IACT Conference Wrap-up

Carey Stranahan, Kokomo

This week was the annual meeting of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns. There were several engineering related sessions ranging from energy conservation contracts, to low impact design. I also attended a very interesting session on developing a crisis communication plan with the Mayor of Columbus.

Tuesday I attended an AWESOME road trip directed by some folks from the South Bend development department. Jeff and Jennifer seem to be the kings of redevelopment. This is an excellent example of a community that is doing things right, so while the rest of the country is economically screaching to a halt, the momentum they have built is keeping them working.
I was a bit dissapointed in the number of our regular members that were able to attend. While it wasn't specifically tailored to engineers, there were several sessions that were very informative. There were also great opportunities to network with vendors from all sorts of specialties.
Our bus trip was cancelled due to the fact that there were only two city engineers in attendance. I encourage each member to take a look at the agenda next year and try to fit it into their schedules. You wll be glad you did.

New City Engineer in Valporaiso

Mayor appoints new city engineer
The NWI Times
Phil Wieland

10/3/08 VALPARAISO The city has a new engineering director for the first time in 15 years.Mayor Jon Costas announced that Tim Burkman will replace Dave Pilz, who retired effective Oct. 1. Burkman has served as chief deputy city engineer since 2005. "We're so pleased to have someone of Tim's quality and experience as city engineer," Costas said. "His transition to city engineer ensures a seamless transition and continued growth in this key department." The appointment took effect on the same day the city received an award for environmental excellence from Gov. Mitch Daniels for the design of Vale Park Way, which Burkman helped design while employed by the engineering consulting firm DLZ Indiana. He also managed the road's construction after joining the city. Burkman was instrumental in designing and securing grants for future projects and in helping manage several existing projects, such as the downtown streetscape, North Calumet Avenue, Eastport Centre Drive and Eastgate, Costas said. http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2008/10/03//news/porter_county/doca338730170db97c8862574d70018090d.txt

Upcoming IACE Meeting

The IACE meeting at IACT will be held on Tuesday, October 14 in the Lions Room at the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library located at 209 Lincoln Way East; Mishawaka, IN 46544. Registration will begin at 11:30 and the program will begin at noon and last roughly an hour. We encourage everyone to be there and be seated by noon. There will be a box lunch and drinks provided. Jerry Larson of NRMCA will be administering the continuing education program about the use of concrete pavement and its advantages.

Following the program that ASCE is arranging there will be time for a short business meeting for IACE. We will then have a bus tour of several area projects and programs. Those attending the IACT conference might choose a different option for their a.m. event. It will be somewhat the same tour that the IACT folks will have in the morning, but tailored more for engineering and public works people. Lawson-Fisher Associates is picking up the tab for the bus. Events should conclude between 3:30 and 4:00, depending upon how long it takes to reload the bus at each stop.