Miss Utility > Damage Prevention Committee > Meeting Minutes

Minutes of Maryland/DC Damage Prevention Meeting
February 28, 2006
Miss Utility Call Center
Hanover, MD 21076

I. Call To Order and Introduction:
Wayne Gilmer (Utiliquest) called the regular monthly meeting to order at 9:30 am.
Introductions were made.

The minutes of January 24, 2006 were approved with one addition. Christy Stinebaugh gave the FTTP footage estimates for February as well as March and April.

February:
Montgomery County - 55,290
Prince George ’s County - 124,600
Anne Arundel County - 253,803
Howard County - 184,800

March:
Montgomery County - 0
Prince George ’s County - 220,000
Anne Arundel County - 205,450
Howard County - 242,200

April:
Montgomery County - 0
Prince George ’s County - 313,040
Anne Arundel County - 164,850
Howard County - 219,100

II. New Business:
Wayne Gilmer gave an update on the safety presentations for C.J. Miller, CNA Insurance and King Site Management. He said the C.J. Miller presentations were well attended on each day. He said that a dozen or so excavating companies were present for the CNA Insurance’s one. He said that the presentation for King Site Management was a combo English and Spanish presentation. There were a few in attendance at the King Site Management one that only spoke Spanish. Matt Ruddo thanked Jamille Winder (Verizon) for translating the presentation into Spanish. Wayne indicated that using the BGE and Miss Utility videos together worked well for all the safety presentations.

Wayne Gilmer thanked those that volunteered to work the Washington Home and Garden show at the D.C. Convention Center from February 9 th-12 th and the Landscape Contractors Association of MD/DC/VA Winter Workshop at the Turf Valley Resort & Conference Center February 14 th-17 th.

Matt Ruddo stated that several business owners at the Landscape Contractors Winter Workshop thanked us for attending and providing educational material. Tom Baldwin suggested that the Miss Utility presentation be added as one of their workshop sessions.

Wayne Gilmer went through the trade show coverage spreadsheet and stated that volunteers were still needed for some of the remaining shows.

Dora Parks (Miss Utility) gave an update on the 2005 Dig Smart and Locator Achievement Awards Event. She stated that as of February 27 th 33 Dig Smart entries have been submitted for MD and 7 for DC and that 95 Locator Achievement ballots have been received in all regions. She also stated that the ballots and information on the Event have been posted on missutility.net.

Wayne Gilmer said that a new Miss Utility booth was purchased for the upcoming trade shows. He said it is more portable and easier to handle. Matt Ruddo stated that the second booth is available for anyone who would like to use it for a company safety day.

Wayne Gilmer stated that damage prevention safety videos have been added to the Lending Library section of the website. Matt Ruddo said there are a series of videos that are now available for anyone that wishes to obtain them free of charge. Karen Watkins (SMECO) stated that she has a SMECO safety video that she would like to add to the Library. Wayne said he would contact the Chesapeake Region Safety Council to see if they would be willing to donate any safety videos. Tom Baldwin suggested that we provide a link to their website if they weren’t able to donate any of their safety videos.

There was a lengthy discussion about the formation of a Common Marking Standard Subcommittee. Wayne stated that the Subcommittee was established at the last MD/DC Subscribers meeting to see if consensus could be reached on uniform marking standards. He said that excavator input is welcomed and he asked for volunteers.

The following people volunteered for the Common Marking Standards Subcommittee: Scott Brown (Washington Gas) Co-Chair, Wayne Gilmer (Utiliquest) Co-Chair, Ken Payne (PEPCO), Tom Baldwin (BGE), Christy Stinebaugh (Verizon), Mark Hamrick (Verizon), Calvin Musgrove (Anne Arundel County), John Kern (Comcast), Jackie Berry (WSSC), Kelly Hardy (Utiliquest), John Payne (Southern Maryland Cable), Dennis Lescalleet (Pleasants Construction), Kathy Riley (Absolute Underground), and Brian Sink (S&N Communications).

Matt Ruddo said that contractor dinners are being planned for the fall of 2006.He stated that the MDPSC received $13,000 in federal grant money from the One-Call Grant Application. Zenon Sushko (MDPSC) indicated that 2006 wasn’t a good year for grant money and that about $12,000 would be available for the Western Shore of MD. He said that across the board the Priority Three One-Call Grant requests only received about seventeen percent of the total request.

Tom Baldwin stated that BGE has forged a partnership with MOSH to crack down on repeat “no call” and non test-pitting offenders. He said MOSH expressed an interest in getting involved with the MD/DC Damage Prevention meetings.

There was a brief discussion about the Verizon FIOS ticket volumes. Bob Bold (Verizon) said they had recently received a franchise agreement in Howard County and hope to have one in Anne Arundel County soon. He said everyone should expect a significant increase in ticket volumes in the coming months.

There was a lengthy discussion about FTTP cables not being locatable. Kathy Riley expressed concerns because she has experienced significant delays in getting locate marks. Mark Hamrick said that Verizon did have issues with the locatable tape when the fiber optic lines were being pulled through the conduit. He said they are continuing to replace the tape with C-wire so that the cables can be located.

Kathy Riley expressed concerns with some of her tickets that are being statused with Code 2 (Marked) and there’s no locate marks on the ground. Several in attendance asked to speak to Kathy after the meeting to get specific details.

There was a brief discussion Emergency locate requests and the response time given expected on those types of tickets. Kathy Riley said she is being told by certain locators that cable television repair work is not an emergency. Tom Baldwin said that service outages are considered an Emergency; however, the Miss Utility Law does not address a less than forty-eight hour response time.

Tom Hastings (OCCLS) stated that there is a contractor working in the Baltimore area that is calling in Emergency tickets and are turning around and canceling them shortly after calling them in. Tom Baldwin said that he would talk to Tom Hastings after the meeting.

George Pedri (CNA Insurance Co.) thanked Wayne Gilmer, Jack Sullivan (BGE) and Matt Ruddo for the Miss Utility damage prevention presentation on February 23 rd. He said he is trying to get some of his smaller clients educated about Miss Utility and is in the process of putting together pre-dig checklist. He said he would like to schedule a few one on one meetings for his clients similar to the presentation on February 23 rd.

Upcoming Meetings:
The next Maryland/DC Damage Prevention meeting is scheduled for March 28, 2006 at the Miss Utility Center. Coffee and donuts will be served at 9:00 am. The meeting will begin at 9:30 am.

The Maryland/DC Subscribers meeting will be held May 17, 2006 at the Miss Utility Center. Coffee and donuts will be served at 8:30 am, and the meeting will begin at 9:00 am.

Attendee List

Name	Company	Phone	Email
Jamille Winder	Verizon	443-845-6114	EMAIL
George Pedri	CNA Insurance Co.	410-692-5233	EMAIL
Matt Ruddo	Miss Utility Center	410-712-0056	EMAIL
Tom Hastings	OCCLS	410-712-0202	EMAIL
Joe Feronti	Utiliquest	301-343-8762	EMAIL
Wayne Gilmer	Utilitquest	301-210-0355	EMAIL
Tim Kempa	Comcast	410-612-0808	EMAIL
John Payne	Southern MD Cable	410-867-7577	EMAIL
Vic Giordani	NTI	410-796-7770	EMAIL
Bill Tayor	Verizon	410-760-1871	EMAIL
Karen Watkins	SMECO	301-274-4350	EMAIL
Bob Bold	Verizon	410-224-9458	EMAIL
Z. Sushko	PSC	410-767-8113	EMAIL
Tom Baldwin	BGE	410-291-3121	EMAIL
Josh Skillman	BGE	410-291-3617	EMAIL
Mark Hambrick	Verizon	410-610-1371	EMAIL
Jim Quade	Verizon	301-350-0806	EMAIL
Chuck Baker	Verizon	301-725-3966	EMAIL
Joe Wilkson	Verizon	301-904-6024	EMAIL
D L Mattox	PEPCO	202-331-6176	EMAIL
Dennis Lescalleet	Pleasants Construction	301-428-0800	EMAIL
Christy Stinebaugh	Verizon	410-737-4150	EMAIL
Brian Sink	S&N	301-874-8173	EMAIL
Monty Crawford	S&N	301-874-8173	EMAIL
Bob Norman	Utiliquest	443-790-0052	EMAIL
Kelly Hardy	Utiliquest	410-536-0070	EMAIL
Ron Miles	Williams/Transco	410-465-0960	EMAIL
Cerise Hart	PEPCO	202-331-6176	EMAIL
Ron Rose	AA County	410-222-7344	EMAIL
Tony Goodman	Washington Gas	703-750-4708	EMAIL
Sherell Stone	NPL Construction	410-355-1083	EMAIL
Ed McDaniel	CableCom, LLC	301-595-4704	EMAIL
Rick Behrens	CableCom, LLC	916-712-5028	EMAIL
Sherell Stone	NPL Construction	410-355-1083	EMAIL
Tim Colmus	Absolute	410-768-2607	EMAIL
Kathy Riley	Absolute	410-768-2607	EMAIL