NCUCC MEETING MINUTES
March 11, 2003 – 10:00 AM
Raleigh, NC
Sponsor: PSNC Energy
 
 
Chairperson Paulette Warren welcomed everyone to the meeting. Group introductions were made. Sign-in sheets are attached to the minutes.
 
 
a.       Treasurer’s Report – The NCUCC account balance as of February 28, 2003 is $634.20. There are no outstanding invoices or checks.
b.      Next Meeting – April 30, 2003 – May 2, 2003 NCUCC/SCUCC Joint Session, Myrtle Beach, SC.  Registration information is attached to the minutes. Advanced registration date ends April 1, 2003. All Local UCCs were asked to take a door prize to the Joint Session, unique for their particular location.
 
The remainder of the 2003 meeting schedule is as follows:
July 8, 2003: NCNG, New Bern, NC, 10:00 a.m.
September 9, 2003: CITY OF CHARLOTTE, Charlotte, NC, 10:00 a.m.
November 12, 2003: DOMINION, Roanoke Rapids, NC, 10:00 a.m.
c.       Committee Reports
Local UCC Participation – Paulette reminded everyone that the message board is operational and it is being used.
2004 Joint Seminar – Lola Ausby reported that the site committee had visited and secured a site for 2004. The location is Hilton Riverside in Wilmington, NC. The dates are May 19, 2004 – May 21, 2004. Lola also asked that all the 2004 Joint Seminar Committees meet shortly after the NCUCC meeting.
Damage Prevention – Herb Livingston, Time Warner Cable, reported on damages to fiber cable. He had one fiber that was damaged because it was not located properly. TWC had a minimal amount of damage to coaxial cable and had 20 cuts for the last quarter. Herb took the advice of the Committee and approached large companies and contractors about payment for damages. He met with one company regarding payment and that company is now calling TWC before cutting their fiber. APAC damaged TWC’s fiber and TWC was able to settle with them. They are working on a settlement with R.H. Moore. Jim Anderson asked what was the cost to repair a fiber cable? He has heard prices as much as $30,000 and wanted to know if that was realistic. Herb responded that it depends on the damage. It could cost that much. George Glenn asked how much needed to be replaced when it was damaged? This depends if it is overhead or underground. Herb stated he had a damage on 401 that cost $8,000. If they do not have the slack points to pull out the damaged cable and have to cut it out, it could be very expensive. Jim reported he is on a committee looking at penalties. He asked if we could get someone to demonstrate how to splice cable. We had a demonstration by Verizon sometime back, but we could have another one. Fiber is also being put in distribution gas lines and sewer lines. George asked Sandra Johnson to report on PSNC damages. Their damages have decreased 50-60% in the Wake County area. Sandra feels that is attributable to good communications. Bell South and TWC also reported a decrease in cuts in Wake County. You have to go to the contractors and answer their question. George said it is a big deal and everyone should work to decrease damages also by good communication.
Nominating Committee – The committee consists of Aydren Flowers, Steve Nichols and George Glenn. The committee made the following recommendations for officers for July 2003 to June 2004:
 
Chairman – Bill Deal
Vice Chairperson – Lola Ausby
Secretary – Sandra Johnson
 
Paulette asked for a motion to accept the slate of officers. Danny Harris motioned to accept the nominations for officers for July 2003 – June 2004 and everyone seconded that the motion. The motion was carried.
     
 
a.        NCDOT – Aydren Flowers informed the committee that he brought new 2003 NC transportation maps to give out to everyone. Aydren also thanked everyone for their attendance at the January meeting in Winston Salem that NCDOT sponsored. He asked the committee to help them meet the environmental challenges outlined in that meeting. He also thanked Lola Ausby for helping finalize a joint agreement for closed loop intersections in Ahoskie, NC. There are budget concerns on a state level. There is 700 million dollars in the Highway Trust Fund. He doesn’t know if some of that money will be earmarked for something else.  The work on I-540 is being done in sections. He doesn’t think the work between Capital Blvd and Knightdale will be affected or I-540 to NC 55.  A section of I-540 is Design/Build and will go to contract the latter part of 2003. The NCDOT will do more Design/Build projects in the future. They can now do 10 each year. Robert Memory reported that he has a list of projects that will be put in Design/Build and also the utilities’ responsibilities for Design/Build. Also three party Utility Relocation Agreements will be coming soon. It is the same format that Sheila Talton is using now. George asked that local NCDOT representatives attend the local UCC meeting.
b.        NC One Call Center – Wendy Bullins reported effective April 1, 2003 The One Call Center will operate Monday – Friday, 6am to 10pm and Saturday, 8am to 4pm. Wendy read the guidelines and they are attached to the minutes.  Carolyn Carter is NC One Call’s Operations Manager. Also Wendy reported that an International Utility Locate Rodeo will take place Thursday, July 31, 2003 - Saturday, August 2, 2003 in Macon, GA. For more information contact Tim Boatfield at 706-295-4838 or visit www.LocateRodeo.com. 
 
c.        Power Companies – Paulette said that she was getting numerous requests from companies wanting new pole attachment agreements from Progress Energy.
 
Gas Companies – Ted Hodges reported that NCNG has expanded into Northeastern North Carolina. A total of 400 customers have signed on, 450 miles of transmission and 200 miles of distribution have been built and they are one third of the way complete.  George asked if the merger would affect the Albemarle group? Ted said it would not because the players are the same, just a different name. Danny Harris reported that PSNC was expanding into Jackson and Swain Counties in mid April. They may have 2 contractors and it may take 3 months to complete. After that they will go into Cherokee and Bryson City. Glenn Flowers spoke on PSNC valves and test stations. They are starting to bill for damages to their valves and test stations. They are required to read test stations annually. Ricky Temple with City of Raleigh said that he has the same problems.
 
d.        Telecommunications – Gerald Hoffman with BellSouth reported a 31% decrease in damages over the previous year. It is a result of Local UCC meetings and tailgate meetings with excavators. He thanked everyone for taking a proactive approach. He also thanked the locate companies for a good job over the past year. Glenn said that they also do safety meetings with contractors and he has two coming up. He reported the number of tickets has not decreased, but the damages have. See figures below for the month of January:
Jan 2001 – 28 damages
Jan 2002 – 38 damages
Jan 2003 – 11 damages
Andy Leviner with Palmetto NET reported that CLS locates their fiber, which is located between Raleigh and Charleston, SC. He addressed fiber cuts. It could possibly cost $30,000 to repair the fiber and may affect several customers. His company is a carrier’s carrier. Sprint leases fiber from them and they make guarantees to Sprint for reliable service. If they are cut, it not only affects Sprint, but whoever leases from Sprint also. They do seek revenue relief also. Ted said he talked to Williams Pipeline. Fiber optic cable is put in the ground lower than the pipeline and the sheath that is put in allows the fiber to be located. The sheath gives the signal necessary for locating. 
 
e.        CATV Companies – No Report
 
f.          Contractors – Mark Price, BHME, spoke about an interesting project with the City of Charlotte for the new NBA Basketball Arena. BHME was contracted to reroute the street for the new site. Adjacent to the site is the fiber switching station for numerous companies. They got all the utility companies involved in the design and subsurface utility engineering was utilized. Also, they purchased a duct bank system to accommodate all companies. The city is going to pay and ask utilities to reimburse them. BHME is the coordinator for the 14 utility companies involved in the relocation, which involves making daily contacts with each of the 14 companies. They also have someone on site 24/7 because the contractors are working 24/7. This will save a lot of money for everyone involved. The message is: Get involved upfront with coordination. IGC serves Wachovia & Nations Bank and has fiber going down the street. That line is a million dollar @ minute line. If that had been cut, the cost would have been excessive. He also reported that Tommy Tucker who worked for BellSouth and Telics passed away 2 weeks ago. Mark is still trying to work out something with NCDOT to do their Utility Coordination. George stressed that both utilities and contractors cause damages. Both parties should have an interest in damage prevention. Mr. Mike Sams with Pike Electric, attends all the Wake County UCC meetings and is to be commended for that. Glenn said that Pike Electric supports in other ways also. Gerald Hoffman also spoke of Mr. Sams’ commitment to damage prevention and resolving conflicts. Pike Electric has 4,000 employees and covers 13 states.
 
g.        Railroads – No report
 
h.        Locate Companies – Ronnie Cook with CLS reported that they have a new Ticket Management System and it is very important to give the exact location/address/street/cross street to be able to accurately locate the exact location. Glenn commended CLS on their work. Jeffrey Clark with Promark  said that he does not locate in Wake County, but Stephanie Saintsing invited him to attend today’s meeting.
 
i.          Local UCCs – Nancy Averette was present to represent Durham County and Lola Ausby represented Northampton/Halifax UCC.
 
Danny Harris represented Foot Hills UCC by reporting on a natural gas fire demo and live line demo of which they had 100 attendees.
 
Gerald Hoffman reported that Ricky Temple is now chair of the Wake UCC.
 
Wendy Bullins reported there are 14 UCCs in her area of responsibility. Greenville’s Contractor Breakfast is April 18 and Carteret County has a breakfast scheduled for April 19.
 
George said that Harnett County’s Contractor Breakfast is March 18 and Catawba’s breakfast is March 19. Iredell County recently had a breakfast.
 
Scott Jackson thanked the contractors, Sandra Johnson, and NC One Call Center for their help.
 
Sandra Johnson said that there are some great people in the Wake County UCC and their meetings are held at PSNC.
 
j.          North Carolina Utilities Commission – Jim Anderson reported that he is applying for a $300,000 grant from the Office of Pipeline Safety that will affect all NC One Call members. The grant will be used to help purchase an administrative reporting telephone system that costs approximately $430,000. It will allow for various reports and you will be able to get information you can’t get now. It will also record all telephone calls and monitor the activity of employees regarding tickets. Jim also reminded everyone that he is on a committee working on a new Damage Prevention Law. Sandra Johnson, George Glenn and Mark Price are also on that committee. He encouraged everyone to  attend the meetings. He said we have one of the worst Damage Prevention Laws with no penalties and no enforcement, but the best of one of the best One Call Centers in the country. George said that abandoned lines are a hot subject and putting multiple lines on the ground is being discussed. He encouraged everyone to ask questions and voice concerns now. Glenn also said the 30” tolerance zone for hand digging may be reduced to 24” or 18”.
 
k.        Safety Issues – Glenn Flowers reviewed several accidents in the UG Focus Magazine.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Respectively submitted by
Lola S. Ausby