Blog – Page 102 – Easterday Construction Co., Inc.

Marshall County Job Growth

January 9, 2015January 6, 2015 by Kevin Berger

Culver government has taken a long break over the November/December holidays. I know the holidays are tough for scheduling meetings, we are having some changing of the guard on various boards and commissions, and we haven’t found a new Town Manager yet. <sigh!> Acknowledging all that, business is moving forward. The article to the right cites “2,153 new jobs expected state wide over the next few years.” That number doesn’t seem as big when you consider that Marshall County businesses are projecting the addition of 500 jobs THIS YEAR! Aggressive Manufacturing Innovations (AMI) is mentioned here adding 250 jobs in 2015. In Culver, Elkay is projected the need for 100 new employees during their tax abatement hearing last year.

Culver’s To-Do list includes the following:

Complete an Action Plan. This was discussed at the Comprehensive Plan Implementation Meeting last fall. This would be the first step in defining steps to implement the Comprehensive Plan, which leads to To-Do list #2;
Complete a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). This would put dollar amounts on the Action items so that things can be further prioritized and necessary funds can be budgeted.
Address the Housing issue. The Town Council made promises to Elkay that they would form a Task Force and address the issues, but so far, the Task Force has yet to meet. I did attend the Affordable Housing Summit in Chicago which was a useful first step, but we’ve yet to have a meeting where I can relate what I learned. (Which is fading fast in my limited memory!)

Next week the Culver Town Council will convene with the new board members, elect leadership and begin making their appointments to the subsidiary boards and commissions. Taking the next steps to kick off the Affordable Housing Task Force and hold an Action Plan meeting can’t happen too quickly after that. Time is of the Essence…

Image Source: Scan from Pilot News 12-20-14

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2015 by Kevin Berger

Well, here we are heading into 2015. Happy New Year!

Will & Kathy's Last Day — Will & Kathy’s Last Day

It’s going to be interesting starting the new year here with Will and Kathy‘s retirement. We wish them the best. We also lost several friends who passed away, including former employee Dave Epley, and two long time clients, Don Neidig and Richard Ford. They will be missed. Dave was a carpenter with Easterday Construction who was responsible for a lot of detailed work of which we’re quite proud. A fair amount of Dave’s work was performed for Don and Richard, both of whom appreciated fine craftsmanship.

There’s no doubt that the new year will bring new challenges. We can only hope they are ones that intrigue us and help us grow. 2014 brought us a mixed group of clients. Some of these were repeat customers that we consider friends and some of them new clients where we hope we have created friendships. Some of our work has been fairly mundane but necessary like replacing roofs, while others will be memorable such as the new Veterans Memorial at Fletcher Cemetery and the bowling alley we helped install in Yei-Yei’s Game Room. For all of it, we thank our clients for their trust and confidence in us.

On the lighter side (hopefully), I ran across this article from Dorkly about all the things we should expect in 2015 per past science fiction movies. None of the films they cite show rosey pictures for 2015, but at least we’ll finally get flying cars from Blade Runner and that cool hoverboard from Back to the Future II! Then again, Arnold Schwarzenegger cloning himself is a bit scary.

Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous 2015 to all our friends and clients!

Kevin

Image Source: Will & Kathy by Julie Heise

Image Source: Terminator Arnold borrowed from giphy.com

Fond Farewell

December 24, 2014December 24, 2014 by Kevin Berger

Kathy's First Check — Kathy’s First Check

Today is the last day for Kathy and Will Pearson at Easterday Construction. They are retiring and moving on to another phase of their lives. Talk about the end of an Era! Kathy has been here since 1976. 38 years! Will has been an employee off and on totaling about 25 years. I knew them long before I started working for Easterday Construction.

Will and Kathy moved to town when Will took a job running the Inn at what was then Culver Military Academy. Dad likes to tell the story of hiring them:

“Kathy applied for a job with us. I was impressed and decided to hire her, but told her, ‘You won’t be here long!’ None of the previous Inn managers had lasted more than a few years. Unfortunately the same was true for Will. But by then Kathy had proven herself so valuable that I had to hire Will to keep Kathy! Guess she proved me wrong.”

When I was looking for someone in the office a few years back, I knew Will was unhappy where he was, but I was concerned about history and I was concerned about Will and Kathy working together in the office. I asked Dad his thoughts on the subject:

“Will was always a good employee and I can’t imagine that has changed. He wasn’t always the fastest estimator, but he stayed until he got the job done. He was always loyal, conscientious and always did the right thing. I don’t know that you can go wrong with him.”

Dad was right in both cases. I don’t know that he could have done better than hiring Kathy and I have been pleased that I chose to hire Will.

I discussed their exit with the crew and they agreed that they would like to do an Open House for them so that the community, clients and friends can wish them well. Unfortunately (or fortunately for them) the Pearsons are headed to Alabama for a few months of warmer weather. We’ll have to postpone the celebration until they return. Keep an eye out here for a date sometime in March… but if you happen to catch them before they hit the road, please be sure to wish them well. Everyone at Easterday Construction does… Most of all me… I am not just losing employees, I am no longer going to see two good friends every day.

Kevin

Affordable Housing Conference

December 17, 2014 by Kevin Berger

On behalf of the Town of Culver, I attended the Affordable Housing Finance Summit in Chicago last month. It was a three day event, running from Wednesday morning through Friday afternoon. It consisted of a lot of interactive presentations as well as networking opportunities. I have some experience dealing with HUD due to our Garden Court projects, but this was like taking a 200 level course when I really needed 101. I do feel like I learned a lot, while it was painfully obvious that I have a lot more to learn.

Affordable Housing has long been a topic in Culver. The issue has been further focused due to the completion of the Comprehensive Plan where affordable housing was addressed. The recent tax abatement granted to Elkay where they pledged to add 100 new employees also makes housing a local priority. This has also been a topic at several of the MCEDC Development for the Future meetings as other communities in Marshall County are recognizing the same need. Overall, MCEDC is aware of current expansions that are projected to add 500-600 new jobs in the next 12-18 months. Ginny Munroe, Culver Town Council President, asked me to be on a Task Force to address this issue for Culver. When the advertisement for the Summit came up, I volunteered to attend on the Town’s behalf.

Happy Jim Condon Day

December 11, 2014December 11, 2014 by Kevin Berger

Last evening I attended a celebration for Jim Condon, Plymouth High School Principal. He was being honored for being named Indiana High School Principal of the Year. I’m not sure what one does to stand out amongst your peers in the field of High School Principals, but being named such by peer review from other principals makes it quite an honor. Dan Tyree, Plymouth Superintendent of Schools, emceed the event where Jim received several awards and accolades. Plymouth Mayor, Mark Senter, spoke and presented Jim with a proclamation of Plymouth’s appreciation for him, part of which was to name December 11, 2014 Jim Condon Day in Plymouth.

I mainly know Jim through our association on the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) Board. Jim came on the board several years ago and in the time since I have grown to respect his thoughtful approach to all matters. I’m proud to call Jim a friend and also proud of his well-earned award. Congratulations Jim!

Oh, and Happy Jim Condon Day to all!

Picture Source: AM1050.com