VOLUME 12 ISSUE 3
$5.99 MAY JUNE 2023 SERVING CONTRACTING FIRMS AND THE ARIZONA COMMUNITY. . . THEN & NOW
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S LONG STRAW: THE COLORADO RIVER AQUEDUCT A WHALE OF A TEMPE TALE: ONE VERSION OF BIG SURF’S ORIGIN CASTLE HOT SPRINGS: ARIZONA’S WELLNESS RETREAT WINS AN EMMY C.W. FREELOVE’S FOUR GENERATIONS OF ARIZONA WELL DRILLERS RECAPTURING THE SPIRIT OF PLACE: KIVA CRAFTS CENTER REHAB
Arizona’s Timeless Magazine Arizona’s Timeless Magazine
SALUTING ARIZONA’S BUILDERS: NEW PUEBLO’S KARL RONSTADT HOLLAND BELT LOADER: THE MACHINE THAT “GOBBLED EARTH”
ARIZONA’S LAZY RIVER:
THE CENTRAL ARIZONA PROJECT AQUEDUCT POWER GENERATOR: BOB PISKE AND GEN-TECH
ALCORN CONSTRUCTION GETS INNOVATIVE AT MESA WAREHOUSE
MCCARTHY TOPS OUT MATADOR CENTER AT YUMA’S ARIZONA WESTERN COLLEGE
A CONSTRUCTION DREAMLAND: CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023
THE ONGOING EVOLUTION OF JOB SITE CONNECTIVITY
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FAVORITE ARIZONA WATER SPOT?
Editor Douglas Towne douglas@arizcc.com Contributors Michael Cady Frank Frassetto III Aaron Gilbreath Frank Kozeliski Luke M. Snell Doug Sydnor Gregg Wartgow
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GRADING/ PAVING
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Arizona Contractor & Community (ACC) magazine is published bi-monthly (Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/June, July/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov/Dec). ACC is a professional publication designed for the contracting industry, engineers, architects, equipment rentals, suppliers, and others interested in Arizona and its history. Content including text, photographs or illustrations may not be reproduced without the written permission from the publisher. The publisher does not assume responsibility for unsolicited submissions. ACC reserves the right to reject any editorial and advertising material and reserves the right to edit all submitted content material. Arizona Contractor & Community Copyright © 2023 All rights reserved.
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Contents
14
Contributors - Frank A. Kozeliski & Douglas Sydnor
16
Feedback
18
From The Editor: Castle Hot Springs: Arizona’s Favorite Wellness Retreat Wins an Emmy - Douglas Towne
21
Construction Around Arizona: Projects • People • Practices
47
Back When: A Camel’s Seal of Approval Douglas Towne
48
Arizona’s Lazy River: The Central Arizona Project Aqueduct - Douglas Towne
54
Southern California’s Long Straw: The Colorado River Aqueduct - Douglas Towne
60
Battling Over the Colorado River: Nellie Bush and the Arizona Navy - Michael Cady
62
Saluting Arizona’s Builders: Karl Ronstadt
66
A Whale of a Tempe Tale: One Version of Big Surf’s Origin: Part 1 - Aaron Gilbreath
72
A Whale of a Tempe Tale: One Version of Big Surf’s Origin: Part 2 - Aaron Gilbreath
76
Old School Equipment: Holland Belt Loader Billy Horner
80
Building on the Past - 1951: The Kleanbore Well Cleaning Machine - Billy Horner
82
Architect’s Perspective - Saving Significant Architecture with Relocation - Doug Sydnor, FAIA
86
Digging Through the Archives: C.W. Freelove - Billy Horner
92
Bid Results
94
Advertising Index
Front Cover First National Bank Vice President, William K. Humbert and Jim Gile, a well driller for C.W. Freelove, during construction of a well in front of the bank building at Central Avenue and Washington Street, 1956. Article on page 48 TWELVE
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» CRACK SEALING » SEALCOATING » ASPHALT REPAIRS » CHIP SEAL » MILLING/PULVERIZING
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ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
CONTRIBUTORS
FRANK A. KOZELISKI ARTICLE ON PAGE 39
DOUGLAS SYDNOR ARTICLES ON PAGE 27 & 82
rank A. Kozeliski, pronounced he magazine’s long-time Fconcrete” (Cause-a-Liskey), “loves that Tarchitectural columnist, and works as a ready- Douglas Sydnor, recently
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mix concrete consultant and materials engineer. The Gallup, New Mexico native is a noted pervious concrete expert, including incorporating recycled materials such as crushed glass, concrete, rubber, and paper in the mix. He has also developed long-haul concrete that can endure up to five hours of delivery time. Kozeliski owned and operated Gallup Sand & Gravel until 2007 and continues as an advisor to the company, now named Michele’s Ready-Mix Rock & Recycling. Kozeliski graduated from New Mexico State University with his B.S. (1967) and M.S. (1969) in civil engineering and is a registered professional engineer in Alabama, New Mexico, and Texas. A member of the American Concrete Institute for over half a century, he was awarded an honorary membership in 2018 and has been involved with the ACI’s New Mexico Chapter since its inception. Kozeliski is also a long-time member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Society for Testing and Materials. Sea cruises and hunting are among Kozeliski’s hobbies, but he doesn’t usually stray too far from concrete projects and technical meetings. He likes getting creative with his passion and has developed methods to make concrete business cards, coasters, award plaques, gavels, and other unique items.
received the “Arts Hero” honor sponsored by ONMedia and Salt River Project, which called him an “architect, artist, historian and author—a true arts champion.” The award, carried in regional theater playbills, noted that Sydnor “lives a life with no seams. There’s virtually no line between professional and volunteer work. There’s no separation in his mind between arts, culture, and community.” Sydnor has held leadership roles in 20 arts organizations, including Scottsdale Arts, Phoenix Art Museum, and Scottsdale Sister Cities Association, where he has overseen the Young Artists and Authors Showcase for the last decade. He was an early champion for the “percent for arts” movement to set aside 1 percent of municipal projects’ budget for public art. A Phoenix native, Sydnor is the son of an architect. His degrees include a Bachelor of Architecture from Arizona State University and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University. As a licensed Arizona architect, he has practiced for more than 45 years. In 2016, Sydnor relaunched his art career, participated in 12 solo, group, and juried exhibitions, and served as an Arizona Artists Guild Member. His art is in 40 private and public collections, including the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum and Scottsdale Arts Public Art Permanent Collections.
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FEEDBACK A Delicious Issue don’t remember 75 percent of the material you wrapped around the Green Gables feature [ACC Vol. 12 No. 2 or “The Restaurant Issue”], but it was well written. As was the Navarre’s restaurant story, which included a photo of my favorite Webb super, one of our classy operations guys, Roy Drachman. I think he returned to or started a family construction business in Tucson. Loved all the personal stories about Navarre’s. Taking my wife there was above my pay grade, though I did take Webb guests on the tab. When you ran the Chris Town story [ACC Vol. 11 No. 1 or “The Leisure Issue”], I thought the author [John Bueker] gave too much credit to Jim Cunning. Then I opened my August 1963 issue of The Webb Spinner, which I edited and mostly wrote, and I was very impressed with Jim’s work. His promotions included a Mercury space capsule, a Nike missile, a Navy jet fighter, a cow-milking contest featuring Arizona’s governor, and a sports car show. Thanks for your magazines, Doug; they bring back fond memories. The editor and contributors’ research and writing skills are why you won the Arizona Historical Society’s El Merito award and will receive more accolades down the road. Dick Kemp, Former Editor Del Webb Corporation Phoenix, Arizona Roy Drachman would be an excellent future profile; thanks for reminding us of his considerable impact on Arizona.
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Our Kind of Clutter ’ve been receiving Arizona Contractor & Community for many years. This publication is beautiful and well-written, but it’s also a fantastic resource for those like me who work in the Arizona construction market. It’s great to see the historical side of our business and the current players. Some issues are on my coffee table at home, and others are at my office. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever thrown one away! Jason Prosser, Vice President Crest Insurance Group Tucson, Arizona Thanks, our goal is to avoid the paper recycling bin.
I
No “Whining” Here just wanted to thank you for the article featuring my construction career and our Autumn Sage Vineyard [ACC Vol. 11 No. 5 or “The Southern Arizona Issue”]; it was very kind and flattering. Steve Basila, Owner Infrastructure Mavens Elgin, Arizona We’re still bummed the story didn’t require a winery visit.
I
A Solid Hobby rank A. Kozeliski, a concrete consultant and materials engineer, was kind enough to send examples of his concrete creations, including a business card, coaster, and shot glass. Who knew ready mix could be used to mix drinks?
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CASTLE HOT SPRINGS:
Image Courtesy of Castle Hot Springs
ARIZONA’S FAVORITE WELLNESS RETREAT WINS AN EMMY Douglas Towne
C
ontractors and engineers can be considered magicians, as they do the near impossible by making water run uphill. This feat is apparent locally with the Central Arizona Project, which carries Colorado River water from Lake Havasu and brings it upgradient to destinations including Phoenix and Tucson. This issue of Arizona Contractor & Community will focus on water and, specifically, the Colorado River. However, my editor’s column will spotlight Castle Hot Springs, perhaps Arizona’s most unique waters. Located northwest of Lake Pleasant, Castle Hot Springs features one of Arizona’s most miraculous natural wonders: a constant flow of thermal water that fills pools amidst beautiful rock formations. Early Above: Castle Hot Springs, 2022. Right: Castle Hot Springs: Oasis of Time documentary, 2019. Far right: Castle Hot Springs match cover, 1950s. EIGHTEEN
entrepreneurs capitalized on its mystical aura starting in 1896, creating the state’s first resort with luxurious accommodations. For 80 years, Castle Hot Springs was the Grande Dame of Arizona resorts, hosting presidents and tycoons who soaked in its therapeutic
Image Courtesy of Castle Hot Springs Image Courtesy of Author
MAY JUNE 2023
Image Courtesy of Author
s
Image Courtesy of Castle Hot Spring
waters, hit golf balls on the short nine golf course, and swatted badminton shuttlecocks on the lawn. The resort’s pristine backcountry, where the Bradshaw Mountains and the Sonoran Desert intersect, provided privacy and added to its charm. The idyllic resort closed when fire destroyed its Palm Lodge in 1976. The resort’s future was uncertain until 2014 when noted local philanthropists Mike and Cindy Watts, founders of Sunstate Equipment, purchased the 120-acre property at auction for $1.95 million. The Watts revitalized the storied retreat, creating a modern version of its former glory, centered around the therapeutic qualities of its thermal waters. “My Below: A casita at Castle Hot Springs, 2022. Right: Douglas Towne taking the waters at Castle Hot Springs, 2006.
intent was to restore it and bring it back to life to be able to share a true Arizona treasure with people literally from around the world,” says Mike Watts. The resort reopened in February 2019. “I think, based upon our early feedback, we have accomplished restoring the magic that was once there.” In the Jul/Aug 2019 issue, Arizona Contractor & Community covered the historic resort and its recent transformation into a luxury boutique resort. But an even better appetizer for those considering visiting this enchanted, one-of-a-kind destination is the 37-minute film Castle Hot Springs: Oasis of Time, which won the 2020 Rocky Mountain Emmy Award for “Best Historical Documentary.” As part of the resort’s renovation, the Watts commissioned film producer Kristin Atwell Ford to create the award-winning
Image Courtesy of Castle Hot Springs
Image Courtesy of Author
ARIZCC.COM
Left: Castle Hot Springs advertisement, 1950s. Above: Maureen Towne and Cindy Watts at the Scottsdale Museum of the West for the documentary premiere in 2019.
documentary. Coincidentally, Atwell Ford had a legacy connection to Castle Hot Springs. Her mother, Sherri Chessen, owned the property in the early 1980s. “Seeing the resort reopen is like seeing a beloved family member come back to life,” Atwell Ford says. “Throughout history, Castle Hot Springs has been a place to gather and experience a rare connection with those you love. It’s an evocative place that forges powerful memories.” The documentary features historical images, drone footage by director of photography Bill Davis, narration by Hollywood actor Peter Coyote, vintage footage from Cecil B. DeMille’s 1931 feature film The Squaw Man, and color film shot by Senator Barry Goldwater in the 1950s. The soundtrack was composed by Dolan Ellis, Arizona’s Official State Balladeer, and Pearl Django. The film traces how the resort and its healing waters evolved from initially hosting dignitaries like Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin Roosevelt to helping veterans recuperate after World War II, including John F. Kennedy. “As the century evolved, so did the resort, but what is essential remained intact,” Atwell Ford says. “Much like the hot mineral water that flows without interruption from the earth, this land’s influence on the human spirit has never wavered. It is a landscape of myth and memory.” Mike Watts, who also served as the film’s executive producer, says he and his wife have always loved the history of the resort and the stories about the people who experienced it. “To be able to share the history of what Castle Hot Springs means to Arizona and the American Southwest was made possible by the exceptional team of film creators, and we are grateful for the work that they did.”
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Projects . PEOPLE . PRACTICES
CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects
CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA
A CONSTRUCTION DREAMLAND: CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 BILLY HORNER
A
lthough I spent many years in the field side of the construction industry, it’s only since I’ve become the publisher of Arizona Contractor & Community that conferences and mixers that been added to my resume. My first experience at the CONEXPO 2023, the biggest exhibition of construction equipment in the world, was eye-opening! For fun, I’ll contrast the 2023 event with the first CONEXPO in 1969. CONEXPO-CON/AGG hosted the 2023 event, which was held for five days at the Las Vegas Convention Center starting Tuesday, March 14. Preparations, however, were set up months in advance. The show crushed expected attendance numbers, drawing over 139,000 professionals from 133 countries. It’s the largest trade show in North America, with more than 2,400 exhibitors from 36 countries spread out over 3 million square feet of exhibit space. ARIZCC.COM
“The innovations in the construction industry unveiled this week will play a role in helping construction professionals drive meaningful and sustainable economic growth,” says Phil Kelliher, Caterpillar senior vice president, and CONEXPO-CON/ AGG show chair. “Live events in the construction industry are very important because you can see, touch and experience the products. That value was reaffirmed this past week across the show floor.” This year’s show emphasized how the construction industry is evolving in many ways to adapt to sustainable technologies, products, and practices. Show attendees were treated to sustainability in action, from electric and hydrogen-powered construction equipment to more recyclable materials and waste reduction opportunities. One of the event’s biggest sustainability efforts is a partnership with the Arbor
Day Foundation, which will result in the planting of 139,000 trees, one for every show registrant in a forest of greatest need. My wife, Laura, and I were honored to be asked to attend by E&E Companies’ owner, Buddy Escapule, as he brought along his other operators and spouses. We started our Vegas journey on Wednesday, Laura’s birthday, and celebrated at Chef Gordon Ramsey’s Hell’s Kitchen inside Caesars Palace. Several locals in the industry had indicated they were planning on going or had been in the past. A few reflected on the
Above: The Volvo EC250E Remote Control excavator at CONEXPO, 2023. Right: Billy and Laura Horner at CONEXPO, 2023. ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects 2020 CONEXPO show happening just as the pandemic uncertainty set in, and many packed up early and scattered home. The event was easy to navigate, with shuttles, maps, and guides to assist attendees. According to Uber drivers, the week was exceptionally busy, with multiple conventions and spring break taking place simultaneously. We ran into a few familiar faces among the heavy crowds, like Lee Addis, who works for Knochel Brothers Inc. and has contributed to our magazine in the past. But CONEXPO was very different when the event was first launched in Chicago in 1969, over 50 years ago. The Windy City became the mecca for the construction industry then, with 15 acres devoted to $30 million worth of equipment and machinery. More than 75,000 equipment manufacturers, their employees, distributors, contractors, and others in the industry were on
Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
Below: A Caterpillar’s D9G bulldozer featuring a new adjustable rear ripper at CONEXPO ’69. Right: Jack Layton with his paving equipment at CONEXPO ’69.
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hand for CONEXPO ’69, held at the old Chicago International Amphitheatre. The 1969 event was the first show dubbed CONEXPO. Previously held shows were known as the Construction Equipment Exposition & Road Show. Here are some notable attractions from CONEXPO ’69. The 24,000-square-foot Caterpillar exhibit displayed new equipment, including the 920- and 930-wheel loaders, the 613 elevating scraper, the 627 all-wheeldrive scraper, the 983 track loader, and the 773 off-road rock truck. The company’s new power shift transmission was featured in the 12F blade motor grader and the D9G bulldozer, which had an adjustable ripper. The Terex (General Motors) exhibit included the 72-81 front-end loader, S-35E elevating scraper, 82-80 and 82-30 crawlers, and TS-32 scraper. Allis Chalmers displayed the prototype model of the world’s largest bulldozer: the HD-41, with 12 cylinders, 529 horsepower, a 17-foot dozer blade, a 9-foot-long rear ripper, and weighing 66 tons.
Top left: A Caterpillar 12F motor grader with new automatic grade control during CONEXPO ’69. Above: CONEXPO ’69 registration at the Chicago International Amphitheatre. Left: CONEXPO ’69 lapel pin.
Jack Layton of Layton Manufacturing was one of the few Oregon-based companies in attendance. Layton’s booth introduced two new paving roller lines, a rubber-tired asphalt paver, and the famous Layton-Box paver. Other equipment debuts included International Harvesters Hough H-100C Payloader and 65C Payhauler, The Hyster Company’s array of compactors and rubber and steel wheel rollers, and the Barber-Greene XL-50 continuous excavator (see ACC Volume 11 Issue 6). Incredibly, 89-year-old Leonard McCurley attended CONEXPO ’69 and was at the most recent Las Vegas gathering. Raised on a farm in Michigan and working in construction his whole life, McCurley has found CONEXPO-CON/AGG to be a home away from home throughout his adult life. He attended his first Construction Equipment Exposition & Road Show in 1963 and has made it back to each one in the 60 years that have followed. “There are so many interesting people I’ve talked to; it’s an education just to talk to all of them,” McCurley says. “I think everybody that is around heavy equipment should go to that show.” McCurley adds that it’s impossible to attend that many CONEXPO-CON/AGGs without having some advice to share with newcomers. “You’ve got to have a good pair of shoes and make sure you go to see the whole thing because if you don’t, you’re missing a lot.” ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
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MAY JUNE 2023
CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects
Images Courtesy of Alcorn Construction
ALCORN CONSTRUCTION GETS INNOVATIVE ON MESA PALM GATEWAY WAREHOUSE FACILITY
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lcorn Construction’s most significant challenge with building the $58.8 million Palm Gateway Logistics Center in Mesa is hardly a secret in the construction industry. “It’s the coordination and handling of supply chain issues, which are continuously changing,” says Jim Roland, Alcorn’s senior vice president - Arizona.
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: Bob Guyer, Superintendent
Experience: 4 months at Alcorn Construction (27 years in the industry)
But the general contractor is doing its best to turn the hurdles into an opportunity for innovation. “Due to supply chain issues, this project will use a castellated beam system,” Roland says. “This system is more readily available and carries other benefits such as cost savings and better support while weighing a fraction of what normal steel beams weigh.” The four-building Palm Gateway Logistics Center is 613,000 square feet of concrete tilt-up industrial development at the northeast corner of Sossaman and Pecos roads. The 40-acre property borders the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, is directly connected to the Union Pacific Railroad line, and is in the Pecos Advanced Manufacturing Zone, one of Mesa’s opportunity zones. The buildings range from roughly 93,000 sf to 288,000 sf, and feature LED lighting, an ESFR sprinkler system, and
30-foot clear heights. “When completed, the development will have 143 dock-high doors and eight grade-level doors,” Roland says. “From the development, it’s a seven-minute drive to SR-202, and amenities and restaurants are just five minutes away. In addition, it aims to be LEED-certified upon completion.” Alcorn is working with the developer, Logistics Property Company; the architect, Ware Malcomb, and the civil engineer, SWS, while Colliers International is the project’s broker. Subcontractors include Rikoshea Contracting, Inc. for earthwork, Suntec Concrete, Next Level Steel, 8G Solutions for glazing, Diversified Roofing, AME Electrical, SiteWorks LLC for landscaping, and RCI Fire Systems. After breaking ground in December 2022, Alcorn plans on finishing the project by the end of February 2024.
Favorite job task: I enjoy the people I work with, whether someone on our team, trade partners, or customers. Everyone adds a piece of themselves to the work that we do. Toughest job task: Right now, it’s the industry’s materials shortages and supply chain issues. Most memorable day at work: We don’t get a lot of precipitation in Arizona, but I recently got to experience a project delay because of rain. Favorite off-job task: I enjoy getting out and playing golf.
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TWENTY SIX
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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects
RECAPTURING THE SPIRIT OF PLACE: KIVA CRAFTS CENTER REHABILITATION DOUGLAS SYDNOR, FAIA
Image Courtesy of Scottsdale Historical Society
art Cherokee and Scot-Irish, Lloyd Henri Kiva New was an artist and educator who arrived in Scottsdale in 1946. Painter Lew Davis invited him to join other artists in an innovative venture called the Arizona Craftsmen Center in Old Town at the southwest corner of Brown Avenue and Main Street. There, artisans could make their creations, including painting, pottery, silversmithing, jewelry, and sculpture, watched by potential customers. At the center, New made silk screened fabrics and leather handbags. The venture was successful, helped by former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visiting the artists, purchasing items, and writing about it in her nationally-syndicated “My Day” newspaper column in 1946 and 1947. Unfortunately, the center was destroyed in a fire in 1950. Afterward, New envisioned another arts center and purchased two agricultural parcels at the southeast corner of Craftsman Court and Fifth Avenue. New approached Frank Lloyd Wright, whom he had known since the 1930s, to design the center. Wright and his entourage met with New and suggested that he acquire additional property to the south. Unfortunately, New didn’t have the budget for that purchase, so Wright abruptly left. Afterward, New hired architect Thomas Stuart “T.S.” Montgomery, who was known for his modern design sensibilities. Art patrons and ranch owners Anne and Fowler McCormick facilitated bank financing for New.
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Image Courtesy of Author
P
The resulting 23,115-square-foot design reflects six mid-century modern structures that are one-story except for a single two-story building. The Craftsman Court structures define a central courtyard accessed by five pedestrian-scaled outdoor breezeways. The architecture featured broad and low-pitched roofs with deep overhangs of natural wood soffits that shade tall display windows. Concrete masonry units with wood window and door frames compose the walls. Outside was a concrete hardscape, wood-framed seating units, a water feature, and shade trees, which included a row of olive trees that were windbreaks on the original farm. More than 20 artists were provided a studio in a carefully choreographed tenant mix. Construction was completed in phases
Above: Courtyard viewing east. Below: Original courtyard.
from 1955 to 1958. The Craftsman Court’s reputation helped launch Scottsdale as a nationally-known “artist’s colony,” aided by fashion shows and arts and crafts festivals. Harper’s Bazaar, Town and Country, New Yorker, Saturday Evening Post, National Geographic, and Life magazines featured articles on the center. In 1972, the current owner, Sunbrella Properties, purchased the property. The company did a major renovation in 1993, including equipment screening, palm tree plantings, a new water feature, and new painting, lighting, and signage. Unfortunately, these renovations removed the original outdoor site improvements. In 2002, Scottsdale placed Craftsman Court, now called Kiva Crafts Center, on the city’s Historic Register. Sunbrella Properties sought a major upgrade of the existing retail complex in 2020. The work included new site improvements, upgraded building finishes, new lighting, and signage. This property reinvestment was essentially a clean-up campaign that removed unoriginal features and performed repairs. The resulting vision was that of an “art garden,” which would return the original spirit of this remarkable place. The intent was to have the Scottsdale community rediscover the Kiva Crafts Center’s humanscale proportions, outdoor spaces, and pleasant ambiance. Mature trees were planted to shade existing window areas facing severe exposure, and textural plants were added that captured the original cactus character. Some palm trees were retained and received vertical cages for wall vines. ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects were off-white, while exposed wood beams were painted a blue/grey color. Lastly, the wood soffits had layers of paint removed with light sandblasting to reveal a rich, natural wood finish. This palette was validated by a November 1956 color photograph in People & Places Magazine. The new colors were visually liberating, elevating the muted structures to a more animated mid-century architectural jewel that captures an earlier era. Such optimistic colors will serve the Kiva Crafts Center’s mission of putting a refocused eye on the arts and crafts. The phased rehabilitation work, done by 180 Degrees Design + Build, was scheduled during the slow retail season and allowed the tenants to remain open. Other members of the design and construction team include Douglas Sydnor Architect and Associates, Inc., architect and project manager; Ryden Architects, Inc., historic
preservation architect; Joan Fudala Historical Consulting, historical research; GBTwo, landscape architect; Airpark Signs, signage, historical plaque, and concrete symbols; Slaysman Engineering, Inc., structural engineering; Woodward Engineering, Inc., electrical and lighting engineering; and Babbitt Smith Engineering, civil engineering. The rehabilitation of the Kiva Crafts Center demonstrates how to revitalize a historical and specialty retail district and communicates that it will continue to contribute to “Old Town” in Scottsdale. The project was approved in 2022 for the National Register of Historic Places, and it is only the thirteenth building in the city to receive this recognition. The project was also preapproved for the related Tax Rehabilitation Credits for 2023 and 2024. Visit and see how we’ve captured the midcentury aesthetic.
Image Courtesy of Scottsdale Historical Society
Below: Original courtyard with water feature. Bottom right: Kiva Crafts Center.
Images Courtesy of Matt Winquist
A custom-stacked herb garden was created for the FnB Restaurant, known for its “farm-to-table” cuisine. A water feature with a spillway was resurrected in its original location, constructed with Murano blue and green glass tiles. New seating has a floating character accomplished with durable concrete and steel supports. The original wall-mounted sign grids have returned, with custom graphics for each tenant. Many items were salvaged to avoid construction waste, including relocating sandstone boulders that were originally handpicked in Ashfork, Arizona, and sandstone slabs for reuse at many courtyard studio entry landings. The center’s artistic renewal included paying homage to the original studio tenants. At each courtyard studio entry, symbols representing the original store logo or the artifacts that were made there are etched into the concrete slabs. The symbols are explained on a wall plaque, along with the center’s history. During the center’s upgrade, its original specifications were discovered. These specs revealed that the two plastered walls were originally used for art murals on the Fifth Avenue frontage. This space provided an opportunity to visually announce once again that this was an arts and crafts center. The art murals are a layering of ideas, including the need to be nonobjective and geometrical pieces respectful of mid-century modern architecture. The rich saturated colors refer directly to a 1973 Lloyd Kiva New oil painting titled Indian Beadwork. With its exploding graphic, the mural designed by Doug Sydnor and executed by fine artist Brian Boner also captures a sense of movement, given the associated vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Determining the initial exterior building colors involved field forensics. The masonry walls were and now are a light plum color, as discovered behind the original signs. The window and door frames
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MAY JUNE 2023
CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects
Images Courtesy of McCarthy
MCCARTHY TOPS OUT MATADOR ACTIVITY CENTER AT YUMA’S ARIZONA WESTERN COLLEGE
“T
opping out a project like the Matador Activity Center is an important milestone to mark the great progress our team is making,” says Jakob Lund, project manager at McCarthy Building Companies. “On site and around Arizona Western College’s (AWC) campus, you can feel the excitement for what the new building will bring to the students and staff. We’re proud to help make the college’s vision of an enhanced student engagement experience a reality.”
The new $17.5 million building will serve more than 11,000 students, features a two-story, 45,000-square-foot building set on 3.5 acres within the campus, and will open in fall 2023. Lund goes on to say that the biggest construction-related challenges on the project are primarily tied to current market conditions and the demand for construction trade workers. “Our industry as a whole continues to struggle to have enough skilled workers to build projects,” he says. “In addition, our project team is focused on completing the building envelope before the summer monsoon storm season. The current weather conditions in the area, combined with workforce challenges, are
Above: Representatives of McCarthy, Arizona Western College, and EMC2 Architects sign the topping-out beam. Top right: Topping-out beam placed for the Matador Activity Center. Right: Construction of the Matador Activity Center.
impacting this aspect of the project and have our teams working hard to maintain the schedule.” The most unusual aspect of constructing the Matador Activity Center is the antenna tower structure on the building for broadcasting out to other towers and stations around the state. “It’s been a unique experience to coordinate with the radio and TV stations to ensure that
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: Robby Tarwater, Superintendent
Favorite job task: Collaborating with our trade partners and executing scheduled sequences. Toughest job task: Finding complex solutions to problems on a fast-paced schedule. Most memorable day at work: We had a topping-out party at Arizona Western College, which was terrific. Celebrating milestones with the crews, facilities, and project owners is always fun. Favorite off-job task: I love “playing crazy” with my kids at home. With four little ones, it can get pretty crazy.
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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Projects Images Courtesy of McCarthy
the structure supports the many different devices that will be mounted on it and that it is correctly positioned for the transmissions,” Lund says. Located at 2020 South Avenue 8E in Yuma, the Matador Activity Center will include a lecture hall, multiple instructional modalities, shared common areas, conference rooms, maker space, an eatery, game areas, a state-of-the-art multimedia center, and an esports arena. The multimedia center will house the KAWC radio station and broadcast television studio with an emphasis on modern technology. Students and the public can
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observe behind-the-scenes production through glass walls and TV monitors. In addition, the center will provide honors students with a sanctuary to study and collaborate on group projects, a food pantry and clothing program for disadvantaged students named Andale’s Pantry, and 13,000 square feet of administrative space on the second floor. “Achieving topping out on the Matador Activity Center is exciting and brings our objective of further contributing to the student experience at Arizona Western College and serving future generations closer to realization,” said AWC President
Construction of the Matador Activity Center.
Dr. Daniel Corr. “We’re thrilled to see the progress on the building and look forward to opening it up to our students and staff this fall.” The project is funded through board-approved revenue bonds for the college’s capital-building efforts. Revenue bonds do not raise taxes for local taxpayers in Yuma and La Paz County; instead, they guarantee revenue to pay off bonds. EMC2 is the design architect for the Matador Activity Center. Major trade partners working on the project include Haxton Masonry, Delta Diversified Enterprises, Yuma Valley Contractors, Pacific Steel Inc., and Progressive Roofing. Besides McCarthy’s construction of the Matador Activity Center, Lund is impressed with Arizona Western College’s two adjacent building projects. First, the new Residence Hall is being built by Core Construction and designed by Thompson Architecture, along with the Public Safety Training Facility expansion to the south of the project. “All three of these projects are being constructed while the campus is fully functioning by different general contractors, which requires a great deal of coordination by the College and the contractors,” Lund says. “It’s a very active campus from a construction and student, faculty, and staff perspective. The College is doing a great job facilitating the coordination, and we’re all focused on keeping everyone on campus safe.” ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
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MAY JUNE 2023
CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA People
POWER GENERATOR: BOB PISKE AND GEN-TECH FRANK J. FRASSETTO III
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Images Courtesy of Author
obert “Bob” Piske recalls, as a kid, the formative experience of watching Lake Powell expand with Colorado River water after the Glen Canyon Dam was completed in 1963. “As a family, we would travel to the Lake Powell campground, watching the lake fill slowly to where it was no longer a long distance from our camping site,” he says. As an Arizona native, and co-founder of Arizona Generator Technology, Inc., aka Gen-Tech, Piske has had the opportunity to see many other changes throughout the state. Some of the most significant changes in his power generation profession include the technology, equipment, and tools utilized for work. Some modernizations are definite improvements, while others seem to compound issues. Born in Phoenix in 1957, Piske has long enjoyed working with his hands and has a deep interest in mechanical and electrical fields. His first job was as a facilities technician, changing lightbulbs in a parking garage located at the southwest corner of Central Avenue and Indian School Road in 1976. Piske then became a self-taught parking-lot ticket-printer repair technician. Eventually, Piske’s eagerness to learn new skills helped him become a high-rise engineering apprentice for three Del Webb Company properties. While working the night shift, he entered trade school and became certified as an HVAC technician.
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Piske’s next job was as an assistant at a heavy equipment dealership in the field service division, focusing on in-cab HVAC systems. For 12 years, he traveled across Arizona servicing heavy equipment, ultimately pivoting his career into power generation equipment.
Above: Field serviceman Bob Piske, center, explains his diagnostic tool to coworkers. Below: Bob Piske is one of eight nationwide selected to produce a technician certification for generator technicians.
This career path allowed Piske to commingle his electrical and mechanical interests. For example, one project in Buckeye had several gas engines with direct drive, powering a right-angle gear drive irrigation pump that would flood hundreds of acres of farmland. Over time, Piske witnessed these pumps providing groundwater along with Colorado River water supplied by the Central Arizona Project (CAP), which he worked long hours helping build. “I have traveled Arizona witnessing the state’s growth,” he says. “Orchards have given way to housing developments with little to no separation between cities.” He describes the changes to Lake Pleasant, which once collected runoff from the Agua Fria River and now also stores Colorado River water from the CAP. “Water consumption must be balanced with our reservoirs’ capacities and yearly runoff from the surrounding high country,” Piske says. “Allowing growth to exceed resources will eventually destroy our way of life.” As Piske’s experience grew, so did his opportunities. In 1989, he was selected to be the start-up technician for a construction power plant in a remote location on ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
THIRTY SIX
MAY JUNE 2023
Images Courtesy of Author
CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA People
Right: Bob Piske in 2023 standing next to a Russelectric paralleling switchgear from 2000. Below: Gen-Tech Building.
the coast of Alaska. This position was mere days after the Exxon Valdez incident, which allowed Piske to see firsthand the magnitude of the disaster. He flew to the area where a common occurrence was moose grazing along the runway, requiring a landbased vehicle to coax them away from the landing strip. Piske worked in a man camp for five long and cold weeks, operating four used generators to power the base and a tunnel-boring machine. The drilling project was designed to funnel water from a large glacier-fed lake into a vertical shaft in perfect alignment to intersect a horizontal 10-foot diameter shaft. The glacier water would fall to sea level and out into the bay after powering the hydroelectric plant, which created energy. In 1990, Piske, his wife, Peggy, and his long-time mentor launched Arizona Generator Technology, Inc., aka Gen-Tech. For 33 years, he has excelled in operating a premier power generation dealership, which provides customers with 24/7 service and many non-proprietary generators, training, parts, rental, and monitoring systems in Arizona. Gen-Tech later expanded into Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico. How have things changed in the business? “I’d like to talk about technology back to 1995, a major point in the power generation industry,” Piske says. “Windows 95 offered state-of-the-art equipPiske says simple repairs that could ment inserted into state-of-the-art facil- today but are considered time capsules and subsequently unserviceable. What was be refused or avoided in the past are now ities. Some of these 1995 technologies in ‘gee whiz’ state-of-the-art equipment has complex repairs that require rental equipemergency power plants may still exist become antiquated as Windows evolved.” ment to execute and complete. “The need for power has not changed but has become more of a necessity, in both home and business,” he says. “Our infrastructure is in a state of degradation. The need for power is not diminishing but increasing.” Looking toward the future, Piske thinks that emphasizing efficiency and smaller-sized power plants strategically placed within populated areas of cities will become much more of a norm than the large, constructed power plants that are common today. Piske adds that another significant change involves proprietary controls that will become antiquated in time. “For customers and businesses to maintain aging and expensive power systems will require alternative controls and services,” he says. “These proprietary controls limit the consumers’ choice in times of urgency and/ or emergency. Gen-Tech is committed to providing our customers with non-proprietary equipment alternatives enhancing the owners’ experience and outcomes.” ARIZCC.COM
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CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Practices
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HOW TO BACKFILL FAST: FLOWABLE CONCRETE FILL LUKE M. SNELL, P.E. AND FRANK KOZELISKI, P.E.
C
oncrete is often considered a building material used to construct our buildings and roads. The next series of articles will examine several concretes designed to meet different uses. These types of concrete may not look or perform like regular concrete; however, by altering the standard mixture or changing the ingredients, we can create concrete that can solve unique problems. Backfilling a trench can be tedious work. For example, when using a good quality structural fill material such as compacted soil as backfill, it must be placed in about a six-inch layer, then compacted. This time-consuming process also requires that workers are in the trenches, which can result in injuries or death if a cave-in occurs. An alternative, less dangerous method is available. Flowable fill was first used to backfill a trench and fill an abandoned underground fuel tank in 1964. The flowable fill was self-consolidating with a strength, in most cases, less than 150 psi. It would be placed directly from the concrete truck’s chute and require no vibrating equipment to consolidate the mixture. A single person directs the chute of the concrete truck. Flowable fill can be placed quickly with no one in the trenches; thus, this is a much safer and quicker way to backfill a trench. If piping is in the trench, the flowable fill will also provide stable bedding for the pipe. Contractors initially used flowable fill with a high volume of fly ash in the mixture because it was inexpensive compared to cement. But fly ash has become more ARIZCC.COM
expensive and is unavailable in some areas. than compacted soil. For short, shallow So now, most batch plants make a flowable trenches where workers can work withfill with 50 - 200 pounds of cement with out cave-in issues and safety procedures, enough fine aggregates (sand) or 3/8-inch compacted soil may be cheaper and safer. crusher fines and water to make the mix- Flowable fill is usually a more affordable ture flowable and easy to place. and safer method for deeper trenches. The slump will be about 11 inches, and The American Public Works Associthe water/cement ratio will be more than ation developed a Uniform Color Code to 4. This ratio compares to regular concrete identify items encased in flowable fill. For water/cement ratio between example, red indicates elec0.4 - 0.50. Thus, flowable fill trical lines, yellow is gas, oil, FLOWABLE FILL has about 8- 10 times the or gaseous pipelines, blue is water/cement ratio as stanwater, and green is sewage. IS A SAFER AND dard concrete. If future construction was QUICKER WAY The strength of the flowneeded in the area, an equipable fill will vary depending on ment operator could immeTO BACKFILL A the amount of cement added diately identify what is in the TRENCH to the mixture. On most projtrench when seeing colored ects, strength is not considflowable fill. This information ered important since the flowable fill only could prevent injuries and disruption of needs to be as strong as compacted soil. service. Typical flowable fill strengths are 50 - 300 Adding most colors into flowable fill psi at 28 days. An essential element of significantly increased its cost, except for flowable fill is that it will be set in just a red. Thus, the color code never caught on, few hours so that a worker can be on the and red is only used occasionally. surface and it can even be paved over four Testing flowable fill can be complicated hours after placement. and varies depending on the specifications. The low strength of flowable fill allows Most specifications only require a visual for relatively easy access to conduit or pipes inspection to ensure it is flowable and if repair or new construction is needed. fills the trench, but others require making Flowable fill with a strength of 50 psi can cylinders and storing them in a wet envibe removed with hand equipment, while a ronment, but not underwater. Since the backhoe is required for a strength of 150 strength is so low, larger cylinders, such as psi. Above 300 psi, flowable fill is difficult 6 x 12 inches, are recommended. This size to remove. Thus, higher strengths are not allows the testing of cylinders on a convenrecommended. tional concrete testing machine. The National Ready Mixed Concrete The industry developed flowable fill to Association performed a cost comparison backfill a trench safely and economically. of using flowable fill vs. compacted soil. It has become popular with contractors, They found the labor cost of placing com- especially for stabilizing voids such as basepacted soil was more than six times more ments, septic tanks, mines, buried tanks, expensive even though the material cost of and backfill behind retaining walls. flowable fill is two-four times more costly ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
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developers, and agencies use, everybody has different formats and protocols, so it’s extremely convoluted,” says Brian Juroff, senior vice president of sales at Topcon Positioning Group. “While job site connectivity is easy to define, executing it is a completely different matter. Every contractor has a different soup mix of software for office, modeling, scanning, etc. So it becomes a huge hurdle.” What’s needed is a connective tissue that integrates fully with all pieces of information, creating a living, adaptive body of data.
GPS manager for DXI Construction. “We are managing 65 active jobs, and we have to manage the GPS info as different crews move in and out of different jobs weekly, sometimes daily.” DXI Construction juggles the workload for 51 different crews in three states, which necessitates being able to instantly connect and “program” each team for the work. “The investment we have made has eliminated not being able to work because we have to wait for stakeout or wait for a program to be driven to a job and downloaded,” Ballou adds.
TECHNOLOGY HAS GIVEN JOBSITE CONNECTIVITY A BOOST. Technology infrastructure advancements like 5G networks, LiDAR scanning, GNSS, and edge computing are laying the foundation for job site connectivity. One of the biggest shifts is open architecture software integrating data from different sources. “That’s allowing a lot of contractors to embrace the concept of automating their processes,” Juroff says. While jobs in more remote areas still face connectivity issues, the amount of data that can be transmitted has grown exponentially. There’s a wealth of data waiting to be mined, from machine telematics to design data to labor apps, says Jason Anetsberger, Komatsu’s director of customer solutions. Connected machines can now receive updated design data and report back their productivity and the shape of the terrain as they create it. And not just machines and production schedules are part of the data mix. Trackers, specialized hardhats, and smart glasses add location, fall alerts, and biometrics JOBSITE CONNECTIVITY IS COMPLEX. This is one example of the information information on construction workers, needs of one division of one company. Mul- increasing safety and labor management tiply those needs company-wide and then capabilities. by all the entities with which that one com- CONTRACTOR TECHNOLOGY ATTITUDES pany does business. Now add the industry HAVE CHANGED. at large, and you understand the complexContractor attitudes have also shifted, ities involved. increasing their technology adoption lev“It sounds pretty simple, but when you els. Not having to physically download job look at the disparate systems GCs, subs, model revisions is critical, says Lyle Ballou,
WHAT’S THE RIGHT SOLUTION? One barrier to job site connectivity is the sheer choice of tech options, says Jim Bretz, connectivity services support manager at Volvo Construction Equipment. “Customers don’t know what to choose,” he said. Fears about office and field data security are also valid. “It’s so fragmented right now with the number of solutions,” agrees Mitchell. “One company has a cool answer for one thing, and another has a cool answer for another. So how do you now bring that information into the whole so you can make decisions?”
THE ONGOING EVOLUTION OF JOB SITE CONNECTIVITY GREGG WARTGOW
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ouldn’t it be great if the entire job site – the general contractor, subs, designers, owners, equipment vendors, and material suppliers – worked in sync with the data that shifts with each condition change, progress report, change order, telematics warning, and machine inspection? That the right people got the right information at the right time to make informed decisions? This one-dashboard vision is much, much easier said than done. The journey of Langdon Mitchell, an equipment manager for Morgan Corp., illuminates the roadblocks. Several years back, Mitchell needed someone to go machine-by-machine to physically update the software in his fleet. The next big hurdle: each OEM (original equipment manufacturer) had its own proprietary telematics portal. Morgan, like most contractors, has a mixed fleet, and getting a unified fleet view from all the disparate systems was time-consuming. The company is now using a third-party product that amalgamates the information from each brand in the company fleet and its rental equipment. “It’s become a single source of truth,” Mitchell says. “Beyond the raw telematics data, it’s allowing us to have tools to have actionable items.” But Morgan’s eventual goal is to allow project managers to see the machines on other projects and identify those with little utilization.
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CONSTRUCTION HAS TECHNOLOGY’S ATTENTION. “I love the attention that the industry is now getting,” says Anetsberger. “People are seeing that it’s either ripe for digital disruption or that there must be an easier way.” Contractors can piggyback on what’s happening in the broader technology space. In addition to job site connectivity, these efforts will lay the groundwork for autonomous machines. But don’t think job site connectivity will solve all problems, Bretz warns. “It will likely reveal more issues and create a whole new aspect of managing job sites and machines because it opens up a lot of information that wasn’t immediately available,” he says.
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FORTY TWO
MAY JUNE 2023
HEATHER SMITH
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ater is a life force essential for humans to exist. However, water is both a friend and foe when it comes to construction. When water is harnessed and contained, it enables modern plumbing, facilitates cleaning and maintenance activities on job sites, and serves as a source of art and entertainment once a building is operational. Water’s added value is multifold when utilized to enhance the design aesthetic of a structure and the well-being of the people who use the facility. There is a reason that humans crave spending time near streams, waterfalls, lakes, and oceans. Studies have found that the negative ions naturally formed by moving water can improve energy levels and mood, relieve depression symptoms, and reduce anger, among other mental and physical health benefits. As a result, indoor and outdoor water features have grown in popularity post-pandemic as architects and designers work to incorporate design elements that can reduce stress, support good mental health, and benefit overall well-being into projects. Incorporating water features into indoor and outdoor commercial spaces has many benefits. First, they create a unique gathering place for everyone who uses the area. People are naturally drawn to sit around the edge of a fountain and watch the water while they eat, converse, take a moment to themselves, or while kids play. Water features increase the value of commercial space by amplifying its usability, attracting people, encouraging them to linger longer, and improving aesthetics.
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The type of water features that can be built today is only limited by imagination. More common water features include fountains, large-format fish tanks, and reflecting pools, but even these more prevalent water features can have elevated designs. Acrylic panels can be incorporated as the walls of fountains and reflecting pools to give the appearance that water is suspended in space as it cascades over the invisible edges. Water walls and even water rooms, with seats surrounded by water on all sides, are also possibilities. Each water feature design is unique. Some projects will incorporate components like structural metalwork, concrete forms, and even wood structures that act as a base support or complimentary design aspect for the water feature. In other cases, the water feature may be built from acrylic panels manufactured offsite and assembled at the building site. Three standard water feature options include: SPHERICAL FOUNTAINS Water globes are a classic, bold statement in any location. Depending on the available space, spherical fountains can be constructed as big or small as desired. Of course, the bigger the sphere, the larger the statement and the more sophisticated a location will look. Spherical fountains can also be grouped in various sizes for a more significant impact. Not only are spherical fountains elegant, but they also provide a tranquil element to fit in any setting. CENTERPIECE Water features can be the main event of a space by building a standalone centerpiece. For example, an above-ground fountain creates a calming focal point for its surrounding area, especially when accompanied by larger shrubs and trees for balance. The fountain can be as large or as
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TAKING THE PLUNGE: BUILDING WITH WATER HAS LASTING BENEFITS
small as necessary. Some choose a small lake with a fountain in the middle, while others opt for an intricate, standalone water fountain. Either way, a centrally located water feature will grab the attention of anyone using the building.
WATER WALL One of the most eye-catching custom water feature options is incorporating a waterfall into a perpendicular wall. It adds a unique style and flair to outdoor spaces or building lobbies. Its large and wide build grabs people’s attention, and the trickling water gives them a calming sensation. Incorporating a bold water wall into a space exudes style and confidence. CONCLUSION Regardless of the materials required by the design of a water feature, the most crucial part of the construction is waterproofing. Working with water feature experts versus general contractors who occasionally build water features can be the difference between a water feature that springs a leak within a few months and seals that last for years. Nothing can compare to the peace and tranquility that a water feature brings to a space. Whether it is an enormous fish tank pillar seen from every corner of a room, a statement-making two-story water wall in a lobby, or a small fountain in a courtyard, water features’ aesthetic and health benefits are priceless. Heather Smith, CEO of ASI - American Sealants, Inc. (www.amsealinc.com), is an expert within the habitat construction industry, focusing on aquatic and zoo exhibits and high-end residential swimming pools. Their clients include Sea World, St. Louis Zoo, Disney, Bass Pro, and the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
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T
he “Equipment Triangle” is a philosophy where transactions between end users, distributors, and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) should be a win-win for all parties. However, with significant changes in the construction equipment industry underway, dealerships and manufacturers must adapt to keep the Equipment Triangle in balance. We asked industry leaders what the future holds: 1. ONLINE SALES AND ONLINE RENTALS WILL INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY In 2021 online sales of automobiles reached 30 percent of the market, their highest level. In July 2022, Ford announced it would move sales of its electric vehicles online at a fixed price, following Volvo and Tesla. “Whatever happens in the auto industry is coming to construction equipment dealerships,” says Garry Bartecki, former CFO of the Associated Equipment Distributors. In a 2021 study, off-highway dealers think it is likely that OEMs will implement a direct-to-consumer model within five years. As a result, they expect digital purchasing of new equipment to increase. There will still be transportation, delivery, and service, but it will be much more efficient,” explains Steve Clegg, Managing Director of Winsby, Inc., a business development firm. “Dealers are behind the curve, and contractors are ahead of the curve when it comes to utilizing the Internet,” says Ron Slee, Managing Director of Learning Without Scars, a training resource for dealers. The shift to e-commerce creates what he calls “the Amazon effect,” which means dealers must transition from selling things to selling services.
2. ELECTRIFICATION WILL DISRUPT THE DEALER’S REVENUE MODEL Electrification of construction equipment is in its early stages, but the global off-highway electric vehicle market size is expected to reach $42.7 billion by 2030. Lower operating costs, improved battery technology, and lower battery costs will drive growth. “You are going to see the whole industry switch to battery-operated or hybrid machines,” says Clegg. “The number of parts drops by about 90 percent, so if your operating costs for a skid-steer were $20 an hour, that drops to $3 per hour.” Dealers make their money on parts and services, which cover all the expenses of the dealership. “Electric machines will cut maintenance costs so that the dealers will make less money and the OEMs will make less money,” says Bartecki. “It’s a whole new ball game.” Dealerships must focus on new revenue sources. “Because they have the service expertise, I recommend they move into supporting and servicing batteries, providing services such as recharging vehicles, tires, wear parts, and repair,” says Clegg. “They can also expand into new lines of equipment.” 3. CONNECTED MACHINES AND JOB SITES WILL CONTINUE TO REDUCE OWNING AND OPERATING COSTS Telematics can greatly reduce owning and operating costs. Nearly all new construction equipment machinery is equipped with technology that allows equipment owners and dealers to avoid downtime through preventative maintenance and early detection of mechanical issues. The challenge has been getting equipment owners on board. Across the industry, the adoption of telematics may be only 30 percent. The dealer has the trust of their customer, but they tend to be a single brand, while most customers have mixed fleets.
Slee believes OEMs have tried to protect their own at the expense of the marketplace, but he’s starting to see some signs of change. “The machines need to be able to talk to each other as they do in other industries.”
CONSTRUCTION AROUND ARIZONA Practices
2023 EQUIPMENT DEALERSHIP TRENDS
4. TECHNOLOGY WILL BRING GREATER EFFICIENCY TO PARTS AND SERVICE Parts are the bread and butter of a dealership, but buying parts is anything but easy for an end-user. When a machine is down, the costs are astounding, and end-users and rental dealers will likely pay a premium for the part. According to Slee, OEM dealer market share for parts has dropped about half, to 35-40 percent. Buyers today have more options, including Amazon. Luke Powers, CEO of Gearflow, a webbased platform designed to facilitate the sale of parts, believes dealers will soon compete directly with Amazon. The platform provides one location for end-users to request parts from their existing suppliers or discover new ones, access their past parts order history paired to their machines, and centralize invoicing and reporting across their mixed fleet. “The No. 1 way dealers lose customers is through miscommunication,” says Powers. A messaging center keeps communications tied to each part’s request and order in a central location. “We’re trying to automate as much of the process as possible, ultimately allowing end-users and dealers to focus more on productivity and service.”
5. RENTAL CONTINUES TO GROW, WHILE AN EQUIPMENT-AS-A-SERVICE MODEL DRAWS INTEREST Rental is expected to continue its upward trajectory fueled by higher prices for construction machinery and rising interest rates. The concept of equipmentas-a-service, which would transfer responsibility for equipment to the manufacturer or dealer, allowing customers to focus on their core business, is also gaining interest. Unlike equipment rental, it might involve an entire fleet to be provided for several years with the potential to tie invoicing directly to usage. Slee believes the concept has potential. “Contractors use the machine to dig a hole. They are only interested in the hole, and they look at the equipment merely as an operating cost,” he says.
Image Courtesy CONEXPO-CON
CHANGE IS COMING FAST Change typically accelerates in the face of headwinds, whether it is a pandemic, inflation, or high-interest rates. Dealerships that want to succeed must prepare for change, which means gearing up with the people, technology, and services the market demands. ARIZCC.COM
ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
FORTY SIX
MAY JUNE 2023
Back When A CAMEL’S SEAL OF APPROVAL Douglas Towne
W
ater is not a fungible commodity. In other words, all water is not the same. In Phoenix, Verde River water is the preferred source, as the Salt River is somewhat saline, and groundwater often contains hard minerals. That water quality reality was the impetus for Tonopah Bottled Water to market its low salt and mineral brand in 1966. The Arabian-inspired camel advertisement coincided with the company celebrating its new bottling facility at 116 South 23rd Street in Phoenix. Wilson, Van Sant, and Marion Development Company built the 3,700 square-feet structure, which included offices, production areas, and storage. The land, building, and equipment cost approximately $100,000.
Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
Tonopah Bottled Water first serviced the Valley in 1947. The company, located at 2227 North 24th Street in Phoenix, got its name from well water that was trucked in from Image Courtesy of Author Tonopah, a community west of the city. In 1957, Joseph Wynn, a frozen food distributor, acquired the company when he moved with his wife, Mali, from New York. At the time, Tonopah Bottled Water was one of three bottled water operations percent of its sales. They also provided fluin the Valley, along with Arizona Sparkling oride-fortified water for those concerned about their dental health. “Tap water isn’t Water and Crystal Bottled Water. Besides drinking water, the company going to hurt you,” Wynn told The Arizona offered distilled water devoid of minerals Republic in 1982, “But bottled water tastes for industrial uses, which accounted for 70 better.”
Image Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
MAY JUNE 2023
ARIZONA’S LAZY RIVER: THE CENTRAL ARIZONA PROJECT AQUEDUCT
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Douglas Towne
t’s no secret that Arizona and California often don’t see eye-to-eye, as evidenced by the Diamondbacks and Suns’ enmity for the Dodgers and Lakers. But when the two states haggle over water, which they’ve done for almost a century, things can turn nasty. In 1934, tempers about the Colorado River frayed so badly that Arizona governor Benjamin Moeur ordered armed National Guard troops ferried across the river to stop the construction of Parker Dam, which benefited California’s use of the water. But the decades of bad hydrologic vibes seemed to became water under the bridge when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Colorado River Basin Project Act in 1968. “I have a feeling of freedom this morning when I see California and Arizona sitting there, arm-in-arm, smiling with each other,” Johnson said. The legislation funded the Central Arizona Project, a massive plumbing network that provides water to tribes, cities, irrigation districts, and recharge projects in Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal counties. The aqueduct, which can be seen from outer space, was one of the state’s largest construction projects, completed in 1994 at a whopping cost of $4 billion. The most expensive aqueduct system ever constructed in the U.S., the 336-mile canal diverts nearly 500 billion gallons of Colorado River water annually. “The flow is like seeing 3,000 basketballs rolling by every second,” Marcus Shapiro, CAP water systems supervisor, said in 2018. The CAP crosses western Arizona from Lake Havasu to Phoenix before heading south to Tucson. Water is lifted 2,900 feet along the route by 14 pumping plants. The system proves that water does indeed run uphill if you provide enough energy: CAP is the largest power user in Arizona. Seven states contribute to the Colorado River: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Disputes about water rights and claims have been ongoing since the early 1900s. After five years of negotiations, the Colorado River Compact was hammered out in 1922. The agreement divided the Colorado Left: Peter Kiewit employees pose by an Ameron siphon during CAP construction, 1979.
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ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
River into Upper and Lower basin states, giving each basin rights to 7.5 million acrefeet of water annually. Arizona was granted 2.8 million acre-feet, with fellow Lower Basin states California and Nevada awarded 4.4 million acre-feet and 0.3 million acrefeet, respectively. An acre-foot of water can supply three households for a year. The Arizona legislature, however, disagreed with the state’s allocation and threw cold water on the compact. Thirsty opponents claimed Arizona should have superior water rights because the Colorado River flowed through or along the state’s boundaries for nearly half its length. As a result, Arizona didn’t sign the compact until 1944, fearful of being left dry because that same year, the U.S. agreed to provide Mexico with 1.5 million acre-feet annually from the river. Arizona senators Carl Hayden and Ernest McFarland introduced the first bill to authorize the CAP in Congress in 1946. Four years later, a CAP bill passed the Senate but not the House, blocked by political maneuvering from the California delegation. As a result, creating the CAP would take “…blood, sweat, work, grit, fight and compromise by Arizonans focused on knowing what they wanted and be willing to battle two decades for it,” said Brenda Burman, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation commissioner, in 2018. In 1951, Congress postponed further action until Arizona and California hashed out an agreement concerning the Colorado River. The complicated conflict resulted in the lawsuit Arizona v. California in 1956. The U.S. Supreme Court, eight years later, handed down a decision that mostly favored Arizona and resulted in new Congressional authorization attempts for CAP. After numerous compromises and amendments, CAP legislation was finally approved in 1968, shepherded in a bipartisan manner by Arizona statesmen Hayden, John Rhodes, Paul Fannin, Stewart Udall, and Morris Udall. To manage the nation’s most expensive water system, the Central Arizona Water Conservation District was organized in 1971. It maintains and delivers CAP’s 1.5 million acre-feet of water, which is more than half of Arizona’s Colorado River allotment, and repays $1.65 billion of the project’s cost.
Image Courtesy of Library of Congress
Top right: President Lyndon B. Johnson and Senator Carl Hayden at the signing of the Colorado River Basin Project Act, 1968. Mid right: Peter Kiewit crew on CAP project (l-r): Varnie Keys, D9H operator; Cotton Smith, grade foreman; and Joe Boursaw, sheepsfoot roller operator. Right: CAP construction by a Caterpillar 631B scraper and two D9L bulldozers near Red Mountain and Bush Highway, 1981. Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
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MAY JUNE 2023
Image Courtesy of Bureau of Reclamation
Above: CAP Aqueduct during construction at Eagle Eye Road bridge, 1977. Right: Construction of the Aqua Fria Siphon, 1976.
In 1973, Peter Kiewit Sons Co. started constructing the intake for Colorado River water, the Havasu Pumping Plant at Lake Havasu. The Intake Channel Dike near the lake’s southern end was designed to prevent sedimentation from the river and involved moving an estimated 742,000 cubic yards of earth. “To facilitate the placement of the dike on the firm lake bottom, Kiewit uses a water-jetting barge ahead of the filling work to loosen the sediment. The barge, owned by the Bureau of Reclamation and called the Bill Williams Barge, is an old timer, having been used during the construction of Parker Dam in the 1930s,” according to a December 1973 Image Courtesy of CAP
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ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
Images Courtesy of CAP
article in the Arizona/New Mexico Contractor and Engineer. Another major CAP construction project was to create a tunnel through the Buckskin Mountains in western Arizona. J.F. Shea Co., of Walnut, CA, used a tunnel-boring machine called the Mole, assembled at the job site, to cut a 6.9-mile 24-foot bore through volcanic rock. The work excavated about 600,000 cubic yards of material, and 55,000 cubic yards of concrete were used to line the tunnel. Kiewit placed siphons for the CAP underneath the Agua Fria, New, and Salt rivers. The three 21-foot diameter concrete siphons built by Ameron totaled 4.5 miles in length. Ameron used concrete batch plants at each site and employed its oversized “Pipemobile” to transport the sections and a LeTourneau 700 pipe-lifting machine for their placement, according to Builder Architect/Contractor Engineer in 1976. Other contractors in the initial stages of CAP construction included M.M Sundt Construction and Western Contracting Corp. of Sioux City, IA As a result of this construction, CAP water was first delivered to the Harquahala Valley Irrigation District, west of Phoenix, in 1985 and eventually to its terminus, Tucson, in 1993. Since some sections of the CAP are almost 50 years old, system maintenance is critical. “A lot of our suppliers whom we obtained our initial equipment from aren’t even in business, or they don’t manufacture the products anymore,” Gordon Myers, CAP central shop supervisor, said in 2018. Myers’ shop overcomes this challenge by reverse-engineering parts that need replacing. The scale of equipment can be daunting. “For instance, the largest bolt we handle requires a wrench so big and heavy that two people are necessary to use it,” Myers said. One problem that system maintenance can’t fix, however, is the region’s pervasive drought, as evidenced by the white, calcium-carbonate bathtub ring around Lake Mead. With its water pistol holstered, Arizona is working with its old nemesis, California, to voluntarily reduce its river allotment. Still, Arizona might be in for a rough ride, as studies have projected that the Colorado River’s flow could decrease 35 percent this century.
Top right: General contractor Ball, Ball & Brosamer at Gila River Siphon during CAP construction, 1984. Mid right: The CAP, including the Burnt Mountain tunnel in western Arizona, 1990. Right: Construction of the Mark Wilmer Pumping Plant at Lake Havasu, 1976. Image Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
FIFTY TWO
MAY JUNE 2023
ARIZONA’S HIGH LINE AQUEDUCT PLAN
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nitially, some Arizonans favored another idea to move Colorado River water into central Arizona that would create power instead of using it: a gravity-powered system called the High Line Canal. The plan was first unveiled in the 1920s and championed by Fred Colter, a six-term Apache County state senator. One version of the High Line Canal envisioned constructing a dam on the Colorado River near the present-day site of Glen Canyon Dam. Then, workers would drill a 28-foot diameter tunnel into the canyon wall to divert water 46 miles to another dam on the Little Colorado River. A second tunnel would carry the flow 97 miles south to Oak Creek and be carried to Phoenix via the Verde River. A wealthy cattleman, Colter funded much of the High Line Canal campaign for over 20 years until his death in 1944. However, the project was delayed because of contentious water rights connected to the Colorado River and went unbuilt, deemed unpractical.
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Above: High Line Canal Project map showing dams and tunnels connecting the Colorado and Verde rivers, 1920s.
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA’S LONG STRAW:
THE COLORADO RIVER AQUEDUCT Douglas Towne
W
hen your turn on a faucet in Southern California, be assured that the water emanating from it comes from a long, long way away. The region is supplied by three main sources of drinking water, all of which originate at a great distance from the metropolitan area. The Los Angeles Aqueduct is a 438mile concrete river that first tapped water east of the Sierra Nevada mountains in
FIFTY FOUR
Owens Valley in 1913 and, in 1941, further north at Mono Lake. The 444-mile-long California Aqueduct carries water from up north in the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta. Financed by a state bond issue in 1960, it first delivered water to Southern California in 1973. The third source, California’s Colorado River Aqueduct, was recognized by The American Society of Civil Engineers as
one of the seven Engineering Wonders of American Engineering in 1955. It delivers water from one of the nation’s most overallocated rivers. In 1931, Los Angeles-area voters approved a $220 million bond to fund the massive construction project. The Metropolitan Water District considered four aqueduct routes. Conceived by engineer William Mulholland and designed by Frank E. Weymouth, the selected Parker route was mainly downhill, using gravity for water flow. However, this option necessitated building a major dam on the Colorado River. Construction of the Parker Dam by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation turned out to be quite contentious. The neighboring state of Arizona went so far as to deploy 100 armed National Guardsmen, some of
MAY JUNE 2023
whom boarded two riverboats to create an ill-fated naval task force that attempted to halt the project in 1934. Unfortunately, one of the boats became entangled in cables related to the dam’s construction and had to be rescued by Californians who were part of the Federal dam-building project. This naval force did temporarily delay Parker Dam, which was completed in 1938 to form Lake Havasu. “It’s the last occurrence in American history when one state took up arms against another no matter how unlikely it was that the arms would ever be fired,” John Larsen Southard, a local historian, told KJZZ radio in 2013. Construction started on California’s Colorado River Aqueduct in 1933, and it took eight years to complete. The aqueduct
system included four dams, five reservoirs, five pumping plants, 29 tunnels, 92 miles of tunnels, 63 miles of canals, 55 miles of conduit, and 144 underground siphons. Construction employed 30,000 workers over eight years, and it was the most extensive public works project in Southern California during the Great Depression. The aqueduct begins near Parker Dam. Hydroelectric power generated at the dam is used at pumping plants along the aqueduct, according to https://waterandpower. org/. From Lake Havasu, the Whitsett Pumping Plant sends the water over the Whipple Mountains into siphons and canals in the Mojave Desert. At Iron Mountain, the water is again lifted before the aqueduct heads towards the Eagle Mountains, where the water is raised two more times.
The aqueduct then runs through Coachella Valley and the San Gorgonio Pass. Near Cabazon, it goes underground to enter the San Jacinto Tunnel through the San Jacinto Mountains. After the tunnel, water continues underground until it reaches the terminus at Lake Mathews. Colorado River water takes about 72 hours to make the 242-mile journey along the aqueduct, flowing at around 3.4 miles per hour. In 1941, the Metropolitan Water District began to wholesale Colorado River water to its member agencies, which now Left: Two Caterpillar 583 Pipelayer machines, hoisting pipe for siphon installation, 1957. Below: An American Pipe & Construction Co. crane is installing a steel-cage frame to form a concrete pipe, 1957.
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include more than 130 municipalities and many unincorporated areas. The aqueduct was completed the same year that Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, which brought the U.S. into World War II. As part of the preparations for war, U.S. General George S. Patton established the Desert Training Center in Southern California and western Arizona, where Army troops trained to invade Nazi Germany-occupied North Africa. The Colorado River Aqueduct became an invaluable water source for the training center. “He [General Patton] knew the aqueduct was right here off of the two-lane roads that intersected four miles west of here — the old two-lane highway from Indio to Blythe and the still current twolane road from Mecca called Cottonwood. He pitched his first pup tent literally within 200 yards of the aqueduct, told his soldiers to tap into that water, and that’s how his camps grew,” according to a 2016 article in The Desert Sun. FIFTY SIX
But the Colorado River Aqueduct needed more work, having only been partially completed in 1941. Most siphons were designed to be constructed as two parallel pipes, but as a cost-saving measure, only one siphon was built. The Metropolitan Water District believed the second siphon would not be needed until 1980, but rapid growth in Southern California expedited the need for additional siphons. American Pipe & Construction Co. of South Gate, CA, won a $16 million contract for the project, which included manufacturing almost 4,000 16-foot long, 68-ton segments with a nearly 16-foot outer diameter. The pre-cast reinforced concrete pipe sections were connected with rubber gasket joints. In 1957, the company built a semi-portable materials plant near the mouth of Big Morongo Canyon near the community of Morongo Valley to construct pipe for all the siphons west of the Eagle Mountain pump lift, which is located 50 miles east of Indio.
The facility, known as the Big Morongo Plant, was then moved to Freda Siding, situated near the community of Rice, to complete work on the eastern section of the aqueduct. The 47 siphons, which vary in length from 73 to 15,400 feet, carry water beneath drainage channels, canyons, washes, and other depressions. The longest siphon crosses a depression near Rice. The siphons connect various sections of the aboveground aqueduct, which consist of 92 miles of tunnels, 63 miles of concrete-lined canals, and 54 miles of concrete conduits. The “Pipemobile” that drove in and partially through a pipe section was an invaluable piece of machinery used on the project. The driver lowered the front set of wheels to pick up the pipe and place it into the trench for installation. Other aspects of the $200 million project included adding six pumps at each of the aqueduct’s five pumping stations, increasing the capacity of Lake Mathews, MAY JUNE 2023
Above: An American Pipe & Construction Co. dragline excavator backfilling siphon pipe for the Colorado River Aqueduct, 1957. Top right: An American Pipe & Construction Co. Pipemobile moving pipe into place before setting, 1957. Mid right: Caterpillar bulldozers hauling pipe during siphon construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct, 1957. Right: Power lines at Hoover Dam, 1969.
the aqueduct’s terminal reservoir located near Riverside, enlarging the softening and filtration plant near La Verne, and constructing a second aqueduct to San Diego. “This is one of the largest engineering, pipe fabrication, and installation projects ever to be undertaken in Southern California,” Robert Diemer, Metropolitan Water District chief engineer, said in 1957. Without the increased supply afforded by the additional siphons, Southern California would look very different today. Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
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BATTLING OVER THE COLORADO RIVER: NELLIE BUSH AND THE ARIZONA NAVY Michael Cady
D
id Arizona really create a navy led by a female admiral to attack California in 1934? OK, it did, but this fleet only consisted of two small ferryboats that normally would have transported people and vehicles peacefully across the Colorado River. But when the federal government began constructing Parker Dam on the Colorado River, Arizona Governor Benjamin Moeur filled these two “warships” with armed National Guard troops and ordered them to stop California workers from constructing the dam. Like many issues in the Southwest, both then and now, the conflict was about water. Gov. Moeur didn’t believe Arizona was getting its fair share of the Colorado River and feared that Parker Dam, which would form Lake Havasu, would divert even more water to California via the Colorado River Aqueduct, which transported water to the Los Angeles area. Was this true? The Colorado River’s water rights are complicated and impacted by many things, including agreements, court decisions, treaties, contracts, and regulatory guidelines across seven states and two nations. In 1922, an agreement called the Colorado River Compact attempted to organize the river’s water by dividing the states involved into the Upper Basin
(Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming) and the Lower Basin (Arizona, California, and Nevada). However, since this compact did not guarantee Arizona a defined share of water, the state did not ratify it until 1944. Finally, after years of conflict, a U.S. Supreme Court decision helped support Arizona’s argument in 1963. But in 1934, such a resolution needed to be clarified. Gov. Moeur believed that if Arizona didn’t halt the construction of Parker Dam, the state would lose its share of the Colorado River. Another contention was that Arizona was never consulted on the construction of Parker Dam by either federal or California authorities. Such issues led to Arizona’s “invasion” of California. Above: The ferry, Nellie Jo, at Parker on the Colorado River 1934. Right: Arizona Governor Benjamin Baker Moeur. Below: The ferry, Julia B, at Parker on the Colorado River, 1934.
Image Courtesy of Pomona Collage
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Image Courtesy of Caliosphere
Arizona’s two-boat navy, the Nellie Jo and Julia B ferryboats, would attempt to land a hundred Arizona troops on California’s shore of the Colorado River. This fleet was led by Nellie Bush, often called the “Admiral of the Arizona Navy.” Bush had an impressive career and is in the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame. She worked as a teacher in Glendale and, along with her husband, Joe Bush, helped develop the town of Parker, Arizona. In addition, Bush served in both houses of the Arizona Legislature for a total of 18 years, went to law school, was admitted to the bar in Arizona and California, and had an unsuccessful run for U.S. Representative in 1936 with the campaign slogan, “Nellie T. Bush: The Best “Man” in the Race!” Bush worked for 17 years as a licensed ferry boat captain on the Colorado River, which brought her into the conflict.
Image Courtesy of AZ Memory Project
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Star Image Courtesy of AZ Daily
Above: Nellie T. Bush campaign ad for U.S. Congress, 1936. Right: Admiral Nellie Bush at Parker on the Colorado River, 1934.
Arizona’s navy sailed for California, but they never made the not-so-distant shore as one ferryboat became entangled in cables in the river. Chagrined and embarrassed, Arizona’s troops had to request a rescue from dam workers on the California side, thus ending the ignominious military conflict. Although the fleet action was unsuccessful, Arizona received national news Image Courtesy of AZ Memory Project
Image Courtesy of Caliosphere
Above: The ferry, Nellie Jo, at Parker on the Colorado River 1934. Left: Construction of Parker Dam, 1937.
coverage regarding the water conflict. The Secretary of the Interior, Harold L. Ickes, responded by temporarily stopping construction on Parker Dam and investigating Arizona’s claims. Ickes eventually restarted work on Parker Dam, which was completed in 1938. In return, Arizona received federal funding for the Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project. Thus, naval historians might refer to Arizona’s lone naval engagement as a tactical defeat but a strategic victory. Image Courtesy of Water & Power Associates
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SALUTING ARIZONA’S BUILDERS: KARL RONSTADT
I
t’s fitting to spotlight Karl Ronstadt in this water-themed issue of Arizona Contractor & Community. “I always liked dam work,” Ronstadt told the magazine in 2014. “As a kid where I grew up, the dams on the Santa Margarita Ranch in the Altar Valley southwest of Tucson were built by mule-drawn Fresno scrapers. Then the first crawler tractors came in during the late 1930s.” Ronstadt’s waterworks continued from this indoctrination after he started New Pueblo Constructors in 1959. The company built the earth-fill dam that created Patagonia Lake in 1965. In the early 1970s, working with an El Paso company, New Pueblo built the Tat Momolikat Dam within the Tohono O’odham Nation, the world’s sixth-largest earth-fill dam. In the mid-1980s, the company focused on water utilities, treatment plants, and the
Central Arizona Project distribution system near Queen Creek. Water infrastructure, however, is just a drop in the bucket when measuring Ronstadt’s impact on the construction industry and southern Arizona, where he’s blessed with Tucson’s most famous last name. The Ronstadts were an influential family in the Old Pueblo long before his first cousin, Linda Ronstadt, was the queen of pop music in the 1970s. Ronstadt attended the University of Arizona but graduated from Cornell University in 1951 and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force as an
officer. In 1954, he returned to Tucson to work at his family’s farm and feedlot, doing heavy equipment work as a side hustle. He launched New Pueblo Constructors and handled the business, construction, and agriculture while his old friend, Howard King, was the engineer. “It was a tough time to start a construction company in 1959,” Ronstadt recalls. “There was lots of competition in the industry.” The company initially did utility and underground work, along with earthmoving, and grew rapidly. New Pueblo, which advertised itself as “a company with young management and with old ties to the region it serves,” built miles of highway in Arizona and New Mexico and assorted jobs such as the retirement community of Green Valley. Ronstadt lived in Tucson and piloted his plane to oversee the sometimes-far-flung projects. In addition to building infrastructure, Ronstadt served as president of the
Karl Ronstadt, age 32, and Howard King, owners of New Pueblo Constructors in Tucson, 1962. MAY JUNE 2023
Associated General Contractors of Arizona, the Tucson Airport Authority, and the University of Arizona’s College of Agriculture, along with positions on many university and industry boards. But of all his accomplishments, Ronstadt’s greatest satisfaction was seeing his employees continue with successful careers and helping others in the field. With Ronstadt at the helm for over three decades, New Pueblo was a significant player in Southwest construction. They completed their last project in the mid-1990s. Ronstadt modestly says of the firm’s legacy, “It seemed we had to keep growing or quit the business.” And expand they did, becoming a contracting outfit that is still spoken of in revered tones. Top right: Ronstadt serving as president of the Associated General Contractors of Arizona, 1972. Right: Fleet of belly dump trucks at New Pueblo Constructors pit operations, 1964. Bottom right: Ron Keefer presenting Ronstadt with the Arizona Rock Products Association safety award for the work of New Pueblo Constructors, 1978. Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
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A WHALE OF A TEMPE TALE: ONE VERSION OF BIG SURF’S ORIGIN: PART 1 Aaron Gilbreath
M
y dad, Joe Gilbreath, told me the full version of a story I’d heard my whole life about his brush with fame and fortune before he died at age 81 in 2020. I couldn’t fact-check this story to confirm all of the details. Now that my dad’s gone, I take it at face value and share it with the same caveat. In 1966, a 40-year-old engineer and construction manager named Phil Dexter came into Dad’s office during lunch and SIXTY SIX
said, “Hey, I want you to come over to the house to see something.” They’d worked together at the famous Del E. Webb Construction Company in Phoenix and transferred to Phoenix’s Pete King Construction. After work, Dexter led Dad into his backyard, which was paved with Spanish tile and partitioned with a white curtain and a bamboo mat. He’d built a prototype there of what Dad soon realized was a beach. It wasn’t just any beach. It was a model of a
Image Courtesy of Author
beach that produced a single artificial wave and that, in 1969, would officially become Big Surf, the U.S.’s first artificial wave pool. Originally designed exclusively for inland surfing, Big Surf is the park that introduced the term ‘wave pool’ into the MAY JUNE 2023
Image Courtesy of Duke University
Top left: Phil Dexter with his second backyard model of a wave pool, late 1960s. Above: An Eller billboard advertising Big Surf, 1970s. Left: Joe Gilbreath, 1970.
lexicon and that, once its patent expired after 18 years, spawned a booming worldwide water park industry. Even if you never body-surfed Big Surf’s giant wave before the park got torn down, you can see it at the beginning of the 1987 surf movie North Shore. And you’ve surely seen the way it shaped the design of water parks everywhere, from Illinois to Bangkok to Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, whose six-foot high wave pulses through North America’s largest wave pool. But Big Surf’s prototype was very unassuming. “It was a little, thin, channel-type thing,” Dad recalled. “It was shaped like ARIZCC.COM
a trough.” Running 30 to 40 feet long and maybe 12 inches wide, Dad remembered the trough sat slightly off the ground on sawhorses. On one end, it had a reservoir full of water that reminded him of a toilet tank. On the other end, sheet metal fanned from the 12-inch-tall Plexiglass walls, opening onto a sandy replica beach with miniature palm trees. Dad remembered this as Dexter’s second prototype. As The Arizona Republic later described, his first, more crude version was made of “plywood and held together using baling wire and discarded socks.” “Because water is eight pounds per gallon,” Dad said, “that gives you the force, the inertia, to move that water out at the speed and height you want. Phil probably played around with the dimensions a lot to
get the result he wanted during his early experimentation.” Dad said Dexter had him stand at the sandy end of the trough, behind the protective Plexiglas panel, and watch. When Dexter pulled a wooden handle, a big, perfectly formed wave rushed from the reservoir, surged through the long tank, and broke on the shore before my dad, who was eye-level with the water. Dexter explained that he wanted to create a lifesize version of this reproduction ocean in the Arizona desert so millions of landlocked sun-worshippers could take up surfing. Beginning in 1959 with the bubblegum surf film Gidget, a surfing craze swept the U.S. thanks to Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello’s early ’60s beach party movies. Dexter planned to capitalize on this lucrative coastal fixation. ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
Image Courtesy of Classic Movies of
Hollywood
Originally, Big Surf wasn’t what we now call a water park, with slides and other aquatic attractions. Instead, it was an artificial beach made from 23,000 tons of sand, imported palms, and faux Polynesian huts, explicitly designed for surfing. Dad recalled that Dexter got the idea while lying on his couch on Sundays watching ABC’s Worldwide Cavalcade of Sports. If people could surf in winter in Virginia, Dexter thought, why not here in Phoenix all year? Or anywhere? “The rest of the country probably watched California surfers with envy,” Dad recalled, “and thought, ‘Oh, I wish I could do that.’ So that just did it for him. They could have a surfing beach anywhere they wanted one.” Supposedly, Dexter told my dad, “I don’t know anything about merchandising or what to do next. I’ll give you half of this idea if you come in with me. And we’ll go with it.” It was just the kind of crazy idea that made sense to my 28-year-old dad. Like his father before him, my dad worked in both residential and commercial construction and land development, so he knew how to do a lot. Dexter and my dad hit it off during their workdays at Del Webb in the ‘60s. “From SIXTY EIGHT
time to time, we’d talk about doing things together and inventing things, and what have you,” Dad told me. With four kids, my father needed to generate a lot of income, and Dexter’s side project seemed promising. Unbeknownst to Dad, Dexter and his wife, Valerie, had been asking friends for financial backing. They estimated it would cost $800,000 to build the wave pool. But if Dexter had asked other people before my father to go halfsies with him, he never mentioned it. “He was secretive,” Dad told me, “didn’t know enough about patenting or how to go about it. He didn’t know the engineering principles, but he knew me!” When Gilbert and Dolan, Inc. finally constructed Dexter’s commercial wave pool, enormous custom-built pumps would put the water back into the tank using huge Caterpillar motors, then the pistons would make another wave. But to make another wave in the backyard prototype, Dad and Dexter had to scoop the water from the tank and refill the reservoir by hand. As a fellow inventor and general nut, Dad liked Dexter’s idea’s nutty, wild, frontier adventurousness. The two nuts decided to work together. First, my dad found an engineering firm downtown on Washington
Top left: Gidget movie poster, 1959. Above: Surfers enjoying Big Surf’s wave pool, 1969.
Street in an old warehouse named Sergent, Hauskins & Beckwith, which helped them make a quarter replica of their prototype. Next, Dad scouted locations. “I needed a large piece of cheap dirt located away from a moneyed area. There was Scottsdale, Tempe, and East Phoenix all around. It was just the perfect location, and here it was, a rock pile on the river bottom. Who’d want that? I do!” The 20-acre plot was located at 1500 North McClintock Drive, atop the flat floodplain of the Salt River. “I had a friend, Bill Alexander, who had a commercial real estate agency, so I called to him: ‘Give me the facts on that; I think I want to make an offer to buy this.’ So, we did. We got an option on it.” “Phil said, ‘Well, we’re on our way.’ So he made some little ol’ cheap film,” Dad told me, “video wasn’t around in those days—the kind of cheap film you would use in the late-40s to film your family at the beach. He made three copies of that and sent one to Catalina Swimsuits, Clairol, and MAY JUNE 2023
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one to….” He couldn’t remember the third company. “A month or so later, he got a phone call from Clairol, whose ads then were beach bunnies, blonde hair, bathing suits, and all that. They said, ‘Hey, we got your tape here, and we’re about crazy enough to get in bed with you. We want you to come out to our main office to talk to you.’ Dexter said, ‘Well, that would be nice, but I don’t have the money to be getting a plane ticket and all that.’ They said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll send you some money.’ Three days later, here comes a certified check for $10,000. So, he bought his ticket, and he spent three days there, and he went through the big main fancy office in Chicago, I believe it was, talking to everybody, and three days later, they sent him home. He didn’t know if he’d made any progress or impressed anybody, but here came another envelope with another $10,000 check and an option to tie up the idea with them—details to be worked out later.” Editor’s note: See Part 2 of the Big Surf story on page 72.
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SEVENTY TWO
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A WHALE OF A TEMPE TALE: ONE VERSION OF BIG SURF’S ORIGIN – PART 2
A
ccording to my dad, that’s how Big Surf got going. “He ended up selling the idea for $800,000,” Dad said, “and then got $200,000 a year to stay on as management, consulting, for another five years. That gave him his million dollars. He patented it under the name of Tahiti Phil, and the reason for that was his dream was always to go to Tahiti and be laying on the beach in his skinny old body in the sand and the sun with this great big huge drink with an umbrella stickin’ out of it.” “Clairol wanted to reach the water park’s unique demographic, from kids and teens to young adults and families.” Trevor Hancock, a 60-year-old Big Surf surfer, told the East Valley Tribune in 2016. “I think Clairol just wanted to capture that spirit of the ’60s, man. Even if it was just for a few weeks.” After Dexter got his million-dollar offer, Dad told him, “Look, I don’t even know how to swim. I don’t like water. But I like helping you, so I’m not holding you to your promise of half ownership. I want you to go with it, be happy, and make a million dollars.” And that’s what Valerie and Phil Dexter did.
Aaron Gilbreath Big Surf’s construction commenced in 1967 on Dad’s plot of land. The centerpiece, the Waikiki Beach Wave Pool, originally held 3.8 million gallons of water and pumped out a three- to five-foot, ridable wave every few minutes. That little toilet bowl of a reservoir that Dad saw was now a four-story-high, 160-foot-wide storage tank that released water through a custom-built system of fifteen underwater gates, lifted by underwater hydraulics, and pumped back into the tank by Caterpillar motors. Dexter’s seemingly harebrained idea opened on October 24, 1969. It was supposed to open in September, but forceful waves tore off the bottom of the wave pool, so they drained it twice and covered it with concrete. To generate interest, world surfing champion Fred Hemmings Jr. rode a wave while balancing a 20-year-old brunette on his board. Kids turned out, many from nearby Arizona State University. Reporters snapped photos that ran in newspapers across the country. No articles included my Surfers at Big Surf wave pool, 1969.
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Left: One of five Magna-Flo filters supplied by Paddock Pools is positioned by the Hanson’s Inc. Pump & Machine Division, 1969. Above: Advertisement for Hanson’s touting its Big Surf pump installation, 1969. Below: Big Surf, 1969.
dad’s name. He got no money from it, but he got a good story to tell his entire life, which he relished. So taken at face value, in a stroke of pure right-place-at-the-righttime luck, my dad, who never graduated from college and never learned how to swim, had nearly cofounded Big Surf, the world’s first artificial surfable wave. So, believe what you want about this version of Big Surf’s origin story. I guess what I was supposed to take from this—besides the entertaining narrative and historical origins of an Arizona landmark—is that Dad could’ve been a millionaire. But instead, he chose to be principled. Dad always claimed he never mourned the money he could have made had he accepted Dexter’s offer because the wave pool wasn’t his idea to capitalize. It was Phil’s. “He did that hard part. I only assisted the guy who invented the idea,” Dad told me, “for nothing, free of charge.” Anyway, Dad believed he would have just been a liability to Dexter, so he continued his work at Pete King, and Dexter quit soon after landing the Clairol deal. “So, I got great satisfaction from that,” Dad said, “then he just went and stayed in Tahiti. I don’t know what happened to him. I didn’t even bother looking him up.” What happened was this: When Big Surf finally opened in 1969, attendance was light. Weeks behind schedule, Big Surf opened after summer had ended. Phoenix is still warm in October, but who needed a surfing beach around Halloween? The market also changed. Dexter’s original vision made surfing the centerpiece, but the craze soon settled. “After a disappointing summer season SEVENTY FOUR
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Right: Big Surf looking west, 1970. Mid right: Architect’s sketch for Big Surf, 1969. Bottom right: Big Surf, 1969.
in 1970, Clairol sold the park to El Pasobased Inland Oceans LLC, which still owns it. Inland Oceans managed the park until 1988 when Family Recreation Enterprises took over until 1992.” After a few years in operation, surfing alone proved insufficient to pay the bills, so the park expanded its offerings to include concerts, bumper boats, and slides during the 1970s and 80s. By the time I became a regular in the late 1980s and early-90s, it eventually eliminated surfing for swimming and rafting— even removed all that beach sand finally, which got legendarily hot. In 2012, Phil Dexter was inducted into the World Waterpark Association Hall of Fame. That same year, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers named Big Surf’s Waikiki Beach Wave Pool a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. Because the wave pool still used the original 1969 machinery, it was included alongside Henry Ford’s Model T. and Walt Disney’s Monorail, making Big Surf the 252nd artifact in ASME’s History and Heritage program and the third in Arizona. John Hauskins’ original machinery was still producing the park’s famous waves when I wrote this in 2020, but the park got torn down in 2022. Dexter died in 2014 at the age of 87. When my dad died in 2020, I started fact-checking his stories. It turns out Phil Dexter didn’t get his Big Surf idea in Phoenix, as my father claimed. Published articles say he got it while working in southern California before Del Webb transferred him to Phoenix. If Phil had his epiphany while lying on his couch watching ABC’s Worldwide Cavalcade of Sports, that couch would have been in California. Either Dad remembered the story wrong, or he’d adjusted it for a better telling. But whatever. Phil Dexter’s legacy was evident. As Rick Root, president of the World Waterpark Association, told the Republic: “Waterparks today have the wave pool as their centerpiece attraction, so I believe that Phil has had a significant impact not only here in the U.S. but around the world.” And Dexter changed Arizona. “Surfing is so big now that kids in Ohio wear Hang 10 shirts,” said surfer Dave Manning, who had been surfing Big Surf since its opening season. “But here in Arizona, thanks to Phil, we got to live and breathe a real surf culture. I tell you, the waves were artificial, but the scene was real.” Editor’s Note: For the unabridged version of Aaron’s article, see arizcc.com/articles Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
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OLD SCHOOL EQUIPMENT: HOLLAND BELT LOADER Billy Horner
“N
ew Device Gobbles Earth,” screamed a headline in the Billings Gazette in 1975. The Holland loader, an earthmoving giant, was heralded as changing the economics of strip-mining coal. A local Montana engineer, Francis H. Holland, had designed the machine following the premise of the continuous belt loader in the early 1970s. Holland had a civil engineering background, worked in construction, and founded the Holland Company, modifying and rebuilding equipment, in 1957. “One of the first major uses of Holland loaders was at Perris Dam in Southern California, where in 1972 and 1973, four of the big rigs loaded out 75,000 to 120,000 cubic yards of bank material per day propelled by a pair of Cat D9s or D10s,” wrote Tom Berry in Construction Equipment. “Holland’s largest models today can load 180-ton capacity SEVENTY SIX
trucks in less than a minute.” Yet, surprisingly, Holland only made a handful of belt loaders and ceased operations in 2012. Here are a few examples of the Holland loader used in Arizona: The Ashton Company, Inc. in Tucson, first used the machine on their Interstate 8 project southeast of Casa Grande. James Bond Trucking, located in Phoenix, was subcontracted to move more than 47,000 yards of material. The Holland was demoed, using two Caterpillar D9G bulldozers, loading 50-yard belly dump trucks in roughly 50 seconds per truck. In 1984, Pettay’s Arizona Dirt Brokers Inc. was subcontracted for excavation on the Union Hills Water Treatment Plant. The City of Phoenix awarded the project to general contractor Richard P. Murray of Chandler. Pettay told Southwest Contractor in March 1984, “The Holland loader is
the least expensive means of excavating and removing dirt known to the industry to date. We hope to clearly demonstrate that the Holland loader can be effective on smaller projects while drastically reducing costs.” The project cost $38 million and excavated 1.01 million yards of dirt. In 1986, Enserch Construction, an Alaskan contractor, was awarded a 15-mile stretch of the Central Arizona Project’s Tucson Aqueduct with a bid of $37.5 million. The project included the construction of 1.5 miles of the aqueduct’s Reach 3 and the 13.5-mile-long Reach 4. Valley contractor Steve Boen operated one of the four blades on the project. Enserch used Holland loaders, primarily at the pumping plant sites. “If you have a good fleet of trucks, the Holland was the only way to go,” Boen says. “Enserch was running around 25 B70 Terex belly dumps.” Enserch used two Holland machines, a side cutter, and a bottom cutter. “The bottom cutter used one of the first Caterpillar D11s in town, with a Cat D9H under the Holland frame pushing,” Boen says. “The other Holland used a Cat D9L with a Cat D9H pushing. As a specialty machine, the
MAY JUNE 2023
Image Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
Above: Ball, Ball & Brosamer using a Holland loader and two Cat D9 bulldozers for excavation work on the Central Arizona Project, 1980s. Top right: An Enserch Construction Holland loader (rear view) working on the Central Arizona Project, 1987. Mid right: An Enserch Construction Holland loader (front view) working on the Central Arizona Project, 1987. Right: An Enserch Construction Holland loader (side view) working on the Central Arizona Project, 1987.
Hollands were primarily rented from companies when needed; Enserch owned all other equipment.” Boen had previously worked with a Holland loader on an FNF Construction project in Maricopa, where it was used to dig out pump station basins. Enserch’s contract was completed in 1988. Other companies that utilized the Holland loader in Arizona include Ball, Ball & Brosamer Inc., a contractor based in Walnut Creek, California, on their stretch of the Central Arizona Project; FNF Construction during construction of the Maricopa Highway, and M.M. Sundt on a portion of Interstate 10 in the 1980s. Imags Courtesy of Steve Boen
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Building on the Past 1951: THE KLEANBORE WELL CLEANING MACHINE Billy Horner
I
t seems counterintuitive for a water well to need cleaning. But the perforations in the casing that allow water to move from the aquifer into the well can become clogged with bacteria, minerals, and sand, causing the pump to work harder to produce groundwater. These issues plagued Arizona wells back in the day until a former oil well worker arrived with the expertise to solve the problem. Illinois native A. Lea Keltner was born in 1891 and moved to Arizona in 1949 after working in oil-producing states in the Southwest. In 1951, Keltner designed and built an unusual machine to service water wells. It scraped and swabbed the casing, allowing minerals and sand to be pumped from the well. He employed the same principles for
PAGE
cleaning water wells he had previously used for oil wells. Keltner could also use the machine to deepen wells. That same year, Keltner launched the Kleanbore Well Service Co., spelling the company name with the letter “K” after his last name. The firm operated a manufacturing plant at 510 North Second Street and a yard at 3730 East Washington Street. The compact cleaning machine was portable, and the company hauled it to service wells throughout the Phoenix area, with Keltner serving as the field supervisor. The inventor passed away at his New River home in 1966 at 72.
MAY JUNE 2023
Left: Keltner (far right), his crew, and a cleaning rig at Goetz Ice Co. in Tolleson, 1951. Above: Keltner (left) and an employee at Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix, 1957. Right: Kleanbore employees with a cleaning rig at a well used by a ranch in Laveen, 1951. Below right: Kleanbore employees at Good Samaritan Hospital, 1957.
Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
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R
eal estate in Arizona’s urban areas has been skyrocketing in value and brings an entrepreneurial spirit to redevelop infill properties. In the path of such visions, a significant architecture may be threatened with demolition. The structure may be viewed as antiquated construction or out of date with current design trends. Such a structure may not be protected with historic designations, may not be of a size and configuration that can be adapted to new use, or have a property owner with no interest in integrating the existing structure into a new vision. The final strategy to potentially save such architecture may be having to physically pick it up, tow it down the road, and place it onto a new property. This relocation process can be technically challenging, time-consuming, and costly. Individuals need a positive can-do attitude and resilience to tackle such an undertaking. We are featuring four success stories within three communities that managed such a relocation and rehabilitation process. One of the most transient structures is the 1913 Charles Miller Residence, currently located at 6938 East First Street in “Old Town” Scottsdale. Miller, a leader in the community, lived in a small California bungalow initially purchased from a Sears Roebuck catalog. His residence featured a gable roof, a front porch, and natural Below: Charles Miller Residence. Below right: Kip Residence is towed down Cattle Track Road. Bottom right: Kip Residence on steel chassis.
Architect’s Perspective: Saving Significant Architecture with Relocation Doug Sydnor, FAIA
Doug_sydnor@outlook.com materials such as wood framing and lap siding. The interior is an intimate, wellscaled space articulated with Craftsman Revival-styled details. Over the past 110 years, Miller’s home has been at three locations, including the original site at the northeast corner of Scottsdale and Indian School roads, where Miller owned 200 acres. In 1955, the residence was moved to 2919 North 75th Place. In 2001, it was relocated to 6938 East First Street and was extensively rehabilitated, with a new roof, exterior wood lap siding, and upgraded finishes. Richard Funke, who had an affinity for historic structures, was responsible for the final relocation. He has since died; his sons own the property and have adapted it into a boutique retail shop. The house was placed on the Scottsdale Historic Register in February 2010. The c.1940s Kip Residence is a Contemporary Ranch with adobe walls, lowpitched and wood-framed roof, and fullheight glazing within Scottsdale’s Cattle Track Art Compound. The interiors offer
natural light from multiple sources and a sculpted adobe fireplace. The home was slated to be demolished. Instead, Janie Ellis, daughter of the home’s designer and contractor, George Ellis, was the project manager to relocate the home down the street in 2002. McCullough Move-A-Home staged the L-shaped structure with two components by elevating them, slipping a steel chassis below each, lifting them onto open bed trailers, and towing them down Cattle Track Road. The new home site was prepped with excavation, the two-house components were set in place, the soil was backfilled, building halves were stitched together, a new roofing system was installed, and new interior colored concrete slabs were poured. The structure now houses an architectural firm, Kendle Design Collaborative, and a landscape architectural firm, GBTwo. “Old adobe buildings are part of Arizona history,” Janie Ellis recently said. “It is an honor, and I think it important to save good architecture, especially adobes, as there are damn few made anymore.”
Images Courtesy of Janie Ellis
EIGHTY TWO
MAY JUNE 2023
The O’Connor Residence was built at 3651 East Denton Lane in Paradise Valley in 1958. Architect Don K. Taylor, a Scottsdale-based firm, was challenged by Sandra Day O’Connor to have the design “evoke memories of her childhood home Below: O’Connor Residence interior reconstructed. Below right: O’Connor Residence exterior reconstructed.
Images Courtesy of Author
and adobe ranch in Duncan, Arizona.” The Top left: Kip Residence reconstructed exterior. home was a California Ranch style with Above: Kip Residence reconstructed interior adobe-bearing walls, a wood-framed gable office. roof, wood shake shingles, red concrete Top right: Kip Residence reconstructed intefloors, and natural materials. The O’Con- rior corridor. nors gathered Salt River soil to make the adobe bricks and helped lay up the brick plan with an elongated rectangular section, coursing. Contractor George Ellis made the and a dramatically angled living room. Before being a U.S. Supreme Court adobe bricks. The small 1,700-square-foot home has three bedrooms, an open floor Justice, O’Connor resided in the home until 1981. The house was threatened with
Images Courtesy of Christiaan Blok
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demolition in 2006, and $2 million in private funds was raised to preserve it. Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman was instrumental in offering the new project site at 1230 North College Avenue within the Carl Hayden Campus for Sustainability. The house was positioned to match the original building orientation. The 12 wood-framed roof components were towed down city streets, reset, and elevated on-site, and then the adobe walls were laid below it. Once the walls were completed, they received mud slipping and non-fat milk to seal the finish and protect the exterior from erosion. It became the O’Connor House and Center for Civil Discourse, a nonprofit 501(c)(3). The project team included Janie Ellis, who served as the advisor. Christy Ten Eyck, FASLA was responsible for the site design, McCullough Move-A-Home relocated the roof components and staged them in the new reconstruction, and M.M. Sundt Construction served as the general contractor. Below: Dairy Queen reconstructed at Trail West shopping center, 2022. Bottom right: Dairy Queen in 1964.
EIGHTY FOUR
The project was placed on the Tempe Historic Property Registry and the National Register of Historic Places in 2019. The Dairy Queen, which opened at 6701 East McDowell Road in 1964, is an example of a commercial building that has been relocated. The 800-square-foot structure was designed in the popular Tiki architectural character of its time with dramatic steeply pitched roofs, angled wood columns, black lava rock walls, and tall front glazing. This unique style had its roots during the post-World War II era after the U.S. military in the Pacific Theater brought back this desired exotic character. The property was part of a master-planned development with a strip shopping center and residential neighborhood. The building was one of 15 Scottsdale projects designed by architect Ralph Haver and Associates. The Phoenix-based architectural firm also designed the iconic Kon Tiki Hotel that opened at 24th and Van Buren streets in Phoenix in 1962 and has since been razed. The former Dairy Queen’s building components were broken down, stockpiled,
and reconstructed at 3215 North Hayden Road in Scottsdale. Clayton Companies is integrating the rebuilt Dairy Queen structure at the south end of the Trail West shopping center, built in 1966. The structure will be used as a restaurant, which required a 4,000-square-foot addition. The developer, Tom Frenkel, also confirmed that they restored the two vintage signs. As of this writing, the project is unfinished but looks like a beautiful hybrid example of saving a mid-century modern shopping center by adding a Tiki-styled focal piece. These varied real-life lessons clearly show that if there is the will to save such architecture, there is a way. Relocating these structures is not the preferred historic preservationist or purist strategy, but it is a viable option in today’s radically changing world. Otherwise, we would lose them and their history altogether.
Images Courtesy of Author
Image Courtesy of Scottsdale Historical Society
Douglas B. Sydnor, FAIA: is Principal at Douglas Sydnor Architect + Associates, Inc. and author of three architectural books.
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DIGGING THROUGH THE ARCHIVES:
Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
C.W. FREELOVE: THE MAN WHO LAUNCHED FOUR GENERATIONS OF ARIZONA WELL DRILLERS Billy Horner
C
larence Wilson “C.W.” Freelove realized there was a long-term future in sinking wells in the desert in 1915. “Arizona’s future was limitless—provided there was water,” he told L. N. Slater, president of Western Pipe and Steel Co. of California. The pair met when Freelove was drilling a well near Phoenix, and Slater was looking for a new location for a steel plant. The two would form a long-term business relationship with the new plant supplying steel casings to Freelove, which he used to line wells. Their connection launched a pioneering water well company that, four generations later, still provides the precious liquid to Arizonans. EIGHTY SIX
Freelove was born in Miltonvale, Kansas, in 1886. He moved to Miami, Arizona, in 1909 and learned how to drill at the copper mines near the town. A year later, he homesteaded in Deer Valley and opened C.W. Freelove Well Drilling Contractor. “After Deer Valley, he lived in Glendale and farmed in the Tolleson area, moving to Phoenix in the early 1930s,” Bernie Weber, Freelove’s grandson, recalls. “When Freelove, or ‘Pop’ as he was called, was a young man, he broke his arm. It was never set Above: Freelove’s crew drilling a well in the Rancho Marizona neighborhood just southeast of Camelback Mountain, 1947. Right: C.W. Freelove, late 1950s. MAY JUNE 2023
Above: Buck Weber and Wayne Hall of Gilbert Pump (r-l) testing a well pump, early 1950s. Left: Freelove’s drill rig working adjacent to the Luhrs Building in Downtown Phoenix, 1956.
correctly and was forever crooked, but that didn’t stop his humor and being a jokester.” Freelove drilled wells for domestic and irrigation water throughout Arizona. During the 1920s and 1930s, Freelove took on a partner, calling the business Freelove & Hawks. In 1925 the company drilled an 8-inch well, 1,000 feet deep, for the Washington Mine west of Wickenburg, near the famous Vulture Mine. Another memorable job was when the company encountered a 40-gallon-per-minute artesian flow while drilling a well at the Wellington Place subdivision in 1927. This development is located west of Central Avenue and south of Thomas Road in the northeast section of the Willo Historic District. Freelove & Hawks had drilled to a depth of 518 feet when the steady stream of water began flowing to the surface and through the neighborhood. Workers created channels to divert the stream to a nearby irrigation ditch. “This artesian supply was the second of any consequence ever to be reported in the Salt River Valley,” Freelove said at the time. Four years earlier, in 1923, Freelove’s company drilled a well for the Hotel Adams in Downtown Phoenix with a lesser artesian flow. Those at the drill site drank several Images Courtesy of Marty Weber
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cups, pronouncing its taste equal to the city’s famed Verde River supply. Freelove and his wife, Addie Lee, had two daughters. His daughter, Mary, married Bernard “Buck” Weber, who had worked for Freelove since 1937. His other daughter, June, married Mark Henery, who also worked with the company. The company moved from 1348 East McDowell Road to a new building at 4150 East Washington street in 1948. In addition to office quarters, the large complex offered an expanded repair shop for the company’s six drilling rigs. Freelove’s wife died at their summer home in Prescott in 1954. Two years later, at age 56, he retired after drilling an estimated 5,000 wells throughout Arizona and serving on the Alhambra and Pendergast district school boards. He lived his last years at Valley Gardens Trailer Park at 3441 East Van Buren Street with his second wife, Stella. Freelove split his business between his two sons-in-law, which created Henery Well Drilling Co. and the Weber Well Drilling Co. While the Weber company still
Images Courtesy of Arizona Contractor & Community
EIGHTY EIGHT
Above: C.W. Freelove Well Drilling Contractor yard at 4150 East Washington Street, 1948. Below left: Marty and Bernie Weber, 2022. Below: Weber Drilling using one of Freelove’s machines to construct a well, 1960s. Right: C.W. Freelove advertisement, 1951.
thrives, Mark Henery closed his business a few years after its start. In 1967, Bernie Weber, Buck Weber’s son, started working in the family business. Bernie Weber, now retired, passed the well-drilling legacy to his son, Marty Weber. Today, Weber Water Resources is a fourth-generation family business in Mesa, Goodyear, and Riverside, California, that handles pump and well servicing, drilling, electrical work, and general contracting throughout Arizona and California. Despite his legacy of providing access to water for many in Arizona, when interviewed by The Arizona Republic in 1958, Freelove seemed most proud of his transaction with Western Pipe and Steel in 1950. He bought their old frame office building for $400, thinking he would use it for his business. But he soon sold the structure
to the Stagecoach Motel on 4311 East Van Buren Street, where the owners refurbished it into a handsome bungalow. “I sold it for $799. It isn’t everyone who can say he made a fast 300 bucks off Western Pipe and Steel Co.”
Image Courtesy of Marty Weber
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Runway 15 33 Safety Area Grading B4 Enterprises Inc $1,941,053 3/28/2023
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Haisley Road Reconstruction Asphalt Paving & Supply $2,102,451 3/2/2023
Overlay Spring FY 22 23 Asphalt Paving & Supply $962,723 3/16/2023
Taxiway Safety Area Improvements Mel Clark $2,698,815 3/28/2023
G.T.R. Const., Tucson $134,029 Sanitary Sewer Systems Bethany to Missouri, 35th-39th Ave,
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(CMAR) Tangerine Rd Widening Borderland Construction Co $10,000,000 3/16/2023
McMicken Dam Outlet Channel FPS Civil $20,865,604 3/28/2023
Arrow Const., Yuma $81,075 Street Paving, Orange Improv. District Johannessen & Girand Engineers
Chip Seal Summer FY 22 23 Earth Resources Corporation $2,375,390 3/9/2023
Miller Rd Pinnacle Peak Rd Happy Valley Rd Dysart Road Improvements Hunter Contracting Co. Combs Construction Co. $14,581,511 $16,474,577 3/16/2023 3/29/2023
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P. IFC
GenTech 800-625-8324 gentechusa.com
P. 8
Pacwest Rentals 480-832-0855 pacwesttrading.com
P. 69
Vermeer Southwest 480-785-4800 vermeersouthwest.com
P. 38
Buesing Corp 602-233-3339 buesingcorp.com
P. 4
GoodFellow 623-594-5401 goodfellowcorp.com
P. 78
Powerscreen 602-772-1419 powerscreenwestern.com
P. 30
WillScot 800-782-1500 willscot.com
P. 42
CalPortland 602-817-6929 calportland.com
P. 16
Greer Aftermarket Parts 602-541-0554 602-541-5971
P. 30
Preach Building Supply 602-944-4594 preachbuildingsupply.com
P. 59
Woudenberg Properties 480-620-8555 woudenbergprops.com
P. 3
CAMS 602-331-5455 cams-az.com
P. 28
Herc Rentals 602-269-5931 hercrentals.com
P. 24
Reuter Fabrication 602-415-0449 reuterequipment.com
P. 13
WSM 623-936-3300 wsmauctioneers.com
P. 5
Castle Hot Springs 844-276-8052 castlehotsprings.com
P. 32
Insearch Corp 480-940-0100 insearchcorp.com
P. 59
RT Underground 602-622-6789
P. 38
Wyman 480-695-4636 wymanexcavating.com
P. 30
CED 602-437-4200 cedphx.com
P. 32
Insurica 602-273-1625 insurica.com
P. 93
S&S Paving 602-437-0818 sspaving.com
P. 42
Cemex 602-416-2652 cemexusa.com
P. 28
JS Cole 602-633-0990 jscole.com
P. 90, 91
Salt River Materials Group 480-850-5757 srmaterials.com
P. 64
Cliffco 602-442-6913 cliffcorepair.com
P. 3
KE&G 520-748-0188 kegtus.com
P. 11
Shanes Grading & Paving 602-992-2201 shanespaving.com
P. 24
Curry Fluid Power 602-661-6596 curryfluidpower.com
P. 7
Keystone Concrete 480-835-1579 keystoneconcretellc.com
P. 30
Shanes Hauling 602-992-2201 shanespaving.com
P. 26
Custom Truck 602-527-4088 customtruck.com
P. 79
Korfab 602-309-2009 korfab.us
P. 71
Sharp Creek Contracting 602-437-3040 sharpcreek.com
P. 16
NINETY FOUR
FOR ADVERTISING INQUIRIES CONTACT BILLY HORNER 602-931-0069 BILLY@ARIZCC.COM
MAY JUNE 2023
HIRING ALL POSITIONS
Aluminum Hydraulic Shoring | Aluminum Hydraulic Multi-Shores | Aluminum Build-A-Box | Steel Framed Aluminum Shields Aluminum End Shores | Trench Shields | Manhole Boxes | Trench Box Accessories | Steel Crossing Plates | Concrete Barrier Wall Blowers and Sifter Screens | Confined Space and Pipe Testing Equipment | Crane Truck or Flatbed Delivery Available
LEADING THE WAY IN TRENCH SAFETY, SERVICE, AND TRAINING ARIZCC.COM
Phoenix, Tucson and Prescott
trench-ade.com
(833) 384-1176 ARIZONA CONTRACTOR & COMMUNITY
PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Permit #1662 Phoenix, AZ
602-276-2040
Providing Rentals and Service in AZ, since 1998
Frank Alvarez
Dixie Chavarria
Jeff Hightower
Drew Wax
Operations Manager O: 602-276-2040 C: 602-769-6725
Inside Sales O: 602-276-2040 C: 602-722-7930
Outside Sales O: 602-276-2040 C: 602-725-1123
Outside Sales O: 602-276-2040 C: 480-518-1714
franka@eccoequipment.com
dixiec@eccoequipment.com
jeffh@eccoequipment.com
drew@eccoequipment.com