Happy New Year! I know there is always philosophical debate about the actual start of a decade-whether it would be 2020 or 2021, but we have clearly entered the '20's; so that's what I'm going with.

NACE started off the year and the decade in a very big way! On January 9 ^th , I was invited to attend a policy rollout and press conference at the White House with President Trump. The President, at the recommendation of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), is directing an update to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). It is the first major reform of NEPA since it was enacted nearly fifty years ago.  

This is a big deal for NACE, and for counties across the country. We have worked hard for many years stressing the importance of environmental streamlining on federal aid projects. The Administration's policy update seeks to limit the timeline on NEPA decisions and make project approvals move ahead much quicker. Under current rules, policy decisions can linger for years and projects can be hung up in court cases even longer-sometimes decades.

It was also a very big deal for NACE to be invited to the event. For years NACE has worked hard at improving our status on a national level; with the aims of being sought after as technical subject matter experts in roads and bridges. Being asked to attend the event helped cement this status. Read on

Read the full press release here

 

 

I hope this update finds you doing well after spending time with your family during the Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year holidays. My family had a great couple of weeks to end 2019 and start 2020 by celebrating Christmas with family, my wife's birthday, my youngest son's 6th birthday with five other kids and ringing in the New Year. We enjoy this time of year as it gives us a chance to spend additional time with family and friends as we remember the reason for this time of year and look forward to what will be provided for us in the upcoming year.

December and January have been busy for me here in Washington County, Iowa, just south of Iowa City. The first part of December was our annual Iowa County Engineers Conference and it was another great one, with topics ranging from environmental regulations, overweight vehicles, bridges & culverts, slope stabilization, the power of social media, gra vel road maintenance, ethics and others. We even had a great update on what NACE has been doing from NACE Secretary/Treasurer Todd Kinney, who was filling in for President Tim Hens because he was apparently snowed in back in Buffalo. I thought those in lake-effect snow regions knew how to deal with snow.

Let me get back on track! Attending Iowa's annual conference helps with my job and continuing education, but I think the best part is the opportunity to network with and hear what my peers are doing across the state to solve problems similar to what I face in my own county. I believe the community and comradery we have is fantastic, and is a driving force to do the job that we all do. Read on

 

 

The second National Roundabouts Week (NRW) campaign was held during the third week of September 2019. The NRW was established to educate the public about the safety benefits of roundabouts and to salute the State, local, and Tribal agencies constructing roundabouts in their communities to prevent severe crashes and save lives. The campaign leveraged Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram to share information about the effectiveness of roundabouts, how to drive them properly, and interesting related facts. The hashtag #roundaboutsweek was used to help find, link, and track related posts .

 

Delegates: Join the more than 300 people who have already registered for the conference.

 

Exhibitors: Gain access to and connect with county governments, as well as those that would be the principals charged with purchasing your products and services.

 

Innovator - January/February 2020

 

Check out the latest job postings from our members  here.