Our Annual Student Pizza Party

President:

Gary O'Connor

goconnor@sonoma-county.org

President Elect:

Mike Jones

mjones@cinquinipassarino.com

Secretary:

David Slater

soco1.secretary@gmail.com

Treasurer:

Adam Rivera

asr@hoganls.com

Chapter Reps:

Mike Ford

Richard Maddock

Committee Chairs:

By-Laws:

Bruce Jarvis

Education:

Bruce Jarvis

Legislative:

Mike Ford

Nominating: Jon Olin

Membership:

Aaron Smith

Professional Practices:

Howard Brunner

Monument Preservation:

Paul Brown

G.I.S. Development:

Jerry Miller

Government Liaison:

Art Gambini

Historical County Records:

Art Gambini

Unrecorded Maps:

Mike Ford

Trig-Star/Public Service:

Jerry Miller

Scholarship:

Gordon Meininger

EDM Baseline:

Stu Righter

National Surveyors Week:

Richard Maddock

Website:

Stu Righter

California Land Surveyors Association - Sonoma County Chapter

Sonoma County Corners November 2011

We had our annual student

meeting at the Union Hotel &

Restaurant. Where are chapter

hosted Rick Mosier, and the

students from his Non-technical

skills for engineers class.

There were a total of fourteen students in

attendance, and a wide variety of topics

discussed at the meeting, the near completion of

the Kingsbury line, monument preservation,

unrecorded maps issues, and a state reps report.

The students were rather quiet, but seemed very

interested in what was going on.

Jerry Miller was our speaker for

the night, and gave an update on

the status of SRJC programs. It

does not look good, attendance is

down, and the future of these

programs is uncertain at this

point. Jerry went on to explain;

We need to promote our

profession, and put people in the

seats, and anything the chapter can

do would be appreciated.

Rick then went on to thank the

chapter for their generosity, and

discuss the importance of learning

social skills as well as technical

ones, when looking for a job.

Especially with the economy we

are faced with today.

CLSA Sonoma County Newsletter Page 2

The Original California Maritime GPS When the California Gold Rush came into full swing in 1850, California and the San

Francisco Bay became a magnet for tall ships delivering goods and men ready to seek their

fortunes in the Hills of Gold. However, the ragged California coastline was dangerous for

mariners, with hidden shoals and submerged rocks.

California lighthouses sprung up at the most dangerous points, to preserve life and keep

cargo from destruction. The lighthouses evolved from single lights in homeowners'

windows to fully-automated, independent structures on prominent peninsulas and sea cliffs.

Lighthouses provide an interesting look into the history of California, unique from the 21

missions built by Spain to claim the territory of California. The oldest lighthouses were

built after the California missions had been abandoned by Spain. California began building

them around 1850. The first lighthouses (a series of four) began lighting the California

coast around 1855-1856 after the California Gold Rush had mostly ended and the word was

out that this Western territory had a great climate and was a desirable place to live.

Commerce began to flourish.

As shipping increased to import & export food, redwood lumber, and other items,

shipwrecks became a serious problem. In many areas the California coast is rocky, often

foggy, and the entrances into ports can be treacherous. Lighthouses were first constructed

in Pacific Grove to light the Monterey Bay, Point Loma in San Diego, Farallon Island

outside the San Francisco Bay, and Battery Point near Crescent City. From north to south,

the entire state’s major ports were covered by four light stations.

There would eventually be over 30 of them in California. The lighthouse was kept by

people concerned for sailors' safety. Maintenance kept the light keeper busy, maintaining

oil lamps throughout the night and day. When the skies became heavy with damp fog, they

would manually ring warning bells keeping the keepers busy around the clock later they

would be replaced by foghorns. On treacherous nights, it was not unusual for a lighthouse

keeper to stay awake all night to ensure that their light guided travelers could travel along

the ragged California coast safely.

Then came GPS to aid mariners. On June 26, 1993 the U.S. Air Force launched the 24th

Navistar satellite into orbit, completing a network of 24 satellites known as the Global

Positioning System, or GPS.

The U.S. Coast Guard began deeding or giving away the lighthouses by 1995 as GPS

suddenly replaced the lighthouse, the first in a long line of GPS systems to come.

Upcoming Events

CLSA Webinar

November 30, 2011

12:00 PM - 1:30

Presented by:

Marti Ikehara

Sonoma County

Chapter Meeting

Holiday Party

Dec 14, 2011

Cattleman's Restaurant

Santa Rosa

"Safari Room"

CLSA Board of

Directors Meeting

Saturday Feb 4, 2012

Holiday Inn Airport

Oakland, California

National

Engineers Week

February 19 - 25

National

Surveyors Week

March 18-24, 2012

CLSA-NALS

Conference

March 23-28, 2012

Silver Legacy Resort &

Casino Reno, Nevada

Fresnel Lens

Lighthouses acted as visual navigation aids,

an observer, seeing a continuous weak light,

would see a brighter light during a short time

interval. These instants of bright light are

arranged to create a light characteristic or,

pattern specific to the particular lighthouse

with each lighthouse having a unique light

pattern so mariners could tell which lighthouse

they were observing, and be able to determine

their location in relation to it.

This was done through the use of a Fresnel

Lens. Concentrating light with a rotating lens

assembly. Vertical light rays of the lamp are

redirected into a horizontal plane, the light is

focused into one or a few directions at a time,

as a result, in addition to seeing the side of the

light beam, one can see the light directly from

a further distance away.

Surveyor’s Trivia:

GIS Day at Piner High School

"Students in

the pipeline"

Careers in

surveying,

and GIS are

the wave of

the future.

2) What is the total area of California

including both Land & Water?

a. 155,640 Square Miles

b. 163,707 Square Miles

c. 170,236 Square Miles

d. 182,050 Square Miles

It isn't sufficient to

want, you must ask

yourself what you are

willing to give to get

what you want.

~Franklin D. Roosevelt~

CLSA Sonoma County Newsletter Page 3

Answers on page 4

Success consists of

going from failure to

failure without losing

enthusiasm.

~Winston Churchill~

1) How many counties are there in

California?

a. Forty-eight b. Fifty-two c. Fifty-five

d. Fifty-eight

The general economic

slowdown has meant

challenging times today,

but the future promises

increased opportunities.

An edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook

predicted that the surveying and mapping industries can

expect to increase by 21% through 2016. So the question

is not whether there will be jobs, but rather what roll

technology proficient individuals will play in them.

GIS and scanner technology is the wave of the future,

and the people who know how to use them will have no

problem finding jobs in the years to come.

Trivia Answers: 1) d 2) b

CLSA Sonoma County Newsletter Page 4

Would you like to advertise

in our newsletter?

Rates are very affordable,

starting at $10 per month.

Comedy Corner:

A third grade teacher asked her

class what is a Civil Engineer?

One child raised her hand eager to

answer the question. So the teacher

called on her, and again asked, what

is a Civil Engineer? Sally, proudly

replied, its someone who is very

polite when they drive the train.

California Land Surveyors Association Sonoma County Chapter

Gary O'Connor - President

goconnor@sonoma-county.org

(707) 565 - 3711

Mike Jones - President Elect

mjones@cinquinipassarino.com

(707) 542 - 6268

David Slater - Secretary

Soco1.secretary@gmail.com

(707) 542 - 9810

Adam Rivera - Treasurer

asr@hoganls.com

(707) 544 - 2104

CLSA, Sonoma County Chapter, Meeting Minutes

Nov 9, 2011, Cattlemen's Restaurant, Petaluma, California

In Attendance: 36

Adam Rivera

Art Gambini

Brad Prescott

Brett Clarke

Brian Curtis

Bruce Jarvis

Christopher Larson

Clemencio Lopez

David Slater

Dylan Crabtree

Gary O'Connor

Gordon Meininger

Howard Brunner

James Olah

Jason Gedding

Jennifer Robinson

Jennifer Westmoreland

Jerry Miller

Jim Crabtree

John Fitzgerald

John Monaghan

Jon Olin

Mathew Dudley

Mike Ford

Mike Jones

Patrick Clark

Paul Brown

Paula Bisler

Reg Parks

Richard Maddox

Rick Mosier

Rulon Cottrell

Savada San

Scott Marincich

Stu Righter

Thomas Seitzer

Meeting Called to Order:

6:36 pm, Gary O'Connor called the meeting to order.

Introductions were made around the room.

Approval of Meeting Minutes:

A motion was made to approve the meeting minutes from 10/12/11.

It was requested that a clarification of the wording of the motion made 10/12/11 be entered

into the minutes as follows:

The motion was made by Art Gambini

1. To have the chapter authorize the Historical Records Committee to complete the

records donation by Hogan-Schoch and Associates.

2. To have the Chapter authorize the acceptance of the records by the president of

CLSA, Sonoma County Chapter.

The motion was seconded by Howard Brunner, and then approved by the chapter members.

Upon which, the minutes were duly accepted, seconded, and approved.

Treasurer's Report:

Checking = $ 3,362.90 Savings = $996.88 CD = $2,000.00

Committee Reports:

By-Laws:

We have recently made some minor adjustments to our by-laws, and will resubmit them to

the state for approval. They will be posted on our website for review by the members, and a

vote to ratify them will be pending in the near future.

Education:

We will be putting together a seminar/workshop on datums with Michael Magee, sometime

near the beginning of 2012.

Legislative:

Several ongoing bills were signed into law by the governor with the exception of one notable

veto to the continuing education requirements for engineers and land surveyors. His

comments were something along the lines; that as a group we professionals recognized the

need to stay current and did not need to be required to do so through legislation.

Nominating:

We have made some changes to the slate of officers for next year, we have done so to

hopefully implement a plan of officer succession, sometime in 2012.

Officers for 2012:

President - Mike Jones

President Elect - Stu Righter

Secretary - David Slater

Treasurer - Matt Dudley

Chapter Rep - Mike Ford

Succession Plan: Volunteers selected to be officers for our chapter will sign on for a four

year commitment, they will begin as Treasurer, then succeed to Secretary, President elect,

and then President. This will allow the officer from a previous position to mentor and guide

the incoming officer, creating greater continuity, and smooth transitions of officers from one

post to the next.

It will also make finding a new officer much easier, as we will only need to find one

volunteer each year instead of four. Naturally there are some issues that need to be ironed

out, such as the requirements to be an officer, and what to do if an officer is unable to

continue performing their duty for the duration of their service for whatever reason.

The officers for 2012 have all graciously agreed to participate in such a succession plan, if

the chapter decides to implement it, we will continue to work out the details and intend to

bring it up for a vote sometime early in 2012.

A motion was made by Jerry Miller:

Motion: To approve the nominated slate of officers for 2012.

The motion was seconded by Mike Ford, and then approved by the chapter.

Monument Preservation:

We are closer than ever to completing the Kingsbury line retracement, we have received the

final two maps. If you have any photos or stories, please send them to Paul Brown at,

pmbrown@adobeinc.com so he can submit them to California Surveyor for publishing.

We are also looking for new projects.

Historical Records:

We have been working with Larry Lieberman who is the holder of the Hogan-Schoch

records, and have been seeking donations to pay for the storage of these records. We intend

to give Larry a letter of value of the records for tax purposes once we receive them, and can

then begin the process of indexing them, working with the Sonoma County Historical

Records Commission, who is tasked with the oversight and maintenance of such records.

Unrecorded Maps:

We thought that the unrecorded maps legislation was done. The Marin chapter, at the 11th

hour, brought up the copyright issue for those who own the archived records of retired or

deceased surveyors. The revised language as presented seemed sufficient for the purpose of

getting records into the public domain, but President Hofferber intervened and sent the

matter back to committee to consider if copyright infringement may be an issue with the

un‐recorded maps. The next opportunity to move this legislation forward will be next year at

the February meeting.

National Surveyor's Week:

Surveyors Week, shall take place March 18 - 24, 2012, we will keep you posted.

Chapter Reps Report:

Frank Lehmann - President Elect:

Frank is looking forward to taking the reins at the beginning of next year. He attended the

August NCEES conference in Rohde Island. For those of us who weren’t aware, California

is not a voting member of NCEES despite having the largest percentage of engineers and

surveyors of any state. Our Governor won’t allow travel expenses for the California

delegates to be taken out of the BRPELSG budget. State CLSA covers the expenses for our

members to attend. NCEES doesn’t allow members to vote unless their travel expenses are

covered by the State. Frank is asking everyone to write their state representatives in support

of those expenses being added to the BRPLESG budget. The BRPELSG budget is made up

of professional license fees.

Professional Development:

Continuing education as reported in the July chapter representative report, California is one

of four states that does not require continuing education for license renewal. The Board of

Directors (BOD) is asking for more participation from the membership in the voluntary

program through the CLSA website. Pressure at the national level is growing to include

professional development as a requirement for license renewal in California. The CLSA web

site has information on how to begin.

Monument Conversation Committee:

The BOD approved a motion to move forward with proposed revisions to the language in

Section 8771 Current language is vague, ambiguous and ineffective. Discussion centered

around the need to revise the language or educate the municipalities and contractors that

monuments are required to be preserved. The existing language does not specify the work

has to be accomplished under the direct supervision of a licensed land surveyor. Applicable

sections of the Government Code, Streets & Highway Code, and Penal Code are also being

reviewed.

Miscellaneous Items:

Napa County LLA law suit ‐ Napa County vs. Sierra Club. The jist of the suit filed by the

Sierra Club was that only one LLA is allowed per property owner. Sierra Club alleged

multiple LLA’s are disallowed under the current LLA law. The initial suit ruled in favor of

Napa County which would allow multiple LLA’s with the limit of four lot lines adjusted

under one application. The Sierra Club has appealed the decision.

Surveyors Code of Ethics is currently under revision. Proposed revisions can be viewed on

the CLSA web site.

Awards request to recognize local and state chapter members are due ASAP.

Old Business:

There currently is no old business.

New Business:

PRMD:

We seem to be having some issues with PRMD regarding building envelopes, and

discrepancies between tentative map checkers and soils engineers.

Gary O'Connor:

Jerry Miller would like to give Gary a certificate of appreciation for serving on the advisory

committee at Santa Rosa Junior College.

David Slater:

The chapter would like to recognize David for the fine job he has done in implementing our

new Newsletter.

A motion was made by Mike Ford.

Motion: To submit our Newsletter to the state for nomination for an award.

The motion was seconded by Jerry Miller, and then approved by the chapter.

Announcements:

CD of Gordon Voorhies surveys from the records of Tom Brunner (Howard's brother), as

well as an index of them and other surveys in Marin County are now available.

Funds raised will go directly to the Jesse Stanley Scholarship, and the first scholarship will

be awarded at the CLSA-NALS Conference, March 23-28, 2012.

Scholarship applications need to be in by November 30th, as well as any awards the chapter

wishes to nominate for the state to consider.

Tonight's Speaker:

Jerry Miller PLS, Program Coordinator/Instructor,

Civil Engineering, Surveying & Geospatial Technology

Santa Rosa Junior College

Status of SRJC Programs:

It all began in 1965 with a program for industrial drafting and engineering. In 1994 we

added surveying, and in 2006 geospatial. We are probably one of the best equipped Junior

Colleges in the state as far as our equipment and labs go. With Topcon and Sokkia total

stations, TopSURV data collectors, and Trimble, Ashtech, and Topcon GPS receivers.

Enough equipment to outfit eight surveying crews.

The department also has three 24-seat, fully equipped computer labs. Each lab is fully

licensed with: AutoCAD 2011, Civil 3-D, Micro Survey, GPS Pathfinder, TerraSync, and

ESRI's ArcView and ArcGIS mapping software.

Last year we graduated 12 students, and of those who took the LSIT examination 90%

passed.

The programs are not doing well, typically we have 40-50 students in our plane surveying

class, our current plane surveying class has about 22 people in it, historically we lose 50%

by the second year. This is not sustainable as a department we need bodies in the seats to

keep the program alive.

We need to promote our industry more, and anything the chapter can do to fill seats will

help keep the program alive. We need at least 18 people per class to keep a class going.

It is a good way to build up PDU's, and you can also get free access to Civil 3-D and GIS

programs with a three year license (student version).

If you are interested in supporting our efforts and taking a class, check out the SRJC

website list of classes, or contact Jerry Miller at, jmiller@santarosa.edu

Telephone: (707) 527-4376

Tonight's Guests:

Rick Mosier CE, Director of Public Works, City of Santa Rosa (and his students).

Rick has worked for the City of Santa Rosa for 26 years, the last seven as Public Works

Director. Rick has held several titles with the City, including Assistant Engineer, Associate

Engineer, Supervising Engineer and Deputy Director of Engineering.

I wish to start by thanking CLSA Sonoma County for having us for dinner.

It is important to not only know how to use equipment such as AutoCAD, total stations

and GPS equipment, etc. You also need to know how to explain what you're doing, to

potential customers.

Salesmanship is a necessary evil to promote yourself and your career, basically selling

yourself to potential employees, which should be easy if you believe in your product.

Clients actually pay a considerable sum of money for what is essentially a piece of paper,

if you cannot explain what you have done, and the technology used to achieve it. Your

client is not likely to recommend you to their friends, family, and neighbors.

Your presentation is essential, your skills and personality are a package deal. Share your

educational highlights, have questions for potential employers ready to ask to show your

interested in the job.

Dress for success, and act accordingly. Be positive, presentable, and on time, as the old

adage goes you only have one chance to make a first impression, make it a good one.

Meeting Adjourned: 8:32 pm.

Next Meeting: December 14, 2011 at Cattlemen's Restaurant, in Santa Rosa.

Next month's meeting will be held in the "Safari Room" located

at the back of the restaurant, use the side entrance.

Speaker: Tina Wallis

Respectfully Submitted,

David Slater, LSIT

CLSA Secretary

Sonoma County Chapter