Introductions and Attendance Roster

        Steve Nicholls brought the meeting to order and asked for self-introductions.  

        Attendance roster / sign-in sheet was circulated.

        27 In Attendance: See attached sign-in from the March 10^th, 2009 meeting.

Review/Approval of the January 13^th, 2009 Meeting Minutes

        Minutes were accepted and approved.

Subcommittee Updates

        Steve Nicholls informed that group that there have been no additional meeting/updates to date on the Blue Stake (B/S) for Design subcommittee.  However Dan Nissen will be taking over the chairmanship for the subcommittee and anticipates scheduling meetings in the near future.    

        An update on the Blue Stake software will be provided during the May AUCC meeting as Sandy Holmes was not in attendance.

        Wayne Butch reported that the By-Laws Review subcommittee met in mid February to delete any verbiage pertaining to the CAUCC from the by-laws, establish the number of executive members, as well as a succession plan for the chair and vice chair positions.  The by-laws should be updated and available for review and vote by the May AUCC meeting.

        Lori Greco was not in attendance, however assuming no additional comments were received, a final vote on the revised PIPG Accelerated Improvement Project Model can be scheduled for the May AUCC meeting.

        Dan Nissen updated the group on the progress of the subcommittee to increase AUCC awareness.  Dan has contacted several agencies, however transportation to attend the meetings is a concern.  Interest was voiced in teleconferencing from some of the more distantly located municipalities and agencies.  Additionally Al Field recommended making an announcement regarding AUCC meetings at the monthly APWA luncheons and perhaps inviting the northern and southern branches of the AWPA as well.   

Old Business

        Wayne Butch explained that arranging a meeting with the Rail Roads has proven to be a challenge and that perhaps such a meeting is not warranted, since they will be represented at the Roads and Streets Conference.  Additionally ADOT has a monthly meeting with the Rail Roads, which are an open session and can be attended by anyone.  Please contact Robert Travis (rtravis@azdot.gov) for additional information.  Should questions not be sufficiently addressed during the Roads and Streets conference, then perhaps there might be a need for a special Rail Road specific AUCC meeting.     

        A request for a presentation on the Western Underground Joint Use Trench Formula was made by Mario Brown to determine how this formula is being implemented by other agencies.  Pat Holmes explained that the formula was designed to only to determine each utility’s portion of excavation and backfill costs.  It should be used as a base and additional charges should be added and/or negotiated on an as needed basis. 

        Wayne also discussed the 2009 AUCC budget.  Funds will be used to generate copies of the PIPG on CD, for the holiday lunch and CD’s of the rail road manual.

        Al Field discussed standardizing several items during a project including a standard method for requesting facility maps, for instance via the internet or an on-line request form similar to the City of Phoenix permit request form.  The format for facilities maps could also be standardized as currently multiple formats including PDF, TIF, etc. are used.  Claudia Gantert explained that for Southwest Gas this will be difficult as there are homeland security issues surrounding the method for the release of information and the format used.

        ACEC Roads & Streets Conference will be held April 8, 9 & 10 in Tucson.

New Business

        Al Field discussed issues surrounding potholing duct banks due to the amount of slurry and/or concrete used.  Establishing the full extent of the duct bank and not just indentifying the top conduit has been a challenge.  Al recommended perhaps dying the concrete red or installing red tape over the top of the duct, however both of these options come with their own set of difficulties.  Mario suggested checking with east coast cities on their use of underground radar.

        Ronnie Gandara discussed the impact of projects funded by the Stimulus Plan.  There has been an increase in the number of project plans received at 90%, without the prior 30% and 60% submissions.  It is of upmost importance that utilities are provided with sufficient lead time to review, design and relocate facilities.  Projects which will have an accelerated schedule due to Stimulus funding should also be clearly marked as such.

        Claudia Gantert voiced concerns regarding pavement overlay projects, which pave over Southwest Gas’ valve and test boxes.  This not only is a safety concerns, but also a violation of MAG standards requiring valve boxes to be raised.  Dan Nissen recommended inviting utilities to the pre-con meetings and reminding city inspectors of the importance of bringing facilities up to grade.   

Future Meetings