also stepped 

up, Smith said, noting Kenai-Peninsula-based 

Blazy Construction Inc., Wolverine Supply Inc. 

of Wasilla and Dowland Construction Inc. of 

Anchorage. The AGC of Alaska member worked 

on a borough fi re station’s new engine bay. 

“They’ve done real good work,” he said. “I’ve 

had good luck with contractors here lately.” 


(Left) Water from the March 1964 tsunami that destroyed much of 

downtown Kodiak reached to the building that served as the city’s 

police station until the new one opened this year. 

(Above and right) Kodiak’s public swimming pool opened in 2009 and 

features a varied program of lessons, lap swims and team training. 

Near Island: 

Opening new territory 

While the wind turbines help power downtown fi sh 

processing plants, the city hopes a large boat lift will 

trigger new businesses to service the fi shing fl eet. 

The city-owned enterprise began in fall 2009. The lift 

can accommodate ships up to 600 tons, which hopefully 

will attract large vessels of the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands 

and Gulf of Alaska fi sheries for maintenance. 

Further development around the boat lift could take 30 

years and include another big project, said City Manager 

Aimée Kniaziowski. 

“The ultimate concept would be to have a private 

company develop, own and build a building that would 

have open space to house and work on a boat in an 

enclosed space,” she said. “They haven’t come up with a 

fi rm plan at this point.” 

The new local headquarters of Koniag Inc., the 

Kodiak Native Corporation, sits on a lot overlooking the 

harbor and channel. AGC member Criterion General 

Inc. of Anchorage built the 13,500-square-foot structure 


that’s shared with the Kodiak Area 

Native Association, a local health care 

provider. 

Last year, the city transferred 

another lot on Near Island to the 

Kodiak Island Borough for a new 

Alaska Department of Fish and Game 

building, whose employees overfl ow 

their aging structure downtown. 

ECI/Hyer Architecture & Interiors 

of Anchorage, an AGC member, 

will complete the design for ADF&G 

building by October, although funding 

details between the state and the 

borough for the $25 million undertaking 

are still in the works, said Smith. 

In the heart of it 

Even in a town where few structures 

can claim much aesthetic distinction, 

the Kodiak police station was 


an eyesore. That scenario changed 

when the city’s finest moved into the 

new station built by Roger Hickel 

Contracting Inc. of Anchorage, another 

AGC member. The officers and staff 

now have plenty of room and stateof-the-art 

dispatching equipment. The 

next step is a new jail. 

Tucked behind Kodiak High 

School, the public swimming pool late 

last summer joined the outdoor ice 

rink to form the city’s recreational hub 

thanks to Janssen Contracting Co. Inc. 

of Anchorage. 

The high school itself stands on 

the most prominent height in the city, 

integrated with the newly renovated 

junior high school and the modern 

750-seat Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium, 

which Johnston Construction 

& Roofing of Anchorage and Blazy 

finished sprucing up. But the high 

school lags behind the community’s 

needs, said borough manager Rick 

Gifford. 

“I think there are pieces going back 

to the ’50s and ’60s.” 

As the school’s shortcomings 

became more than obvious, Kodiak 

residents passed an $80 million bond 

measure in 2009 for thorough replacement 

and renovation. 


“It’s the biggest project the borough 

has ever taken on to date,” Gifford 

said. 

The request for proposals has just 

gone out, and the borough manager 

anticipates a lot of off-island interest. 

When choosing the contractor, besides 

price tags, the borough will look at 

bidders’ history of change orders and 

lawsuits. 

“We do have the ability to reject 

bids on those bases,” Gifford said. 

Although several successful 

contracting firms call Kodiak home, 

even the largest lacks the resources for 

a project of this scope. 

“We are the fringe,” said Brechan’s 

Martin. “We’re often considered the 

big guy, but we compete with billiondollar 

companies.” 

Like all of Kodiak’s contractors — 

and other businesses — family-owned 

Brechan has found ways to survive in a 

small market with high shipping costs. 

“That’s probably one thing that 

makes it more difficult living on an 

island,” Martin said. 

Large mainland firms, for instance, 

can rent some of the heavy equipment 

for specific jobs. On Kodiak, contractors 

have to own, store and maintain 

almost everything themselves. 

But small-scale companies have 

their advantages. Martin pointed 

out that local contractors tend to 

keep money within the community 

and also employ local workers and 

subcontractors. 

Experience operating off the beaten 

path also helps, as when Brechan took 

on projects in even more remote King 

Cove and Sand Point, where outside 

bidders might not understand the 

costs. 

“It equalizes us, because we are 

very in tune to ‘mobing in’ our equipment,” 

Martin said. 


Future and futuristic 

Fire departments around Kodiak 

rarely need the tallest ladder in their 

arsenal — a building with three or 

four stories qualifies as a high-rise. 

With the advantage of its hilly placement, 

the fly-space for the Gerald C. 

Wilson Auditorium stage is the most 

outstanding structure in town. In 

contrast, a marine fuel tank farm and 

a stanchion of the Near Island Bridge 

obscure the picturesque onion domes 

of Holy Resurrection Church. 

In fact, the tallest building on Kodiak 

Island is 30 miles outside the city, at 

the farthest point accessible by road, at 

Narrow Cape. 

The Launch Service Structure at the 

Kodiak Launch Complex looms over 

surrounding meadows, a miniature 

version of the Vehicle Assembly Building 

at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. As the 

Alaska Aerospace Corporation (formerly 

Alaska Aerospace Development Corp.), 

the state-owned facility has offered 

commercial launch services since 1998. 

Although the number of launches 

falls short of original expectations — 

all but one so far have been test targets 

for the Missile Defense Agency — the 

complex has generated several large 

projects. Since the original construction 

at the site, AAC has added a second 

launch pad and spurred a major paving 

project from just past the Coast Guard 

base to Narrow Cape. 

The MDA has abandoned any future 

activity with KLC, but this fall AAC will 

carry out its second-ever orbital launch, the 

first of two satellites for the U.S. Air Force. 

And Brechan is erecting a new heavy-duty 

hangar to house rocket boosters. 

Around town talk continues about 

a new public library or a suitable home 

for the fire department to match the 

new police station, but that’s just speculation. 

The immediate future involves 

such charismatic public projects as the 

high school and Near Island. 

Like other rural Alaskans, the people 

of Kodiak are used to wearing different 

hats, filling all the community roles with 

limited human and material resources. 

The contracting business on Kodiak is 

no different, said Martin. 

“We do whatever we can to stay in 

business.” 

Drew Herman is a writer and editor 

who lives in Kodiak. 


In his campaign for re-election to 

the U.S. Senate in 2008, Ted Stevens 

often touted his Alaskan accomplishments: 

“From frozen tundra, 

we built airports, roads, ports, water 

and sewer systems, hospitals, clinics, 

communications networks, research 

labs and much, much more.” The 

40-year veteran of the U.S. Senate 

also helped nurture a territory into a 

fledgling state and then helped enact 

federal laws and wrangle billions 

of federal dollars to ensure Alaska’s 

future. Many of his efforts benefited 

the construction industry. 

On Aug. 9, 2010, the former U.S. 

senator, longest-serving Republican 

in Congress and 1988 AGC of Alaska 

Hard Hat winner died in a plane crash 

in southwest Alaska at the age of 86. 

Theodore Fulton Stevens was born 

on Nov. 18, 1923, in Indianapolis, the 

third of four children of George A. 

Stevens and the former Gertrude S. 

Chancellor. His parents eventually 

divorced, and after his father died, 

young Ted went to live with his aunt 

in Manhattan Beach, Calif.. 

During World War II, Stevens flew 

U.S. Army Air Corps transport planes 

from India over the “Hump” in the 

eastern Himalayas to deliver supplies 

to China from India. After the war, 

he graduated from the University of 

California, Los Angeles, and Harvard 

Law School. In 1953 he joined a law 

firm in Fairbanks. Three years later he 

went to Washington, D.C., to work 

in the Department of the Interior on 

Alaska statehood. 

Appointed to fill a vacant senate 

seat in December 1968, Stevens 

was later elected to complete the 

remaining two years of the term and 

easily won re-election until his defeat 

in 2008. 

The “fierce and often hot-tempered 

advocate for his state” in the 

‘70s passed bills settling native land 

claims, creating the Trans-Alaska 

Pipeline and protecting the state’s 

fisheries from exploitation. In 2000, 

legislators in Juneau named Stevens 

“Alaskan of the Century,” because he 

“represents Alaska’s finest contribution 

to our national leadership.” 



URESCO CONSTRUCTION 

MATERIALS INC. By ra C h a e l Fi s h e r 

Stage Presence 

Regardless of location, Anchorage company creatively 

supplies and maintains building-material inventories 

W 

When a fi re destroyed schools, teacher 

housing and other homes in Hooper 

Bay in 2006, Uresco Construction Materials 

Inc. quickly barged several mod- 

ular units to the rescue. 

Solving the logistic problems of the shipment 

proved diffi cult enough, but unloading the 16-feet 

wide by 40-feet long units tested the most experienced 

crane operators and truck drivers. And the 

fast tide, unmarked beach and dark didn’t help. 

The trick to the four-mile trip from Hooper Bay 

to the beach was to drive at low tide until the water 

touched the rock truck’s front bumper, and then 

turn left with the waves breaking on the tires to 

avoid getting stuck in the sand, explained Donnie 

Taylor, a 20-year employee of Uresco. 

“I’ve never seen dark except for there,” he said. 

“The only light you had was a beacon at the top of 

the crane quite a distance away, and your headlights. 

You couldn’t see behind you because it was black.” 

Since the modulars were too big to strap down 

on his 45-foot trailer, Taylor carefully followed the 

inbound tracks, about 10 miles from the barge to 

the town, in a half-moon pattern before the waves 

or the incoming tide washed them away. 

“I’ve never had more fun. If we ever do another 

remote job, I’m totally in,” said Taylor, who earned the 

nickname “Dry Boot” for never getting his feet wet. 

That kind of expertise – from shipping to nearly 

inaccessible locales to packaging lumber to endure 

an Alaska winter – has helped the company thrive 

since Charlie Moore and his son Chad started it 


ph o To s: co u R T e sy o f uResc o co n sT Ru c T i o n maT e R i a l s in c.

Uresco Construction Materials supplied Bering 

Pacific Construction with materials to work on 

the school in Russian Mission, Alaska. 

in 1978. The AGC of Alaska member 

now employs nearly 50 – many 20- 

and 30-year veterans – with offices 

in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Kent, 

Washington. 

“Dry Boot,” for example, hired on 

straight out of high school, supposedly 

for a summer job. Two decades 

later he helps contractors adapt to the 

ever-changing working conditions in 

remote areas of the state. 

“We have very knowledgeable 

employees,” said Greg Lottridge, general 

manager of the Anchorage branch. “It’s 

been an asset to have very qualified 

people work for us. We haven’t grown 

so fast that we’ve had to take on people 

who are maybe less capable than we 

would like them to be.” 

For 12 years, Lottridge has helped 

supply contractors with such diverse 

building materials as foundationstarting 

piles to doorknobs – on time 

in consolidated, protective packaging 

at competitive prices. 

Scott Maruskie, a Uresco salesman 

focused on rural Alaska projects, for 

example, hopped on two flights to 

reach Chevak within three hours to 

help a contractor solve an inventory 

problem. When he arrived in the offthe-road-grid 

village: 

“The contractor looked at me and 

said ‘Who are you?’ I said I’m Scott 

with Uresco. He was very surprised 

that I had just jumped on a plane and 

showed up out there, and never even 

called to tell him I was coming. We 

took care of some issues while I was 

there, and I think it was that interpersonal 

relationship that calmed the 

situation down.” 

According to Lottridge and 

Maruskie, that sort of hands-on 


Uresco Construction Materials supplied Neeser 

Construction with materials for the school 

replacement project in Marshall, Alaska, near 

the Yukon River. 

concern builds lasting relationships 

with contractors. And the business 

frequently lands 80 percent of their 

contracts for being the lower supply 

bid and providing excellent customer 

service, said Cal Myrick, a project 

manager and estimator for Neeser 

Construction Inc. 

“There’s never any question,” 

he said. “If they make a mistake on 

something, they right it immediately, 

which is very important because once 

the barge has left Seattle and is in the 

Bush community, then there’s a lot 

of expense to correct materials via air 

freight instead of barge.” 

Neeser has relied on Uresco to 

supply recent jobs at the new hospital 

in Nome and at the Marshall School 

on the Yukon River, which Myrick 

called “a logistical nightmare.” 

“When you narrow it down to 

three to five barges a year into a place, 

you really don’t have any room for the 

wrong materials, being shorted materials 

or not having the materials there 

on time.” 


Uresco shines at solving all the 

logistic problems, Lottridge said. 

“I really enjoy making things 

happen, and by that I mean when we 

have a job going, in order to meet a 

really tight deadline, we’ll go above 

and beyond to satisfy a customer.” 

Whether calling in favors, fi nding 

alternative sources or consolidating 

shipments, the company fi nds a way 

to get the job done – sometimes for 

village school projects with $20 million 

or $30 million budgets, Maruskie said. 

“Satisfaction comes in knowing 

that you got the materials there right 

and on time . . . The contractors know 

we will take care of them.” 

Rachael Fisher is the editor of The 

Alaska Contractor. 


CONTRACTORS & THE LAW 

Alaska Supreme Court defi nes 

‘project owner’ in disputed 

workers’ comp cases 

In 2004, the state legislature corrected an inequity by 

immunizing general contractors from liability for injured 

employees of subcontractors. Up to that point, a general 

contractor was liable for providing workers’ compensation 

benefi ts for the injured employees of a subcontractor when 

the subcontractor had failed to secure workers’ compensation 

coverage. 

The general contractor could also be held liable in a negligence 

lawsuit brought by the injured employee who had 

already received workers’ compensation benefi ts from the 

same general contractor. 

The 2004 amendments 

continued the general 

contractor’s exposure to 

workers’ compensation 

coverage for uninsured 

subcontractors’ employees, 

but eliminated the right of 

an injured subcontractor’s 

employee to also sue the 

general contractor for negligence. 

In addition, the 2004 

amendments provided that 

a “project owner” would 

also be liable for workers’ 

compensation benefi ts if its 

contractor or the contractor’s 

subcontractor failed to 

provide the coverage. Similar to the new immunity granted to 

general contractors, the same statute immunized the “project 

owner” in exchange for the project owner’s potential liability 

for workers’ compensation benefi ts. 

In November 2009, the Alaska Supreme Court confi rmed 

the constitutionality of the 2004 amendments. Subsequently, 

during the 2010 legislative session in Juneau, some lawmakers 

tried unsuccessfully to repeal the 2004 amendments. 

In late July, the Supreme Court issued another decision 

interpreting the 2004 amendments. The issue involved 

whether “project owner” meant only the owner of the land 

on which the construction occurred, having only a temporary 

duration. But the legislation defi nes “project owner” 

as “a person who, in the course of the person’s business, 

By ROBERT J. DI C K S O N 

engages the services of a contractor and who enjoys the 

benefi cial use of the work.” 

Based on this defi nition, the court rejected the idea that 

the immunity for a “project owner” was limited to construction 

“project owners.” The court also pointed out that while 

considering the bill, legislators used two hypothetical examples 

of project owners in the oil and gas industry. 

One case involved an employee of a catering contractor 

employee injured while performing routine catering services 

for Alyeska Pipeline Service Company’s Pump Station 

No. 5. No construction 

was involved. As part of its 

contract with the contractor, 

Alyeska was responsible for, 

and actually did provide, 

workers’ compensation for 

the contractor’s workers. 

Although Alyeska’s carrier 

paid the injured employee 

$72,000 in workers’ 

compensation benefi ts, the 

worker sued the company 

for negligence anyway. 

The court held that 

Alyeska was a “project 

owner” because it fi t the 

statutory defi nition of a 

person “who, in the course 

of the person’s business, engages in the services of a 

contractor and who enjoys the benefi cial use of the work;” 

and dismissed the suit. 

Consequently, under the 2004 amendments, nonconstruction-type 

businesses can be potentially liable 

for workers’ compensation benefi ts when they hire a 

contractor without workers’ compensation coverage. At the 

same time, if the business takes steps to ensure that the 

contractor has workers’ compensation insurance in force, 

that business will be immune from claims of negligence 

from the contractor’s injured employees. 

Robert J. Dickson is a partner of the Anchorage law fi rm 

Atkinson, Conway and Gagnon Inc. 


ph o To s: co u R T e sy o f az i m u T h ad v e n T u R e ph oTo g R a p h y 

The Associates 

Council Annual 

Tailgate Party 


AGC Golf 

ANCHORAGE 

ANCHORAGE 

ANCHORAGE 

Congratulations to the FOLLOWING PRIZE WINNERS of the 

ANCHORAGE 23 rd ANNUAL AGC INVITATIONAL GOLF SCRAMBLE! 

1 ST PLACE TEAM 

Hal Ingalls, Denali Drilling Inc. 

Jeff Kron, Granite Construction Co. 

Nate Seymour, Roger Hickel Contracting Inc. 

Les Lauinger, Laborers Local 341 

David Gates, Alaska Quality Publishing 

3 RD PLACE TEAM 

Mark Symonds, Senco Alaska Inc. 

Sean Fitzpatrick, KL Pacifi c Construction Inc. 

Javan Plunkett, Accupoint Inc. 

Chris Reilly, Universal Roofi ng of AK Inc. 

Steve Fisher, NC Machinery 

2 ND PLACE “PLAYER SELECT” TEAM 

Superior Plumbing & Heating 

Mike Blake, Ed Byrne, Darrell Koontz, Hunter Blake 

2 ND PLACE TEAM 

Nick Karnos, Lynden 

Larry Sweesy, Craig Taylor Equipment 

Mike Piekarski, Laborers Local 341 

Mike Miller, Granite Construction Co. 

Eddie Packee, Travis/Peterson Environmental Consulting Inc. 

1 ST PLACE “PLAYER SELECT” TEAM 

ACME Fence Company 

Nelson Stone, Mark Lulay, Suzanne Fairbanks, Ryan Hunt, Mike Hood 

3 RD PLACE “PLAYER SELECT” TEAM 

Lynden 

Matthew Malone, Tony Schnaese, Nik Kallander, Bob Tenge, Steve Pascal 

Fall 2010

AGC would like to thank the following SPONSORS 

3M ALASKA 

ADVERTISING STRATEGIES & CONSULTING 

AGLIETTI OFFRET & WOOFTER 

ALASKA HERITAGE TOURS 

ALASKA MECHANICAL INC. 

ALASKA NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY 

ALASKA QUALITY PUBLISHING INC. 

ALASKA RAILROAD CORPORATION 

ALASKA STATE DISTRICT 

COUNCIL OF LABORERS 

ALASKA TRAFFIC COMPANY 

ALASKA USA FEDERAL CREDIT UNION 

AMERICAN FAST FREIGHT 

ANALYTIC INVESTORS 

ANCHORAGE SAND & GRAVEL CO. INC. 

AURORA CONSTRUCTION SUPPLY INC. 

BEAR TOOTH 

BRADLEY HOUSE 

BRICE COMPANIES 

CARLILE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS INC. 

COLDFOOT ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES INC. 

CONOCOPHILLIPS ALASKA 

CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY INDUSTRIAL LLC 

CORNERSTONE CONSTRUCTION INC. 

CRAIG TAYLOR EQUIPMENT CO. 

CRUSH 

CRUZ CONSTRUCTION INC. 

DAVIS CONSTRUCTORS & ENGINEERS 

DAVISON & DAVISON INC. 

LAW OFFICES OF DOKOOZIAN & ASSOCIATES INC. 

E P ROOFING INC. 

EXXONMOBIL 

F&W CONSTRUCTION CO. INC. 

FIRETAP 

FIRST NATIONAL BANK ALASKA 

GLACIER BREWHOUSE 

GRANITE CONSTRUCTION CO. 

GRAZZINI BROTHERS AND CO. 

GCI COMMUNICATIONSHD 

SUPPLY WATERWORKS 

HOLMES WEDDLE & BARCOTT, P.C. 

INSULFOAM LLC 

JACKOVICH INDUSTRIAL & 

CONSTRUCTION SUPPLY INC. 

JERMAIN DUNNAGAN & OWENS 

KNIK CONSTRUCTION CO. INC. 

LA MEX 

LAST FRONTIER CHAPTER OF CFMA 

LIBERTY NORTHWEST MUTUAL 

LINDQUIST LLP 

LOCKITCH CLEMENTS & RICE P.S. 

LONESTAR STEAKHOUSE 

LYNDEN 

MCGINLEY’S PUB 

MOOSE’S TOOTH 

N C MACHINERY CO. 

NEESER CONSTRUCTION INC. 

NORTH STAR EQUIPMENT SERVICES 

Scholarship testimonials 

How to 

apply 

Rory Egelus 

AGC of Alaska has assisted me fi nancially throughout 

my college career, which has allowed me to experience 

valuable construction internships in the summers. 

The people of AGC not only assisted me fi nancially, 

but also provided enthusiastic support throughout my 

academic life at Montana State University. I look forward 

to returning to Alaska to begin my career in the construction industry, 

and anticipate future involvement with AGC. Thank you AGC for your 

community involvement and kind generosity. 

Jamie A. Smith 

AGC of Alaska’s scholarship programs have made 

education more readily available to myself and other 

students. Thank you AGC for improving not only my 

future job performance, but enhancing the potential 

quality of construction in Alaska in the decades to come. 

ORTHLAND SERVICES 

ORTHRIM BANK 

OLES MORRISON RINKER & BAKER LLP 

ORSO 

OTIS ELEVATOR CO. 

PACIFIC ASPHALT PRODUCTS 

PACIFIC INCOME ADVISERS 

PARKER, SMITH & FEEK INC. 

POLAR SUPPLY CO. INC. 

QUALITY ASPHALT PAVING (QAP) 

RAIN PROOF ROOFING LLC 

REPROGRAPHICS NORTHWEST LLC 

RITCHIE BROS. AUCTIONEERS 

SENCO ALASKA INC. 

SIMON & SEAFORTS SALOON & GRILL 

SNOW CITY CAFE 

SPENARD BUILDERS SUPPLY 

SPENARD ROADHOUSE 

SUMMIT WINDOWS & DOORS INC. 

THE HOTEL CAPTAIN COOK 

THE HUMAN RESOURCE UMBRELLA LLC 

TOTEM EQUIPMENT & SUPPLY INC. 

TOTEM OCEAN TRAILER EXPRESS INC. 

UNIT COMPANYUNITED COMPANY 

UNIVERSAL ROOFING OF ALASKA INC. 

WEAVER BROS. INC. 

WELFARE AND PENSION 

ADMINISTRATION SERVICES INC. 

WILLIS NORTH AMERICA 

Travis Weist 

The AGC of Alaska’s scholarship has motivated me 

to maintain my Dean’s List status in the Construction 

Management Program at UAA. Growing up in the Alaska 

construction industry has emphasized the importance of 

continuing education, whether it is a skilled labor apprenticeship 

program or traditional schooling. Thank you for 

supporting the education of so many students, including myself. I look 

forward to the day when I can give back to the AGC community. 

Bob Coopchiak 

I worked as a union carpenter for the past six years 

before entering UAA’s Construction Management 

Program as a full-time student. I would like to thank 

AGC of Alaska for its fi nancial generosity in awarding 

me a scholarship. As a family man, this fi nancial help 

means a lot. I didn’t think I had a chance of being chosen 

for a scholarship, but fi lled out an application anyway at the urging of 

someone else. Thank you AGC. 

The Construction Education Foundation is involved in all levels of construction education in Alaska – from 

students in secondary schools to older university students, to students looking to change careers or to take 

short courses to upgrade their skills. The foundation’s goal is to provide the next generation of construction 

workers in Alaska. To that end, CEF works with the Associated General Contractors of Alaska to offer scholarships 

to students taking (or will be taking) classes toward a degree that will support the state’s construction 

industry. To apply, download the forms at www.alaskacef.org/scholarships.html and return by deadline to the 

CEF offi ce at 8005 Schoon St., Anchorage, AK 99518. For more information, call (907) 770-1826. 

Fall 2010 

The Alaska conTrAcTor 67

AGC Golf 

FAIRBANKS 

Thanks to the WINNERS AND SPONSORS of the 

31 st ANNUAL AGC FAIRBANKS GOLF SCRAMBLE 

ph oTo s: co u R T e sy o f agc o f al a s K a fa i R b a n K s office 

All Profi ts benefi t the FAIRBANKS AGC EDUCATION FUND 

1 ST PLACE NET DIVISION 

Dimond Fence 

3 RD PLACE NET DIVISION 

Emulsion Products of Alaska 

2 ND PLACE GROSS DIVISION 

Denali Industrial Supply 

2 ND PLACE NET DIVISION 

Mixed Team #2 

1 ST PLACE GROSS DIVISION 

Mt. McKinley Bank 

3 RD PLACE GROSS DIVISION 

KL Pacifi c 

RED LANTERN 

Exclusive Paving 

68 

The Alaska conTrAcTor Fall 2010

SPECIAL THANKS 

to our MAJOR SPONSORS 

Alaska Digital Printing Inc.; Spenard Builders Supply; 

N C Machinery Company; Brice Inc.; Insulfoam LLC; 

F&W Construction Co. Inc.; Hale & Associates Inc.; 

Teamsters Local 959; Alaska USA Federal Credit Union 

HOLE & GREEN SPONSORS 

Alaska Industrial Hardware; Allied Building Products; Aurora 

Construction Supply; Black Gold Express; CLI Construction; 

Construction Machinery; Control Contractors; Cruz 

Construction; Denali Industrial Supply; Denali Mechanical; 

Dimond Fence Company; Dollar Rent-A-Car; Emulsion Products 

of Alaska; Exclusive Paving/University; Redi Mix; ExxonMobil; 

Frontier Supply Company; GHEMM Co.; Griffard Steel; HC 

Contractors; Interior Alaska Roofi ng; Jackovich Industrial & 

Construction Supply; Keller Supply; Kenneth A. Murray 

Insurance; Kiewit Building Group; KL Pacifi c Construction; 

Lynden Transport; Phil Anderson Company; Polar Supply 

Company; Spenard Builders Supply; Travis/Peterson 

Environmental Consulting; Wedgewood Resort; Wells Fargo 

Bank Alaska; Willis; Yukon Equipment; Yukon Title Company 

LONGEST DRIVE 

DOOR & GOODIE BAG 

PRIZE SPONSORS 

Accupoint Inc.; Alaska Digital Printing; Airport Equipment 

Rentals Inc.; Alaska Rubber & Rigging Inc.; American Fast 

Freight; American Fire & Safety; Aurora Construction Supply Inc.; 

Auto Trim Design; Crescent Electric Supply Inc.; ExxonMobil; 

Fairbanks Golf Course; First National Bank Alaska; Florcraft Inc.; 

Fountainhead Development; Frontier Supply Inc.; Grainger; Hale & 

Associates Inc.; Jackovich Industrial & Construction Supply Inc.; 

K&L Distributors; Kenneth A. Murray Insurance Inc.; MacCheyne’s 

Carpet Plus Inc.; Mt. McKinley Bank; NC Machinery Co.; Samson 

True Value Hardware; Silver Gulch Brewing & Bottling; Spenard 

Builders Supply; Stinebaugh & Company; Techline Alaska; Uresco; 

Usibelli Coal Mine Inc.; Willis 

Allied Building Products Corp. 

American Fast Freight 

Aurora Construction Supply Inc. 

Brice Inc. 

C M I (Construction Machinery Inc.) 

Denali Industrial Supply Inc. 

Denali Mechanical Inc. 

Denali State Bank 

Dimond Fence Co. 

Men’s – 

WILL SUNNI & 

KYLE KINDA 

AGC of Alaska thanks all donors, volunteers and participants. 

This annual event is made possible through their generosity and support! 

Team Sponsors 

Emulsion Products of Alaska 

ExxonMobil 

Exclusive Paving/University Redi-Mix 

Fairbanks Block & Building Materials 

Interior Alaska Roofi ng 

Jackovich Industrial & Construction Supply 

KL Pacifi c Construction Inc. 

Kenneth A. Murray Insurance Inc. 

Kiewit Building Group 

HOLE in ONE 

These fi ne sponsors gave our duffers an 

opportunity to win thousands of dollars in 

cash and prizes. 

Airport Equipment Rentals Inc.; Craig Taylor Equipment 

Co.; Denali State Bank; Equipment Source Inc. 

Thanks for making the game a lot more fun! 

July has come and gone, with it a 

lot of rain in the Interior. There was 

one day with minimal rainfall, July 

16th. On that day, 98 golfers spent a 

glorious day on the links, networking while 

helping us to realize our goal of continuing construction 

education in Fairbanks. 

Since 1980 the Fairbanks AGC offi ce has hosted 

this scramble, and it has been profi table because of 

member contributions. 

This ongoing event has provided direct scholarships 

and endowments through the University of Alaska 

Fairbanks campus. The AGC organization exists only 

because of its members, and you continue to show your 

support for AGC and the education programs we fund. 

Together we were instrumental in the development of 

the Construction Management Associate Degree now 

offered at UAF/CTC, putting qualifi ed capable workers 

into the community. We are proud of this fact and will 

continue to be your driving force and audible voice in 

the Alaskan construction industry. 

Our sincere appreciation for 

‘putt-ing’ in to help out! 

Lynden Transport Inc. 

Mt. McKinley Bank 

Rockwell Engineering & 

Construction Services 

Spenard Builders Supply 

Travis/Peterson Environmental 

Consulting Supply 

Walsh, Kelliher & Sharp 

Wells Fargo Bank 

AGC Golf 

FAIRBANKS 

Golf 


ContraCtors & 

EthiCal ContraCting 

Pro-active Awareness 

of Ethics Compliance in 

Government Contracting 

By Ju l i a m. i. ho l D e n 

Ba n K s t o n Gr o n n i n G o’ha r a, P.C. 

For any contractor (including 

subcontractors) doing work for 

the federal government or paid 

for by federal dollars, understanding 

the ethical and fraud-related statutory 

requirements is a must. Legislators in 

this country began creating legislation 

seeking to eliminate fraud or waste of 

government money while still under a 

colonial regime. That early legislation 

forms the basis for many of the laws, 

although the requirements, rights and 

responsibilities under the legislation 

include dramatic changes put in place 

over the last 25 years. 

One of the earliest statutes is the 

False Claims Act, considered by the 

Department of Justice as its “primary 

tool” to combat government fraud. As 

drafted, the False Claims Act has its 

roots in the Civil War, when government 

“contractors” found numerous ways to 

defraud the government – shipping 

sawdust instead of guns, providing sick 

horses, rotten food supplies and tattered 

blankets. To try to prevent this conduct, 

the fi rst False Claims Act was passed 

in March 1863, and became known as 

the “Lincoln Law.” As amended and 

supplemented with other fraud and 

ethics-related statutes, the False Claims 

Act and its progeny has allowed the 

government to recover more than $24 

billion just in the last 25 years. Its reach 

in 2009 alone allowed the government 

to recover more than $2.4 billion just 

in civil remedies. Criminal penalties in 

other statutes increased the governments’ 

overall recovery to more than 

$5 billion. 

The impetus to the government to 

draft and enforce these kinds of statutes 

can clearly be seen simply from a dollar 

perspective. For example, according to 

Taxpayers Against Fraud, in the health 

care arena alone, for every dollar spent 

by the government in investigation and 

prosecutions, the government recovers 

$15. That kind of return on investment 

cannot be ignored. 

The reach of the False Claims 

Act and other ethical laws has been 

increased or clarifi ed by legislation in 

the last several years to (a) allow the 

government to seek recovery outside of 

the chain of privity – meaning that the 

government can pursue subcontractors 

directly, (b) allow the government 

to seek recovery for fraud in private or 

local government contracts when the 

source of the funding is federal, (c) 

granted signifi cant additional funds 

to the Offi ce of the Inspector General 

(OIG) to pursue fraud related claims. 

In addition, the numbers of states and 

local governments with false claims 

acts – and enforcement actions under 

those acts – also continues to rise. 

Signifi cantly, these same statutes can 

govern conduct across many different 

industries – including banking, health 

care, construction and supplies. For the 

construction contractor, this can make 

compliance interesting as much of the 

case law interpreting some of the statutes, 

especially shortly after enactment, 

can come out of a totally different sector 

– health care for example. 

Adding complexity to the requirements 

is the reality that no one solution 

fi ts every business. For example, 

in a small, family-owned company, 

there are only so many internal 

controls that can truly be put in place. 


There may quite simply be insufficient 

numbers of people to allow for roles 

and responsibilities to be segregated 

and complete checks and balances 

put in place. On the other extreme, 

a large company may have sufficient 

personnel and resources to segregate 

or layer responsibilities, but it 

may struggle with having centralized 

reporting, or customizing a policy in a 

way that works for the various sectors 

in which the company is engaged. 

Businesses in different sectors may 

have different risks and need different 

methods to decrease those risks. 

Significantly, the very allegation of 

a false claim has significant impact on 

a company – even if ultimately a trier 

of fact determines there was no false 

claim. The stigma – real or perceived 

– of the allegation is real. The costs of 

defending the allegations can be astronomical. 

Outside attorneys, accountants, 

and other experts may need to 

be hired. Key project personnel may 

be devoted to defending litigation, 

instead of working on projects that 

bring dollars into the company. Litigation 

can be draining not just on the 

company’s economic resources, but 

also on the time and morale of the 

individual employees. 

With all these things, a contractor’s 

best defense can be avoidance and 

demonstrable efforts at compliance. 

Education, training, and compliance 

related programs and policies are not 

only mandatory for certain contractors, 

but good practices for everyone. 

Julia Holden of Bankston Gronning 

O’Hara and Traeger Machetanz of Oles 

Morrison Rinker & Baker, will play host 

to an Ethics & Compliance Workshop from 

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13, 

at the AGC of Alaska offices, 8005 Schoon 

St., Training Room 2. Registration is $175/ 

members, $225/non-members and includes 

lunch. Call Kimberley at (907) 561-5354 

or e-mail kimberley@agcak.org. 


TRAFFIC 

relief 

Before work began on the 

Lake Otis Parkway-Tudor 

Road intersection this 

summer, drivers typically waited 

four minutes and 26 seconds 

between stoplight changes. 

When Asphalt Quality Paving Inc. 

and many sub-contractors wrap 

up improvements to the third 

busiest intersection in Anchorage 

in October, the delay in traffi c 

fl ow will be cut nearly in half to 

two minutes and 35 seconds. 

When the $23 million project 

ends, the intersection will be 

expanded as much as it can be 


without putting in an interchange 

and separating the roads, said John 

Smith, city project manager, in the 

Anchorage Daily News. “It will be a 

fully built-out intersection.” 

The city designed the improvements 

and the state supervised 

construction. A combination of 

city bonds, state grants and federal 

money funded the renovations 

which include: 

• Double left turn lanes in all 

four directions 

• Additional right turn lanes 

in the westbound, southbound 

and eastbound 

directions 

• New traffi c signals 

• Public transit facilities 

• New street and pedestrian 

lighting 

• New landscaping around 

the intersection 

Project Area: 

E. Tudor 

Lake Otis 


AK Safety 

PLUS SAFETY REPORT 

Hazard and risk 

assessment 

Hazard assessment and control 

are the core elements of every 

effective health and safety 

program. By recognizing and controlling 

hazards, employers can mitigate 

potentially harmful situations and 

reduce losses. In addition to saving 

money, employers must also comply 

with Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration standards regarding 

hazard identifi cation and control. 

Some defi nitions 

A hazard is any potential source 

of damage, harm or adverse health 

effects to individuals or to organizations 

as property or equipment losses. 

Examples include a falling object, 

exposure to a caustic chemical, release 

of compressed gas, entangling hair or 

clothing in rotating equipment or just 

a slip on an icy parking lot. 

Hazard assessment is the methodical 

process of identifying, assessing 

and controlling hazards, with the 

intent to limit or eliminate them as 

close to the source as possible. 

Risk is slightly different. It involves 

the chance or probability that a person 

will be harmed if exposed to a hazard. 

Drivers, for example, take a risk every 

time they get behind the wheel. The 

risk increases if the driver is fatigued 

or distracted. 

Risk assessment establishes the 

probability and frequency of identifi ed 

hazards. Since risks are seldom eliminated, 

rather managed to their lowest 

impact, this process helps the employer 

and employee prioritize the most critical 

tasks based on a ranked matrix (fi gure 1) 

of tasks/hazards with assigned quantitative 

factors for probability and severity 

(high, medium, and low). 

The hazard control hierarchy (fi gure 

2) is both a concept and a practice of 

applying the most effective controls 

fi rst (e.g. reduction or elimination), 

then cascading down to least effective 

(training or protective personal 

equipment). When feasible, OSHA 

recommends designing the work environment 

and the job to eliminate or 

reduce hazards based on the following 

principles: 

• Remove the hazard and/or substitute 

something not hazardous 

Figure 2 – Hazard Control Hierarchy 

By Chris Ross, CSP, CPLP 

NMS Training Systems 

or less hazardous in the facility, 

equipment or process. 

• Enclose the hazard to prevent 

exposure, if removal is unfeasible. 

• Establish barriers or local ventilation 

to reduce exposure, if 

complete enclosure is unfeasible. 

Above all, avoid relying solely on 

PPE devices for protection against 

hazards, instead use them in conjunction 

with guards, engineering controls 

and sound manufacturing practices. 


Hazard assessment toolkit 

A variety of tools and techniques 

can identify and control 

hazards, but finding the right 

process/tools to fit the “company 

culture” is the key. In most cases, 

formal and informal surveys 

generate employee interest – 

whether evaluating a hazard 

or simply participating in the 

process. 

A few of the more common Figure 1 – Risk Assessment Matrix 

approaches include: 

• Walkthrough – Supervisors 

often identify hazards by an 

informal walkthrough, or formal 

with a daily checklist (e.g. forklift 

checklist or shop checklist). 

This approach is easy, requires 

little preparation and involves the 

employees. The downside: hazards 

are easily overlooked, little documentation 

and follow-through. 

• Task Matrix – Many employers 

list all major tasks, their hazards 

and control measures and then 

rank and prioritize them by risk 

assessment. 

• PPE Matrix – OSHA requires 

employers to annually evaluate 

tasks/hazards – included in the task 

matrix – and identify required PPE. 

• Job Safety Analysis – The 

analysis initially summarizes the 

job process and then breaks down 

each step to table form – identify 

hazards step-by-step, eliminate 

control measures, and reduce 

or mitigate each hazard. Since 

JSAs are fairly rigorous and timeconsuming, 

employers start with 

high-risk tasks, and employees 

performing the observed task 

create and evaluate the job. 

• Task Hazard Analysis – Though 

similar and often interchangeable 

with JSAs, this analysis typically 

evaluates possible hazards of 

upcoming work and risks involved 

in such changing conditions as 

weather, introduction of a new 

hazard, new crew members, etc. 

The bottom line 

Despite the many tools, assessing 

hazards and risks is still a process, not 

an event. The goal is to evaluate and 

control, not just fill out the paperwork. 

In other words avoid “pencil-whipped” 

and embrace the tools available. 

The final element involves diligent 

commitment and participation by 

management and employees. 

Chris Ross, CSP, CPLP, is president 

of The Engagement Effect, which offers 

solutions in organizational results, 

safety and health, leadership, talent 

management and culture change. Learn 

more at www.theengagementeffect.com or 

e-mail chris@theengagementeffect.com. 


Kodiak Launch Complex 

New controlled storage enhances 

fl exibility and scheduling 

In August 2010, Brechan Enterprises Inc. 

completed a new Rocket Motor Storage Facility 

at the Kodiak Launch Complex. The Alaska 

Aerospace Corporation awarded the $7 million 

to $9 million contract in late January 2009 and 

Brechan began Phase I fi ve months later, excavating 

backfi lling and grading an access road from 

Pasagshak Road to the RMSF area. Along the way 

the AGC of Alaska member installed water, power 

and communication lines, and fencing. 

The more rugged and complex Phase II involved 

a pair of industry-standard, earth-covered magazines 

to safely and securely store rocket motors. 

The RMSF will accommodate as many as fi ve fully- 

integrated Minotaur IV class launch vehicles. 

The cast-in-place concrete foundations 

support the steel oval-arch structures with an 

on-grade steel rail system within each magazine 

for loading and unloading. Both ECMs also 

feature communication rooms to allow interfacing 

with range equipment in the utility annex, which 

houses the heating and humidifying gear. 

Overall, the new buildings afford secure, safe 

storage of major launch vehicles and greater fl exibility 

in shipping and scheduling future launches. 

On August 1, 2010, the Kodiak Launch 

Complex, the only high-latitude full-service 

spaceport in the world, received its fi rst motor. 



W 

WORKSAFE 

An Alaska Construction 

Industry Substance Abuse 

Program update 

The AK Clean Card program 

has come a long way in 

providing drug-test services for 

contractors and labor organizations 

committed to the Alaska Construction 

Industry Substance Abuse Program. A 

board of trustees – construction and 

labor union representatives – ensures 

the statewide program focuses on a 

drug-free work force and work place. 

Of particular interest to participating 

contractors, AKCISAP trustees 

in the last two years have lowered the 

hourly rate from ten cents an hour to 

eight cents an hour. AK Clean Card’s 

two primary vendors – Beacon Work- 

Safe and Welfare & Pension Administration 

Services – made the reduction 

possible. Both administrators maintain 

high standards and constantly monitor 

new technology to increase effi ciency. 

Their overall goal is to someday 

reduce the hourly rate to fi ve cents an 

hour. To achieve that standard, the AK 

Clean Card Program must continue to 

enroll new contractors who support a 

BY MATTHEW FA G N A N I 

drug-free work place and the common 

theme of working together for a safe 

construction industry. To that end, 

services include: 

• standard effi ciencies for the 

contractor community 

• central employer/employee drugtest 

information 

• employee fl exibility to move from 

contractor to contractor without 

multiple pre-employment drug 

tests, as long as they maintain a 

drug-free status and comply with 

the AK Clean Card policy and 

procedures 

• access to the program website, 

www.akcleancard.com 

The AK Clean Card drug-test 

program is only one tool in the 

contractor’s toolbox to help ensure 

a safe work environment. As an 

industry, everyone – employer and 

employee – is responsible. For more 

information, contact Chris Williams at 

Beacon/WorkSafe at (907) 563-8378 

or www.worksafeinc.com. 

Matthew Fagnani is president of 

WorkSafe Inc., a full-spectrum work 

place drug- and alcohol-testing program 

that offers instant results. 


By Dr e w he r m a n 

Most Alaska general contractors are more accustomed to polar and 

grizzly bears, ice floes and sub-zero temperatures than they are to 

snakes, alligators, shirt-soaking humidity and floating globs of oil. 

Photos: © BP p.l.c. 


Nevertheless, a cadre of tundra 

bums have thrown in their oil-response 

expertise to help salvage the Gulf of 

Mexico coastline, wildlife and economy 

after British Petroleum’s Deepwater 

Horizon drilling platform exploded 

April 20, killing 11 workers and caused 

the largest oil spill in U.S. history. 

American Marine Corp. – with 

offi ces in Alaska, Hawaii and California 

– is one of many Alaska contractors 

and such cooperatives as Alaska Clean 

Seas and Alaska Chadux Corp. – that 

dispatched workers and volunteers 

experienced in crude-oil clean-ups to 

oversee on-site safety and hiring. 

“It’s obviously different because it’s 

a marine environment,” said Kirk Foster, 

AMC’s health, safety, security and 

environmental affairs manager. Of the 

company’s employees, he added: “The 

majority of them are Alaska-based, but 

some of them came from Hawaii.” 

Experts estimate upwards of 5 

million barrels of oil spewed from 

the underwater well before engineers 

fashioned a device to cap the leak in 

July. The 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker spill 

in Prince William Sound, in contrast, 

pales at a “meager” 750,000 barrels. 

Initially, BP hired roughly 41,000 

contract workers at the peak of the 

response effort, but that number has 

since slimmed to about 25,000 in 

mid-August, Steve Rinehart of the BP 

public affairs offi ce in Houston, Texas 

wrote in a recent e-mail. 

“They’re starting to come back 

now,” Foster said about some of his 

transplanted workers. Any remaining 


supervisors in Louisiana are based at 

the Hopedale and Grand Isle sites. 

Planning for this sort of disaster 

BP had arranged for quick oil-spill 

response from companies with 

recognized expertise, specialized 

equipment, vetted and certifi ed by 

government agencies such as the U.S. 

Coast Guard, Rinehart wrote. 

“These organizations regularly 

drill with companies and government 

agencies – federal, state and local - to 

be response-ready and to establish 

best practice so that a response effort 

can be quickly deployed.” 

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Offi cer Sara 

Francis viewed the disaster fi rst-hand 

Photos: © BP p.l.c. 


ph o To s: co u R T e sy o f co a s T gua R d by peTT y officeR 3R d cl ass Ro b e R T bRazzell. 

HOUMA, La., - Mike Utsler, along with Capt. Roger Laferriere and Lt. Cmdr. Theodore Lam, from 

the Incident Command Post in Houma, meet July 13, 2010 with Captain Peter Garay, president of 

Dutch Harbor-based Alaska Marine Pilots, to discuss response the Deepwater Horizon response. 

Garay’s visit coincided with the operational update on the “stacking cap” installation and testing. 

as part of BP’s Integrated Command of 

federal and local agencies. Few Coast 

Guard personnel remember, let alone 

participated in, the Exxon Valdez spill, 

but plenty of other people from Alaska 

are lending their oil-spill expertise, said 

the Coast Guard public affairs specialist 

based in Alaska. 

“On a more recent note, we’ve had 

a lot of small incidents (in Alaska),” 

Francis said. “(So these Gulf workers) 

have a fair amount of experience.” 

As part of the clean-up process, she 

watched Coast Guard marine science 

technicians document the kind of oil 

washing ashore at Grand Isle, LA. The 

technicians then handed that paperwork 

to private contractors skilled in 

scouring estuaries and setting up oilabsorbent 

booms to protect critical 

habitats. 

“It takes some experience to get it 

set correctly,” Francis said. 

Since the Integrated Command 

approved the final steps to permanently 

cap the well, workers in the region 

“have gone from immediate response 

to a recovery phase,” she added. 

At this point, the oil sightings are 

dwindling – at least on the surface 

– which means fewer boats and 

airplanes to monitor oil slicks at 

sea but plenty more effort concentrated 

on the vulnerable shores. 

“There’s still a lot of work to be 

done,” Francis said. 

Drew Herman is a writer and 

editor who lives in Kodiak. 


Project UPdate: 

Hiland Mountain Correctional Center, 

S.A.V.E. High School and more 

By Jessica Bo w m a n 

Jon Pfeifer and Brent Eaton, of 

E/P Roofing Inc., have more than four 

decades of combined roofing experience. 

In May of 2007, the two partners 

decided to form their own company, 

E/P Roofing Inc. 

“It’s been growing like crazy,” 

Eaton said. “It has really taken off and 

we couldn’t be more thrilled.” 

As September ends, the company 

will reach completion on two highprofile 

projects in the Anchorage and 

Eagle River vicinities—roofing for 

Specialized Academic and Vocational 

Education (S.A.V.E) High School and 

the Hiland Mountain Correctional 

Center (HMCC). For each job, E/P is 

working with RIM Architects, and 

each has been on time, on budget and 

on point. 

“Both are commercial reroofing 

and replacement projects that require 

a seasoned Contractor that has significant 

Alaska and Northern climate 

experience,” said Scott Bohne, principal 

at RIM Architects. 

The S.A.V.E. school project began 

July 27 and is set to wrap up near the 

end of September. For this roofing 

project, E/P had to start from scratch 

in one of the worst Alaskan summers 

on record. “We tore that whole roof off 

and put it back during the 32 days of 

rain in a row this summer,” said Eaton. 

“It was pretty much done with no 

damage to the building.” 

Even with the rain, the project 

stayed on schedule. “We’re still there, 

just finishing up this month and 

wrapping it up,” Eaton continued. The 

school had E/P replace their older, 

metal roof with a newer shingle roof. 

“I think the decision behind that was 

that they had snow sliding off and it 

was a danger,” said Eaton. “It was old, 

and they wanted a new roof that the 

snow wouldn’t slide off of.” 

In addition to RIM, E/P worked 

with several subcontractors who 

completed a bevy of internal upgrades 

and restructuring. “We had an asbestos 

abatement subcontractor, we had a 

structural upgrade subcontractor and 

under that an electrical guy, a dirt work 

guy, a concrete guy, a mechanical guy 

– there were a ton of subs on that job,” 

Eaton said. 

The company started working on 

another roofing project this summer, 

with the Hiland Mountain Correc- 

tional Center. This project began on 

August 3 and is nearly completed and 

is also scheduled to wrap up by the end 

of the month, and involved two of the 

buildings at the correctional center. 

Hiland Mountain wanted to tear 

the existing roofs off the two buildings 

completely, down to the deck, 

and hired E/P to rebuild the insulation, 

re-roof, and create a vent space 

(or attic). E/P is also replacing all the 

Fall 2010 The Alaska conTrAcTor 83 

ph o To: co u R T e sy o f e/p Ro o f i n g in c.

perimeter flashing, framing and trim. 

Hiland is also updating some of the 

razor wire as well, for security, said 

Eaton. The roof work mostly included 

replacing worn out shingles with new 

asphalt shingles on each building. 

Upcoming projects for E/P include 

working with MCN Construction Inc. on 

a new cinema project in the Matanuska 

Valley, and several retail outlets including 

two new Red Robin restaurants 

E/P has also participated in some 

large projects in Anchorage in the 

recent past, including: the F-22 Hangar 

at Elmendorf Air Force Base with Davis 

Constructors & Engineers Inc.; the new 

roof for the Sullivan Arena in August 

of 2009; and roofing for the Sand Lake 

Elementary School Remodel, again 

with Davis Constructors & Engineers 

Inc. (A long-time Alaskan, Eaton 

attended his first two years of elementary 

school at Sand Lake.) 

“The Sullivan roof was a complete 

tear-off, down to the metal deck,” said 

Pfeifer. “We installed sheetrock for fire 

protection, a vapor barrier, R-32 insulation 

and built-up asphalt roofing 

with a granulated cap sheet as the 

exposed surface.” 

“The F-22 hangar is a project we’re 

just about complete with,” Pfeifer 

continued. “It was about 60,000 square 

feet, and is also an insulated built-up 

asphalt roof system.” 

“Sand Lake was a combination of 

re-roofing parts of the existing school 

and then installing roofing on the new 

school itself,” said Pfeifer. “It received 

an insulated rubber membrane roof, 

and it’s now complete and ready for 

the new school year.” 

Today with more than 400 roofing 

jobs across the state; E/P has grown 

from a two-man operation to a staff of 

almost 50 employees in the summer 

season (about half that in the winter), 

an office/shop/yard facility (at 2410 

Commercial Drive), and a collection of 

17 trucks and three forklifts. 

Management of the company is 

split between the owners say Eaton and 

Pfeifer. “We just settled into the various 

work slots that each of us excels in, and 

that’s how we share the load.” 

“It sure is nice to have a partner you 

can discuss the big stuff with, and laugh 

about the small stuff. We laugh a lot, 

you have to keep it fun” Eaton said. 


ph o To s: co u R T e sy o f ac m e fe n c e co m p a n y 

AGC AGC 

members’ members’ 

projects projects 

Rocket Motor Storage Facility, Kodiak 

Contractor: Acme Fence Company 

Completion Date: September 2010 

86 The Alaska conTrAcTor 

Fall 2010

Fall 2010 

The Alaska conTrAcTor 87

ph o To s: co u R T e sy o f ciTy el e c T R i c in c. 

City Electric workers install bright-orange fi berglass aviation 

balls onto the power lines. 


Snettisham 

Emergency Avalanche 

Repairs - Juneau 

Contractor: City Electric Inc. 


ph oTo s: sTeve gl i n e s, e/p Ro o f i n g, in c. 

High on the hillside, E/P completes a large 

residential roofi ng job with fi re treated 

cedar shakes on 11,000 square feet of new 

construction on a 10/12 pitch in 2009. 


F-22 Hanger 

Contractor: E/P Roofi ng Inc. 

E/P Roofi ng lays down a layer of felt 

mopped in hot asphalt on the F-22 Hangar 

at Elmendorf Air Force Base in May 2010. 

Do you or your company have professional photos 

to share on recent AGC member construction projects in 

Alaska? Send us your TAKING PRIDE photos, along with a 

brief description of the project and photo credits. Mail all 

photo submissions or drop them off at: 

AGC of Alaska, 8005 Schoon Street, 

Anchorage, AK 99518-3045 

If you prefer e-mail: 

Contractor@agcak.org 


Member NEWS 

Four outstanding alaskans named to 

Alaska Business Hall of Fame 

Four outstanding Alaska business leaders have been 

tapped for induction into the Alaska Business Hall of Fame. 

Business peers selected The Brice Family of Brice Constructors, 

Harry McDonald of Carlile Transportation Company 

and the Quinn Brothers of Capital Offi ce Systems. Selected 

for posthumous recognition is Jim Bowles of ConocoPhillips 

Alaska Inc. These business leaders were selected based on 

their direct impact toward furthering the success of Alaska 

business, demonstrated support and commitment to Junior 

Achievement’s programs, and demonstrated commitment to 

Alaska business. 

The induction ceremony for the Alaska Business Hall of 

Fame will be held at the Dena’ina Civic & Convention Center 

Jan. 27, 2011. Junior Achievement of Alaska Inc. and Alaska 

Business Monthly are the title sponsors of this event. Alaska 

Business Monthly will feature an interview and biography of 

each of the Laureates in its January 2011 edition. 

In 1987, Junior Achievement of Alaska Inc. and Alaska 

granite Construction inc. 

wins award 

for good business 

and environmental sense 

For the last three years, the 

Tileston Award has recognized 

Alaska organizations, businesses 

and individuals for promoting 

economic development while 

protecting the environment. To 

that end, the Resource Development 

Council and the Alaska 

Conservation Alliance presented, 

on July 21, 2010, the annual accolade 

to Granite Construction 

Inc. and William Jack Hernandez 

Sport Fish Hatchery. 

“This year’s tie came about 

because RDC and ACA felt that 

both of these applications were so 

impressive that we couldn’t choose 

between them,” said RDC Execu- 

tive Director Jason Brune. 

“They both embodied the 

economic and environmental 

‘Do it right’ spirit of 

the Tileston Award.” 

The two long-time 

Alaskans who lend their 

name to the award, Peg 

and Jules Tileston, embody 

this shared goal. Peg has 

spearheaded the state’s conservation 

movement for the last 

three decades, while Jules is a 

former director of the division of 

mining. Despite their opposing 

vocations, the couple has always 

agreed, “That if it is in Alaska, it 

must be done right.” 

Induction Ceremony to be held in Anchorage: 

Thursday, January 27, 2011 

Business Monthly started the Alaska Business 

Hall of Fame to honor outstanding individuals 

of Alaska business. Since then, the Hall of Fame 

has become one of the state’s most prestigious events, 

inducting new laureates on an annual basis. 

This class joins more than 100 Hall of Fame laureates 

exemplifying the rich diversity of Alaska in terms of 

geographical regions, business and industrial heritage, and 

cultures. In essence, the laureates represent the foundation 

upon which the state of Alaska is built and continues 

to grow. 

The 25th annual celebration includes a reception beginning 

at 5:30 p.m., dinner and induction ceremony at 6:30 

p.m., concluding by 8:30 p.m. The evening will also include 

a special recognition of the many past inductees who will be 

in attendance. Individual tickets are $150, with limited sponsorship 

opportunities available. Please call (907) 344-0101 

for more information. 

From left to right: Curtis McQueen (CEO, Eklutna Inc.), 

Peg Tileston, Jules Tileston, Jason Brune (RDC), Trevor 

Edmonson (Alaska Plants Manager, Granite Construction), 

Kim Cunningham (Director Land & Resources, 

CIRI) Caitlin Higgins (ACA), Dave Laster (Assistant Plant 

Superintendent, Granite Construction), and Jim Winchester 

(Plant Superintendent, Granite Construction) 


local lawyers 

lead Ethics and 

Compliance 

Workshop 

This workshop may intrest 

anyone who has contracts with 

(or who wants contracts with) 

the federal government, including 

design, construction, supplies, 

maintenance, operations, utilities, 

as well as subcontractors and 

suppliers who provide these items 

to a contractor working for the 

government. 

W HAT: Ethics & Compliance 

Workshop 

W HO: Presented by attorneys 

Julia Holden of Bankston 

Gronning O’Hara and 

Traeger Machetanz of Oles 

Morrison Rinker & Baker. 

W HERE: AGC of Alaska offices, 

8005 Schoon St., Training 

Room 2 

W HEN: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Wednesday, Oct. 13 

H OW MUCH: $175/members, 

$225/non-members and 

includes lunch. 

C ALL: Kimberley at (907) 

561-5354 or e-mail 

kimberley@agcak.org 

Granite won for its Birchwood Site 

development. As demand for gravel 

for both private and public projects 

grows, the company has proven that 

respect for surrounding communities 

and the environment is both profitable 

and good business. Working in 

the Mat-Su Valley, the AGC of Alaska 

member applied several measures to 

limit noise and installed test wells to 

monitor water quality. 


Member NEWScontinued 

Carlile celebrates 

30-year anniversary 

All year long, Carlile Transportation 

Systems is celebrating three decades of 

success – based on constant growing 

and adapting to customer needs – 

with a bunch of customer-appreciation 

events. The fi rst occurred August 5 

with lunch and tours of the Anchorage 

terminal led by the owners, managers 

and sales staff. 

Harry and John McDonald, brothers 

who grew up in Seward, formed Carlile 

Enterprises in 1980, with such contracts 

as hauling urea from the peninsula to 

the valley and delivering milk from the 

valley to Anchorage. A few moves and 

several years later, they changed the 

name to Carlile Transportation Systems 

when Linda Leary and Karl Hoenack 

joined the team as co-owners. 

The Anchorage-based outfi t has 

aiDEa announces 

fi rst RZF Project 

Alaska Contractors take note: 

The Alaska Industrial Development 

and Export Authority is coordinating 

the state’s allocation of 

tax-exempt Recovery Zone Facility 

bonds under the federal American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 

The bonds are intended to fi nance 

new commercial construction and 

equipment. 

The fi rst recipient is Mt. 

McKinley Animal Hospital to 

construct a new 8,078-square-foot 

building in Fairbanks. Northrim 

Bank is the lender on the 

$4,232,026 undertaking. 

“This project is a great example 

of how Recovery Zone Facility 

bonds can benefi t Alaska’s businesses 

and our economy,” said 

AIDEA Executive Director Ted 

Leonard. “The bonds allow the 

grown from two tractors to 

one of state’s largest trucking 

companies, with 675 employees, 

including 110 at the Tacoma, Wash. 

terminal. The other eight terminals 

operate in Alaska in Fairbanks, 

Kenai, Kodiak, Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse, 

Seward as well as the Twin 

Cities, Minn., Houston, Texas and 

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with a 

fl eet of 370 tractors and 1,500 pieces of 

trailing equipment. 

Energy, construction, retail, government 

and many more client services 

include truckload, LTL, heavy haul, 

hazardous materials, freeze and chill, 

warehousing and logistics. 

Carlile’s fi rst truck. (above) 

Carlile truck with young John McDonald. 

bank to lend funds at tax-exempt 

rates, and in this case, the borrower 

is saving $800,000 over the life of 

the loan. AIDEA is very pleased to 

be working with Northrim on this 

project, and we encourage other 

Alaska businesses to take advantage 

of the RZF bond program.” 

The new and larger veterinary 

hospital will require additional 

personnel to bolster the six veterinarians 

and 10 support staff. 

AIDEA is a public state corporation 

dedicated to promoting, 

developing and advancing the 

general prosperity and economic 

welfare of the people of Alaska. 

For information about the RZF 

bond program, contact Michael 

Catsi by e-mail, mcatsi@aidea.org, 

or call (907) 771-3060. 

agC sponsors 

training-development 

conference in Arizona 

The Ninth Annual Associated General 

Contractors of America’s HR Professionals 

Conference will be co–located with the 

Fourth Annual Training & Development 

Conference on Monday, Tuesday and 

Wednesday, Oct. 18 to 20, in Scottsdale, 

Ariz. Each conference features industry– 

focused sessions to learn innovative 

approaches to maximizing effi ciency and 

effectiveness as well as managing training 

and human capital. Expert speakers will 

also offer compliance–related guidance for 

HR professionals, and interactive sessions 

to help T&D professionals sharpen their 

skills and solve common challenges. 

General and specialty contractor staff, 

AGC chapter staff and others involved in 

workforce and professional development, 

education, human resources and training 

are invited. Visit the conference website at 

www.agc.org/hr_td for a brochure and to 

register. 


las Vegas Conference 

courts constructionindustry 

number crunchers 

Organizers of the 14th Annual 

Construction Financial Management 

Conference – jointly sponsored by AGC of 

America and the Construction Financial 

Management Association – developed this 

year’s programs/workshops specifically for 

financial professionals in the construction 

industry. Participants can also earn as many 

as 20 continuing professional education 

credits Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 

Oct. 20 to 22, in Las Vegas during 38 interactive 

sessions, covering the latest industry 

issues and their financial implications. 

Sessions are “group–live based” at intermediate, 

overview and update program levels. 

And no prerequisites or advanced preparation 

are required. For a brochure or to 

register go to www.agc.org/AGC_CFMA. 

Topics at the three–day event include: 

• Construction Industry Market Trends 

• Contractor Buy/Sell Agreements 

• Financial and Credit Market Updates 

• Construction Tax Update 

• Employee Compensation 

• Integrated Accounting and Project 

Management Software 

• “Generation Y” Workforce 

• Technology to Improve Productivity 

• Federal and State Hiring Incentives 

• How to Thrive in a Tough Economic Market 

Dow Corning 

launches webpage 

for building projects 

The new Dow Corning Corp. webpage 

features product information, technical 

expertise, design tools and other resources 

for architects, contractors and building 

designers. The interactive page at www. 

dowcorning.com/imagine includes: 

• Achieve LEED credits by using silicone 

• Construction calculators for project 

management and products 

• Product guides, data sheets, application 

tutorials/seminars and new technology 

• Blueprint evaluations 

• Videos about silicone technology and 

sustainable buildings 

• Orders and sample requests 


Member NEWScontinued 

Welcome new AGC Members 

from March 2010 - August 2010 

GENERAL CONTRACTORS 

CH2M HILL CONSTRUCTORS INC. 

Brian Midyett – Senior Project 

Manager 

301 W. Northern Lights Blvd., 

Ste. 601 


Phone: (907) 278-2251 (main) 

Phone: (907) 646-0218 (direct) 

Fax: (907) 257-2000 

E-mail: brian.midyett@ch2m.com 

Design-Build Facilities Construction, 

with In-House Design, Consulting, 

Construction Services, and Program 

Services, Federal Contracting 

KIC CONSTRUCTION LLC 

Larry Daniels – General Manager 

557 E. Fireweed Lane 


Phone: (907) 227-7884 

Fax: (907) 277-9618 

E-mail: ldaniels@kicconstruction.com 

Website: www.kikikagruk.com 

General Construction, Building 

Renovation, Road Development, 

Underground Utilities, and Other 

Related Services 

TUNISTA CONSTRUCTION LLC 

Ryan Gluth – General Manager 

301 Calista Court, Suite A 


Phone: (907) 644-6311 

E-mail: rgluth@tunistaconstruction.com 

General contractor also provides 

project management & consulting. 

SOUTHCENTRAL 

CONSTRUCTION INC. 

Ken Griner – President 

205 E. Dimond Blvd., PMB 555 


Phone: (907) 726-1926 

Fax: (907) 726-0586 

E-mail: keng@sccak.com 

Heavy Civil and Underground Utility 

SPECIALTY CONTRACTORS 

KLEBS MECHANICAL INC. 

Tom Even – Construction Manager, 

Eden Larson – General Manager 

1107 E. 72nd Ave. 


Phone: (907) 365-2500 

Fax: (907) 365-2540 

E-mail: info@klebsheating.com 

Full Service Commercial and 

Residential Mechanical Contractor 

C COMPANY 

Seth D. Church – Vice President 

P.O. Box 10977 

Fairbanks, AK 99710 

Phone: (907) 479-2856 

Fax: (907) 479-2840 

E-mail: seth@ccompany.us 

Framing, Interior Finishes, GWB 

GCI – INDUSTRIAL TELECOM 

Chad Lewis – Operations Manager 

800 E. Dimond Blvd., Suite 3-565 


Phone: (907) 868-8589 

Fax: (907) 868-9909 

E-mail: clewis@gci.com 

Industrial Telecommunication 

Installation,Consulting & Design 

FREEDOM INDUSTRIES INC. 

Ron Harvey – VP Alaska Division 

P.O. Box 2995 

Palmer, AK 99645 

Phone: (907) 841-4553 

E-mail: rharvey_freedom_industries_ 

ak@mtaonline.net 

Website: www. 

freedomindustriesalaska.com 

Specialty Chemicals for Dust Control 

Recruited by: Dave Cruz, Cruz 

Construction, Inc. 

MINI BRUTE SERVICE CO. INC. 

Paul Buchholz – Owner 

P.O. Box 202088 


Phone: (907) 279-6656 

Fax: (907) 279-5799 

E-mail: minibrute@clearwire.net 


Lighting, Sign and Electrical Repair, 

Maintenance, & Installation, Energy 

Improvements 

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS 

RICHIE BROS. AUCTIONEERS 

Kevin Bennett – Territory Manager 

8826 Spruce Brook St. 


Phone: (907) 223-4148 (cell) 

Fax: (907) 349-5101 

E-mail: kbennett@bauction.com 

Auctioning of Industrial and 

Construction Equipment 

COOPER SERVICES INC. 

Shawn Butler – President 

P.O. Box 130 

Hope, AK 99605 

Phone: (907) 782-2233 

E-mail: subtler@coopsing.com 

Providing IT Managed Services 

to Construction or Construction 

Management Companies 

TECPRO LTD 

Cyndi Saunders – President 

6400 Woodmont Drive 


Phone: (907) 346-8240 

Fax: (907) 346-8230 

E-mail: cyndi@techpro.com 

UL Listed Industrial Electrical & 

Control Systems, Scada & PLC 

Integration, Video Security (CCTV) 

Integration 

WEATHERHOLT & 

ASSOCIATES LLC 

David Weatherholt 

10600 Cutter Circle 


Phone: (907) 360-9241 

Fax: (907) 344-4806 

E-mail: david@waconsult.com 

Business Planning, Accounting 

Services, and CEO Coaching 

New AGC Members continues on next page 


Member NEWS 

New AGC Members continued 

PDC INC. ENGINEERS 

Royce Conlon – Principal Civil/ 

Environmental Engineer 

1028 Aurora Drive 

Fairbanks, AK 99709-5507 

Phone: (907) 452-1414 

Fax: (907) 456-2707 

E-mail: royceconlon@pdceng.us 

Civil, Environmental, Mechanical, 

Electrical, Structural Engineering, 

Survey, and Fire Protection 

KSA CONSULTING SERVICES LLC 

Katherine Anderson – President 

P.O. Box 222062 


Phone: (907) 317-2876 

E-mail: katherine@ksaconsulting 

services.com 

Government Contracting Consulting 

and Training Services Focusing on 

Certifi cations, Compliance, AARA 

Reporting, Proposal Management, 

and GSA Schedules. 

CITY OF TOKSOOK BAY 

P.O. Box 37008 

Toksook Bay, AK 99637 

CITY OF UPPER KALSKAG 

P.O. Box 80 

Upper Kalskag, AK 99607 

CITY OF RUSSIAN MISSION 

P.O. Box 49 

Russian Mission, AK 99657 

NATIVE VILLAGE OF SLEETMUTE 

P.O. Box 109 

Sleetmute, AK 99668 

CITY OF SELAWIK 

P.O. Box 99 

Selawik, AK 99770 

CITY OF SAVOONGA 

P.O. Box 40 

Savoonga, AK 99769 

CITY OF NEWHALEN 

P.O. Box 165 

Newhalen, AK 99606 


continued 

ANTHC – DEHE (Division of 

Environmental Health & Engineering) 

Mark Landon, John Whitesides 

1901 Bragaw St. 


Phone: (907) 729-3600 

Fax: (907) 729-4506 

E-mail: jgriffi n@anthc.org 

Water & Sewer Sanitation 

Construction 

REPROGRAPHICS NORTHWEST LLC 

Wayne Cox – Branch Manager 

Anchorage 

2739 C St. 


Phone: (907) 720-5800 

Fax: (907) 720-5801 

E-mail: wcox@repronw.com 

Support Services Including 

Printing, Reproductions, Mounting, 

Lamination, On-site Equipment 

Placement 

INDUSTRIAL CONSTRUCTION 

SUPPLY LLC 

Perry Palermo, Angela McAllen 

1120 Huffman Road, Suite 24 


Phone: (907) 227-6769 

Fax: (907) 333-5062 

E-mail: perrythepaintguy@yahoo.com 

Construction Supply, Traffi c Markings 

Supply, Coatings Inspection 

Recruited by: Christin Hubble, Parker 

Smith & Feek 

BRATSLAVSKY CONSULTING 

ENGINEERS INC. 

Tanya Bratslavsky, P.E. – Owner, 

President 

500 W 27th Ave., Suite A 


Phone: (907) 272-5264 

Fax: (907) 272-5214 

E-mail: mail@bce-ak.com 

Architectural/Engineering Design 

Services, Construction and Project 

Management, Quality Control and 

Quality Assurance, Inspections and 

Other Professional Services. 

New AGC Members continues on next page 

AGC of Alaska 

Calendar 

Members Chili Cook-Off – Wednesday, Oct. 6, 

2010 - Anchorage 

Alaska Chapter Annual Conference – 

Wednesday through Saturday, Nov. 3 to Nov. 6, 2010 

- Anchorage 

Members Christmas Open House – Wednesday, 

Dec. 15, 2010 - Anchorage 

Members Christmas Open House – Friday, Dec. 

17, 2010 - Fairbanks 

Photos from AGC of Alaska’s Annual Conference in 2009. 


Available online! 

Links to the electronic 

versions of the current and 

archive issues of The Alaska 

Contractor magazine are 

online at agcak.org under 

“News and Media” tab or at 

AQPpublishing.com under 

“Business” publications. 

New AGC Members continued 

AZIMUTH ADVENTURE 

PHOTOGRAPHY 

Kelsey Gray, John Borland 

2132 Misty Glen Circle 


Phone: (907) 764-5499 

E-mail: azimuthphoto@gmail.com 

Construction Site & Event 

Photography, Web & Graphic Design, 

Videography, Design Consulting 

Recruited by: Teri Gunter, Senco 

Alaska Inc. 

DELTA LEASING (rejoin) 

Matt Thorpe 

4040 B St., Suite 200 


Phone: (907) 771-1300 

Fax: (907) 771-1380 

E-mail: info@deltaleasing.net 

Leasing of Oil and Gas Related 

Construction Equipment and Vehicles, 

and Extended Stay Apartments 

GRANT AVIATION 

Bruce McGlasson, 

Woody Richardson, 

Kelsey Gray & Joel Caldwell 

P.O. Box 92200 


Phone: (907) 644-4312 

Fax: (907) 248-7076 

E-mail: jcaldwell@fl ygrant.com 

Scheduled, Charter and Cargo 

Flights Between Anchorage, Kenai, 

Homer, Kodiak, and Valdez, plus 

Bethel, Dillingham, Emmonak, and 

Numerous Communities Throughout 

the Y-K Delta and Bristol Bay. 

Recruited by: Teri Gunter, Senco 

Alaska Inc. 

PEDRO BAY CONTRACTORS LLC 

Norman Jacko, Teresa Walluk 

1500 W. 33rd Ave., Suite 220 


Phone: (907) 277-1500 

Fax: (907) 277-1501 

E-mail: twalluk@pedrobaycorp.com 

Operations and Investments 

to Include: Real Estate, Land 

Observation/Management, Project 

Planning & Management, Hydrology, 

Remote Transportation, Emergency 

Medical Services, and more.

The Alaska Contractor - Alaska Quality Publishing, Inc.

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