On The Level - November 2007
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Annual TABA Awards Banquet & Officer Installation on November 13th The end of the year is when we always take an opportunity to recognize some very special individuals and companies that have helped us through the year. The Annual Awards Banquet is the forum. We couldn't make it without the generous support and contribution of many of our members and this is our night to say "Thank You."
Along with the presenting of the awards, we will also vote on and install our slate for the 2008 Board of Directors and thank our 2007 Board for the fantastic job they have done throughout the year. The banquet is scheduled for Tuesday, November 13th at Strasburger Hall at the CAC.
The reception will begin at 6:15 with dinner served at 6:45pm. The program will begin at 7:00pm. The cost is $25 per person and dinner will be catered by Classic Catering. The menu will include beef tenderloin with demi-glaze sauce, 3-cheese Tuscan chicken, vegetable rataouille and a tossed green salad. For dessert, we will serve double fudge cake and Jack Daniels pecan pie. Iced tea, coffee, beer and wine will also be served.
Reservations are required so please contact the TABA office either by phone to 773-0445 or email. Awards to be presented will include Builder of the Year, Associate of the Year and President's Award of Excellence. Real Estate Agent of the Year , Agency of the Year and Sponsor of the Year are also to be presented. Please make plans to attend as we thank our members for their time and committment to TABA and its mission.
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 NASCAR Can Provide Lessons For Us All Anyone that knows me well knows that I am a big NASCAR fan. This has led me to follow closely a story that has developed near Charlotte, NC that combines racing with another interest of mine.
The story began when the owner of Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the suburb of Concord decided to add a drag strip. The P&Z & the Council, due to pressure from a few homeowners near the track (and apparently illegally), changed his zoning to disallow drag strips. (http://www.jayski.com/pages/tracks/lowes.htm)
As a result, the speedway owner got mad and said he would raze the existing facility, which brings in millions to the local economy, and move to another city in the Charlotte area. To nobody's surprise, many great offers came in from other cities to help him to relocate into their community.
In damage control mode, the City of Concord eventually reversed their decision and has even been producing their own incentives to make up for their mistake. Though the outcome remains to be seen, they very well may lose their cash cow. At best they will have to make concessions to keep something they already had.
I'm not sure whether their initial decision was the right one--though it doesn't appear to be. The point is, local government decisions can have tremendous impacts.
What does this have to do with TABA? It is an extreme example of how local decisions can affect the economy and lifestyle of a community. One of our organization's biggest jobs is to stay on top of issues that can affect our communities and make people aware of the affects decisions can make on our economy and lifestyle.
We are very fortunate to have local officials, staff and citizens on boards that are conscientious of this and also fortunate to have an organization that does a good job of research and education to help people in charge make well informed decisions.
Along these lines, I would like to say thanks to Troy and the Home PAC for a great job with the Elected Officials Appreciation Night. I think it was the best one I have been to so far. What a great way to thank those people who are making these important decisions about our communities for their hard work day in and day out. Elliot Eisenberg also did a super job of educating our members and elected officials and their staff on the importance of building in our area. Great job guys!!
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 Elected Officials Night ‘07  
Tri-Supply and Jeldwen teamed up to bring us the 17th Annual Home-PAC Elected Officials BBQ, which was once again catered by Janelle Mikeska Kasberg and the good folks of Cyclone Corral BBQ. Due to the expectation of a huge crowd, this year’s event was moved closer to home along Highway 53 and was held at Seaton Star Hall.
The move proved to be inspired because the turnout was incredible. It is estimated that the crowd included more than 300 of the finest folks in Bell County. Once again this included public officials from every rank and a great number of our members who were there to thank them for their public service.
All in attendance were treated to the most exciting economic report I’ve ever seen presented—and I’ve seen a number of them. Dr. Elliot Eisenberg, senior economist from NAHB, not only presented an excellent review of the impact of housing on our local economy, he did it in a way that was comparable to watching a tennis match, as he ran back and forth from one side of the audience to the other to make sure nobody in the audience missed a point that he made. The information Elliot provided was fantastic and TABA Home-PAC thanks him very much for all he did.
For those that missed the presentation, John Howe of Omega Builders (Thanks John!) and I did our best job to video it. I’ll be having some digital copies made in the near future and will make them available to all who would like a copy.
Once again, I’m extremely grateful to our Master of Ceremonies Marty Janczak. Marty has been our MC dating back to before I signed on with TABA and the event wouldn’t be the same for me if he didn’t lead it. Thanks very much Marty for the excellent job you do in this role.
I’d also like to thank the following folks, without whom the event wouldn’t have been near as successful:
TABA President Mike Pilkington, who provided opening remarks and assisted in set-up and take-down Jack Jones of Jones & Harrell, P.C., who led our invocation John Kiella of Kiella Homes, who once again oversaw set-up and take-down and was the first to arrive and the last to leave Bruce Walker of Lengefeld Lumber Company, who assisted in set-up, greeting officials and take down Pat Patterson of Patco Construction, who assisted with set up Daniel Mersiovsky of DMerz Domain Services, who assisted in set up and provided technical support Tony Gallagher of Heart of Texas Landscape, who assisted with set up Jared Bryan, who assisted with set up John Paysse of Paysse Properties, who assisted in greeting officials Jim Howe of Omega Home Builders, who assisted in set up and take down Debbie Swift of Kiella Homes, who assisted in greeting members and was our event photographer Cheryl Copeland, TABA EO, who once again assisted with all aspects of the program!
Special thanks to each and every one of you, we appreciate your great support!!! And thanks again to Tri-Supply and Jeldwen for their continued support of this organization. Code Council Work Drawing to a Close 
Phillip Snyder and the Code Council have worked with Richard Therriault and the City of Temple to get the 2006 Building Code with amendments approved by the Building Board of Appeals. This work was completed in late October and the Board unanimously recommended the revised Code to the City Council for consideration.
This means that it is likely that by the beginning of 2008 our building community will be operating under the most up-to-date code available. Most of the changes between the 2003 Code and the 2006 Code were made for purposes of clarification, but the changes that are substantive in nature should be explained. These will include items such as window sill heights, removable panels on whirlpool bathtubs, updates on residential fire sprinklers (will not be required), etc. TABA is tentatively planning to host a ‘Code Review’ for our members during the first quarter of ’08 after the Fire Code has met approval. It is being considered separately. For their work on this project, great thanks goes out to Phillip Snyder and the TABA Code Council which included: Pat Patterson, Mike Pilkington, Dean Winkler, Ben Mauldin, Kevin Harmon, Brandon Tarnow, Gary Freytag, Joel Amos, Lowell Coates, Robbie Johnson, Charles Rabroker, Bruce Walker and John Howe . CRIME ALERT
Builders, it is time for you to start taking extra precautions around the job site. Make sure you bolt down everything or at a minimum don't leave it unattended. We've been hearing a variety of reports lately. Copper continues to be a target, but we are hearing of thieves becoming even more brazen--stealing everything from lumber materials, to batteries, to HVAC units.
Be on the lookout and don't take the security of your site for granted!!!
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Home & Garden Show: Booths Selling Fast.... BOOK NOW!! If you are interested in booking a booth for the 2008 Home & Garden Show, don't delay in calling the office to do so. Booths are booking fast and will more than likely be sold out by the end of the year. As of publication time, there are only 15 10x10 booths left on the domed floor, and 10 in the Exposition Building. There is still plenty of space left in the Assembly Hall. All of the larger 25x40 booths in the Exposition Building are sold. Your Home & Garden Show Committee is still working on bringing a fabulous center attraction to the show. We will let you know when we have the details lined out. Planning for the always popular Preview Party has begun as well and it's sure to be another "don't miss" event. As you can see, we are already in full swing in preparing for the event, so don't miss out--it's going to be the best show to date!
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Economist Shows That Temple/Belton Housing Pays Off!!! We all know that housing plays a large role in the overall health of the economy. We see or hear about it every day in media reports. The headlines will hit on housing being in a downturn or an upswing, provide updates on housing starts, or highlight the latest housing prices or mortgage rates.
However, what you don’t often read about is just what kind of impact the industry has on local government revenues. Does the housing industry pose a drain on the local economy or does it actually bolster it? TABA recently asked a nationally renowned economist to answer that question for our area of the state.
Dr. Elliot Eisenberg, a senior economist from the National Association of Home Builders visited Temple for our Elected Officials banquet to present his findings on East Bell County. He offered them in a report called “The Metro Area Impact of Home Building in the Cities of Temple and Belton, Texas.”
Inherent to residential development are associated costs that municipalities realize to support the developments and the families that live in these developments. These costs include items such as education, public safety, corrections, streets, water and sewer, health services, etc.
In providing these items, it is logical for the government and taxpayers to expect some sort of payoff. This payoff comes in the form of additional property taxes and revenue for related services that the home owners that live in these neighborhoods pay. Additionally, the taxpayers can expect income and jobs associated with the growth, this also serves to create revenue for the government. These jobs are both directly and indirectly related to the actual construction involved in development.
That brings us back to the question—is the income, jobs, and revenue created by residential development in the Temple-Belton area enough to offset the associated costs of that development.
The answer—YES IT IS! By the second year after the development of 100 single family homes and 74 multi-family units, the economic impact offsets the fiscal costs. By the 25th year, the net to our local governments is $228,580 and is $235,509 thereafter. When you consider that there were more than 700 homes and about 520 multi-family units built in the city limits of Temple and Belton in 2006 the numbers become very impressive.
Factor in the employment that helps drive these numbers and it is easy to get even more interested. In fact, if you were to combine all of the jobs tied to single family construction in Temple and Belton, it would put new single family construction among the top employers in the area. This holds true even if you only consider the direct construction jobs created by development.
Sounds like some pretty good reasons for our government and our community to be pro-growth! Please click here to read more about the studies and the input data that was used to create the analysis. Also make sure to read the Government Affairs report for more on Elected Officials Night. To ask questions about this article, please contact Troy Glasson at 254-773-0445.
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TABA's Christmas Open House The hoildays are upon us and that has us planning for our annual Christmas party. We are so excited to announce that the Christmas Party this year will be an Open House at the new TABA office building! It's been two years since the process began, but we will soon be finished and we want to show our new facilities off to our entire membership, afterall this project was made possible only by their cooperation and support.
The Open House is scheduled for Thursday, December 6th and is a come and go event that will run from 11:00am until 2:00pm. We will have a short program and ribbon cutting around 12:00pm to dedicate our new office. This has been a very exciting time for TABA staff and the TABA Board and we want to thank all those that were involved. This includes many who were involved from the demolition of the Jack-N-Jill Donut Shop to the final touches on what is now a fabulous space for TABA members.
A donor awards party is being planned for January 2008. At this party, we will take the time to properly recognize all those that contributed time, money and product to the construction of this building. Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 6th and come check out our new digs. We think you will like it as much as we do.
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Letter from Parade of Homes Chairman, Justin Scott: To all Builders: I hope all are doing well and are having success and blessings in building homes for our Central Texas families. As chairperson for the 2008 Parade of Homes I will keep my message to all of you short and to the point. PULL OUT THE STOPS!!! I encourage you to make your parade entry bigger, better, cooler, and more innovative than ever before. Show all that see your homes that Central Texas is the place to live. Further, they should live in a home that one of our association members built.
I know that some are concerned about the state of the housing market in other parts of the country but as you know buying is largely about affordability and consumer confidence. We are one of the most affordable markets in the country and coupled with your effort and example of confidence that is reflected through participation in our Parade of Homes, our market will continue to excel. Thank you for your time and participation in the TABA Parade of Homes. Justin Scott, Trinity Homes Special Note: 2008 Parade of Homes scheduled for April 19, 20, 26, 27. 'Call for entries' will be mailed to all TABA member builders by December.
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 TABA Video
For those of you that have been by 12 North 5th lately or attended the Elected Officials BBQ, you are sure to have seen the TABA video. This slide show was produced to present a snapshot of what TABA is, who we represent, and the member services that we provide.
Additionally, the video provides some good footage of our building progress from the ground breaking ceremony to the final stages of completion. If you haven’t seen it, it is one more reason you should drop by the TABA office to tour our new facility.
A really cool feature of the video is that it can continuously be updated to include new member photos, information about upcoming TABA events, etc. If you’d like to be included in the video just give us a call at the TABA office at 773-0445. We’d love to use it to show the world—or at least the people in our world—that you are a member of TABA. End of the Year
Amazing how 12 months flies by. All of a sudden you look up and it's Christmas again and you are gearing up for a whole new year, a new board of directors and new committees injecting new ideas on how to make old projects stay fresh.
At TABA, we have a wealth of great minds to make sure that happens.
Be Sure to Attend Awards Banquet
The Annual Awards Banquet is always a lovely evening. It's an evening of reflection and recognition and an evening to provide our members with a glimpse of what is in store for the future.
I always love to see the reaction on the award recipient's face when they discover that they have been chosen to receive a coveted award such as "Builder of the Year," etc. Making those decisions is always hard, but the decision makers always do a great job. Christmas Open House
I am really excited about our Christmas Open House. We have had members streaming into our office to check out the new building and Christmas is a great time for getting together to once again recognize our members and share all of TABA's many blessings. Our members made phenomenal contributions to this project and I hope we have the best turnout ever for our December meeting. The building is something that every member of TABA should be proud of. Troy and I are very proud of it and love our new work space. That's it from my desk. Hope to see many of you at our Annual Awards Banquet at the Strasburger Hall in the CAC on November 13th.
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NEW HOME STARTS | | October '07 | October '06 | '07 YTD | '06 YTD | | Temple | 39 | 35 | 422 | 481 | | Belton | 17 | 17 | 96 | 149 | | Morgan's Point | 0 | 1 | 20 | 47 | | Totals | 56 | 53 | 538 | 677 |
ALL HOME CLOSINGS | October '07 | 180 | '07 YTD | 2,052 | | October '06 | 192 | '06 YTD | 2,005 |
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Building Progressing Nicely The past month has seen a great deal of progress as Heart of Texas Landscape & Irrigation has done an incredible job of transforming the TABA grounds into a park like setting. Their crews did yoemen's work to get the grounds looking the way they do in what seemed like a flash. Marty Janczak and Earthstones provided a great looking granite top for our a/v center in the board room. And finally, Chris Alexander of Texas Tradition Custom Homes worked with Cheryl to add decorative touches that have made the building warm and inviting for all. Thanks very much to all of these folks for their recent efforts! With only some minor details to shore up, the building is quickly approaching completion. Please plan to come by in December to check it out. In the meantime, the following photos should give you a clear idea about the progress we've seen at 12 North 5th over the past month.
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TABA HomePAC Trustees Endorse Parks Bond
Chairman Jason Carothers and the PAC Board of Trustees have recently voted to endorse and financially support the Temple Parks Bond. The $9.75 million bond would upgrade and create recreational facilities around the city. These would include a $4.1 million family aquatics center at South Temple Park on South 5th Street, a $2.25 million heated and covered pool at Sammon’s Park, and a variety of other projects around town.
Home-PAC believes our support of this project is in keeping with our philosophy of support to quality of life initiatives, which the organization has a history of.
Of course we ask all of our members to get out and vote, it is a freedom that we should all take full advantage of. However, it is paramount that our members who reside in the City of Temple get out and vote in support of this bond. Your kids and grandkids will thank you, and it is likely you’ll even give yourself a pat on the back for supporting this measure as it is sure to provide enjoyment for all.
As an aside, there are several other important measures you’ll be asked to vote on at the polls. These include 16 constitutional amendments, which deal with everything from cancer funding, to transportation, to student loans. Please Make Sure to Vote—Election Day is Tuesday, November 6 from 7am to 7pm at precinct polling locations.
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