NCUCC MEETING MINUTES

September 11, 2001

Hosted by:  CP&L

Location:  CP&L Office

Wilmington, NC

 

1.                  Call to Order – meeting called to order at 10:00 a.m. by Keith Reid.  Keith thanked CP&L for hosting the meeting and for providing the meeting location.

 

2.                  Old Business

a.                  Treasurer’s Report – Stephanie SaintSing reported the account balance for the NCUCC as of August 31, 2001 is $1,522.25.  There are no outstanding expenses or checks.

b.                  Next Meeting - the next meeting will be hosted by Dominion Power in Roanoke rapids, NC.  Dick Carter invited everyone to attend the SCUCC meeting.  Please call Dick at (800) 752-7508, ext. 6321 for directions or more information regarding the meeting.

c.                  Committee Reports – The committees that are putting on the NC/SC Joint Utility in May made the following recommendations and received a general consensus from the group:

 

1. Location will be Ashville, NC, possibly at the Sun Spree Resort

2. Vendor’s tables will be $350.00 for an 8’ table and 1/8 of an add in the program directory.

3. Full page ads will be $100.00.                                                               

4. Break Sponsorship price will vary however, there will be recognition of the sponsor at the break and in the program

5. Activities for the conference included Taylor Ranch, Golf, and white water rafting, tour of Biltmore House.

6.Program suggestions included: written report from local UCC’s, utility corridors, history of one call, CMUD’s 120” waterline and Park Rd. customer notification process, and BIO Engineering. (Suggestions to be added at next meeting)

3.                  New Business

 

 

a.                  NCDOT - Aydren Flowers introduced local NCDOT Wilmington personnel and asked that Greg Fuller give a brief introduction of NCDOT fiber projects in the area. Greg asked that anyone who had an interest in the project specifics contact him at gfuller@dot.state.nc.us or call 919-733-8021. The national right of way and utility part of AASHTO are having a national conference at the Renaissance Hotel April 21 – 25, 2002 in Asheville hosted by the NCDOT.  This meeting is open to all utilities.  Aydren also informed us the TIP is available on the web at.  He asked we use these books for programming and planning future construction projects.  The NCDOT is starting to use the design build project concept.  They give the project to a design firm which includes buying rights of way and coordinating utility relocations.  South Carolina has been using this concept for years with mixed reviews.  Aydren also stated the NCDOT will be doing at least as much road construction as last year and that the highway budget has not been impacted by the Federal budget cuts.  Aydren also mentioned there is a lot of information on the NCDOT website (www.doh.dot.state.nc.us) which includes TIPS, tentative lettings, electronic forms and NCDOT directory and other listings.

b.                 One Call Center –

TOTAL NUMBER OF TICKETS TAKEN THROUGH AUGUST 2001:  785,372 which is an 11.3% decrease from last year

 

TOTAL NUMBER OF TRANSMISSIONS SENT TO MEMBERS THROUGH AUGUST 2001:  5,145,570 which is 9.5% decrease from last year

 

NCOCC CURRENTLY HAS 247 ACTIVE MEMBERS

 

A LOCAL UCC BEGAN IN WILSON COUNTY....CHAIRPERSON IS CHRIS KISER WITH CENTRAL LOCATING SERVICE, THE MINUTES ARE POSTED ON THE NCUCC WEB PAGE

 

DESTROYED MARKINGS:

 

Effective August 1st, 2001

When a caller to North Carolina One Call Center calls and says that the locate marks have been destroyed or can no longer be seen, we "transmit" a ticket, using a  NEW ticket number, to all utilities for the requested locate area and advise the caller that "the utilities will be notified immediately." The header of the transmission will indicate RUSH and MARKS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED. The remarks section will indicate "AREA HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY LOCATED BUT THE MARKS DESTROYED". 

 

c.                  Power Companies – There was much discussion on the NJUNS program and how it is in place and can be utilized to help with utility pole coordination. Paulette Warren reported that Mike Roberts with Dominion Power does NJUNS training for anyone nationwide that wishes to attend classes in Virginia.  Mike’s phone number is 804-755-5350.  The National Joint Utilities Notification system, NJUNS, is a national organization of member utilities formed for the purpose of improving the coordination of joint ventures.  Our system offers utility companies a method of obtaining up-to-date information on a variety of shared concerns, including Pole Transfers, Joint Trenching & Permits for New Attachments to Poles. See www.NJUNS.com.

 

d.                  Gas Companies – Dick Carter mentioned that there is a new gas company starting up in Eastern NC and that companies should take a close look at the fees associated with railroad encroachment permits. The fees are getting larger and the time that it takes to be processed is excessive.

 

 

e.                  Telecommunication companies – no comment

 

f.                    CATV – no comment

g.                  Contractors – 

h.                  Railroads – no attendance

i.                    Locate companies – no attendance

j.                    Local UCC’s –  Wake Co.’s Sandra Johnson gave a report on the activities of their local UCC. One of their main events has been the contractor’s breakfast at which they try to educate the contractors on the best practices for digging. One of the advantages to the contractors is that they will learn whom they need to contact when they need assistance.

4.                  Program –

Jimmy Hooks with CP&L gave a presentation on the “ Subdivision Design Process”. He stated the importance of utilizing automated tools to optimize design, and the benefits of consistent design, one of which is cost control. The history and data to show the effectiveness of the process was presented. The major keys to the success of the project were: communication, constructive feedback, accurate data, realistic need dates, timely delivery to the design team, and timely notification of changes. The uses of automated design have the capability to assist all aspects of construction sites not just power layout. 

5.                  Meeting adjourned at 12:00

6.                  Lunch – lunch provided by CP&L