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Gulf Coast Chapter 9 News

09/30/2008: TSPS Chapter 9's New Officers & Directors Installed
    On Tuesday, September 30th, 2008, the newly elected officers were officially sworn into office by TSPS Past-President, Bud Thompson. Also in attendance were Chapter 9 Past President, Bob Lupher, TSPS State Secretary Treasurer, Mary Chruszczak and TSPS State 1st Vice-President, Alan McLain. Please visit the TSPS Chapter 9 Officers Page on this web site to get the contact information of your new officers and directors. Congratulations to Stephanie Funk for a great year as President and also to Mike Hoover who steps into the shoes as President. I feel certain Mike will have a good year as well. For those of you that did not attend the lunch meeting to install officers, please support these people who volunteer their time on your behalf to lead the chapter for the next year. 
    Some business was conducted in light of Hurricane Ike's effect. The TSPS Chapter 9 Annual Golf Tournament scheduled for October 11, 2008 at Longwood Country Club is still on but we need teams to contact Stephanie Funk or Mike Hoover regarding the team registrations or hole sponsors, etc.
by Bud Thompson

09/25/2008: TBPLS Newsletter arrives by mail. Download here -> TBPLS0908.PDF

NEWS FLASH: Convention Cruise News
 

DOWNLOAD CRUISE TERMINAL MAP INFO-> Bayport Cruise Terminal in Pasadena, Texas.  (Right click/save the pdf or left click/print it.)

You can try cut and paste this into your google maps->  2500 Samoth Road, Pasadena, TX

OR a much better link below:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Pasadena&state=TX&address=4700+Cruise+Road

September 13, 2008: Hurricane Ike struck the upper Texas Gulf Coast and effected many surveyors in our area, please contact your fellow surveyors to see if they are alright or if they need help. If you know of a surveyor in a desperate situation, please have them contact Anne Glasgow (512) 327-7871 at TSPS Austin headquarters, for emergency assistance from our national surveying friends.

The September 23, Dinner Meeting has been postponed.
The meeting will take place at the same time and in the same place on November 18, 2008.
Dinner Meeting 5:30PM TO 8:30PM
TSPS Gulf Coast Chapter 9 Dinner Meeting DOWNLOAD INFO-> Meeting Notes*
RL Sergeant Silent Auction and Raffle to benefit  S. U. R. P. A. C. and Education
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2008 from 5:30PM TO 8:30PM
Saint Arnold Brewing Company
2522 Fairway Park Drive
Houston, Texas  77092 Phone:713-686-9494
www.saintarnold.com

Dust off the glove and polish the bat, IT’S SOFTBALL TIME AGAIN!!!

Download here-> 2008 Softball Flyer & Application

The annual TSPS Softball Tournament will be held on Saturday, May 3 at the Houston Sportsplex.
Deadline for applications is April 27, 2008.

This year the entire tournament will be completed in one day. We are limited to 18 teams on a first come first service basis.  So get your registration forms in as soon a possible. Attached is the invitation with the rules, additional info about the facility and the roster form. If you have any questions or need further information, don’t hesitate to give me a call. It should be an exciting tournament and I hope to see all of you there.

William E. Merten, RPLS # 5046, LSLS
Cobb, Fendley & Associates, Inc.
Tel: 713-462-3242
Fax:713-462-3262
Email:bmerten@cobfen.com

The new March Newsletter is available right here Gulf Coast Surveyor - March - April, 2008

Wonderful World of Winne (Winnie, Texas that is):

respectfully submitted by Bud Thompson 03-26-2008

Dickinson High School Teacher needs help:

submitted by Bud Thompson 02-26-2008

February 25, 2008:

Spring Symposium breaks attendance records for TSPS.

The annual Spring Symposium for 2008 took place this past weekend in San Antonio at the Radisson Hill Country Resort. This year 320 attended, breaking the all time record for attendees. The location contributed to the popularity of the event but the particular courses had a great deal to do with the remarkable success. For those of you unaware of the annual event, this is a two day educational offering of survey related courses. The Friday courses are primarily for Professionals and offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for Surveyors and Professional Development Hours (PDHs) for Engineers. On Saturday courses tend towards paraprofessional education, although there are often a mix of both. Many of the paraprofessional courses were completely full to overflowing, evidence of the demand for these classes. Professionals, managers and owners were very much in support of paraprofessional education this year because most brought their employees for the Saturday courses. This year the San Antonio Chapter of TSPS added to the event by having their annual Golf Tournament on Thursday afternoon with a Bar-B-Que dinner at the awards ceremony after the tournament. On Friday night after the classes they chapter offered a Karaoke event that surprised a few people with the "musical talents" of some of our well know and not so well known surveyors. As those in attendance could tell you, if you weren't there, you really missed a good time. Next year's event will be in Waco, so mark it on your calendar.  submitted by Bud Thompson

February 4, 2008:

Affinity Partners contribute to TSPS.

During the budget meeting held in January the TSPS Executive Committee Members discovered that the affinity partners are not being utilized as much as in previous years. Perhaps this is a function of the memberships' awareness of the potential. To remedy that situation I will be placing links on this and other pages for your use. Our affinity partners are Courthouse Direct which furnished document research and Office Depot. By using the TSPS links to these sites the member can realize savings and the Affinity Partner (Courthouse Direct and Office Depot) donate a percentage to TSPS. Please feel free to place these links in your favorites.  submitted by Bud Thompson

February 4, 2008 Report:
The First Quarterly Board Meeting took place on February 2, 2008 in Austin. The morning meetings start at 7 a.m. with the TSFI committee in which new officers were elected. TSFI awarded $10,500 in scholarships for the spring semester of 2008 to students across the state.

Education committee met from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Bill Coleman resigned as Chairman of the Education Committee to focus on Skills USA and his new teaching positions in the DFW area. Congratulations to Bill on his new assignments. President Johnson appointed Bud Thompson, of Houston, to the position of Chairman of the committee.  The 2008 Symposium is near and many of the seminars are sold out. A last minute addition will be a second Math 101 class due to the high demand. The hotel has sold out of the TSPS Block of Rooms but other accommodations in the area can be made. Symposium 2009 will be held in Waco. The 2008 Course Developers Workshop has been scheduled for May 30-31, 2008. Contact Fred Crawford for additional information. TSPS State will be completing portable seminars in the near future. Portable seminars can be purchased from TSPS (costs of materials) to be presented by Chapters to educate local members and fund raising for local chapters. There are guidelines for these seminars online at tsps.org. Chapters are encouraged to participate in creating a seminar with the assistance of Fred Crawford and Shannon Carrozza.  Last year's Teacher Retreat was such a huge success that it will be held again this year. The Teacher's Retreat will be held in Tyler at the Tyler Junior College from June 11-13, 2008. This will be held in conjunction with the TJC annual Survey Camp for High School Juniors and Seniors being conducted June 8-11. The overlap on the 11th is intended to get the teachers and the students together for their mutual benefit. The TRIG*STAR program is ready and documentation is available from John Watson. The SKILLS USA program has been kicked off with a competition in the Dallas area. This is the initiative headed up by Bill Coleman and Bart Burnett which involves teaching surveying to high school students and help them gain enough knowledge to pass the CST Level 1 exam. Skills USA is looking for help in the form of apprenticeships for summer hire students, contributions of funds for teaching aids , survey equipment, etc. Contact Bill Coleman for more.

Other committees met, including Government Affairs, which is in the planning stage for the legislative session 2009. The preliminary agenda for 2009 is a. A legal disclaimer related to the use of GIS information on boundary surveys, b. Reinstatement of a County's ability to create and elect the office of County Surveyor, c. Bill to exponge frivilous complaints in parallel to the Engineers Act and a bill dealing with the structure and number of CEU's to retain the Surveyors License.  Other committees also met including the GIS Committee, Public Relations, Ethics, Chapter Presidents Activities Committee, attended by President Stephanie Funk, and the Convention Committee. The Convention Committee has informed the membership at the board meeting that reservations for the cruise ship will begin on March 1, 2008. It is best if you have your passports ready at that time, although it is not required. All rooms are double occupancy and the cruise line is Carnival Cruise Line which will depart Galveston the afternoon of October 24, 2008.

The Board Meeting was conducted by President Coleen Johnson stating promptly at 1:00 p.m. and concluding shortly after 4:00 p.m. The first order of business was the installation of John Watson of Midland, Texas as Second Vice-President, who was elected after Jon Hodde resigned to take the Governor's appointment to the TBPLS and the election and installation of Jerry Cutts of El Paso to the office of Director to fill the unexpired term of John Watson. The agenda included committee reports and the annual budget. The annual budget was reviewed in detail and passed by a voice vote.

submitted by Bud Thompson

January 15, 2008 Dinner Meeting: In case you missed it.
The January Dinner Meeting was held Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at the Houston City Club.  The meeting was conducted by Chapter President Stephanie Funk. Chapter Directors in attendance were Kevin McRae and Chapter Secretary/Treasurer Gerald Wright. State Officers in attendance were Mary Chruszczak, TSPS State Secretary Treasurer and Chapter Representative, Alan McLain TSPS State First Vice-President, Bud Thompson, TSPS State Past President. Doug Turner, current Chairman of the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveyors was also in attendance and made a brief announcement.
    The program for the evening was presented by Joan Bolmer and entitled "Are you working on your business or is your business working on you?"  The program was very timely and applicable. The concept of having a life outside work was discussed and an outline with four main topics (Effective Communication, Ending Crisis, Consistence Gets Results! and Time Management) which were very useful and of considerable help to the survey businessman. For more information about Ms. Bolmer please visit http://www.bolmer.com. Ms. Bolmer provides consultation to large and small business to help improve production and efficiency. She may be contacted at 281-293-8864.
    Announcements made at the meeting included a request for suggestions for a new venue for our dinner meetings. Such venue should be able to provide a quiet room with sitting for 40-60 people (with room to grow) and dining facilities or the ability to provide a dinner setting for catered meals. Please contact Stephanie Funk with suggestions or one of your diligent officers or board members.
     Mary Chruszczak brought everyone up-to-date on TSPS State up-coming events, including seminars, Spring Symposium, and Online Education and reminded everyone that the State Convention will be aboard a cruise ship to Cozumel and you will need to get a passport. For more information on getting a passport go to http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html. Please see the Calendar page on this website for particulars.

FIRM Panels in Harris County
The current Federal Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) are effective June 17, 2007 and become the official regulatory map on that date.
Please see the following link http://msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/FemaWelcomeView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

CENSUS TRACT NUMBER: Need Census Tract information see the following link -> http://factfinder.census.gov/

T. S. A. R. P. FLOOD PLAIN REFERENCE MARKS READY FOR USE !!! UPDATE
The Tropical Storm Alison Recovery Project Team has made the Flood Plain Reference Mark Database available for use by local Surveyors and Engineers. The link provided here -> http://hcedweb3.eng.hctx.net/benchmark/viewer.htm

GIMS (Geographic Information & Management System) Maps Link for City of Houston
The current City of Houston public infrastructure is available at http://pwegis.pwe.ci.houston.tx.us. This information can be extremely useful in location public utilities. Too bad we can't get the franchised (Electrical, Gas, Telephone, Cable) utilities this easy.

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REFERENCE: Items below this are reference material from years past. They will be deleted at the end of the current fiscal year (September 2008)_________________________________________________________________________________

Plat Size Limitations

Effective January 3, 2006, the Harris County Clerk's Office will begin scanning all recorded plats.  The maximum width of any plat being recorded after that date will be 36 inches.  The plat may be of any length.  Any oversize plats currently in the process of being recorded will be accepted for recordation.

Harris County Regulations

Harris County Public Infrastructure Department has adopted a new set of regulations controlling platting and construction in the unincorporated areas of the County.  The regulations were adopted on September 27, 2005 and became effective on November 15, 2005.  A copy of these regulations is available from the Harris County Public Infrastructure Department website, www.eng.hctx.net/permits/.

Current ALTA Standards are effective January 2006.

ALTA has now adopted a new set of survey requirements  The requirements will go into effect on January 1, 2006 and will supercede the standard detail requirements of 1999.  The new requirements will be referred to as the standard detail requirements of 2005.  A copy of the new requirements is available for download from this site.  There are two different files.  One is the final published set of requirements, the other is marked-up set showing the changes that were made from the 1999 requirements.  To download, click on ALTA2005 or ALTA2005 CHANGES.

More Information on Tax Law Affecting Subdivision Plats

HB3101 regulating tax certificates for subdivision plats has been passed and went into effect on September 1, 2005.  Its effect is statewide, not just Harris County.  It requires that any plats being recorded after September 1 of any year must have attached a tax receipt from each applicable taxing entity showing that taxes for the current tax year have been paid.  If the taxes for the current tax year have not yet been calculated, then a statement from the taxing entity stating that fact must be attached.  For the full text of the new law, go to the following URL.  http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlo/79R/billtext/HB03101F.HTM

Law Changes Regarding Subdivision Plats

We recently received notice from Reeves Gilmore of the Harris County Infrastructure Department of a change in State law that will impact the recordation of subdivision plats...at least in Harris County.  In a nutshell, the new law will require that after September 1 of each year, beginning with this September, any plats being filed for recordation will require that a tax receipt be attached showing that taxes have been paid for the current tax year.  This is in addition to the required tax certificates and will apply to any plats already submitted to the City or County that may not be submitted to the County Clerk's Office before September 1.  I spoke with Mary Jane Sowa with Fort Bend County and she says that they are looking into the matter to see if Fort Bend will be affected by the new statute.  The Montgomery County Clerk's Office is also looking into the matter.  Anyone wanting to see the wording of the statute can download a copy from the following link:  Tax Statute  Once the Webmaster finds out more, it'll be posted here on the website.

T. S. A. R. P. FLOOD PLAIN REFERENCE MARKS READY FOR USE !!!

The Tropical Storm Alison Recovery Project Team has made the Flood Plain Reference Mark Database available for use by local Surveyors and Engineers. The link provided here -> http://gis.previewidea.com/website/benchmark/viewer.htm  may eventually change but as of this morning it works. In addition, on Monday, March 8, 2004, preliminary DFIRMS (Digital Federal Insurance Rate Maps) based on the new flood study were released for the following watersheds: Luce, Goose, Jackson, Brays and the Upper San Jacinto River. These DFIRMS are available through the TSARP Website -> http://www.tsarp.com/ . There is also other data available on the TSARP site which may prove useful. It is recommended that surveyors doing work in the Harris County area tie all new development projects to the existing regulatory bench mark system (NGVD 1929/1973 adjustment or in the case of Brays, the 1987 adjustment or other appropriate reference) AND the new datum, referred to as NAVD 1988/2000 adjustment, with monumentation found on the link provided above. This recommendation is based on an effort to bridge the gap as the new DFIRMS go through the review process and become the new regulatory maps. Developing projects will then have the benefit of reducing the risks of flooding based on the more accurate models and relative datum. The monuments shown on the TSARP Bench Mark database are all based on the NAVD 1988/2000 adjustment which are called Flood Plain Reference Marks. Many of these marks were originally installed by other agencies, including Harris Galveston Coast Subsidence District (HGCSD), United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS), National Geodetic Survey (NGS), Harris County Flood Control District (HCFCD) and others. The majority of the new marks are stamped "Flood Plain Reference Marks". Try out the site and see what TSARP has done to solve some of the problems with reduced number of Reference Marks.
 

PLATTING REQUIREMENTS FOR CITY OF HOUSTON - EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY!!!
As of February 19, 2004 the City of Houston has  mandated new requirements related to platting of subdivisions. In December 2003 the City of Houston passed an amendment to Chapter 33, relating to the City's surveying system. The Ordinance (2003-1292) has provisions all surveyors in the Gulf Coast Chapter area need to be aware of. All subdivision plats are to be based upon the Texas State Plane Coordinate Grid System of 1983. The downloadable file: survey.pdf   has the entire advisory sent out by the City Planning Department's Robert M. Litke and Mike Kramer.

See the New Texas Homeland Security Web Site on our links page.

Sugarland GIMS System link->  http://svrch15.sugarlandtx.gov/website/GPS/viewer.htm

Texas Government Code -> http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/go/go0225400toc.html
T.B.P.L.S. Opinion->  http://www.oag.state.tx.us/opinopen/opinions/op49cornyn/jc-0374.htm

NGS Offers new tool for GPS Users

OnLine Positioning User Service (OPUS)

OPUS allows users to submit their GPS data files in RINEX format to NGS, where the data will be processed to determine a position using NGS computers and software. Each RINEX file that is submitted will be processed with respect to the 3 best national CORS sites. Thanks to Gary Bowes for bringing this to our attention.

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Download Chapter Newsletters Here: 

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Chapter Nine Newsletters

Gulf Coast Surveyor - January-February, 2008

Gulf Coast Surveyor - March - April, 2008

Gulf Coast Surveyor - May - June, 2008

Gulf Coast Surveyor - July - August, 2008