Seven Miles of New Orleans Levee

Here is a short video that shows our work on LVP 109 for Archer Western Contractors.  The project cost over $140 million to rework a 7.2 mile stretch of levee starting on the south bank of Lake Pontchartrain and running South along the bayou.  Work includes moving over 3.1 million tons of soil to enlarge the existing levee, demolish existing gates and construct new gates that cross US Highway 90 & US Highway 11.  Also, they will remove and replace four (4) drainage structures, remove and replace pump station discharge pipes, and upgrade two (2) pump stations. Additionally, they installed over 9 million feet of wick drains as well as constructed T-wall/I-wall transitions at CSX Railroad, US Highway 90, and US Highway 11.  “Working with Martin Pospisil and all his staff has been very rewarding,” stated SSE owner Stan Schultz.  “There are a lot of moving pieces to this project, but so far technicians like Thomas Hudson, January 2011 employee of the month Cory Brown, and James Badkoubei have been able to keep things on schedule and within budget.”

For Stan and all the SSE employees this was a particularly challenging job.  They also were responsible for drilling 126 well holes and installing the geotechnical instrumentation for monitoring the levee.  This required ordering all the necessary equipment and personal to drill these holes, and properly install the magnetic extensometers, inclinometers and plelmeters all while the work on the levy continued.  SSE technician Cory Brown said, “It was a challenge to keep the drill rig going and ahead of the dirt moving crews.  The whole project schedule depended on us to meet our goal each day and the bad weather was always a worry.  I am proud to say we finished our part ahead of the schedule!”    

Jaymie Potter is the SSE Employee of the Month for January

Jaymie at her computer

BRANSON, MO ─ Schultz and Summers Engineering, is pleased to announce the January employee of the month was Jaymie Potter from the Branson office.  Owner Stan Schultz said, “It was not as hard to pick an employee of the month for January because Jaymie did such a good job on preparing so many SOQ’s that have helped us obtain new projects. In January she put together 17 SOQ’s which is almost one a day.”

Jaymie will be celebrating her second anniversary with SSE in October 2012.  She helps manage the Branson office, but mainly focuses on preparing all SSE proposals and managing our database.  Schultz added, “Jaymie has made a real difference in how nice our proposals and presentations look. They have helped us obtain some very key projects for the company and her database work has helped us do a much better job of keeping in touch with our customers and reaching new prospects.”

Jaymie hooking a big one

Jaymie lives in Branson, Missouri with her husband Jim and their four dogs Monty, Lucca, Dallas and Estee. Before joining SSE she owned a commercial fishing business in Kodiak, Alaska and still has a family owned B&B the Kodiak Russian River Lodge (www.kodiakrussianriverlodge.com). Marketing Director Rodney Jetton said, “Jaymie has been a huge blessing to SSE. Her desire to see our company succeed is contagious and she doesn’t know the word no. We keep pouring mountains of work on her and she just gets it done!”

Jaymie’s interests include, singing in the choir at her church, the Sanctuary of Hope, participating in the Republican Party, and sport fishing every chance she gets. She loves to visit her daughter and grandkids in Kodiak, Alaska and her newest interest is finding stories from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that have moral lessons for children and recording them for her grandchildren. Jaymie says that stories like the Hedge of Thorns, Teddy’s Button, Jill’s Red Bag and Buried in the Snow, contain a Christian message to teach children, responsibility, kindness, and how to treat others.  “These stories are wonderfully written but mostly in "King's English" so I take to story and tell it in my own words so they understand the message.  My goal is to have a library that my grandkids can listen to so that the miles between us don't separate us as much,” she added.

Brad Allbritton donates a check to  of the United Oxford House on behalf Jaymie Potter

When asked what she likes best about working at SSE she replied, “Everyday is a new challenge. I have my normal workload but the variety of projects really makes each day interesting. My weeks fly by, which is always a good assessment of the challenge and job satisfaction. The Branson team is fantastic. I am excited to see the success of the new direction the company is taking with the training and pursuit of new markets and clients.”

In honor of Jaymie being awarded January employee of the month SSE will donate $100 on her behalf to the Oxford House, which is a home in Springfield for women in recovery. “Jaymie has been such a big part of helping us present a more professional image to our customers and prospects.  Having her skills on the SSE team has really helped us be successful,” concluded owner Bob Summers.

  

SCHULTZ AND SUMMERS ENGINEERING & SURVEYING DESIGNS NEW BERNIE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLAN

Progress on Bernie

BERNIE, MO – Residents in Bernie will soon get a much needed new wastewater treatment facility to keep their sewer system running smoothly.   Their old oxidation ditch was constructed in the 1970’s and began having significant problems serving the City’s 768 homes and businesses.  Cracks could be found in the facility’s structural walls, the controls were worn out, and the bearings on the mixer were on the brink of collapse.  These problems were first identified in 2004.  In 2009, Mayor Tillmon’s asked Schultz and Summers Engineering (SSE) to evaluate any deficiencies with the system and help identify what funding was needed to replace the plant.  SSE owner Bob Summers said, “The problems Bernie’s older system was experiencing are similar to what we have seen in other communities in Missouri.  We enjoy designing projects that keep sewer rates low for the residents and keep communities in compliance with all the DNR rules and regulations.”

After a careful review of all the problems with the old treatment plant, SSE put together a design that addressed all the deficiencies.  They also developed preliminary designs and cost estimates for the project that were made available to the public.  Once the voters looked at the new design and the option to use public financing in order to keep sewer rates low, they passed a $5.0 million dollar bond issue at the November 2009 election with over an 80% approval.   Mayor James Tillmon added, “The plan Schultz and Summers developed was a cost effective way to solve our sewer problems.  Their help in informing the voters about the new treatment plant was very useful in gaining passage of the bond issue.”

The new plant under construction

Once the bond was successfully passed, a Preliminary Engineering Report was submitted by SSE to the Missouri Water and Wastewater Review Committee in January of 2010.   Schultz and Summers then worked with USDA-Rural Development to secure over $2.5 million in low interest loan dollars for Bernie.  Rural-Development provided the City these loans at a 2.25% interest rate, which was fixed for 35 years.  Summers commented, “We have helped several cities in Missouri obtain low interest loans over the years, but it was almost unbelievable for Bernie to receive a fixed 2.25% interest rate for 35 years!”  

The project plans were completed in mid-2010 and submitted to both USDA-Rural Development and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR).  The plans were approved in October 2010 and Rural Development approved the bid advertisement that took place in November 2010.  The project provided the low bidder with a Notice to Proceed in January 2011 and the new treatment plant should be completed sometime in the fall of the this year.

Mayor Tilmon concluded, “I can’t say enough about how helpful Schultz and Summers Engineering were during this whole process.  It was nice having a company help us who understood the process and knew all the key players involved.  Their experience was one of the main reasons we were able to pass the bond issue and get so much support from government agencies such as DNR and USDA-Rural Development.”   

DOT makes $500 Million available for infrastructure projects

Here is a great story in -



 Tiger Grant money is now available.  Schultz and Summers Engineering will be doing all we can to help our clients apply and receive some of these funds.  We have helped over 56 communities obtain over $92 million in free grants and loans.  If you know a community that would like to have SSE assist them in applying for one of these grants, then have them contact Marvin Nesbit, SSE's director of Business development, because the deadline is quickly approaching You can read the whole story after clicking the link below. 

 Read the whole story here.

Schultz and Summers Engineering & Surveying Highlights Their FEMA Flood Surveys

Almost up

We just added some billboards to our advertising plan in Branson.  Because of the new flood maps many homeowners find themselves in a FEMA flood zone.  These billboards highlight our surveying services and how we have helped hundreds of customers save thousands of dollars on flood insurance. 

This one is done

Schultz and Summers Engineering & Surveying Sponsored the Missouri Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

SSE employees Stan Schultz, Brad Allritton, along with Rodney Jetton all attended the Missouri Hall of Fame induction dinner January 29th.  The joined 1,500 other sports enthusiasts who attended the annual event.  This year 18 stars were inducted into the HOF.  Stan Schultz said. "What a great event.  It was so interesting to hear each story of how these individuals succeeded in their sport.  It was an honor to be there as history was being made." 

THE 2012 HOF INDUCTEES

Jim Edmonds- Outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals (eight seasons)
Emmitt Thomas- Cornerback for the Kansas City Chiefs
Jon Sundvold- Guard for University of Missouri
Jamie Quirk- Catcher, Kansas City Royals
Mel Gray-Receiver, University of Missouri, St. Louis Football (Cardinals)
Al Onofrio – Football Coach, University of Missouri
Mickey Owen- Catcher, St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Dodgers
Dr. Richard Lehman- Sports Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Rex Sinquefield- Chess, St. Louis, MO
Lawrenece Walls, Football Coach, Summer High School, St. Louis, MO
Jim Pearson- Golf/Football Coach, Kickapoo High School, Springfield, MO
Richard Hantak- NFL Official, St. Louis, MO
Ellen Fuson Port- Amateur Golf, St. Louis, MO

Clyde Lear- Sports Media, Jefferson City, MO
Gene Ruble- Basketball, (Southwest) Missouri State University
Columbia College- Volleyball, Columbia, MO
New Haven High School- Basketball, New Haven, MO
St. John’s- John Q. Hammons Founder’s Award, Springfield, MO

                               2012 Missouri HOF Inductees      Photo by-Bruce E. Stidham / For the News-Leader

Photos From The Event

Stan, Edmonds and Brad

Brad & Jamie Allbritton, Kathy & Stan Schultz, Emily Jetton, Kristen Link and HOF inductee Rex Sinquefield