PEER REVIEW

A FULL LIFE

Kim Hurtado

Kim Hurtado can act, dance and sing. She collects rocks and artwork, and she's slowly teaching herself to read hieroglyphics.

She believes so strongly in giving back to the community that her firm, Hurtado SC Counselors at Law in Brookfield, makes a different contribution to a charitable organization every business quarter. She requires that each person on her staff donate one day of work, on her pay, to a charity.

She's such a big advocate of green construction that her entire office is made from recycled materials, from the recycled Coke bottle carpets to the recycled newspaper ceilings. She believes it's important to not only preach green, but to set an example in her own workplace.

And somehow, she finds the time to write, on average, $1 billion in construction contracts every year all over the world.

"I have been blessed with a full life, and I'm very cognizant that there is a deep connection between all sentient beings," Hurtado said.

She carries that belief to her job, whether it's writing a construction contract for the Milwaukee Art Museum project or catering documents to an inexperienced contractor. She lets respect and understanding guide her through all disputes, no matter how thorny, because she knows that she's dealing with people's livelihoods.

"There's a reason why it says counselors at law rather than attorneys at law on our door," she said. "It's a grave responsibility to advise someone, even if it's at the front end of a project. I try to bring a level of respect to all disputes I handle. My job is untying knots and softening glares."

Untying construction knots wasn't Hurtado's original plan. Construction had always been a part of her life, but only as a means to an end.

"I put myself through school with a combination of academic scholarships and construction work," she said. "My first job was copying blueprints on an old ammonia machine in a trailer without ventilation in the dead of summer. That explains a lot."

Hurtado, originally from Milwaukee, saw herself in theater. After earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, she headed back to Milwaukee to get a master's in theater arts from Marquette University. But a combination of persuasion-theory classes and working days at a law firm turned her head toward law.

She graduated from Marquette Law School in 1987 and eventually signed on with the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP. Shortly after she arrived, she took on a sure loser of a case involving a contractor who was due some changes in a contract.

"They gave the case to me, the rookie," she said. "I ended up getting the guy a couple hundred thousand dollars, and after that, all the construction cases hit my desk."

By the time she left MBF in 1998, Hurtado was the first woman and youngest person to lead the Construction and Public Law Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin, and she was on her way to becoming the division chairperson of the American Bar Association's Construction Forum.

"I left at the end of 1998 and started this law firm because I wanted to focus on contractors and developers who do their own construction," she said. "We do cradle-to-the-grave construction legal advice. We do financials, contract documents, advice during the awarding process and trouble-shooting during construction."

And with more than a decade of construction law under her belt, Hurtado still sees room to grow and new things to learn.

"The nice thing about construction is there is an infinite variety of things," she said. "My clients teach me so much."

- Chris Thompson

Your Honor

Rettler Corp., Stevens Point and Middleton, won the Excellence Award in Commercial Design from the Wisconsin Concrete Masonry Association Excellence in Hardscape Program for the company's landscape work at the Greenway Station project in Middleton. ... National Survey & Engineering, a division of R.A. Smith & Associates Inc., Brookfield, received a Best of State Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin for the firm's land survey work on the Northwest Side Relief Sewer in Milwaukee. R.A. Smith also won a State Finalist Award from ACEC for the firm's creation of a Web-based, address-management system for Waukesha County. ... The American Society of Interior Designers honored several companies with its 2003 Interior Design Awards. Plunkett Raysich Architects LLP, Milwaukee, won nine design awards, and Peabody's Interiors, Whitefish Bay, took home six honors. Eppstein Uhen Architects, Milwaukee, and HGA, Milwaukee, each won four design awards. Uihlein Wilson Architects, Milwaukee, won three awards, while The Zimmerman Design Group, Milwaukee, Iinterac Ltd., Wauwatosa, and Creative Business Interiors, West Allis, each one two. Karen Lee Johnson Interiors, Hartland, Sandy Gordon, Madison, Jane Klein, Fox Point, Hallie Weissman Cohn, Milwaukee, Forrer Business Interiors, Milwaukee, Cieslik Celek Interior Design LLC, Milwaukee, Continuum Architects, Milwaukee, Quorum Architects, Milwaukee, and Kahler Slater Architects, Milwaukee, each won one design award. ... The Milwaukee Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry honored three member company staff people as Employees of the Year. Mike Ellery of S.J. Janis Co., Wauwatosa; Duston Sieglaff of Renovators Ltd., Hales Corners; and Carter Manke of Royal Chimney Service Inc., Wauwatosa, each took home the award. ... F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing Co. Inc., Milwaukee, won the Gold Circle Award from the National Roofing Contractors Association for the company's exterior renovation of the Holy Hill Shrine of Mary in Hubertus. ... Three Wisconsin apprentices were named winners at the 2004 Associated Builders and Contractors' National Craft Championships in Hawaii. Ryan Reuter of American Heating & Air Conditioning Inc., Green Bay, took first place in sheet metal. Michael Thill of Hills Wiring Inc., Baraboo, took third place in electrical. Scott Bredesen of Dave Jones Plumbing & Heating Inc., Madison, placed third in plumbing. ... Marquette University won the Real Estate Excellence Award from the national law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP for the $150 million the school has invested to make existing buildings and new buildings around the downtown Milwaukee campus more attractive and viable.

In Memoriam

Jerome J. LaLonde, Bonita Springs, Fla., and Nashotah, died March 2 at his Florida home of complications caused by cancer. LaLonde, 72, founded LaLonde Contractors Inc., Milwaukee, in 1984 and was a former president of the Wisconsin Concrete Pavement Association. ... Joseph D. Bonness Jr., Naples, Fla., died Feb. 23 in Sydney, Australia, of an undisclosed cause. Bonness, 79, was president of Highway Pavers Inc. in Milwaukee and Naples from 1950 to 1992, treasurer of Jos. D. Bonness Inc., Milwaukee, from 1948 to 1974, president of the Wisconsin Road Builders Association from 1972 to 1973 and former director of the Wisconsin Asphalt Pavement Association. ... Frank Zitka Sr., Stuart, Fla., died March 16 of complications caused by cancer. Zitka, 66, worked for Bukacek Construction, Racine, for 30 years until he retired from his role as a project superintendent. ... Jack E. Hartmann, Oconomowoc, died March 15 of complications caused by cancer. Hartmann, 69, worked in the construction industry for 48 years, starting out as a carpenter apprentice. He worked for WB Corp., West Bend, until 1981, when he left to start Hartmann Construction Co. Inc., Lannon. He was a past president of the American Subcontractors Association.

On the Horizon

Eppstein Uhen Architects Inc., Milwaukee, and Irgens Development Partners LLC, Wauwatosa, are working with GE Medical Systems, Waukesha, on plans for a new $85 million GE headquarters building on a 25-acre site in the Milwaukee County Research Park in Wauwatosa. ... Told Development Co., Waukesha, is planning the 163,000-square-foot, $17 million Shoppes at Nagawaukee retail development on Golf Road in Delafield. ... Kunkel Engineering Group LLC, Beaver Dam, is working with the village of Reeseville to develop plans for an estimated $850,000 community building in the village. ... The University of Wisconsin System and Uihlein Wilson Architects Inc., Milwaukee, are moving forward with plans for a $13 million renovation of the Taylor Residence Hall at the UW-Oshkosh. ... Developer C.V. Zillig Co., Mequon, is nearing the end of the approval process for a new bank building for Grafton State Bank that includes a lifestyle center in the town of Cedarburg. ... Sunset Bank, Waukesha, is planning to develop an estimated $2 million, 24,000-square-foot headquarters building on Meadow Lane in Waukesha. ... PSJ Engineering Inc., Milwaukee, and the UW-Oshkosh are developing plans for a $1.5 million project to replace galvanized piping at the university's Arts and Communication Building and Albee Hall. ... Frisbie Architects Inc., River Falls, and the UW-Superior are designing a $1.3 million exterior-envelope-maintenance project for two academic buildings on the Superior campus. ... WISCO Hotel Group, Fond du Lac, and Design II Architects Ltd., Fond du Lac, are planning to develop a three-story, 107-room Holiday Inn Express near General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. ... Potter Lawson Inc., Madison, and the Vernon County Courthouse Annex have reached the bidding phase for a $10.3 million county law-enforcement center and jail in Viroqua. ... FHB Investments LLC, which is an affiliate of Bielinski Bros. Builders, Waukesha, has proposed constructing between 70 and 80 condominium units on the south side of the Cudahy Public Library on Barnard Avenue in Cudahy. ... Grumman-Butkus Associates, Wauwatosa, is designing a $2.2 million HVAC system replacement for the Communication Arts Center at the UW-Stevens Point.

The Dotted Line

A-1 Excavating Inc., Bloomer, will cross the state line into Winona, Minn., to construct the West Burns Valley Road utilities project after winning a $1.1 million contract for the job. ... Roffers Construction Inc., Ashland, won a $2.1 million contract to repair a taxiway at Volk Field in Camp Douglas. ... Voss Jorgensen Schueler Co. Inc., Waukesha, landed a $6.4 million contract to construct additions to Luther Burbank School, Grantosa Drive School and Sixty-fifth Street School in Milwaukee as a part of the Neighborhood Schools Initiative. ... Mashuda Contractors Inc., Princeton, will construct interchange improvements on Highway MV in Verona after winning a $1.7 million contract for the job. ... Stark Asphalt Services Inc., Milwaukee, landed a $1.3 million contract to handle the 2004 road-resurfacing project in Brookfield. ... B&D Contractors Inc., New Berlin, won a $1.1 million contract to perform exterior window and door replacement work at Pulaski High School in Milwaukee. ... Town & Country Underground Construction, Mayville, will construct a landfill liner at the Winnebago County Sunnyview Landfill in Oshkosh after winning a $1.5 million contract for the job. ... Market & Johnson Inc., Eau Claire, will remodel and expand the Trinity Lutheran Church in Eau Claire after winning a $2 million contract for the work. ... Graef Anhalt Schloemer & Associates, Milwaukee, won a $1 million contract from the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee to provide architectural and engineering services for a variety of housing developments in the city. ... Northeast Asphalt Inc., Fond du Lac, landed a $1.9 million contract to construct the 2004 utility instal-lation and street reconstruction project for the city of Fond du Lac. ... Lunda Construction Co., Black River Falls, won a $2.6 million contract to construct a pedestrian bridge near the Holton Street Viaduct in Milwaukee. ... Dorner Inc., Luxemburg, secured a $1.4 million contract to construct sanitary sewers, storm sewers, water mains, detention ponds and water-main relays and to perform grading and gravelling work in De Pere. ... Globe Contractors Inc., Pewaukee, will construct the Sussex Estates utility rehabilitation project in Sussex after winning a $1.8 million contract for the job. ... Payne & Dolan Inc., Kenosha, won a $1.6 million contract to construct the 2004 street and drainage improvements in Paddock Lake. ... Reuben Johnson & Son Inc., Superior, won an $11 million contract to construct the 2004 utility improvements for Wash-burn. ... Venture Architects in association with Moody Nolan Inc., Milwaukee, landed the consulting job for the $23.8 million Phoenix Sports Center expansion and renovation project for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Off the Clock

Doing the Birkie shuffle

If the legend is true, Jeff Bollig could be considered a modern-day Viking.

Bollig, who owns Bollig Lathe and Plaster in Madison, has skied the American Birkebeiner from Cable to Hayward three times since 1996. But it's not just his willingness to cross-country ski 52 kilometers through Wisconsin's North Woods in the dead of winter that ties him to the historical Norsemen.

The American Birkebeiner started in 1973, but Bollig said it actually copies a similar race in Norway that commemorates the actions of two skiers who traversed a similar distance in Norway in the 1400s. Those skiers carried the baby of the king of Norway to safety from a castle under siege by enemies.

History aside, Bollig, 46, said racing the Birkie is fun, and that's his real motivation for showing up in Cable with 6,000 to 7,000 other skiers on the third Saturday of every February.

"There's definitely a little craziness involved, but it's fun and a challenge, and it keeps me fit," he said.

Bollig first showed up in Cable in 1995, when some friends were racing the Birkie. That year, he competed in the half-Birkie, or Kortelopet, which is a 26-kilometer race. He competed in the Birkie in each of the next three years, boasting a top time of around five and a half hours.

"The lead skiers are Olympic class, and I've never seen them," he said. "There are food stations every five to 10 kilometers, but you just kind of shuffle through because you're trying to beat the clock. If you stop, you get cold."

He's battled zero-degree temperatures on the race, but sometimes the frigid temperatures are the least of a racer's worries.

"It's pretty grueling," he said. "I've gone through cramping. It gets to the point where you're down on your knees, and someone comes along and encourages you or shows you a way to use different muscle sets."

Warm weather cancelled the race in 1999, and Bollig has been competing in the Kortelopet ever since. But he's set his sights on the Birkie for 2005.

"The toughest part is at the 35-kilometer mark," he said. "That's when you start wondering what you're doing out there. But the last five kilometers, you can see Hayward across the lake, and you finish right on Main Street in Hayward."

- Chris Thompson

By Design

The Burlington United Methodist Church needs a little wiggle room. With a growing congregation and few options for expansion at its downtown Burlington location, the church has decided to step just outside the city's limits to construct a new facility. With Fischer-Fischer-Theis Inc., Waukesha, handling design duties, the church is planning for a spring 2005 construction start of the project's estimated 14,000-square-foot, $1.65 million first phase, which includes administrative and educational wings as well as flexible sanctuary and fellowship spaces. If the congregation continues to grow, the church will counter with a second phase of construction to add a formal worship area and support space for the music program. Bids for the first phase should hit the streets in January.

Best of the Web

Check out www.eartharchitecture.org to see what's new with Earth Architecture. The Web site is devoted to the study of buildings made from natural materials, such as rammed earth, pressed gypsum and plain, old mud. The Web site points out the interesting fact that nearly half of the world's population either lives or works in buildings constructed from earth.