Your honor

Standing Stone Design LLC, New Berlin, was named Co-Business of the Year-2006 by the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin. … HGA Architects and Engineers, Milwaukee, won the 2005 Award for Sustainable Design from General Electric for HGA’s lighting system design for its new office spaces along the Milwaukee River. … Pekel Construction & Remodeling Inc., Wauwatosa, and The OAR Group, Muskego, won Best of Show awards in the Milwaukee/National Association of the Remodeling Industry’s annual Spring Home Improvement Showcase. … Ruekert/Mielke, Waukesha, was named the Wisconsin ESOP Company of the Year by the Wisconsin Chapter of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan Association for the company’s employee-stock ownership plan, which was established in 1995. … State Rep. Steve Wieckert, R-Appleton, won the Outstanding Legislative Leader Award from the Wisconsin Housing Alliance for his work on the State Assembly Committee on Housing and his collaboration with the Housing Alliance to pass legislation requiring the licensing of manufactured-home installers.

A burning question with ...

Mark Neumann owner of Neumann Enterprises Inc., Waukesha

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

“I’ve just decided we’re going to lower the interest rates so the building industry can be more successful.”

By design

It comes down to a simple question of pool or pond for the city of West Bend. For decades, the city opened Regner Park and its pond for public swimming in the summer, and, in the 1970s, the pond drew about 70,000 people per season. But in recent years, the numbers dropped to about 12,000 people as swimmers opted for the filtered water of nearby pools. So the city is dropping the pond and going with a pool, and it’s turning to aquatic facility design consultant Aquatica Design LLC, Sheboygan, to make it happen. Aquatica designed a 12,932-square-foot municipal aquatic center with a 6,298-square-foot bathhouse. The pool will feature zero-depth entry, fountains, child play areas and five slides. The project, with an estimated construction cost of $4.41 million, should be ready for bidding by the middle of next summer. Construction should start in late summer 2007, and completion is scheduled for June 1, 2008.

Rendering courtesy of Aquatica Design LLC

Peer Review

Essential ingredients

Morgan promotes engineers

Rose Morgan works on roads but lives for open water.

With 28 years of engineering experience, Morgan worked on Milwaukee’s Deep Tunnel project, Miller Park, the Marquette Interchange reconstruction and countless roads throughout Wisconsin. But she makes her home in Port Washington for its access to Lake Michigan.

“We live right across the street from the lake, and we absolutely love it,” said Morgan, the founder and president of Milwaukee-based engineering firm EMCS Inc. “I don’t think people have a clue how spectacular it is."

An avid sailor, Morgan, who is married with three children, picked up the hobby while growing up in Port Washington.

“We like to sail,” she said. “My dad kind of got it going when he bought a sailboat on the side of the road one day, and I took to it.”

Morgan’s father also was responsible for her introduction to engineering at an early age. He worked for a contractor as an estimator and expediter, and she would often work with him.

“By the time I was in seventh grade, I kind of knew how to read a plan,” she said.

Morgan graduated from Purdue University in 1977 and returned to Wisconsin to work at Sheboygan-based Donohue & Associates Inc. (which was since bought by Earth Tech Inc., a division of Tyco International Ltd.), one of the biggest engineering firms in the state at the time.

At Donohue, she worked in the water pollution-abasement program that spawned the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District’s Deep Tunnel project. Morgan spent five years developing master specifications used in the $2 billion sewer system.

“When you work on something of that magnitude, you don’t plan that effort overnight,” she said. “It was a very big project and significant to the state.”

Morgan went into business for herself when she founded EMCS Inc. in 1983, although she continued writing specifications for Milwaukee’s near-surface tunnel system as it went into construction. Eventually, she moved on to other big projects, often working for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

But running a business while honing her engineering skills wasn’t easy.

“There was a lot to worry about, and not all of that was what you expect,” she said. “It’s your responsibility to plan ahead and make sure the work was out there. If you’re involved in project work, it’s like two full-time jobs.”

The work was — and is — there for EMCS. The company expanded from one woman to 35 people with a second branch opening in Wausau in 1998.

“I get to work with a really great group of people,” Morgan said. “Our staff is wonderful.”

She said she appreciates the diversity of projects an engineering career offers, even in a specific area such as transportation. And she said she’s amazed at the amount of thought that goes into designing a road that won’t ice up, an interchange reconstruction that keeps traffic flowing or sewers that treat millions of gallons of wastewater every day.

“One of the things about engineering is that people take it for granted, but I think it’s remarkable that people can take it for granted,” she said. “It’s both amazing and frustrating.”

And with that in mind, she’s trying to get the good word out for engineers across the state through her recent appointment as president of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Wisconsin.

“ACEC has been a great opportunity for me to network with other engineering consultants around the country, and I’ve appreciated that,” she said. “This is an opportunity for me to promote the industry and to bring to the forefront the positive things that engineers do to make a difference in people’s lives, whether it’s roads or sewer systems or an airport.

“There’s not much you can do without an engineer.”

- Joe Grundle

On the horizon

Manci Osenga In memoriam Ronald G. Runge, Fox Lake, died July 8 of undisclosed causes. Runge, 64, was a member of Painters Local 781 for nearly 40 years. … Francis R. Manci, Wauwatosa, died July 11 of cancer. Manci, 76, became the director of mechanical engineering for Arnold & O’Sheridan Inc., Milwaukee, in 1985 and held the position until 1994, when he became a special HVAC consultant for the firm. He retired from the company in 2004. … Don W. Osenga, Hartland, died July 22 of undisclosed causes. Osenga, 81, was the CEO of Wood-Lam Inc., Pewaukee. He founded the design/build company of custom-engineered, laminated beams for wood-roof structures in 1955.

Berners-Schober Associates Inc., Green Bay, is designing an estimated $1.5 million domestic water-piping replacement project at the Wisconsin Veterans Home in King. … Engberg Anderson Design Partnership Inc., Milwaukee, is providing architectural and engineering services for an estimated $4.13 million Hiram Smith office renovation project on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. … Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc., Chippewa Falls, is working with the city of Eau Claire on plans for a new fire station. … Venture Architects, Milwaukee, is helping the state Department of Corrections on an estimated $4.99 million infrastructure upgrade to bring the Stanley Correctional Institution in Stanley up to code. … Power Engineers Collaborative LLC, Brookfield, is developing an estimated $2.5 million air-tempering project for the Wisconsin Resource Center in Winnebago. … Affiliated Engineers Inc., Madison, is designing an estimated $2.81 million multibuilding chiller/tower replacement project for the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. … Ayres Associates Inc, Eau Claire, is working with the state Department of Natural Resources on an estimated $2.83 million plan to build new campgrounds and supporting infrastructure at Willow River State Park in St. Croix County. … Strand Associates Inc., Madison, is putting together a design for an estimated $3.34 million replacement of underground utilities in the Wyman Mall utilities corridor on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus. … Boer Architects Inc., Milwaukee, is designing an estimated $2.44 million remodel of Moraine Hall on the UW-Whitewater campus. … Arnold & O’Sheridan Inc., Madison, is providing architectural and engineering services for an estimated $1.43 million upgrade of the electronic security controls at the Racine Correctional Institution and Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility in Racine. … Ruvin Group, Milwaukee, is proposing hotel, condominiums, offices and shops in the Park East redevelopment area in Milwaukee. … OMNNI Associates, Appleton, is providing consultant services for an improvement project at Crivitz Municipal Airport in Crivitz. … Dolan & Dustin Inc., Wauwatosa, is designing an estimated $1.29 million emergency generator replacement project at Fox Lake Correctional Institution in Fox Lake. … Concordia University, Mequon, is planning construction of a 344-bed, five-story dormitory for its Mequon campus.

Dotted Line

La Macchia Group LLC is working on a new Evergreen State Bank in Janesville. Rendering courtesy of La Macchia Group LLC

C.D. Smith Construction Co., Fond du Lac, landed a $3.19 million contract to upgrade the Port Washington Road pump station in Glendale. C.D. Smith also won a $10.87 million general contract for the General Mitchell Inter-national Airport C Concourse Hammerhead addition in Milwaukee. Pieper Electric Inc., Milwaukee, won a $3.09 million electrical contract; and Butters-Fetting Co. Inc., Milwaukee, won a $1.82 million mechanical, plumbing and fire protection contract for the airport job. … Riley Construction Co. Inc., Kenosha, won a $5.5 million contract for the new Oaks Student Housing Building B at Carthage College in Kenosha. Riley also won a $7.7 million contract to expand LakeView X in LakeView Corporate Park in Pleasant Prairie. … H&H Industries Inc., Madison, secured a $2.43 million mechanical contract for an air-pollution control project at Waupun Correctional Institution in Waupun. H&H also won a $3.19 million HVAC contract for the remodel and expansion of the Ullsvik Student Center on the UW-Platteville campus. … LaLonde Contractors Inc., Milwaukee, landed a $4.4 million contract for streetscape work on West Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee. … Zignego Co. Inc., Waukesha, secured a $4.38 million contract for roadwork in New Berlin. … A-1 Excavating Inc., Bloomer, won a $1.54 million contract for street and utility work in Eau Claire. A-1 also won a $1.52 million contract to construct a wastewater-collection system in Dekorra. … Mared Mechanical Contractors Corp., Milwaukee, will upgrade the city of Milwaukee’s garage systems after winning a $2.82 million contract for the job. … Staab Construction Corp., Marshfield, took home a $2.33 million contract for wastewater-treatment facility work in Dekorra. … Frank O. Zeise Construction Co. Inc., Green Bay, will construct structural repairs for Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay after winning a $2.09 million contract for the job. …

Joe Daniels Construction Co., Madison, will expand and renovate Aldo Leopold Elementary School in Madison after winning a $2.04 million contract for the job. … Payne & Dolan Inc., Waukesha, secured a $1.97 million contract for paving work in Waukesha County. … Wanasek Corp., Burlington, took home a $1.95 million contract to modify the Indian Creek Stream in Fox Point. … Hammersley Stone Co. Inc., Verona, won a $1.66 million contract for road and utility work in the Alpine Business Park in Oregon. … Tri-North Builders Inc., Waukesha, will remodel Concourse E at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee after winning a $1.64 million contract for the job. … Haas Sons Inc., Thorp, secured a $1.62 million contract for street construction work in Eau Claire. … Oudenhoven Construction Inc., Kaukauna, will modify a wastewater-treatment plant in Manawa after winning a $1.37 million contract for the job. … Midwest Pipeline Construction Inc., Highland, took home a $1.13 million contract to construct a well for a water-treatment plant in Walworth. … Roberts Roofing & Siding Inc., Glendale, won a $1.05 million contract to replace the roof at the Milwaukee School of Languages. … Badger Environmental & Earthworks Inc., Westby, landed a $1.04 million contract for utility and road construction work at Cranberry Lake Village in Warrens. … Raymond P. Cattell Inc., Madison, secured a $1.02 million contract for street reconstruction work in Madison. … Musson Brothers Inc., Rhinelander, won a $1 million contract to construct the Three Eagle Bicycle and Pedestrian facility in Three Lakes. … La Macchia Group LLC, Milwaukee, was selected by Evergreen State Bank to lead the design and construction of a new bank branch in Janesville. … MSI General Corp., Oconomowoc, was selected for the design and construction of a 1,800-square-foot Starbucks coffee shop in Sussex.

Branching out

The Boldt Company, Appleton, opened an office in Oak Brook, Ill. The company will offer construction management, general contracting and other construction-related services through the new office. … Bloom Consultants LLC, a civil engineering-consulting firm based in Milwaukee, opened a new office in Green Bay. It’s the company’s fourth office. … National Survey & Engineering, a division of R.A. Smith & Associates Inc., Brookfield, opened a branch surveying office in Madison on July 5. … Earth Tech Inc., Long Beach, Calif., recently assumed control of the Sturgeon Bay Utilities' water- and wastewater-treatment systems. Earth Tech was awarded a 10-year contract by the Sturgeon Bay Utilities.

Milestones

PSJ Engineering Inc., Milwaukee, is celebrating it’s 20th anniversary of business in Wisconsin. The firm, which specializes in the design of HVAC, plumbing and fire protection systems, was founded in 1986 by Parmjit (Jesse) Jaspal, the company’s president and CEO.

Off the clock

Family on ice

Scott Brosteau and his son, Mitchell, enjoy a moment on the ice. Photo courtesy of Scott Brosteau

The Squirts really got the adrenaline flowing.

With the score tied 1-1, and only 5 minutes left in the game, the De Pere Voyageurs in the Squirts division capitalized on a nice pass and a solid shot to the net. The hockey team protected its lead for the rest of the game and eventually went on to win the Fox Valley Tournament.

That game took place two years ago, but it still stands out as one of the most exciting match-ups in Scott Brosteau’s eight years coaching youth hockey.

“You’ve got to watch it so you don’t get too emotional,” said Brosteau, manager of the municipal section in the Green Bay office of Mead & Hunt. “I try to keep kids enjoying the game. Otherwise, they won’t keep playing.”

Keeping his emotions in check can’t always be easy considering that Brosteau’s 13-year-old son, Mitchell, is on the team. In fact, it was Mitchell’s first involvement in hockey when he was 5 that brought Brosteau back to the game after a lengthy hiatus.

“He started skating, and, basically, that’s when I began helping out,” Brosteau said. “Because of my background, I got on the ice to help.”

And as his son moved up through the different hockey age groups, Brosteau moved up with him. He goes through the necessary coaching certifications at every level to stay with Mitchell as a head or assistant coach.

Head coach Brosteau strikes an official pose with his De Pere Voyageurs hockey team. Photo courtesy of Scott Brosteau

“It’s fun,” Brosteau said. “When they’re real young, it’s more about how to play and the basics. That’s real enjoyable because the parents don’t get quite as crazy as when the kids get older.

“As they get older, you see their talents and understanding of the game progress. It’s neat.”

Brosteau’s hockey history started when he was 13 and joined the De Pere Youth Hockey Association. He stayed with the sport playing club hockey at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and he continued after college for a year playing in the De Pere bar leagues.

“I just loved the sport,” he said. “I took about 10 years off, had Mitchell, introduced him to hockey and then started working with the kids. I got back on the ice, and I’m still playing now.”

And while the years might have forced him to lose a step or two, Brosteau said he doesn’t see himself leaving the ice again anytime soon.

“Let’s just say I can keep up with some of them,” he said. “I play with some 65- to 70-year-olds. I’m 41, and I hope to keep going like they are.”

- Chris Thompson