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Minutes of Maryland/DC Damage Prevention
Meeting
March 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 9:35 am.
Introductions were made.
The minutes of February 28, 2006 were approved.
II. New Business:
Wayne Gilmer gave a brief updates on the Frederick County
Builders Home Show and the Allegany County Home Show.
He stated that there were a lot of people in attendance
at the Allegany County Home Show and several thanked
us for being there.
Wayne stated that the Suburban Maryland Home Show was
going to be held at the Show Place Arena from March 31st
through April 2nd.
Matt Ruddo (Miss Utility) said he attended the CGA Excavation
Safety Conference & Expo in Phoenix, AZ from March
13th-15th. He stated that there were a lot of discussions
about 811.
Dora Parks (Miss Utility) gave an update on the 2005
Dig Smart and Locator Achievement Award Winner night
which will be held the evening of April 20th at the Columbia
Sheraton. She said that Goldin & Stafford, LLC was
the D.C. winner and Joseph Canova & Son, LLC was
the Maryland winner. She said that Herman Wilson of Utiliquest
was the overall Locator Achievement Awards winner and
that the regional winners were Brian Merritt (OCCLS),
Eric White (Utiliquest), Frank Bachman (Utiliquest),
Mark Thomas (Utiliquest), Pat Anderson (Charles County
Utilities) and Wayne Sargent (Utiliquest).
Wayne Gilmer stated that the new Miss Utility Hats were
delivered and that they are available to anyone that
needs them. He also said that the new Miss Utility booth
was in and that it only takes a few seconds to set up.
Wayne Gilmer thanked Karen Watkins of SMECO for donating
their safety video to the Miss Utility lending library.
Wayne Gilmer stated that he was going to have a Common
Marking Standards Committee meeting sometime in April.
He said that he was going to check with Scott Brown of
Washington Gas when he would be available for a meeting.
Nelson Sneed (Verizon) stated that Verizon is going
to have a Damage Prevention Symposium for the FTTP compliance
people on April 12th and 19th at BGE’s Pumphrey
Gas Training Facility. He stated that hopes to
bring down the 2.0 damage per 10,000 ft. ratio and he
wanted to thank everyone for their partnership.
Nelson gave the footage projections for March, April
and May:
March
Montgomery County - 50,000
Prince George’s County - 150,000
Anne Arundel County - 200,000
Howard County - 200,000
April:
Montgomery County - 50,000
Prince George’s County - 200,000
Anne Arundel County - 260,000
Howard County - 200,000
May:
Montgomery County - 50,000
Prince George’s County - 250,000
Anne Arundel County - 260,000
Howard County - 250,000
Nelson stated they are trying to go back and track the
actual footages installed to what they have projected
in previous months.
There was a lengthy discussion about locating the FTTP
and FIOS lines. Concerns were raised about the ability
to locate the lines that have damaged mule tape or have
no tracer wire. Several of the Verizon representatives
requested that one of their compliance persons be contacted
when that issue occurs. Verizon provided compliance contacts
to those that needed after the meeting. Nelson Sneed
asks everyone to make sure they contact the hotline at
1-888-550-2244 for all FTTP related issues.
Michael Collins II, Denise Collins and Dave Dubs (Networx,
Inc) introduced their selves to the group and stated
that are going to be working for Verizon in the Southern
MD area. They said they were interested in processing
their tickets online. Matt Ruddo was going to talk to
them after the meeting.
Alex Dankanich (DOT/OPS) gave an update on the CGA Conference & Expo
in Phoenix, AZ. He said that he attended a seminar on
damages to water and sewer laterals from horizontal directional
drilling installations. He said there were discussions
about asking the municipalities to make good faith effort
to locate water & sewer laterals.
Andy Kaldmaa (Long Fence) stated that he is having issues
with locates on large projects for apartment complexes. Several
suggested he call for a meeting or white line his jobs.
Joe Feronti (Utiliquest) suggested that Long Fence break
their tickets up into smaller ones, so that they are
only calling in the areas they can work for a given week.
Lyle Bolyard (Millennium Cable) suggested that he call
the street light company because they probably won’t
be notified through the Miss Utility Center.
There was a brief discussion from concerns Andy Kaldmaa
raised about getting utility line damage invoices over
a year old. Mark Hamrick (Verizon) told Andy that he
would have his damage investigation folks call him whenever
damage occurs from an incident that involves Long Fence.
There was a general discussion about locating marks
in residential areas. Bob Bold (Verizon) stated that
he has gotten complaints from homeowners about the excessive
use of paint on FIOS jobs. Kelly Hardy & Joe Forenti
(Utiliquest) stated that their locators are trained to
put down locate marks in a tasteful manner in residential
areas. Joe stated they use dots whenever they are crossing
driveways or having to mark near decorative concrete
or brick walkways.
John Payne (Southern MD Cable) stated that he is having
statusing issues on some of his tickets and that he would
get with Tom Hastings (OCCLS) and Joe Feronti after the
meeting.
Nelson Sneed stated that they are holding their primes
responsible for any damage and would like to work with
utility owners that have abandon lines. Rick Behrens
asked if there was a ratio on damages to abandon lines
vs. live ones. Al Thomas (Millennium Cable) stated
that they tell the contractor whether the cable is
live or abandon. Mitzi Ambush (PEPCO) said that most
contractors know before they leave the jobsite whether
the electric cable is live or not.
Tom Hastings (OCCLS) request that he be added to the
Common Marking Standard Subcommittee.
Sherell Stone (NPL Construction) expressed concerns
with the water and sewer facility owners that aren’t
marking the service laterals. She stated that her company
is taken a strong stance against the water and sewer
companies and that people are getting hurt because the
laterals are not being located. She also requested that
she be added to the Common Marking Standards Subcommittee.
There was a brief discussion about whether a homeowner
needs to be home whenever a telephone or cable TV line
is being repaired. Several stated that the homeowner
does not need to be home.
Lyle Bolyard asked if there are legislative changes
being planned for next year. Zenon Sushko (MDPSC) said
that a working group will be planned sometime in the
foreseeable future.
Upcoming Damage Prevention Presentations:
April 29th Locus Land Farms 1500 Buck Lane Upper Marlboro,
MD 20772 at 7:30AM. There will be approximately 20 people
in attendance.
May 10th City of Frederick 111 Airport Drive Frederick,
MD at 7:30AM. Approximately 15 people will be attendance.
June 20th Corman Construction at the Holiday Inn - 15101
Sweitzer Lane, Laurel, MD 20707 at 3:30PM. Approximately
120 people will be in attendance.
Upcoming Trade shows:
April
22nd-23rd Harford Home & Garden Show at Ripken Stadium
in Aberdeen, MD
June
25th-28th Maryland Municipal League Convention at the
Roland Powell Convention Center in Ocean City, MD
August
16th-19th Maryland Association of Counties Summer Conference
at the Roland Powell Convention Center in Ocean City,
MD
Upcoming Meetings:
The next Maryland/DC Damage Prevention meeting
is scheduled for April 25, 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.
There being no further business to be brought before
the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 11:35 am
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