Georgia #26, 2011

441

59

75

GEORGIA STATE EDITION

Cornella 19

A Supplement to:

Rome 85 27

Athens 441

Atlanta

20

Madison Augusta

85

20

Griffin 1

129

Milledgeville

75

La Grange

Macon

301

185 19

16

Dublin

Swainsboro Oak Park

Columbus

Statesboro

341 441 16

Lyons Americus

December 28 2011

Dorchester

341

Cuthbert

75

Albany

84

Douglas Tifton

82

95

82

Blakely

Pearson

“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”

301

1

82

Vol. XXIII • No. 26

Savannah

McRae Cordele

27

27 84

Moultrie

19 319

Bainbridge

84

Valdosta Thomasville

Waycross Brunswick 82

1 441

Your Georgia Connection: Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479

Georgia Seeks Infrastructure Funds Via Sales Tax Options Discussing the benefits of using the Accugrade UTS system on a Cat 12M motorgrader are (L-R) John Faress, Equipment Division Vice President, C.W. Matthews Contracting Co., Marietta, Ga.; Bob Peck and Kevin Lane, both of Yancey Bros. Co.; and Al Eckford, Division Vice President, C.W. Matthews.

Yancey Bros. Co. Hosts Machine Control Demo The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) awarded a design/build contract worth $18.1 million for the construction of a new interchange on I-575 at Ridgewalk Parkway to contractor C.W. Matthews Contracting Co. Inc., Marietta, Ga. Work began in early 2011 and completion is scheduled for the end of December 2012.

By Giles Lambertson CEG CORRESPONDENT

In the name of transportation, Georgia is taking the local option sales tax statewide.

State legislators voted in 2010 to give residents across the state a series of simultaneous local referendum opportunities for funding infrastructure. The vehicle for doing so goes by the awkward acronym of TSPLOST, which translates into “Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax.” If successful, it would mean the infusion of up to $19 billion into Georgia infrastructure projects over the next 10 years.

While a public vote on the funding measure still is six months away, camps of supporters

and opponents are marshalling their arguments for and against. As of mid-December, approval of the new funding source seems likely in at least some districts.

“I am very hopeful that it will pass,” said Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd, who was part of the planning process for the Atlanta metropolitan region. “I am very optimistic.”

Voter approval of the tax initiative would culminate a two-year legislative effort to generate new funds for highway, transit, freight, airport, port, bicycle and pedestrian transportation projects all across Georgia. The Transportation Investment Act of 2010 created the structure for a one percent sales tax referendum in each of 12 regions or “districts,” see TAX page 2

Y

ancy Bros. Co. hosted a machine control and guidance demonstration at the I-75 Business Park in Macon, Ga., on Dec. 2. The event allowed guests the opportunity to take advantage of a total “hands on” demonstration of some of the newest technology and equipment from Trimble and Accugrade. Most of the attendees also stayed for a catered barbeque lunch and time to further discuss their demo experiences.

The demo consisted of a series of six different stations including a Trimble Total Station and GPS Rover. Machine control configurations included: a Cat D6N equipped with Accugrade Dual GPS; Cat D5K with Accugrade Dual Laser; Cat 336DL equipped with Accugrade Dual GPS, Cat see YANCEY page 7

Lamar Hester, Sales Engineer, Trimble, Atlanta, provides a quick preview of the Accugrade system on the Cat 336DL excavator to Tommy Walker (in cab), W.S. Jackson Construction Company, Sandersville, Ga.

Page 2 • December 28, 2011 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

Voters Get Their Chance to Voice Opinions in July 2012 TAX from page 1

which, together, constitute the entire state.

The legislators also mandated that a roundtable and executive committee in each district be comprised of local and statewide elected officials.

Those district boards subsequently pored over a dream list of projects worked up by the Georgia Department of Transportation.

After soliciting input from local and regional officials and transit and transportation stockholders, leaders in each district produced a pared down list of priorities that can be undertaken with projected sales tax revenue within the district.

The general public participated in the project vetting process in a big way, through surveys, focus groups, e-mail campaigns and other outreach mechanisms. In the Atlanta roundtable region alone, some 200,000 residents reportedly were pulled into the deliberations.

The outcome of all this planning will be known in July. That’s when voters in each district will announce with their votes whether they support the decisions of the district roundtable and committee members.

Each district vote will stand on its own. If a majority of voters in a district object to the special purpose sales tax, the funding initiative in that district will die regardless of what else happens across the state. No tax dollars will be generated in that district, but neither will tax dollars flow into it from other districts.

In districts where it is approved, the taxing author- This project, which involves I-285/SR-407 at Ashford Road in Georgia will require micro milling ity will be in place for 10 Dunwoody 521,500 sq. yds. (436,040 sq m) on the interstate roadyears with the opportunity at way, milling of 130,394 sq. yds. (109,026 sq m) on interthe end of the decade for dis- state ramps, and 36,000 tons (32,658 t) of asphalt. trict voters to extend it.

Norcross Mayor Bucky Johnson, who conflict among district leaders.

Floyd acknowledged the differing public chaired the executive committee for the Atlanta metropolitan district, has declared opinions about spending allotments for highthe tax vote a “once-in-a-lifetime type of way and transit. Officials ended up designatevent. What I really see this transportation ing about half the projected revenue for traninvestment act doing is helping our children sit projects. “And we all came together. It was a unanimous vote on the project list for and our grandchildren in the future.” the district.”

That doesn’t mean everyone is happy.

Next to Atlanta “I think there is going to be a lot of inter- Floyd said he has been told “if you don’t do est in it,” Floyd said, understating the public this or that, I am going to vote against it. reaction to the initiative. Decatur is in Well, you can’t do that for everybody. The Dekalb County, which hugs the east side of people who you might think would be Atlanta. The variety of projects varies from opposed to it will be for it, and some who district to district across the state. In Dekalb you might think would be for it will be and four other core Metro Atlanta counties, against it.”

Floyd — who was on the Decatur council mass transit vies strongly with highways for infrastructure dollars, which produced some for 15 years before becoming mayor five years ago — said in the end, “it really is

Photo courtesy of C.W. Matthews Contracting Co. Inc.

According to GDOT statistics, the accident, injury and fatality rates along portions of SR20 have exceeded the statewide average in recent years. It’s expected improvements in Cherokee County and other sections of the route will reduce future wrecks.

about two issues: quality of life and jobs.

This will be an incredible stimulus; if you add in matching money, it will be $15 to 20 billion over 10 years.”

General contractors are interested in any of the big-ticket transportation work, of course. But some of the tax revenue—15 percent in the Atlanta district, 25 percent elsewhere in the state—will be turned over to local government to help meet smaller infrastructure needs.

“Decatur will get money back to do with as we want,” Floyd said. “We can use it for whatever we want, about half a million dollars a year. I think there are a lot of people who are looking at that part of the package.”

The mayor acknowledged a special interest in the infrastructure funding issue: He is a utilities contractor. W.F. Floyd Construction performs water, sewer and other utility line work in Decatur and, in all likelihood, will benefit somewhat from the new revenue source.

“There will be some work in here for people who do what I do,” he said. “But there is also a lot of pedestrian type work. It certainly is not focused on utility work.”

Other Metro Perspectives Henry County is southeast of Atlanta, yet still a part of the Atlanta Metro district. It doesn’t share a border with Atlanta’s Fulton County and mass transit is almost nonexistent. Express commuter buses roll on Henry

County roads, but that is about it for mass transportation.

“Transit systems really are difficult sales,” said Elizabeth “BJ” Mathis, chairman of the Henry County Commission, “so I appreciated the project list that let each area determine what their priorities are.”

Over 10 years, the tax is projected to produce some $260 million for projects that will have direct impact on Henry County. That includes the local money that will flow directly to local governments. For example, a large industrial area along Interstate 75 is served by two-lane roads and Mathis and other elected officials are interested in upgrading those roadways.

“We wanted to relieve the congestion in those areas and to preserve the jobs there,” she said. “It was a congestion mitigation initiative.”

The voter “pushback” against transit funding, which is being experienced by some other counties in the Metro area, is not a factor in Henry, Mathis said. The primarily rural county with a population of 200,000 is concentrating on building its highway infrastructure.

State Sen. Jack Murphy lives in Forsyth County, which is just outside the Atlanta Metro district. However, part of his Senate district lies inside the Metro, and he was selected to serve on the metropolitan district board. Consequently, he came away from see TAX page 6

Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 28, 2011 • Page 3

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Page 4 • December 28, 2011 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 28, 2011 • Page 5

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Page 6 • December 28, 2011 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

Ga. AGC ‘Entirely Supportive’ of Tax TAX from page 2

the roundtable process with something of a splintered view.

“They strongly support it over there [in the Atlanta region]. They are going to get a good bit of money, and so is Forsyth County,” said Murphy. “But there is some resistance in Forsyth County. I don’t know how much. I did a little poll and about a third oppose it, about a third are for it, and about a third didn’t care one way or the other. I think it will probably pass, but I wouldn’t be going out and betting any money on it.”

News reports about more money for transit projects have “confused” some Forsyth residents, the senator said.

“We don’t have any transit in Forsyth. The project list in the Metro district doesn’t affect our project list.

There is a lot of pushback in the Metro area about some of the transit projects, but they are not the constituents I represent.”

Getting voters to impose a one-cent sales tax on themselves for 10 years is, in Murphy’s view, “going to take a lot of education. The Metro area is especially going to have a real selling job. In Forsyth County, we will get some $400 million over 10 years for highway work. People driving an hour or an hour and a half to Atlanta every day probably will be for it.”

Critics of the tax proposal have not come together in any great numbers.

Pockets of resistance have appeared here and there, but there is not yet any large organized opposition. That may change between now and July, but then again a need for a massive infrastructure upgrade may be widely perceived and approved by Georgia residents.

Opponents who have spoken out generally have voiced two objections.

One is that a new tax at this time when the state’s economy is under duress is the wrong fix at the wrong time. These opponents include people who generally oppose tax increases.

The other complaint is that the referendum in 2012 will be separate from the general election polling. The fear is that only a handful of voters will go to the polls in the special election, with a tiny minority making a 10-year tax issue decision for everyone else.

“They don’t want 7,000 or 8,000 people deciding for 175,000 people in Forsyth County, maybe 10 percent of registered voters,” Senator Murphy said. Consequently, there is talk in the state capitol about moving the referendum to a regular voting date.

Dump trucks lined up and ready for work on the SR 365 project, between Lula and Cornelia, Ga., which involves removing up to 8 in. (20 cm) of damaged asphalt along 21 center line miles/84 lane miles and putting down three layers of new asphalt.

Statewide Push To get out the vote and sell the idea in the 11 districts outside the Atlanta area, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in October hired transportation advocate Doug Calloway. As executive director of the Chamber’s Georgia Transportation Alliance, Calloway will more-or-less continue his work of the previous eight years as president of Floridians for Better Transportation.

“I am confident that, working with our key stakeholders, he will effectively lead our efforts to build a statewide multi-modal transportation network and solidify our position as a global logistics hub…” Chris Clark, the Chamber’s president and CEO, said in announcing Calloway’s hiring.

For the present, that means selling Georgians on the transportation local option sales tax. Calloway is confident the people of Georgia will see what is at stake and pull the voting levers for progress.

In late November, Calloway spoke of an article he had just read in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about a forum at the University of Georgia, where some experts predicted the state would not return to pre-recession employment levels until 2020.

“Talk about a hopeless headline,” he said of the news article. “It’s sobering.

What can we do to help? The local option referendum is the key. We know that it’s not really about concrete and steel and asphalt; it’s about jobs and people.”

So, Calloway said, his job is “to spread the gospel about what this referendum is really about. It is a good message, as opposed to the dour, hopeless headlines like the one in the newspaper.

Once people start to understand, I’m confident that most of the people in the different regions of the state will do the right thing and help themselves — rather than wait till 2020 for more jobs.”

Calloway isn’t opposed to moving the referendum to a more established election day if that idea takes hold.

“I’m sure that we would be happy whenever it is voted on. My recommendation is to let as many people as possible have a say in the matter.”

Local option sales tax referendums are not unfamiliar ballot booth issues for Georgians. In Forsyth County, voters just approved a continuation of such a tax, the margin being rather slender, 52 percent for, 48 percent against, according to Murphy.

“That makes you think this transportation tax could be an uphill battle,” said Murphy. He declined to say whether he personally favors the proposal.

“My personal vote is mine. I was willing to let the public vote on it. Let the public decide.”

In Henry County, Mathis doesn’t see a groundswell of support for the new tax, but neither does she see much opposition to it. She detects a wait-andsee approach among residents and believes a lot is riding on education efforts to inform voters.

“I’ve done my job as a part of the roundtable,” she said. “We feel like we have protected the interests of Henry County.

“The board and I are just leaving it up to the voters.”

(This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG

Georgia’s statewide sales tax referendum for transportation in 2012 is critical to kick-starting construction activity in the state, in the view of many industry players. While the view is not surprising, the extent to which the industry is banking on the referendum is fresh evidence of the state’s construction doldrums.

“I would say that construction industry members are cautiously optimistic” that the tax initiative will be approved, said James E. Stephenson, President and CEO of Yancey Bros. Co. “The industry is very glad just to have something to work on and to be optimistic about.”

The Caterpillar dealership executive said he can’t predict what voters will do, but that “if the vote were held today, we would not get a 100 percent passage rate. People are really trying hard to put their regions in the winners column, and we will be working with local chambers of commerce to try to help them be successful.”

The potential new revenue source shines particularly bright in the midst of the current sluggish construction activity. “Across the state, the amount of hours being put on construction equipment is flat or a little bit down from last year,” Stephenson said, adding that he believes a quick turnaround is not likely. “Our anticipation for next year is more of the same. But if we’re not at the bottom, we are close to the bottom and I can’t believe we have too much further to go before it starts up, maybe a gradual upturn beginning sometime next year.”

Stephenson hedges on his recovery prediction by observing that “global geopolitical shocks” such as a break-up of the European Union or an imploding Chinese economy could prolong the misery.

The economic slowdown has, of course, slowed sales of new equipment, including at Yancey Bros. That was partly offset at Yancey by surprising sales of refurbished equipment, according to the company executive, who says that segment of business was the year’s “best outperformer.”

“The sale of equipment out of the rental fleet has been a pleasant surprise. Used equipment prices generally speaking have been so much stronger this year. I think we have flushed a lot of the excess used inventory out of our system and out of the local economy. The population of machinery in our state is several thousand below what it was several years ago, creating a more balanced pricing environment.”

Passage of the transportation tax could go a long way in stoking demand for new equipment. To that end, Stephenson says he personally is grateful for the concerted effort by non-construction industry organizations on behalf of transportation.

“The business community, the Georgia chamber, the metro chamber are really putting their shoulders to the wheel to try to get the referenda passed,” he says. “That support for transportation from the general business community is welcomed by all the people in the industry.”

The Georgia chapter of Associated General Contractors is not a major representative of transportation construction contractors, most of whom are affiliated with the Georgia Highway Contractors Association. So the AGC has not been “on point” in the struggle to win over voters, according to Mark Woodall, Georgia AGC director of governmental affairs. Yet the association is entirely supportive of the tax.

“We would like to see them all pass,” Woodall says of the 12 district tax proposals. “But there’s a tremendous amount of education about jobs that needs to be done. There’s a lot of work to be done.”

Of all the districts, the Atlanta Metro is undoubtedly the most critically important, since “Atlanta has always been the engine of growth,” as Stephenson notes.

But Woodall points to a deepened Savannah seaport as a crucial link in the state’s future economy. He says that project and the sales tax for transportation are joined as crucial considerations. “To move imports from Savannah to the rest of the state, we need an improved highway system.”

The AGC director believes neighboring states are almost as interested in the tax referendum as are people in Georgia. “If we fail to pass this, Charlotte and Birmingham and Jacksonville will be laughing all the way to the bank. We are in competition with them, and we believe the tax will allow us to be more competitive.”

Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 28, 2011 • Page 7

Attendees Impressed by Increased Efficiency, Cost Benefits

Yancey Bros.’ Heath Hanna rides along with an operator for guidance in the efficiency of the Cat 12M motorgrader equipped with the Accugrade Cross Slope system.

YANCEY from page 1

12M with Accugrade UTS; and a 12M with Accugrade Cross Slope system.

Russ Allen, Manager-Finance Reporting and Analysis,Vulcan Materials, Sandy Springs, Ga., had never tested equipment with machine control. The demo served as an opportunity for Allen to become completely familiar with machine control when looking at the cost-benefit aspect for his company.

After operating the Cat 12M with Accugrade Cross Slope, Allen stated “I think we could save on training expense. Our operators could learn this very quickly.” He further added that getting their haul roads in optimal condition without guesswork would be a big asset to their operations.

Kevin Lane, Corporate Accounts ManagerYancey Bros. Co., Austell, Ga., added, “There’s value in this technology for the quarries. If the haul roads at a quarry are not maintained cor-

rectly, you can lose a lot of time and production when moving material. Correctly maintaining and sloping a haul road, like we’re showing here at this demo, minimizes damage and rutting and can be a huge advantage in getting more tons per day/per week/per month from a pit to the crusher. This is what we are stressing to the quarry customers, reduction in cost per ton for hauling their product. More tons per day means overall quarry costs go down which equates to being able to bid product at a lower cost with increased sales potential.”

Veteran equipment operator, Tommy Walker of W.S. Jackson Construction Company, Sandersville, Ga., was impressed with his test of the Accugrade Dual GPS system on the Cat 336DL excavator. His company has tried other machine control technology and Walker liked the simplicity of machine operation with the Accugrade system, and stated “I like the way this machine is set up and I like what I see here.”

Contractor finance executives joined the Yancey staff to get a first hand account of financial feasibility of machine control systems and included (LR) Mark Thurston, Vice President of Finance,Vulcan Materials Company, Sandy Springs, Ga.; Yancey Bros. Co. Quarry Specialist, Heath Hanna; Russ Allen, Manager-Finance Reporting and Analysis, also with Vulcan; and Kevin Lane, Corporate Accounts Manager-Yancey Bros. Co., Austell, Ga.

A SITECH SE, Lutz, Fla., representative (L), with the help of Trimble customers Denard Johnson (C), Dekalb County (Ga.) Landfill Services and Charlie Stewart, Reeves Construction, Macon, Ga., provides an in-depth presentation of the Trimble SPS total station and GPS rover.

Exploring cost savings and efficiency through the use of the Accugrade excavator system are (L-R from below, clockwise) John Paul Jones, Dannie Harrison, and Frank Moroney, Georgia Asphalt, Macon, Ga.; Horace Stringfellow, Yancey Bros. Co.; and Lamar Hester, Trimble.

Demo guests seized the opportunity to quickly become proficient on slope work using the Accugrade dual GPS system mounted on a Cat D6N LGP.

Yancey Bros.’ Horace Stringfellow (R) chats with some of his Macon area customers, Andy Smith (L), and Trippe Brooks, of Sellers Construction, Gordon, Ga., about the cross slope system on the Cat M series motorgrader.

Page 8 • December 28, 2011 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

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