Tim Edmond Set to Speak
At Thursday’s TBA Meeting

Tim Edmond of The Edmond Group will be the guest speaker at TBA’s Thursday General Membership Meeting, starting at 11:30 am at Killearn County Club. Edmond will update TBA members on plans for the huge Welaunee development, which is designed to yield over 1,700 homes and 250-plus apartments. The cost of the lunch is $15 and can be paid at the door with cash, check, or credit card. 
 
  

 

Koelemij, Perkins, Dion
In FHBA Leadership Roles

The Florida Home Builders Association Board of Directors elected seven new Area Builder Vice Presidents at last week’s meeting in Tampa, including Area I: Karen Koelemij of Orange State Construction in Tallahassee. The Builder VPs are joined on the FHBA Executive Committee by Associate VPs completing the second year of their two-year terms in 2014, including Area I, David Perkins, CIP, CAPS of Perkins Electric, Tallahassee. In addition, FHBA’s 2014 President Ron Lieberman of Lecanto has appointed Ed Dion, CIP, CAPS, of Dion Builders to Chair the FHBA-sponsored Southeast Building Conference in Orlando. FHBA’s next conference is April 7-8, 2014 in Tallahassee when delegates come to the capital to lobby their legislators on housing issues. 
 

Teams, Individuals Welcome
At November 4 Golf Tourney

Teams and individuals are encouraged to sign up for TBA Annual Don “Smokey” Young Memorial Golf Tournament set for Monday, November 4, 2013 at the Golden Eagle Country Club. For a registration form, click here or go to News at tallyba.com. In addition to the great golf, participants will be served breakfast and lunch, and be eligible to win various contests and door prizes. The title sponsor is Prime Meridian Bank. Additional sponsors are Niciha USA, Capital City Bank, Empire Moulding, Commercial Interiors, Premier Pools, Jenkins Brick, Franklin Insurance Services, James Hardie Building Products, Doug Croley Insurance, Sunshine Savings Bank, and First Commerce Credit Union. Sponsorships are available by calling Executive Officer Paul Thompson at 251-1053 or emailing him at . 
 

TBA Clay Target Shoot
All Set for November 21

Details and a registration form are available (click here or go to News at tallyba.com) for the TBA Clay Target Shoot Tournament sponsored by Centennial Bank and set for Thursday, November 21, 2013 at the Coon Bottom Gun Club. Registration begins at 10:30 am; lunch is at 11:15 am; and the competition begins at 12:30 pm. Practice rounds are set from 11 am to Noon. Cost is just $50 per person thanks to the generosity of Matt Brown and our friends at Centennial Bank. Many thanks to Jackie Wilson for her help in organizing this event. 
 
  

 

Strickland Brings Dated Home
Into the Modern Era Via Rehab

Larry Wayne Strickland, CIP, CAPS, of Capital City Builders was a double-Gold Award winner in the Tallahassee Builders Association (TBA) 2013 Remodelers Showcase Awards sponsored by City Gas – Your Own Utilities™. He won in the category of Best Home Rehabilitation Over $150,000 and Best Bathroom Under $25,000… a tribute to his remodeling experience and versatility. On the home rehab, the retro styling of a sunken living room was alive and well in this home… and that's exactly what prompted this entire renovation. Capital City Builders was called in to raise the floor in the sunken living room, update two bathrooms, remodel the kitchen, put a new roof on, replace the siding, and update all the windows. To say that this home was brought into the modern era is an understatement. By raising the living room floor, not only did Strickland alleviate an obvious trip/fall hazard, but he modernized the flow of the entire house. With all of the improvements to this home, the owners will be able to live here for many years to come. For the full narrative in the project, go to tallyba.com under News. 
  

2013 Remodelers Showcase Award Winners

TBA Has Job Opening
For Executive Assistant

With current Executive Assistant Lori Baird moving onto a career in international relations, the Tallahassee Builders Association (TBA) has an opening for an Executive Assistant (30 hours a week) with December 2, 2013 start date. The successful candidate will assist Executive Officer Paul Thompson in managing the daily office operations of TBA and be involved in meeting/event management, office management, member service and support, communications, database management, and bookkeeping. Resumes can be sent to Thompson at .
 
 
Remember to friend and follow TBA on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TallahasseeBuildersAssociation

   -- Paul M. Thompson, Executive Officer
 

View the 2013 TBA
Membership Directory
 

BUILDER OF YEAR

ALAN WEEKLEY Alan Weekley Homes

ASSOCIATE OF YEAR

ALAN ROBISON Capelouto Termite & Pest Control

PRESIDENT'S AWARD

BILL KIMBERL, IV, CIP Kimberl Construction, Inc.

HALL OF FAME

MARK WORLEY, CIP, GMB Worley Construction

Sponsors, Players Lining Up
For November 4 Golf Tourney

Under the leadership of Chair Tom Asbury of Premier Fine Homes, the TBA Annual Don “Smokey” Young Memorial Golf Tournament is shaping up as a super event on Monday, November 4, 2013 at the Golden Eagle Country Club. For a registration form, click here or go to News at tallyba.com. The title sponsor is Prime Meridian Bank. Additional sponsors are Niciha USA, Capital City Bank, Empire Moulding, Commercial Interiors, Premier Pools, Jenkins Brick, Franklin Insurance Services, James Hardie Building Products, Doug Croley Insurance, Sunshine Savings Bank, and First Commerce Credit Union. Sponsorships are available by calling Executive Officer Paul Thompson at 251-1053 or emailing him at . 
 
  

 

Centennial Bank Sponsors
TBA Clay Target Shoot

Details and a registration form are now available (click here or go to News at tallyba.com) for the TBA Clay Target Shoot Tournament sponsored by Centennial Bank and set for Thursday, November 21, 2013 at the Coon Bottom Gun Club. Registration begins at 10:30 am; lunch is at 11:15 am; and the competition begins at 12:30 pm. Practice rounds are set from 11 am to Noon. Cost is just $50 per person thanks to the generosity of Matt Brown and our friends at Centennial Bank. 
 

TBA Member Carole Butler:
Promotes ‘Aging in Place’

Carole Butler, CAPS, an interior designer and active member of TBA and the Tallahassee community, is an expert in aging in place and one of more than 25 TBA members who have earned the Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS) professional designation. Last week, she wrote an article on aging in place for the Ron Sachs Communication website at www.capitalsoup.com. “We are not a one-size-fits-all generation, and what has worked for seniors in the past may not necessarily work for us in the future,” wrote Butler. “We are a very physically active, mobile and influential generation. The idea of moving to a huge retirement facility as we age does not appeal to most of us. When you like your home, your neighbors, your community, there is no reason to uproot yourself and move to another location, especially when you can make modifications to your home and “Age in Place.” Butler wrote that the key aspects of “Universal Design” to make homes accessible to residents of every age include: each home has no-step entry, so that no one needs stairs to get into the home or into the home’s main rooms; the master bedroom, full bathroom, kitchen and living room are located on one floor; wider doorways and hallways are designed to allow easy access from room to room; floors, bathtubs and curb-less showers are made with non-slip surfaces for safety and comfort; and motion sensor lighting is built into every room so that both chair-bound and non-chair-bound residents never have to fumble for a light switch. 
 
  

 

McFarland Makes Sweet Music
In Remodelers Showcase Winner

Tallahassee Builders Association (TBA) members solve all manner of construction challenges each and every day and nobody does it better than our professional remodelers who captured top honors in TBA’s 2013 Remodelers Showcase Awards sponsored by City Gas – Your Own Utilities™. One such remodeler is Jerry McFarland, CIP, of James McFarland Builder, Inc., who served with distinction as TBA President in 2012 and is a consistent winner over the years in our various awards competitions. This year, Jerry won a Remodelers Showcase Award for the Best Room Addition Greater than $150,000 and he did it for his transformational work on the Unity Eastside Church located on Buck Lake Road. According to Jerry, Church members had been meeting in the same building for about ten years but now they needed additional space for their growing congregation. Since the property was previously a residence, the expansion had to be carefully considered. “We decided to expand out the back of the structure, and we added about 1,500 square feet,” said Jerry. “We removed part of the existing house, and added a vaulted sanctuary. One wall was almost entirely made up of windows to allow natural light to fill the space. The use of glass, the vaulted ceiling and the curved platform give a spacious and organic feeling.” The new addition tied into the existing roof line which made the project appear as if had been built there all along… a trait of good remodeling. Jerry’s hurdle to overcome was the acoustics of the space. A sizeable budget was allocated for a state-of-the-art sound system and careful consideration was given to the materials used so the sound wouldn’t become distorted. Proudly, Jerry reports that “Today, music is again a special part of their service at Unity Eastside Church.” 
  

2013 Remodelers Showcase Award Winners

Perkins, FHBA Board Face
Key Decisions This Week

The Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) Board of Directors will face some significant decisions Saturday when it meets in Tampa during FHBA’s Fall Leadership Conference. TBA associate member David Perkins, CIP, CAPS, serves on the Executive Committee and Board of FHBA as Area I Associate Vice President (representing the Florida Panhandle). On the agenda for the FHBA Board meeting are proposed Bylaws changes which would implement recommendations from a Strategic Planning Task Force that been at work for 15 months. Those recommendations include reducing the size of the Board of Directors and streamlining the Executive Committee. In addition, the FHBA Board will consider an unsolicited offer to purchase two properties: the Florida Housing Center (FHBA headquarters building in downtown Tallahassee) and the Centennial Building (headquarters for FHB Insurance, an FHBA subsidiary corporation). The offer has been reviewed by the Real Estate Task Force and a detailed analysis will be e-mailed to FHBA’s Board of Directors on Tuesday (October 14) and presented to the FHBA Finance and Executive Committees prior to the Board’s consideration on Saturday. The Board meeting begins at 1 pm in at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay Hotel. 
  

Parade of Homes Committee
Gets Fast Start Under Barton

Under the chairmanship of Doug Barton, CIP, CAPS, of Barton Construction, the TBA Parade of Homes Committee met last week and is off and running on the 2014 event which will be held May 10-11 and May 17-18, 2014. Among the TBA members who are participating on the Committee are last year’s Co-Chairs Thomas Asbury (Premier Fine Homes) and Mark Worley, CIP, GMB (Worley Construction) along with Jane Conn (ES Green & Company), Larry Wayne Strickland, CIP, CAPS (Capital City Builders), David Perkins, CIP, CAPS, (Perkins Electric) Sean Deiler (Premier Fine Homes), Susan and Katie Grabowski (Tallahassee Kitchen Center), Larisa Kuleshova (City Gas), Chad Boss (Premier Pools), Ken Szortyka (SunTrust Mortgage), Scott Lindeman (Cade and Associates),  Mike Still (Tallahassee Democrat). The next Parade Committee meeting is scheduled for November 5, 2013 at 10:30 am at the TBA office and all interested members are invited to attend. 
 

TBA Has Job Opening
For Executive Assistant

With current Executive Assistant Lori Baird moving onto a career in international relations, the Tallahassee Builders Association (TBA) has an opening for an Executive Assistant (30 hours a week) with December 2, 2013 start date. The successful candidate will assist Executive Officer Paul Thompson in managing the daily office operations of TBA and be involved in meeting/event management, office management, member service and support, communications, database management, and bookkeeping. Resumes can be sent to Thompson at .
 
 
Remember to friend and follow TBA on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TallahasseeBuildersAssociation

   -- Paul M. Thompson, Executive Officer
 

View the 2013 TBA
Membership Directory
 

BUILDER OF YEAR

ALAN WEEKLEY Alan Weekley Homes

ASSOCIATE OF YEAR

ALAN ROBISON Capelouto Termite & Pest Control

PRESIDENT'S AWARD

BILL KIMBERL, IV, CIP Kimberl Construction, Inc.

HALL OF FAME

MARK WORLEY, CIP, GMB Worley Construction

Registration Now Open
For TBA Golf Tourney

Team and individual registration is now open for the TBA Annual Don “Smokey” Young Memorial Golf Tournament set for Monday, November 4, 2013 at the Golden Eagle Country Club. For a registration form, click here or go to News at tallyba.com. The title sponsor is Prime Meridian Bank. Additional sponsors are Capelouto Termite & Pest Control, Niciha USA and First Commerce Credit Union. Sponsorships are available by calling Executive Officer Paul Thompson at 251-1053 or emailing him at . Tom Asbury of Premier Fine Homes is the Chairman of the tournament. 
 
  

 

Parade of Homes Committee
Begins ’14 Planning Tuesday

Under the chairmanship of Doug Barton, CIP, CAPS, of Barton Construction, the TBA Parade of Homes Committee meets Tuesday (October 8) at 11:30 am at the TBA office to kickoff planning for the 2014 event which will be held May 10-11 and May 17-18, 2014. All TBA members are invited to participate on the Committee – especially Parade builders – and lunch will be provided at Tuesday’s kickoff meeting. Barton said the judging for the 2014 Parade has been set for May 2, 2014. 
 

Green Council Presents
Seminar This Thursday

TBA’s Green Building Council will be meeting this Thursday (October 10) at 11:30 am at the Myers Park Community Room and presenting a program entitled Understanding & Evaluating Performance Characteristics of Wood, Fiberglass and Steel Entry Door Systems. The speaker is David Devenney of ProVia and a complimentary lunch is sponsored by ProVia and ABC Supply Company.  The program is designed to educate design, building and remodeling professionals on the performance attributes of wood, fiberglass and steel entry doors. It will compare the performance of wood, fiberglass and steel doors, explain how each technology contributes to LEED and ENERGY STAR®, outline door test standards and code compliance, and present the initial cost and life cycle assessment is for each technology. The Green Building Council is chaired by Suzanne Cook, CAE of the Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) and the program chair is Dawn Davis of ABC Supply. 
 

Construction Law Seminar
Now Offers 2 CEU Credits

TBA’s Member and Consumer Education Committee (MCEC) will sponsor a free construction law seminar for TBA members on Friday, November 8 at 11:30 am at Killearn Country Club. The only cost is $15 for lunch. According to MCEC Chairman Stan Derzypolski, CIP, CAPS, of 3 Rivers, Inc., the two-hour program will cover construction defects and related rights regarding notice and opportunity to repair, arbitration processes that builders can use without hiring lawyers, and common issues with the lien law, how it operates, and what builders need to do to preserve their rights. The speaker is TBA member Bobby Long of the Tallahassee law firm of Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell, P.A. The class has been approved for two hours of Continuing Education credits for Florida contractors (Course No. 0010459, Florida Home Builders Association Provider No. 000916, includes one hour of Business Practices and one general hour). 
 
  

 

Kip Carpenter Delivers On
A Woman’s Dream Kitchen

William Carpenter, CAPS, CIP, of Carpenters Construction, was a double-Gold Award winner in the Tallahassee Builders Association’s 2013 Remodelers Showcase Awards. He calls his winning entry in the Best Kitchen $35,000-$75,000 a “Woman with a Dream.” His client asked if he could raise the ceiling in her kitchen to eight feet like the rest of the house.  She also wanted to expand the cramped galley kitchen, and add an island in the middle of the kitchen, with a gas cook-top and hood above, so the kitchen could serve her family of five. Removing and replacing a double exterior door with a single door, adding an aluminum window with a low-e glass vinyl window, relocating the refrigerator and dishwasher, adding lighting, a wall oven, under-cabinet lights and a bar refrigerator were the simple parts of this project, according to Kip. For a profile of the project, see the Remodelers Showcase narratives and photos under News at tallyba.com. Other 2013 Remodelers Showcase winners were Florida’s reigning Remodeler of the Year Larry Wayne Strickland, CIP, CAPS, of Capital City Builders, Brian Will, CIP, CAPS of New South Homes, Inc. and Jerry McFarland, CIP, of James McFarland Builder. The awards were sponsored by City Gas and presented September 25 at the new Centerville Road showroom of TBA member Hi-Tech System Associates, Inc. 
 
  

 

2013 Remodelers Showcase Award Winners

Nationwide, Key Factors
Fuel Housing Recovery

Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) President Suzanne Graham reports this week that with home prices and household formations rising and household balance sheets healing, the ongoing housing recovery is expected to gain momentum next year even as several challenges remain, according to economists who participated in last week’s National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Fall 2013 Construction Forecast Webinar. Helping to spur the housing rebound was a double-digit increase in home prices over the past year, driven in part by tight inventories of new and existing homes for sale and gradual gains in employment. Another bright spot is rising household formations that were delayed during the downturn as college graduates and young professionals were forced to move back in with their parents or double up as roommates. At the height of the housing boom, the U.S. was producing 1.4 million additional households every year. That figure plunged to 500,000 during the depth of the recession and today is now back up to 700,000. Meanwhile, households across the nation have been increasing their savings and shedding debt. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index shows that the percentage of consumers who believe that now is a good time to buy a house is back up to levels last seen near the housing boom. On the flip side of the good news are the headwinds that continue to hold down a more robust recovery, namely tight credit conditions, labor and lot shortages, and building material price increases. Economists at the forecasting conference predict a resolution of the government shutdown and the impending increase in the federal debt ceiling, but they readily admit: if they’re wrong, all bets are off. 
 
  

 

FHBA Meets Next Week
On Legislative Priorities

The 2014 session of the Florida Legislature is six months away but the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) will be well-prepared for success by setting its Legislative Priorities at the October 17-19, 2013 Fall Leadership Conference in Tampa. A list of possible priorities has been circulated to local home builders associations around the state, inviting feedback at the FHBA Governmental Affairs Committee meeting set for Friday, October 18, at 10 am at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. Among the possible priorities are affordable housing funding, limiting developer exactions, skipping a building code cycle to reduce changes, efforts to reduce workers’ comp rates, and additional funding to combat unlicensed contracting. TBA will be represented at the Conference by Area I Builder Vice President Karen Koelemij, CAPS, of Orange State Construction and her father John Koelemij, an NAHB, FHBA, and TBA Past President, and Area I Associate Vice President David Perkins, CIP, CAPS, of Perkins Electric. For more on the Fall Conference, visit www.fhba.com and click on Meetings & Events. 
 

NAHB Pushing for Relief
On Flood Insurance Rates

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is continuing its ongoing efforts to delay massive rate increases under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which has become subject to actuarial-based rates by the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Act of 2012 one year after its enactment. The stakes could not be higher, as some NAHB members have already seen the rates on their own homes soar by several thousand dollars. Buildings constructed before issuance of flood maps, generally in the mid-1970s, are known as pre-FIRM properties. Under the Biggert-Waters Act, any pre-FIRM or grandfathered properties that are sold will immediately shift to a full-rate risk. As a result, all pre-FIRM policyholders will see their premiums jump by 25 percent of the full-risk rate annually for the next four years starting on October 1, 2013. Because the NFIP mandates all federally backed mortgages located within the Special Flood Hazard Areas be covered by flood insurance, NAHB is also concerned that many prospective home buyers could be prevented from qualifying for a mortgage under normal underwriting standards. U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-Florida) has proposed a delay in the rate increases but the measure it hung up in the partisan debate over the government shutdown and funding of Obamacare. Speaking to Realtors® last week in Tampa, Florida Governor Rick Scott predicted dire consequences for the Florida real estate industry is the flood insurance rate issue is not resolved quickly.
 

Workers Comp Rates
Expected to Rise 1%

Florida insurance regulators challenged National Council on Compensation Insurance (NNCI) representatives last week over their request to increase workers' compensation rates by an average of one percent statewide. NCCI officials said medical expenses are the main driver of costs for coverage, noting they constitute 69 percent of total costs in Florida, as opposed to 31 percent for indemnity costs. They argued that the Florida workers comp market is enjoying a long period of stability.  But Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty disagreed. “Our recent advantage over other states in attracting employers based on lower workers compensation rates has largely disappeared,” said McCarty. “With the increases in 2011 and 2012, Florida fell to 29^th highest, which means there are 22 states with lower average rates.” If approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation, the one percent increase would take effect January 1, 2014 and would be the fourth straight year of rate increases. Prior increases, however, were much larger: 6.1 percent for this year and 8.9 percent in 2012.
 
 
Remember to friend and follow TBA on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TallahasseeBuildersAssociation

   -- Paul M. Thompson, Executive Officer
 

View the 2013 TBA
Membership Directory
 

BUILDER OF YEAR

ALAN WEEKLEY Alan Weekley Homes

ASSOCIATE OF YEAR

ALAN ROBISON Capelouto Termite & Pest Control

PRESIDENT'S AWARD

BILL KIMBERL, IV, CIP Kimberl Construction, Inc.

HALL OF FAME

MARK WORLEY, CIP, GMB Worley Construction