Minutes of Maryland/DC Damage Prevention Meeting
February 27, 2007
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 January 23, 2007 were approved.

II. Damage Prevention Presentations:

Wayne Gilmer, Jack Sullivan, Mark Hamrick (Verizon), Lee Morris (Washington Gas) and Matt Ruddo (Miss Utility) gave a presentation to the Water and Waste Operators Association of Maryland, DC and Delaware on January 25, 2007 at the Calvert County Northeast Community Center in Chesapeake Beach, MD.

Jack Sullivan and Matt Ruddo gave a presentation to CJ Miller on February 2, 2007 at the Best Western Catering & Conference Center in Westminster, MD.

Wayne Gilmer, Jack Sullivan, Lee Morris and Matt Ruddo gave a presentation to Groundwater & Environmental Services, Inc. in Crofton, MD on February 21, 2007.

Wayne Gilmer, Bill Hymes (Washington Gas) and Matt Ruddo gave a presentation to CNA Insurance/Paddock Pools on February 22,2007 in Rockville, MD

Wayne Gilmer, Lee Morris, Jack Sullivan and Matt Ruddo gave a presentation to approximately 120 Spanish speaking employees of Highway Safety Services, Inc. in Gaithersburg, MD on February 23, 2007.

V. Trade Shows:

Wayne Gilmer gave a brief update on the Baltimore Construction Expo, Suburban Home & Garden Show and the Landscape Contractors Association Winter Workshop trade shows. Matt Ruddo said the Baltimore Construction Expo was poorly attended and recommended not exhibiting there next year. Wayne also distributed copies of the trade show coverage spreadsheet. He asked that everyone consider volunteering their time to work a three hour shift at one the remaining trade shows.

VI. Locator Achievement & Dig Smart Committee:

Wayne Gilmer gave an update on the Awards night on March 29, 2007 at the Columbia Sheraton.

The following is a list of the Locator Achievement winners by region:
Region 1 (Harford/Cecil) Barry West of Harford County Water & Sewer
Region 2 (District of Columbia) Dave Brunson of Utilitquest
Region 3 (Montgomery/Prince Georges) Heather Folks of Utiliquest
Region 4 (Baltimore/Baltimore City) Pierre Brown of OCC Locating
Region 5 (Calvert/Charles) Ralph Violett of SMECO
Region 6 (Allegany/Carroll/Frederick/Garrett/Washington) Randy Bowen of Utiliquest

Region 7 (Anne Arundel/Howard) Herman Wilson of Utiliquest

Wayne said that Herman Wilson was the overall winner for the second year in a row. He also stated that Nelson Sneed (Verizon) and Dora Parks (Miss Utility) were working on a video and PowerPoint presentations for the Awards night.

VIII. Marking Standards Group:

Wayne Gilmer gave an update on the topics that were discussed during the 2006 meetings. He said a considerable amount of time was spent on multiple cable and joint trench utility line locates. He said consensus was reached on establishing markings guidelines as a best practice versus the creation of marking standards.

Don Jones (Washington Gas) said he got the ok from Frank Hudik of the Virginia State Corporation Commission to use language from their Virginia marking standards pamphlet for Maryland/DC.

XI. Title 12 Steering Committee:

There was a general discussion about proposed changes to the Maryland Miss Utility Law. Kelly Hardy (Utiliquest) and Tom Baldwin said they hadn’t heard back from Jim Barron about setting up the first meeting. Wayne Gilmer suggested that maybe one of the facility owners should Co-Chair the Steering Committee if Jim Barron is busy.

A few discussed the enforcement piece of the Federal Pipeline Safety Act and the impact it would have on future MDPSC grant funding requests.

The Title 12 Steering Committee is as follows:

Chairman: Jim Barron (Ronkin Construction)

Facility Owners:

Locator Representatives:

Excavator Representatives:

Public Service Commission Representative:

One Call Center Representative:

IX. MD/DC Subscribers Committee Meeting:

There was a general discussion about some of the topics discussed at the February 21, 2007 MD/DC Subscribers meeting. Wayne Gilmer stated that Khrysanne Kerr (CGA) provided an hour long presentation on the 811 campaign. He said there was also a discussion about Verizon’s 811 implementation costs. He stated the MD/DC Subscribers Committee agreed to pay Verizon from the Miss Utility Advertising/Public Awareness Escrow Account.

Tom Baldwin said it was interesting to hear the 811 market research found that 45% of damages reported across the United States were a result of no calls to the one-call centers.

Carolyn Lehman (Verizon) requested that the ITIC percentage report be added to the meeting minutes that are posted on the Miss Utility website.

X. FTTP/FIOS Progress Report:

Shawn Breen (Verizon) provided the following three month FTTP trench footage projections:

XI. Open Discussion:

Robert Vicks (PEPCO) said that a couple of his crews were having issues getting locate marks and responses on Emergency tickets. Mark Hamrick suggested that he contact a Verizon compliance officer if he has issues with Verizon locates. Wayne Gilmer said he seen situations in which crews call in a ticket for a specific intersection and end up working a couple blocks away. Matt Ruddo said they might want to consider providing an onsite contact number in case the locator has problems getting to their work site.

Sherrell Stone (NPL Construction) asked if it was ok to call in two different tickets for one area. A few indicated that a contractor could call in multiple tickets for one area.

Dennis Lescallett (Pleasants Construction) indicated that his company would begin shortly on a couple large projects in Maryland and would be calling in tickets in the very near future. A lengthy discussion ensued from Dennis’ comments. A few suggested that a meeting be set up so that the locate marks could be coordinated amongst the crew and locators. Tom Baldwin stated that it would be best if Pleasants provides plans on the scope of work.

Upcoming Damage Prevention Presentations:

None at this time.

Upcoming Trade Shows:

Show name:		Spring Maryland Home & Garden Show
Date:		March 2nd - 4th & March 9th - 11th
City, State:		Timonium,MD
Place:		Maryland State Fairgrounds
Website:		www.mdhomeandgarden.com
Show name:		Washington Home & Garden Show
Date:		March 9th - 11th
City, State:		Washington, D.C.
Place:		Washington Convention Center
Website:		www.washingtonhomeandgarden.com
Show Name:		Frederick Home & Garden Show
Date:		March 17th - 18th
City, State:		Frederick, MD
Place:		The Great Frederick Fairgrounds
Website:		www.fcbal.org/html/homeshow.cfm
Show name:		Builder Mart
Date:		March 21st
City, State:		Timonium,MD
Place:		Maryland State Fairgrounds
Website:		www.homebuilders.org/page/55597/index.v3page
Show name:		Spring Montgomery County Home & Garden Show
Date:		March 23rd - March 25th
City, State:		Germantown, MD
Place:		Discovery Center at Maryland Soccer Plex
Website:		www.americanconsumershows.com
Show name:		Harford LIVE!
Date:		April 21st - 22nd
City, State:		Aberdeen, MD
Place:		Ripken Stadium
Website:		www.harfordlive.com
Show name:		Maryland Municipal League
Date:		June 24th - 27th
City, State:		Ocean City, MD
Place:		Ocean City Convention Center
Website:		www.mdmunicipal.org/mmlhome/index.cfm
Show name:		Maryland Association of Counties
Date:		August 15th - 18th
City, State:		Ocean City, MD
Place:		Ocean City Convention Center
Website:		www.mdcounties.org/events/sc_overview.cfm
Show name:		Chesapeake Region Conference & Expo
Date:		September 14th
City, State:		Baltimore, MD
Place:		Martin's West
Website:		N/A
Show name:		Suburban Maryland Home & Garden Show
Date:		September 14th - 16th
City, State:		Upper Marlboro, MD
Place:		The Show Place Arena
Website:		www.americanconsumershows.com
Show Name:		Harford LIVE!
Date:		September 29th - 30th
City, State:		Aberdeen, MD
Place:		Ripken Stadium
Website:		www.harfordlive.com
Show Name:		Fall Maryland Home & Garden Show
Date:		October 19th - 21st
City, State:		Timonium, MD
Place:		Maryland State Fairgrounds
Website:		www.mdhomeandgarden.com
Show Name:		Fall Montgomery County Home & Garden Show
Date:		October 26th - 28th
City, State:		Germantown, MD
Place:		Discovery Center at Maryland Soccer Plex
Website:		www.americanconsumershows.com

Upcoming Meetings:

The next Maryland/DC Damage Prevention meeting is scheduled for March 27, 2007 at the Miss Utility Center. Coffee and donuts will be served at 9:00 am. The meeting will begin at 9:30 am.

The 2007 Maryland/DC Subscribers meeting will be held May 16th, September 19th and December 6th 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 11:55 am.

ITIC % Report for Maryland and Washington D.C.
Month		Call Center Tickets		ITIC Tickets		Percentage
Jan-06		55,461		35,134		63%
Feb-06		53,992		35,420		66%
Mar-06		68,973		42,524		62%
Apr-06		66,046		40,853		62%
May-06		73,459		45,474		62%
Jun-06		73,787		47,588		64%
Jul-06		68,103		44,388		65%
Aug-06		76,513		50,595		66%
Sep-06		64,5811		41,709		65%
Oct-06		68,748		45,427		66%
Nov-06		57,801		38,407		66%
Dec-06		58,388		35,595		68%
Jan-07		58,657		40,008		68%
Feb-07		50,152		35,148		70%

Attendee List
Name		Company		Phone		Email
Wayne Gilmer		Utiliquest		301-674-2769		walter.gilmer@utiliquest.com
Carolyn Lehman		Verizon		410-737-4012		carolyn.lehman@verizon.com
Shawn Breen		Verizon		410-737-4042		shawn.p.breen@verizon.com
Matt Ruddo		Miss Utility Center		410-712-0056		matt@missutility.net
Tom Baldwin		BGE		410-291-3121		t.c.baldwin@bge.com
Dennis Lescalleet		Pleasants Construction		301-428-0800		dlescalleet@pleasants.org
Mark Hamrick		Verizon		410-610-1371		mark.a.hamrick@verizon.com
Karen Watkins		SMECO		301-274-4350		karen.watkins@smeco.coop
Kelly Hardy		Utiliquest		410-536-0071		kelly.hardy@utiliquest.com
Donna Stecker		Premier Safety		301-829-2416		premier16@aol.com
Tom Hastings		OCC Locating Services		410-712-0202		thastings@occls.com
Sherell Stone		NPL Construction		410-355-1083		sstone@nplcc.com
Veronica Rozier		Utiliquest		301-356-1566		veronicas.rozier@utiliquest.com
Robert Vicks		PEPCO		202-388-2141		rvicks@pepco.com
Don Jones		Washington Gas		703-750-5510		djones@washgas.com
Joe Proctor		Washington Gas		703-750-1000
Bob Norman		Utiliquest		410-536-0070		bob.norman@utiliquest.com
Kevin A. Bullion		NPL Construction		571-921-0187		kbullion@nplcc.com
John Payne		Southern MD Cable		410-867-7577		jpayne@smcinc.biz
Tim Kempa		Comcast		410-371-3304		tim_kempa@cable.comcast.com