Dec 23, 1997

Holaday-Parks

Janet Chi and William Choi have joined the finance department of Holaday-Parks Inc., Chi in the accounts payable group and Choi as a purchasing agent for the company, supporting project management for both the plan/spec and design/build departments. Holaday-Parks is one of the largest mechanical contractors in the region with facilities in Seattle and Fairbanks, Alaska. The company specializes in commercial and industrial heating, ventilation and air conditioning, sheet metal, piping and plumbing systems, electronic control systems and engineering.

PCL Const.

PCL Const. has announced the promotion of Peter Commins to senior estimator and the addition of John Maki who is joining the Seattle District as an estimator. Commins joined PCL in 1995, bringing with him 20 years of experience in the construction industry. His varied background includes positions as architectural designer, project engineering, assistant project manger and estimator on residential, commercial and industrial projects. Maki brings with him 20 years of estimating experience, primarily in the local marketplace.

KCK Cella starts up in Redmond

REDMOND -- A new environmental planning and geotechnical firm called KCK Cella has started up in Redmond. Bill Clevenger, Moin Kadri and Steve Konkel started the limited liability company, which specializes in planning, policy analysis, environmental management, dam and flume re-licensing, dispute resolution, siting and permitting. "We're targeting both private and public sector clients," Clevenger said. He said potential public-sector clients include utility districts, while potential private-sector clients include developers who are working on residential, commercial or industrial projects. "We would like to be involved with the planning phase of such projects from an environmental perspective," Clevenger said. Clevenger, Kadri and Konkel all ran their own businesses in the Puget Sound area before they teamed up on Oct. 1. Those businesses were called The Clevenger Group, Moin Kadri Environmental and Konkel & Co. Before that, all three worked for much larger corporations. For example, Clevenger worked for Shannon & Wilson in the 1970s, then moved on to Hart Crowser, and then spent 14 years with GeoEngineers, where he was a principal. Kadri used to work for Agra, and Konkel was a senior research scientist for Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. Clevenger said KCK Cella is now in the process of conducting market research and fine-tuning its focus. "We definitely want to grow," Clevenger said. "That could mean growing into more staff." KCK Cella's Web site describes the origins of the company's name: "Cella is derived from the living tradition of the Yup'ik people, a native Alaskan culture. Cella maliggluku literally means 'go in the direction of the universe.' We are searching for peace and contribution in the Cella (universe)."

Flood-control efforts may harm sparrow

MIAMI (AP) -- Efforts to control flooding blamed on El Nino have come down to a decision between an endangered bird and isolated private property -- and the bird is losing. The Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District say they have two possible areas to divert water that has flooded areas around Lake Okeechobee. One area has about 350 scattered homes in the western fringes of Dade County. The second is a part of Everglades National Park that is a critical habitat of the Cape Sable seaside sparrow. However, the agencies said, federal rules forbid them from flooding private property. They planned a meeting Monday to decide when to open the flood gates. "If we lose this (breeding population), the extinction of the sparrow is almost a certitude," said Craig Johnson, supervisor of the Fish and Wildlife Services' south Florida office. The Cape Sable is a cousin of the Dusky seaside sparrow, a species that went extinct in 1987 when the last known example died in a cage at Disney World. Much of Florida has been saturated this month by rainfall blamed on this year's major El Nino, the periodic Pacific warming phenomena that influences weather around the world. For the year, the area has gotten 69.4 inches of rain, 14 inches more than normal. "Right now, it's wet everywhere and there are no best options for where that water can go. There are only least bad options," said Lewis Hornung, executive director of the Southern Everglades Restoration Alliance, a group of government agencies that includes the water district and the Army Corps. Scientists at the national park say this is the third wet winter in four years, so the district had plenty of warnings about the impact of high water on the sparrow. "The sparrow is just not a priority for them," said Robert Johnson, the park's research director. There are only three populations of the Cape Sable. A southern group is hanging on, but a second nesting area is too dry and being overgrown by brush and trees. The excess water will be diverted to the third area, which already was wetter than the birds like. If that population is prevented from reproducing, the Fish and Wildlife Service believes the species could be extinct within 20 years, Johnson said. Since the early 1980s, the sparrow population has plunged from more than 8,000 birds to about 3,000. The subpopulation in the area being used for the flood diversion has declined by more than 90 percent in 15 years, to about 270. Proposals to save the sparrow include buying 107,000 acres of privately owned marsh, or buying up the area with the 350 homes, but the target date for these plans is 2004. "For now," Hornung said, "the big question is, will we lose the sparrow before we can finish building the solution to save it?"

Dec 18, 1997

Colliers

Bob Bencze, of Colliers Macaulay Nicolls, has been designated a Certified Commercial Investment Member by the Commercial Investment Real Estate Institute. The designation was awarded Nov. 12 during Institute meetings in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Coldwell Banker Bain

Betsy Weyer has earned the Certified Residential Specialist designation from the Residential Sales Council of the Realtors National Marketing Institute. Weyer is an associate broker in Coldwell Banker Bain's Bellevue branch. She has 17 years' experience in the industry, including 12 years with Chicago Title and Escrow. Coldwell Banker Bain also has hired 12 new sales agents. Six are in the Bellevue office: Bob Yager, Peter Freet, Shari Jansen, Bev Peppard, Paul Croon and Mina Peterson. In the Capitol Hill office, O'Neill Byrd has joined the team. And Norman Hamilton, Donna Hawley, Cynthia Schoenberger, Cita Barry and Dean Barry are the newcomers in the Lake Union branch.

Dec 17, 1997

Engineering courses

These professional development short courses are available through the Professional Engineering Practice Liaison (PEPL) program at the University of Washington. For additional information about these or other PEPL courses, or to have your name added to the course announcement bulletin mailing list, contact Ron Bucknam, PEPL Program Director, at (206) 543-1178; fax (206) 685-3836; or email rbucknam@u.washington.edu. All courses will be held on or near the University of Washington campus unless noted otherwise. To register for a course, please call Engineering Professional Programs at (206) 543-5539. Early registration fees are applicable until two weeks before commencement of the scheduled course.

The courses are:

• Effective Writing for Technical Professionals. January 12, 14, 21, 26 and 28, 1998. 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuition $320 (early) or $345.
• Fundamentals of Urban Surface Water Management. January 14 and 15, 1998. 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuition $345/$375.
• Effective Project Negotiation Skills. February 18 or February 21, 1998. 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuition $195/$220.
• Achieving Real Success as a Project Manager. March 4 and 5, 1998. 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuition $330/$365.