W E E K L Y N E W S

from your local, state, regional & national chapters!

A Week In Brief

July 25, 2016

In This Issue

August Luncheon

AIA Beach Volleyball Tournament

Membership Directory Listing

Structures ARE Series

Call for Chit Chat Speakers

New Overtime Rules

SMPS Event This Week

Continuing Education Opportunity

ASPE News

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

July 29: AIAOK Gov. Affairs & Board Meeting

July 30: AIA Beach Volleyball Tournament

August 5: AIA Luncheon

August 9-12: Office Closed | CACE Conference

August 17: AIACOC Board Meeting

September 8: AIA Luncheon

September 22: Cocktails & Credits

October 13: Architecture after 5 at Bentley Flooring

October 18: Cocktails & Credits

November 4: AIACOC Design Awards Banquet

November 10-11: AIA Oklahoma Convention

November 17: AIA Luncheon

AIA CENTRAL OKLAHOMA NEWS

AIA August Luncheon: Developer's Showcase

The AIA August Luncheon will take place on Friday, August 5^th, from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at OSU-OKC. The topic will be a "Developer's Showcase" at which featured speakers will present some of their recent and upcoming projects, and describe the role that design plays in their work.

The featured developers in August will be:

Andy Burnett, Senior Vice President at Newmark Grubb, will present his recent development work to bring urban, mixed-use properties to downtown Oklahoma City. Burnett specializes in the sale, site selection, and underwriting of institutional multifamily and urban mixed-use properties. Notable recent projects include the renovation of the derelict Century Center mall into the new corporate headquarters for the Oklahoma Publishing Company and others; the renovation of the Mideke Building in Bricktown into the home of Tapstone Energy, and the construction of the Steelyards Apartments and adjacent Hyatt hotel in Bricktown, currently under construction.

Marva Ellard, principal at Midtown Builders, LLC, is best known for spearheading the restoration of the 1920's Sieber Hotel into the Sieber Residences, 38 apartments, which has been full since it opened in 2009. She was also responsible for the repurposing of the mid-century jewel, The Arc, into a multi-tenant office building, as well as multiple other preservation and restoration initiatives in the city's urban core. Most recently, she partnered with Andy Burnett and others on the restoration of the Mideke Building in Bricktown.

David Wanzer, an Oklahoma City-based developer and designer, will speak on his passion for modern architecture, adaptive re-use, and community building. Wanzer was an early pioneer into the revitalization of what is now the thriving Film Row District. Notable recent projects include the renovation of several prominent historic structures in some of Oklahoma City's most popular character districts, including the Tower Theatre on N.W. 23^rd Street, the Roxy's Ice Cream Building on NW 16^th Street, the Main Street Arcade, and the Sunshine Cleaners. Wanzer has also achieved urban infill development with the construction of ten new, modern homes in Meadowbrook Acres.

The August Luncheon is FREE to our AIA, Associate AIA and Allied members. The cost for nonmembers is $25.00. (Allied members, please remember if you are an individual allied member, you are free but others in your company must register as a nonmember).

Deadline to register is July 29, 2016.

Thank you to our sponsors:

AIA Beach Volleyball Tournament - 1 Team Spot Left!

We're a fun group here at AIACOC so we decided to take advantage of the Bricktown Beach and put together an AIA Beach Volleyball Tournament!

AIA and Associate AIA Review Your Membership Directory Listing

We are working on the 2016 AIACOC Membership Directory and we need your input. This listing is pulled from the AIA National database so in many cases, your home address maybe listed. So please review to be sure your listing is correct. CLICK HERE

Email changes to aiacoc@cox.net by Friday, July 29.

Allied Members: Your listing will be available for review soon.

Studying for the ARE? Join us for our STRUCTURES Series in August

Are you studying for the ARE? Need some help with Structures? Join us in August for our Structures ARE Seminar Series where Kasha Egan, PE of Wallace Engineering will review and better help you understand structures.

Due to limited seating this program is open to AIACOC Associate (Intern Architects) only.

The program will be four part program an will take place August 9, 16, 23 and 30. The cost to attend the four session program is $25. Dinner and beverages will be provided.

CLICK HERE to complete a short survey on which areas within Structures the program should focus on.

Call for Chit Chat Speakers for September 8 Luncheon!

The AIA Central Oklahoma September 8th Luncheon is the annual CHIT CHAT (20 slides | 20 seconds) luncheon and we are now taking nominations for presenters. If you are interested in presenting, please email to aiacoc@cox.net. Please include your name, company, title of your talk and a short description about your presentation. The deadline to submit is July 29, 2016.

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when submitting your presentation for consideration.

The AIACOC Chit Chat program is meant to promote the importance of design and therefore must contain some element of design.

Chit Chat is not meant to promote one's company or product but rather to promote design and the built environment.

Chit Chat presentations should include a personal aspect; your personal interpretation of some sort of art / life / design experience.

Chit Chat is meant to not only promote architecture but other aspects of the design arts so in addition to architects and intern architects, we welcome interior designers, graphic designers, landscape architects, photographers and artists.

AIA NATIONAL NEWS

New Overtime Rule to Take Effect in December

By: AIA ANGLE Staff (Questions? Contact Alex Ford)

Earlier this year we highlighted a proposed rule that would expand the pool of workers who qualify for overtime pay, and discussed its wide-reaching impact on American businesses. Finally, after months of deliberation, the Department of Labor has released the final version of its long awaited overtime rule. Below we'll tell you everything you need to know about what to expect, as well as how to prepare for the changes.

How is overtime currently mandated?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 ensures that all salaried workers are guaranteed overtime pay at time and a half for any hours worked beyond the standard 40-hour workweek. The main aspect of the FLSA is its salary threshold, which says that every employee making under $23,660 annually must be paid overtime (this number has been updated from time to time, most recently in 2004).

What changes does the new rule make?

Put simply, DOL's new rule doubles the salary threshold from $23,660 to $47,476. If there's one thing to take away from this post it's that every full-time, salaried employee making less than $47,476 annually (or $913/week) will now be eligible overtime pay.

What impact will this have on design firms?

Given the highly skilled nature of the profession, architects themselves probably won't be directly impacted by the new threshold - but that doesn't mean that firms as a whole won't feel the effects. Even if every design professional in your firm is already earning more than the new threshold, there are likely support staff and others to consider (and whose weekly hours you might need to start tracking closely).

Why did the government decide to change these overtime regulations?

For starters, the threshold hasn't been updated since 2004, and currently is so low that it represents just a sliver of working Americans' salaries. Backers of the rule change maintain that, as is so often the case with outdated regulations, this low threshold is being exploited and has given riseto so-called "white collar sweatshops" in which workers are paid annual salaries that barely clear the $24,000 threshold, categorized as being "exempt" under the duties test, and are then called on to work 80-plus hour weeks without receiving overtime. DOL argues that raising the threshold is a simple way to address this phenomenon. Furthermore, when the threshold was originally put into place eight decades ago, it covered 60 percent of workers; despite occasional updates, the current threshold applies to just 8 percent of today's workforce. DOL says the new threshold will bring that figure back up to 60 percent, in keeping with the original intent of the law.

When does the new rule go into effect?

The increase will go into effect on December 1, 2016.

What can my firm do to start preparing?

Planning is key; December 2016 will be here in no time, and it's important for design firms to ensure they're not caught off guard when the changes go into effect. Try to consider how other related businesses, such as those with which your firm subcontracts, might be impacted by new labor costs, and incorporate that into your future business projections. The bottom line is that even though the overtime rule may have the greatest impact on lower-wage businesses, it's hard to envision an industry or even an individual firm that will be unaffected by the changes.

NEWS OF INTEREST TO OUR MEMBERS

Upcoming SMPS Event

Thursday, July 28

Tulsa: The Flying Tee

OKC: Top Golf

More information & to register

Continuing Education with Digital Media Warehouse on August 17

Questions? Contact Brock Wiggens at 702-1822

ASPE News: American Society of Professional Estimators OKC Chapter Receives National Awards

The Oklahoma City Chapter of the American Society of Professional Estimators recently received three national awards at its 60^th Annual National Meeting, in Tampa Florida in July. David Battle, Pre Construction Services, received the 2016 National Estimator of the Year Award, and Phyllis Battle, Pre Construction Services, was awarded the 2016 National Chapter Champion Award, a new award and its first recipient. The Chapter achieved the level of Superior Chapter with Distinction Achievement Award. Doyle Phillips, EVP of Preconstruction, Nabholz Construction, is a chapter member, served ASPE for the past two years as National President and currently serves on its Board of Trustees. He attained his Educational Doctorate (EDD) in Educational Leadership and Management from Capella University in July. The OKC ASPE chapter gives an annual education scholarship to a local college student who is pursuing a construction related degree. Andrew Malamut, Construction Management Technology student at OSU, was the 2016 Education Scholarship recipient. The Oklahoma City chapter meets monthly on the first Wednesday of each month at Ingrid's Kitchen, 3701 N. Youngs Blvd, Oklahoma City. Its 11:30am luncheon meetings and featured program cost $20 per person for members and nonmembers. ASPE is a national organization dedicated to the education, ethics, certification and fellowship of professional estimators and welcomes anyone in related construction industries. The national website is aspenational.org and the local chapter website is aspeokc.org.