HBA of St Louis & Eastern Missouri

The Greening Missouri Homes Conference, March 16 and 17 in Jefferson City, Mo., will bring together professionals in all aspects of the home building and remodeling industry. NAHB Green offers: Established solutions for greening homes and land development; Range of tools, resources and in-depth guidance to help builders and retrofitters partner with homeowners to go green affordably; Market-driven and voluntary established program for today’s issues — energy-efficiency, storm water management and indoor air quality

A block of rooms is available at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City. Conference participants are responsible for making their own room reservations by calling Capitol Plaza Hotel at (800) 338-8088 or local (573) 635-1234. The special conference room rate will be $79 plus tax per night. Be sure to identify yourself as a participant in the Greening Missouri Homes Conference.

Opportunity to become a certified green professional will be available through designation courses offered through the HBA of Central Missouri in Jefferson City. Certification is dependent on the successful completion of the three day course offered on March 15 and March 18-19, 2010 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel.

The conference is sponsored by the University of Missouri Center for Sustainable Energy and the Missouri Home Builders Associations of St. Louis, Jefferson City, Kansas City and Springfield.

Go to http://muconf.missouri.edu/greeningmissourihomes to learn more!

St. Charles County Building Department Director Dave Hammond retired on January 15. His replacement is Rocky Morgan. HBA staff contacts: Lyzel Krebs 314-994-7700 (x115) or KrebsL@hbastl.com and Emily Wineland (x125) or WinelandE@hbastl.com.

Go to http://www.stlhba.com/memberevents/PageLoader.aspx?PageId=55 to fill out an entry form for the HBA Sales & Marketing Awards. Deadline for entries is February 5, 2010. Winners will be announced at the SMC Awards Breakfast and HBA President’s Address on Wednesday, March 24 at the Sheraton Chalet in Westport (191 Westport Plaza Dr., 63146). HBA staff contact: Jaime Weyrauch 314-994-7700 x133 or WeyrauchJ@hbastl.com.

From HBA Executive Officer Pat Sullivan:

I just returned last night from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) annual convention and international builders show in Las Vegas. Its educational programs are the best concentrated opportunity to learn the very latest news about every conceivable facet of the home building and remodeling businesses in a concentrated week’s worth of opportunity. Truly amazing. You should circle your dates for January 2011 to attend. The convention will be held January 12-15, 2011 in Orlando, FL.

Yesterday, I heard three of the nation’s foremost home building economists discuss what is ahead of us. NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe, PMI Group Chief Econommist David Berson (formerly Chief Economist for Fannie Mae) and Frank Nothaft (I don’t have his title at my fingertips) were the speakers to a huge audience.

In brief, Crowe said that in 2010, we should see a 25% increase in home building over 2009. In 2011, we should see a 50% increase in home building over 2010. We then continue a long, slow climb to a “normal” new home building market, delivering upwards of 1.5 million homes per year by 2014.

You can download the presentations of all three speakers. David Crowe’s 33-slide presentation shows excellent data. Go to www.buildersshow.com/education and key in the session titled “Housing and Economic Outlook” and the date “January 19″ which will then pull up a screen with the session’s details and scroll down to the word “handouts” at which point you can click on the names of any of the three speakers and the document they used to illustrate their remarks will come up.

Learn more here: http://www.stlhba.com/memberevents/leadpaint

Chesterfield passed zoning ordinance fee for all projects that require a public hearing. A site plan review fee consistent with Chesterfield’s filing fees is currently used to collect for all subdivision plats. Application fee for any application requiring public hearing regardless of size or type of development is $250. Review fee for any site plan, site development plan, site development concept plan, and site development section plan regardless of size or type of development is $150. Review fee for any landscape plan, tree preservation plan, tree stand delineation, lighting plan or amendment to architectural elevations not part of existing site plan review is $50. Review fee for any mitigation plan subsequent to approval of special conditions is $150. For copy of ordinance, contact HBA staff. In addition, FAR requirement was removed from PUD Ordinance. Also, lot specific standards in PUD ordinance need not be linked to a current zoning district. HBA staff contact: Heidi Morris 314-994-7700 x137 or MorrisH@hbastl.com.

Have we got hot deals for you at The Fourth Annual Associates’ Charitable Auction! The Auction takes place at The Columns Banquet Center, 711 Veteran’s Memorial Parkway, 63303, from 6-10 p.m. This is your one night only, one-stop shop, whether you purchase an item for your own home, one of your display or customer’s homes, your mother-in-law or pick up a sweet little trinket (and I mean jewelry, ladies) for yourself!

We have golf with a builder, lunch with a builder or even lunch with a State Senator packages! How about a putting green? – right in your backyard! Sports fans – do we have great tickets and signed memorabilia for you – Blues, Cards and even the St. Louis Aces including a signed photo and tennis racquet by Anna Kournikova and signed jersey from hockey fav T.J. Oshie! Plus, as an added bonus, The Ultimate Cardinals Experience with Jack Clark, yeah, I said Jack Clark, former Cards first baseman!

For the outdoorsmen, or women, you can go on a pheasant hunt, trot along Rockwoods Range on a builder-guided horseback tour or spend a weekend bass fishing with a builder.

Ladies – or the guys who need to make up for those lackluster Valentine’s Day gifts – we have stunning jewelry including white gold diamond hoop earrings, a sapphire and diamond ring and necklace, a contemporary silver necklace and more.

Builders – need some architectural design time or an architectural rendering? – you’re in luck because we have that, too! How about a large appliance package or 50 sq. feet countertops in granite or Silestone to use in your next model home?

Please go to www.stlhba.com home page and look under “News and Events” for a complete listing of donated items you’re not going to believe it! Don’t miss out!

Please contact Tracy Chiesa at 314-994-7700 x131 or ChiesaT@hbastl.com for more information.

 The Missouri Career Center of St. Charles County has a new “On-the-Job Training” (OJT) program that can reimburse eligible companies up to 50 percent of a new worker’s wages for up to six months. The Missouri Career Center will also work with participating businesses to connect them with qualified candidates from the local workforce. Local companies interested in participating must meet certain employment criteria. Jobs in retail trade and service industries are ineligible. For more information, go to http://edcstcharlescounty.com/pics/db/news/pdf/000398_01.pdfor contact Ray Randolph at 636-278-1360 (x 263).

As Washington lawmakers try to finalize a health care bill, small contractors have a lot to lose if one amendment remains. That one surprise amendment was added in the Senate “in the dark of night” on Christmas Eve and your help is needed to contact our Democratic lawmakers and explain to them how this can cause serious harm to small contractors.

If you will dial 1-866-924-6242 you will get a recorded message that explains the problem and helps you with your message. After the recorded message, you will be asked your zip code so that they connect you to your correct Senators’ offices (McCaskill and Bond in MO) and your U.S. Representative. It is imperative that Senator McCaskill and Congressmen Russ Carnahan and Lacy Clay understand immediately the concern with the “Merkley Amendment.” (You can call your U.S. Senators from Illinois if you are an Illinois resident).

Your phone call to Senator McCaskill and your U.S. Representative will only take you a few minutes. You likely will be connected to young staffers in their offices who will make a note of your message and pass it along to the elected official. It is important that the elected officials hear from many of you so that they realize the outcome of this Merkley Amendment is very important to small contractors. This matter could be finalized at anytime so please call today! Thank you.

Click here to read HBA President Sean Flower’s letter to the editor that appeared in the Dec. 28 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about new health care provisions that affect home builders:

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/EE320CE51D4F7D21862576960070AA71?OpenDocument