Columbia Business Times - March 2014

March 2014

Setting the bar

Rock THis City Page 54

How Columbia stacks up Page 40

➺ City Manager Mike Matthes

P.Y.S.K. Patrick Dubbert Page 27

Bright Lights, Big(ger) City

We’ve Got The Power Water & Light Advisory Board

Page 44

Going Nuclear Page 48

Page 36

1canoe2 Page 32

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 7

10 \\\ march 2014

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 11

From the Publisher

Editorial Chris Harrison, Group Publisher ChrisH@BusinessTimesCompany.com Sarah Redohl, Managing Editor SarahR@BusinessTimesCompany.com Katrina Tauchen, Copy Editor Katrina@BusinessTimesCompany.com

Big industry ›

The term industry is often synonymous with manufacturing. By definition, industry is the processing of raw materials and the manufacturing of goods in factories. Columbia has never been a mecca for industry, but a little curiosity led our staff to some local businesses classified by this traditional definition.

This month, CBT digs into several local companies that fit the traditional definition of industry. These companies crush rocks; they farm and process timber; and they process and sell the concrete blocks that have contributed to many of our buildings, streets and highways, bridges and infrastructure over the years.

In addition to profiles of the companies that build our community, our managing editor, Sarah Redohl, also investigates the role of one of the city’s most important and influPhoto by Taylor Allen ential advisory boards. The Water and Light Advisory Board serves an important role in decision-making, planning, finance and many other tasks as the city infrastructure chal➻ Join the CBT in celebrating our March issue at Flat Branch Pub & Brewing, lenges are met. Who are these individuals, and March 5 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. with what qualifications do they bring to the table? free Flat Branch brews and appetizers!

Industry can also be defined as the habit of working hard. I can confidently say that Columbia is a mecca for this definition. This month we profile one of my favorite local companies, 1canoe2. This favoritism is not unfounded, however, as one of the co-owners spent some time working right here at the Columbia Business Times and is a class act. Aggressive growth, a national presence and a witty, creative style also lend to my favoritism.

If you want to get a clearer picture of Columbia’s business community as a whole, I encourage you to stop by the Chamber of Commerce Business Showcase on March 4 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center. There will be a few traditional big “I” industry companies represented, and there will also be a whole lot of businesses that represent the habit of working hard.

As always, we hope you enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you. We love feedback, good and bad, so don’t hesitate to email me any time at chrish@businesstimescompany.com.

Best,

March 2014

SETTING THE BAR

ROCK THIS CITY PAGE 54

How Columbia stacks up PAGE 40

➺ City Manager Mike Matthes

P.Y.S.K. Patrick Dubbert PAGE 27

Chris Harrison, Group Publisher

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG(GER) CITY

We’ve Got The Power Water & Light Advisory Board PAGE 44

Going Nuclear PAGE 48

PAGE 36

1CANOE2 PAGE 32

City Manager Mike Matthes joined the CBT in our photo studio in February to shoot this cover.

Read about the city’s performance in “Setting the Bar” on page 40. Photo by Anthony Jinson.

DESIGN Kristin Branscom, Art Director Kristin@BusinessTimesCompany.com Creative Services Gillian Tracey, Creative Marketing Assistant Gillian@BusinessTimesCompany.com MARKETING REPRESENTATIVES Erica Pefferman, Director of Sales Erica@BusinessTimesCompany.com Angie Huhman, Director of Non-Traditional Revenue Angie@BusinessTimesCompany.com Jermaine Rivera, Marketing Consultant Jermaine@BusinessTimesCompany.com CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Taylor Allen, Anthony Jinson, Kendra Johnson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Debbie Cutler, Al Germond, Vicki Hodder, Kristi McCann, Dianna Borsi O’Brien, Monica Pitts, Sarah Redohl, Molly Wright Interns Madison Alcedo, Steven Benna, Claire Boston, Abby Connolly, Kaylie Denenberg, Kendra Johnson, Abby Kass, Victoria Ross MANAGEMENT Chris Harrison, General Manager ChrisH@BusinessTimesCompany.com Renea Sapp, Business Manager ReneaS@BusinessTimesCompany.com Cindy Pudney, Operations Manager CindyS@BusinessTimesCompany.com Erica Pefferman, Director of Sales Erica@BusinessTimesCompany.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscription rate is $19.95 for 12 issues for 1 year or $34.95 for 24 issues for 2 years.

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All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any editorial or graphic content without the express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT The Columbia Business Times and ColumbiaBusinessTimes.com strives to be Columbia’s leading source for timely and comprehensive news coverage of the local business community. This publication is dedicated to being the most relevant and useful vehicle for the exchange of information and ideas among Columbia’s business professionals.

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 13

About The Last Times What's happening online Caleb Rowden @calebrowden44 Jan 22 What a fantastic turnout for the @ColumbiaBiz '20 under 40' party. So many great friends here tonight. #CoMo pic.twitter.com/8wxtdmDLnB Matthew Murrie @MattMurrie Jan 23 @BrandonBanksBiz @DrSeanSiebert @ColumbiaBiz @thewhatifllc Thanks!

And thank you all for keeping the #CoMo entrepreneurial scene vibrant!

SKINUE@SKINUEcare Jan 30 @ColumbiaBiz Thank you for the wonderful article. We are so very proud of @PenelopeShihab

Join the

CBT

in celebrating our March issue at FLAT BRANCH PUB & BREWING, March 5 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. with FREE Flat Branch brews and appetizers!

Kat @mizkatmizkat Jan 22 @ColumbiaBiz @Moresource watching my son Brian Cunningham receiving the 20 under 40 award tonight!

Jeff Branscom @jeffreyowen8 Feb 4 100,000 @WordPress sites are created each day - Interesting @ColumbiaBiz piece on the blogging software's popularity: columbiabusinesstimes.com Brian Cunningham

Les Bourgeois

Flipping through the Columbia Business Times and thought that this is the coolest thing ever! It is such a great honor to be recognized with such a great group of people. #20under40 #Moresource

Congratulations to the Columbia Business Times 20 Under 40 winners! We had a great time celebrating with everyone at last night's party! As a part of the celebration we joined forces with the CBT and created commemorative wine! Check it out: missouriwine.com/20under40/

Around the office Get ready to rumble!

We’re bringing “Fighting for Philanthropy” back to the Chamber Showcase mixer March 4 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center. Upgrade your business game at the showcase, soak up some knowledge at the Women’s Network luncheon featuring Afterburner, and burn off steam at the mixer starting at 4 p.m.

Correction Oops! While we were off at the printers, Frequency Coffee (featured in our Closer Look section) closed its doors.

Write to CBT editor Sarah Redohl at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 15

CARPET ONE FLOOR AND HOME: The Flooring Experts.

Whether your business is large or small, Carpet One’s showroom has a huge selection of stylish, durable, and affordable commercial floor coverings to fit all your needs. Our experts are here to help you choose what’s right for your business. For more information, contact Scott Bradley at 573-489-0082.

105 Business Loop 70 E. | 573-449-0081 | www.MidMOFloorPros.com

March 2014

Vol. 20, Issue 9 columbiabusinesstimes.com

Departments

54 Rock City

It’s a business that supports just about every aspect of our daily lives.

Check out our primer on mid-Missouri rock quarries — the past, present and future of the industry.

13 From the Publisher 15 Letters to the Editor 19 Movers and Shakers 20 Briefly in the News 23 Closer Look 24 Business Update 27 P.Y.S.K. 31 Opinion 63 Nonprofit Spotlight 65 Technology 67 Celebrations 68 Deeds of Trust 69 Economic Index 70 Business Licenses 71 By the Numbers 72 6 Questions 74 Flashback

32 36 40 44 48 60 1canoe2 Based out of a studio in a rural Missouri barn, the three-woman team behind letterpress company 1canoe2 finds far-reaching success while staying true to its roots.

Annexed Underground With business growing on the edges of town, the city prepares for expansion along its northeast and western boundaries.

Setting the Bar

Power House

Since 2011, Columbia has looked to the International City Managers Association to measure its performance and efficiency.

What exactly are the powers and functions of the Columbia Water and Light Advisory Board? Who are its members? And how does it affect us every day?

Hope for Missouri

Business Showcase

There’s economic promise coming out of Callaway County if key Missouri players have their way in creating and manufacturing SMRs here.

Afterburner, the Women’s Network luncheon speakers, share how a military business model translates to the corporate world.

18 \\\ march 2014

Movers and Shakers

➜ Are you or your employees

making waves in the Columbia business community? Send us your news to Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com

›› Professionals grow, serve and achieve

Koukola

belcher

›› Jenna Redel-Reed The Boone County Commission welcomes Redel-Reed as the Boone County director of human resources and risk management. ›› Woodhaven Two additional members have been added to Woodhaven’s volunteer board of directors: Brad Miller, a general dentist at the Columbia Center for Dentistry, and Kari Lane, an assistant professor at the University of Missouri’s Sinclair School of Nursing. ›› Ronald McDonald House

Charities of Mid-Missouri

Ronald McDonald House Charities of MidMissouri has announced that three new members will serve on the organization’s board of directors through 2015. The members are Mark Mehle, Jolene Schulz and John States.

Dunn

wilbers

maclellan

›› Huber and Associates Inc. Huber and Associates Inc. welcomed Melissa Dunn to take over Kayla Wilbers’ previous position. Wilbers has made the transition to IT consultant for the company. ›› MBS Textbook Exchange Three additions have been made to the MBS Textbook Exchange team: Derek Wintemberg, direct client rep for higher education; Li Song, intern for Direct Digital; and Pat Doll, Premier Services inventory manager. ›› Jay MacLellan The Columbia Regional Advisory Council of Great Circle announced MacLellan as a new member. MacLellan has worked at Shelter Insurance for nearly 20 years and has assisted Great Circle’s fundraising efforts for several years. The advisory council works to support local fundraising efforts and youth services.

worsham

upham

›› Diversity Award Winners The 17th annual Columbia Values Diversity Awards were presented on Jan. 16 to honor Julie Middleton and Ulysses S. Grant Elementary School. Middleton has been a promoter of education for more than 25 years and served on multiple school boards and groups. ›› Kevin A. Carey Carey has been hired as vice president and senior portfolio manager for Central Trust and Investment Co.’s Columbia location. The Boone County National Bank affiliate brings Carey in for his community involvement. ›› Brian Myers Providence Bank is pleased to announce the addition of Myers as assistant vice president, banking center manager for the Fifth Street Banking Center.

›› Chris Koukola After leading MU’s communications efforts for nearly 28 years, Koukola has announced she will retire from her position as assistant to the chancellor for university affairs.

›› Keith R. Proctor Proctor of Central Missouri Home Inspections LLC passed the National Home Inspection Examination. The NHIE is a nationally recognized assessment used in 22 states to evaluate home inspector competence.

›› Learfield Communications Aaron Worsham will be senior vice president of affiliate relations and operations, Tom Boman has been promoted to vice president of broadcast operations and Jennifer Heim will assume the role of vice president, corporate controller.

›› Chris Belcher Belcher, superintendent of Columbia Public Schools, announced his retirement effective June 30. Belcher has spent the past five years with Columbia Public Schools.

›› John Stringer Stringer joined Boone County National Bank as relationship manager for business customers. He was previously a financial adviser for U.S. Bancorp Investments.

›› Kelley Upham Caledon Virtual hired Upham as its new account executive. Upham will work to build relationships with clients and help them reach their goals. CBT

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 19

Briefly in the News

›› A rundown of this month’s top headlines

Choo choo After changing ownership in November 2013, the Columbia Star Dinner Train unveiled a new schedule and services for 2014.

New plans include expanding and enhancing the dinner train and Sunday brunch train schedules, offering entertainment and lunch trains and adding new children’s entertainment trains.

An early proposal for a new tax increment financing district in downtown Columbia includes plans for a new Columbia Star Dinner Train depot downtown. The train currently boards at 6501 N. Brown Station Road.

Lucky break

Rural medicine

The University of Missouri School of Medicine is expanding a program that trains physicians to practice in rural Missouri.

The Bryant Scholars program grants undergraduate students who graduated from rural high schools and attend certain Missouri colleges and universities pre-admission to the School of Medicine.

The program is expanding to allow eligible students from Missouri Western State University, William Jewell College, Missouri Southern State University, Westminster College, Northwest Missouri State University, University of Missouri-St. Louis and University of Missouri-Kansas City to apply to the program.

Number 3

A recent study by NerdWallet, a consumer advocacy agency, named Columbia the third best city in the state for job seekers, coming in just behind Wentzville and Lee’s Summit.

The study crunched numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census to identify the top 10 cities in Missouri for job seekers. The complete list of cities includes: 6. Chesterfield 1. Wentzville 7. Ballwin 2. Lee’s Summit 8. Grandview 3. Columbia 9. Kirkwood 4. Wildwood 10. Maryland Heights 5. O’Fallon

grant funding A Jan. 15 bacon-cutting ceremony celebrated the arrival of Columbia’s newest natural grocery, Lucky’s Market.

The store features a variety of organic, specialty and gluten-free items, local produce and fresh meats, including deli offerings and in-house cured and smoked bacon.

The Columbia store, located at 111 S. Providence Road, is the first Missouri location and fourth store overall for the Boulder, Co.-based company. Additional locations in Billings, Mont., and Louisville, Ky., are also scheduled to open in 2014.

20 \\\ march 2014

The Columbia Area Career Center received federal grant funding to offer a free health care maintenance program in conjunction with Linn State Technical College. The program is funded by MOHealthWINS, a grant program that trains and prepares Missourians for health care industry jobs.

Art

PS Gallery is featuring work

by St. Louis artists Edward Kinsella and Brian Smith and Columbia artists Scott McMahon and Joel Sager in its late winter 2014 exhibit.

The exhibit runs through March 22 and is sponsored

by Woodruff Sweitzer.

Throughout March, the PS Gallery Hallery will host a juried art exhibit in tandem with the 2014 Mizzou Life Sciences Symposium.

What’s happening 911 call center

The Boone County Commission announced Architects Design Group as the firm responsible for designing the county’s new 911 call center.

Mission Critical Partners, a public safety consulting firm, was hired to manage the project.

Construction for the project is being funded by a 3/8-cent sales tax voters approved in April 2013. The tax went into effect in October.

New rankings Columbia College’s online bachelor’s degree programs, master’s degree in teaching and MBA programs were recognized in U.S. News & World Report’s third edition of Top Online Education Programs.

The college cracked the top 100 in three categories. It was ranked No. 69 in best online bachelor’s program, No. 90 in best online graduate education programs and No. 95 in best online graduate business programs.

In the same rankings, William Woods University ranked No. 141 in the online bachelor’s category, which put it at seventh overall in Missouri.

Boone Hospital Center

Boone Hospital Center opened 64 new private patient rooms in January. The expansion came as part of a $10.7 million renovation of two floors.

Thirty-two of the rooms come as part of the hospital’s new Stewart Stewart Cancer Center, a $5.9 million inpatient oncology unit that is a collaboration between the hospital and Virginia and Norm Stewart.

The renovated floors house the hospital’s Medical Specialties Unit and Orthopaedic Specialties: Joint Replacement Unit and were reconstructed in a similar style to the hospital’s 2011 south tower expansion.

MU recognized President Barack Obama selected MU officials to attend a Jan. 16 higher education summit of more than 100 colleges, universities and nonprofit groups. MU was selected based on its commitment to helping low-income students attend and succeed at college.

The summit highlighted MU’s Missouri College Advising Corps program.

Deputy Chancellor Mike Middleton represented MU at the summit.

Middleton

Award-winning

Best banks UMB Financial was ranked No. 16 on Forbes’ 2014 list of best banks. UMB banks totaled $16 billion in total assets, a 9.4 percent return on average equity, 0.5 percent on nonperforming loans/total loans, 244 reserves/nonperforming loans, 12.9 percent on tier-one ratio and 8.3 percent on leverage ratio.

Visionworks Marketing Group received eight awards for its communication and graphic design work in 2013.

The awards include two international Silver Davey Awards, one for its Manor Roofing & Restoration multimedia work and another for the Missouri Symphony Society’s 2012 Hot Summer Nights Festival campaign.

Other honors included nods from Graphic Design USA and the International Academy of Visual Arts.

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 21

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22 \\\ march 2014

A Closer Look

New Businesses in

Columbia

›› A quick look at emerging companies

1. Waterwood Gallery

3. Save-A-Lot

5. New World Recycling

Kristin Kaiser moved to Columbia in 2007 when she started Christopherson International Art Representation. CIAR is the parent company to Waterwood Gallery, an art gallery located at the Waterwood Building at 2301 Chapel Plaza Court. Waterwood Gallery features a group of selected artists whose works include a variety of gifts, goods and accessories, including bowls, art cards and other handmade items.

Contact: Kristin Kaiser, 573-289-8835

There are more than 1,300 Save-A-Lot locations throughout the country, and a new one has opened in Columbia. As of Dec. 18, SaveA-Lot has been open at 2006 E. Broadway.

The retail grocery store has replaced Eastgate Foods & Party Shop, which closed last May. Save-A-Lot’s vision is to help its customers live richer, fuller lives by saving them money and time. The store is owned and operated by Rich Prenger of Prenger Foods.

Contact: Rich Prenger, 573-449-1000

2. Como Smoke and Fire

4. Zaxby’s

With New World Recycling, you can turn old trash into cash. Located at 3804 Waco Drive, the family-run business will buy your scrap metal. Commercial and household customers can bring aluminum, brass, copper, radiators and more to the locally owned recycling company and leave with money.

The company also recycles paper, plastic, electronics and other items free of charge.

For more than 15 years, New World Recycling has operated in a small community to keep the area as clean as possible.

Contact: Corey Toebben, 573-814-2826

Columbia’s newest barbecue restaurant, Como Smoke and Fire, offers a traditional barbecue menu. Started by brothers Patrick and Matthew Hawkins, who have competed in barbecue competitions and discussed opening a restaurant for years, and Matthew’s wife, Christy Hawkins, the restaurant has been operational since Dec. 30 at 4600 Paris Road, Suite 102. So far the restaurant’s best sellers have been the sampler platter, which includes a variety of the smoked meats, and the brisket mac and cheese grilled cheese sandwich. Due to the brisket’s success, two additional mac and cheese sandwiches have been added to the menu.

Contact: Matthew Hawkins, 573-864-1021

A new fast-casual chicken restaurant has opened its doors at two locations in Columbia: 1411 Cinnamon Hill Lane and 3922 S. Providence Road. The Southernstyle restaurant offers a variety of chicken meals, as well as salads, appetizers, sandwiches and milkshakes. With more than 595 locations throughout the Southeast, Zaxby’s is planning to expand in Missouri by adding four new locations. Zaxby’s is ranked No. 7 in the 2012 Top 10 Excellent Large Fast Food Chains With 500 or More U.S. Units Quick-Track Study by Sandelman & Associates and No. 1 in the chicken segment in the 2012 Top 150 Fast-Casual Chain Restaurants by Technomic.

Contact: Greg Jarvis, 573-424-2827

6. Family Facets Family Facets has come to Columbia “to provide safe, nurturing and loving environments for children and to assist other agencies...” according to the company’s mission statement. The company believes that the best place for a child to grow up is in a family. Located at 701 Vandiver Drive, Suite A, Family Facets focuses on safety of entire families; however, the safety of children is the primary concern. To ensure safety, Family Facets offers social work therapy and services, including workshops, training, in-home services and other family meeting activities.

Contact: Sheila Searfoss, 573-886-7422

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➜ Are you an entrepreneur? Are you sprouting a new business? Tell us about it at Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 23

Cousins Ryan and Bucky Pescaglia pose in a Missouri Pacific Lumber warehouse in Fayette, Mo. MoPac increased its production 130 percent from 2009 to 2013. Photo by Anthony Jinson.

24 \\\ march 2014

Business Update

›› Transformed, trending and up-to-the-minute

Timber T A L ES

Timber!

Based in Fayette, Missouri Pacific Lumber rounded out 2013 with record-breaking

By Sarah Redohl sales and is now working overtime to meet the demand.

On the corner of Bucky Pescaglia’s desk is a small printed note that says, “Wood is wonderful.”

With a brief look around the office, it’s apparent he believes it: wood floors, wood panels, wood furniture and a wood nameplate.

“We can do that,” he tells a client on the phone.

“We’ve got 50,000 feet of lumber in the kiln that’s going to be dumped next week.” Bucky is the president of Missouri Pacific Lumber (MoPac), based in Fayette, Mo. Over the past five years, production has increased 130 percent, from 1.3 million feet of lumber in 2009 to 3 million feet of lumber in 2013.

Rounding out 2013, MoPac experienced a sales rush so large that it sold half of its inventory during the fourth quarter alone — more than the second and third quarter combined.

“We’re now working overtime to try to replenish our inventory to satisfy the demand,” Bucky says.

From bump to crash MoPac began, literally, with a bump and a crash. It was 1935 when Louis Pescaglia got into a car accident with a timber driver while he was delivering coal in central Illinois. The other driver was uninsured and traded Louis some timber to pay for damages to his car, and Louis soon realized he could make a better living selling timber than delivering coal.

In 1960, Jim Pescaglia joined his father in the business, and the pair began to grow out of mining and crating woods into furniture hardwoods. By 1980, Jim wanted to expand the business and purchased a five-acre sawmill in New Franklin, Mo., which grew it to 36 acres by 1993.

Then a simultaneous blessing and curse struck the company: the flood of 1993. Two miles from the river and without flood insurance, MoPac was left under 14 feet of water with a tough decision.

The business had outgrown its space but needed to remain close to the company’s timber sources and employees. The Pescaglias landed 12 miles away, in Fayette. By the late 1990s, the original sawmill in

Illinois had split off under the ownership of other family members, and MoPac stood solid in its Fayette facility.

More than 70 years after the initial crash came a crash of a different nature. From 2003 to 2012, the number of establishments in the forestry and logging industry nationwide decreased 30 percent, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bucky estimates that 200 to 300 mills similar in size to MoPac closed during the recession alone, which he says hurt everyone on the spectrum, from high-end woods such as walnut to pallet makers. But MoPac relied on some of the lessons learned through previous trials, an emergency fund and the resilience to come back strong when the markets improved.

Within the past year, those efforts have proven useful; demand has continued to increase while supply is slow to keep up. According to Ryan Pescaglia, vice president of MoPac and Bucky’s cousin, the process from log to lumber can take an average of half a year. “If you would have been here a few years ago,” he says, signaling to a handful of large metal sheds full of lumber, “these would have been twice as full. During the last six or eight months, our inventory has dropped substantially.”

Another aspect of MoPac’s success has been its specialization and location. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri has more than twice as many American black walnut trees than any other state — more than anywhere in the world, in fact. And though American black walnut only accounts for between 2 and 3 percent of the total lumber market, for the past five years, it has accounted for more than 90 percent of MoPac’s production.

Walnut is a dark, rich wood, known for its use in luxury goods such as Rolls Royce cars and Learjets.

“It’s a bit of a niche,” Bucky says, “but we’d rather specialize in something and do it really well rather than offer all kinds of species.”

Running the mill More than 90 percent of MoPac’s timber comes from middlemen who purchase timber from various forests, the majority from northwest Missouri, a good portion from northeast Missouri and a smaller portion from southern Missouri, which has many trees but poor soil quality.

The top 5 percent of logs that MoPac buys are resold to make veneers, and the rest are run through the sawmill: first debarked, then sawed into blocks, dried, treated in the kiln, stored and eventually sold. Anything left over is sold or used in MoPac’s production. The bark is sold to a company in Auxvasse that makes mulch for consumers; the leftover wood goes to a company that creates children’s playground wood chips and to the University of Missouri power plant’s biomass boiler; and the sawdust is used to fire MoPac’s own kilns.

Now, as more furniture is produced outside the United States, more than 70 percent of MoPac’s products are exported abroad, particularly to Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Japan. Of the 30 percent that remains in the United States, most goes to the East Coast and the South.

MoPac sells only a small portion of its goods to buyers in the mid-Missouri region. In fact, Bucky estimates that one-third of its lumber is sold directly to end users, one-third to brokers and the final onethird to wholesale distributors.

A big challenge facing the industry now, Ryan says, is the affordability of collecting timber.

“There are more trees now than there were when my grandfather started the company, but with insurance, fuel and machinery costs and more, it’s difficult to keep a good supply of logs,” Bucky adds.

Many logs are exported to countries with lower labor costs. “Even if the timber comes from here, that only creates one or two jobs,” he says. “When it’s processed [at MoPac], that’s supporting 45 local jobs.” CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 25

Meet Nathan Fleischmann, owner of Stadium Shoes. He recently obtained an SBA loan from The Bank of Missouri to purchase the inventory and equipment he needed to start his new business, a mobile shoe store in Columbia.

An SBA loan from The Bank of Missouri is one of the best financing options for small and growing businesses. An SBA loan can help you finance an entire business, equipment and fixtures, business real estate and much more.

Karin Bell Vice President, SBA Manager

26 \\\ march 2014

Crystal Morris Administrative Assistant

Geoff Karr Loan Officer

P.Y.S.K. Person You Should Know

Patrick C. Dubbert CEO, Midwest Block and Brick

›› Job description: As CEO I oversee all aspects of the company, including: production, sales and marketing, distribution and accounting. I am continually seeking out opportunities for growth.

›› Years lived in Columbia/mid-Missouri: I have lived in mid-Missouri most of my life.

Age:

61

›› Original hometown: Meta, Mo. ›› Education: Helias High School; B.S. in marketing, Central Missouri State University (now University of Central Missouri) ›› Community involvement: With businesses in numerous states and cities, I am a member of their chambers of commerce. I am a supporter of their educational institutions and organizations. ›› Professional background: I have worked in sales, marketing and administrative roles throughout my business career. ›› A favorite recent project: Working at Midwest Block and Brick is my ongoing and favorite “project.” I get great satisfaction working with employees and colleagues to meet the ever-increasing product demands of the consumer. I enjoy exploring all areas of expansion, whether it be something as small as a new product or as large as a new business acquisition. Specific to Columbia, I have enjoyed watching Battle High School being built from the ground up. Perhaps my favorite recent project is the role we played in the erection of the new Busch Stadium.

Photo by Anthony Jinson

➜ Dubbert was elected the Missouri/Kansas Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year

and nominated for the Ernst & Young national award for Entrepreneur of the Year.

›› Why I am passionate about my job: I take great pleasure in seeing the landscape of a city change with buildings erected from products made, sold and distributed by our companies. I want these buildings to not only be aesthetically pleasing but also safe. I have been fortunate to hold the highest leadership roles in both the state and national concrete associations, which has allowed me to not only be informed but also to actually steer the everchanging demands of the industry. The more I am involved, the more passionate I become. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 27

›› A Columbia businessperson I admire and why: I don’t know that I can name one Columbia businessperson I most admire. I visit and work in numerous states and many cities within those states and have come to realize there are so many people who contribute. I admire many people for their unique contributions to a progressive city, and I find Columbia business professionals to be no exception. ›› If I weren’t doing this for a living, I would: Try my hand at coaching. ›› What people should know about this profession: It has come a long way since the “cinder block” of years past. It is always evolving and expanding. ›› What I do for fun: I am one of the best spectators of most any sport played and have been known to watch numerous events at the same time while listening to others. My son-in-law is the varsity basketball coach at my high school alma mater; I truly enjoy supporting him and his teams.

I now have grandchildren dabbling in different sports, so I am finding that to be lots of fun as well. And if that isn’t enough, I do enjoy trying my hand at golf — most days.

When weather permits, you will find me riding my Harley. ›› Family: I have been married to my wife, Marsha, for 40 years. We have three children: Jodi, married to Darryl Winegar; Jami, married to Josh Buffington; and Bo, married to Paige Laurie Dubbert. We are blessed with six grandchildren.

2013

WHAT A YEAR?!?

Art Director Kristin Branscom led our team to three design awards: Azbee Gold Award for Magazine Redesign in the Midwest/South region Azbee Silver Award for Feature Design in the nation FOLIO: Magazine Finalist for Magazine Redesign in the nation ...and Managing Editor Sarah Redohl was recognized as one of FOLIO: Magazine’s 15 Under 30 young professionals in the publishing industry, nationwide.

Whew, bring on 2014!

28 \\\ march 2014

›› Favorite place in Columbia: This is a toss-up between Faurot Field and Mizzou Arena. I enjoy watching the Missouri Tigers and then grabbing a drink and dinner afterward. ›› Accomplishment I am most proud of: I realize I am one of the more fortunate who can say I am very proud of each and every one of my children, their character and their accomplishments. ›› Most people don’t know that I: Still hold a wrestling record at Helias High School: quickest pin, 7 seconds, set in 1969. CBT

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 29

Two-thirds of Missouri families need some form of child care to work or to go to school. Child Care Aware 速 of Missouri helps to connect families all over the state to child care programs that meet their specific needs. While employees are spending their time at work and focusing on productivity, they can rest assured their child is being cared for.

n, HR Attentio ls! na Professio

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30 \\\ march 2014

Roundtable › Al Germond

point-of-view

Building Up? Now just another university dorm, 50 years ago the eight-story Manor House apartment building at 306 Hitt St. was strictly off limits for most students. This was the first significant addition to the city’s profile since the Walnut Street water tower was built in 1945. A project of St. Louis developer R.T. Crow, who also built White Gate Village, only a few multiAl Germond is the story structures have gone up since then. host of the Columbia That is, until now.

Business Times With thousands of student-themed Sunday Morning “beds” already on line and a more luxuriRoundtable at 8:15 ous, somewhat sturdier six-story building a.m. Sundays on KFRU. at 306 S. Ninth St. towering over them, a He can be reached at half dozen or so proposals are lined up at al@columbia business the gate waiting for the city to allow contimes.com. struction to begin. Or will it? Until the city upgrades infrastructure, notably water, power and sewer systems, the only noise you may hear are sighs of frustration as prospective developers ride out of town in quest of sunnier prospects elsewhere.

This architect’s rendering of the Manor House dates back to the early 1960s. The back of the postcard reads, “Luxury Living in Columbia’s Finest High Rise Apartments.”

Cost of infill development City officials are embarrassed they didn’t respond quicker to these infrastructure shortcomings, somewhat ironic given strident advocacy by some solons pressing for “infill” development downtown. Most urgent is the need for larger sanitary sewer lines, and that means tearing up streets and other rights-of-way. Not that there’s a cornucopia of cash lying around; the money needed for these projects comes in seven-figure chunks leaving the city in a pickle about raising the necessary funds.

Now the city seems almost in a panic about how to quickly raise the money. Seeking resident approval to issue tax-exempt municipal bonds to fund these upgrades has been sidelined for now, supplanted by efforts to create an ambitious municipal tax increment financing (TIF) district. Then, at least one City Council member who opposes the TIF concept keeps dredging up the idea of charging “impact” fees that, if enacted, would probably send prospective developers scurrying elsewhere.

Now Boone County, which collects and disburses property taxes, has thundered on to the scene with a lawsuit vowing to oppose the city’s TIF proposal. Ah, such cooperative neighborliness; it’s the makings of an oldfashioned gunfight in the East Walnut Street corral, energized by what some perceive to be the city’s arrogance charging ahead with a somewhat unique municipally sponsored TIF district. Revolvers drawn, county officials should cool their heels because this calls for mediation and compromise, not intolerance and bombast.

For the good of the county We have long marveled at the contrast between the city’s charter-based council-manager home-rule system of governance and the antiquated single-party political “machine” that rules Boone County. The county and its residents have consistently failed to enact a home-rule charter out of fear it would dismantle the longstanding arrangement of rarely challenged Democrats, in this case, who control all the offices and mechanics of governance. Perhaps with a home-rule charter and a more rational, politically neutral county executive, the county wouldn’t have barged ahead with this impish foolishness.

These are good people. We admire them for their competence and devotion free of any notion of impropriety since the mid 1970s. Now they are acting like spoiled brats in a sandbox. County officials should be reprimanded for failing to grasp the bigger picture and husband the economic well-being of the county they preside over. They need a tutorial about the economic significance of the University of Missouri.

Most of the proposals awaiting the go-ahead are for buildings filled with beds to satisfy the thirst for housing at MU as the university, Boone County’s largest employer, presses toward an enrollment of 40,000 students.

Over the longer term, the increased value of each property as a “ratable” — that is, the leap in assessed valuation upon completion — will yield more taxes for the county to disburse among various entities including the public schools. Show us the numbers. If Columbia's TIF proposal is so ruinous to the financial well-being of our public schools and other property taxsupported entities, we need some proof of this. The city could simultaneously reduce the TIF district boundaries and pare the list of projects it proposes to fund. Boone County should suffuse itself with the spirit of compromise and negotiate with the city to make this a win-win for everyone.

Remember, our negligence to embrace those who wish to invest here would be to spurn economic opportunities any other community would champ at the bit to welcome. CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 31

1can

The women behind the l e tt e r p r e ss c o m p a n y

By Molly WrighT Photos By anthony Jinson

32 \\\ march 2014

noe2 In today’s technologically advanced world, operating a business out of a barn and working with century-old equipment might seem more like taking a step back than forging ahead. But for business partners and friends Beth Snyder, Carrie Shryock and Karen Shryock, this “old-fashioned” kind of thinking has not only helped them develop their letterpress business, 1canoe2, but it also continues to be their ticket to success.

Although 1canoe2 officially launched in 2009, the origin of the name has much older roots. “I think we met for the first time in fifth or sixth grade while in our school district’s gifted program,” Carrie Shryock says, referring to Snyder. Over time it was their passion for drawing that solidified the friendship. Well, that and canoe trips and campfires along Missouri streams where they dreamed about their futures. Those fondly remembered adventures with “one canoe, two girls” became 1canoe2 down the road.

After attending the University of Missouri, where Snyder graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Shryock a degree in nutrition (she later went on to get certified in K-12 art education), they parted ways but kept in touch. It was while Snyder was living in Nashville that she first experienced letterpressing, which Wikipedia defines as: “a technique of relief printing using a printing press. A worker composes and locks moveable type into the bed of a press, inks it and presses paper against it to transfer the ink from the type which creates an impression on the paper.” Snyder’s fiancé (now husband) bought her a small tabletop letterpress so she could print her wedding invitations. Pleased with the results, Snyder contacted

Shryock, who was living in Colorado at the time, and suggested her friend create some designs to try on the machine.

“I’ve always loved business,” Snyder says. “I thought, other artists are making money doing business, so we can make this work.”

Before long, they opened an Etsy shop (online marketplace) to sell their creations. “It wasn’t like we sat down and had this big business plan discussion,” Shryock says. “We put things in our Etsy shop, and they got noticed, and from there it just kind of snowballed.”

Building the business Eventually, Snyder and Shryock both moved back to the Columbia area, where, in 2009, they purchased their first full-sized press. “We drove all the way to Iowa and brought it back,” says Snyder, who adds that the cast-iron machines can be difficult to find because they are often sold for scrap. Over time, they bought two more and placed them in the Shryock family’s Red Maze Barn east of Columbia.

Learning how to operate the antiquated machines was their next challenge. Although several “old-time” printers offer advice on the Internet, the process is extremely time consuming, so the women acquired most of their education through trial and error. “Every color goes on separately,” Snyder says. “It takes about an hour to set it up and then an hour to clean after every color.” Consequently, a multicolored project can easily require several hours in prep time, not counting the time necessary to run the prints.

In addition, because the machines are no longer manufactured, it is almost impossible to get them

serviced. “We’ve spent a lot of time bending over the press and saying, ‘Why is this happening?’”

Shryock’s sister-in-law Karen Shyrock joined the team in 2010. With a teaching and administration background, Karen took over communications and special projects, which allowed the other two more time to concentrate on design, product development and the future of the business. By 2011, the three partners knew additional changes were in order if they wanted to keep moving forward. First and foremost, the presses needed a new home. Every fall, when the corn maze was in full swing, the presses were pushed farther back in the barn, which was no easy task. So when Carrie’s parents offered an old mule barn that had been in the family for generations, the three women jumped at the chance and moved the presses into the lower level. That same year, they also attended their first National Stationery Show.

“The business really exploded when we started going to the National Stationary Show in New York City,” Snyder says. Practically overnight they were receiving orders from significant players in the industry, such as Anthropologie, Paper Source, Papyrus and Uncommon Goods. By 2012, both Snyder, who was working part time as creative marketing director for the Columbia Business Times, and Carrie Shryock, who was teaching with the Columbia School District, were able to quit their day jobs. In June 2013, after renovating the rest of the barn — insulating the walls, installing plumbing and replacing the roof — 1canoe2 moved into its new, permanent location in the hayloft above the presses. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 33

From left: Karen Shryock, Beth Snyder and Carrie Shryock

Pressing forward Today 1canoe2 offers a wide selection of gifts and stationery items, including greeting cards, calendars, notepads, recipe cards and boxes and more. With their business growing in leaps and bounds, the partners only letterpress their limited-edition art prints, which are signed by them. Other products, which they still design, such as their popular greeting cards, are outsourced to other companies. Currently, their products are sold in 700 stores in practically every state in the nation; internationally in Australia, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, Taiwan and the United Kingdom; as well as through online sites such as Uncommon Goods. Their products have also been featured on the Today Show.

Snyder feels determination is one of the main reasons their company has been so successful. “Carrie and I are really passionate about what we do, and people seem to like our stuff,” she says. “Bit by bit, we just kept going because we really wanted to do this full time.” But she also believes they stand out in the crowded stationery industry, not simply because their process is unique but because of what they represent.

34 \\\ march 2014

“A lot of our customers are from California and New York,” she says. “They are fascinated by the barn, and they like the fact that we are real people.”

Karen says she appreciates the way everyone works together for the good of the company.

“We’ve always talked about how we are so successful because we are a great team, and that includes everybody on our staff. We get to use the things that we feel we are gifted at or that we excel in to be most useful to the business.”

Shipping Manager Zach Graham, who came on board in 2012, agrees. “I’ve done a little bit of everything,” he says of his previous work experience, from retail to standup comedy. “This job is perfect because it’s a little bit of everything, too.”

The same is true about Creative Marketing Director Haley Arndt, who, with a double major in graphic design and strategic communications, joined the company in 2013. Originally an intern with the company — an opportunity 1canoe2 provides for students attending MU, Stephens College and William Woods University — Arndt enjoys the relaxed atmosphere that makes her feel at home. “I come from a really small town on a farm,” she says. “It’s a really good fit for me.”

Snyder is extremely satisfied with the direction the company is heading. “I’m really proud of the fact that we have a stable business that we can employ really cool, really talented, wonderful people,” she says. “I love coming to work because of the people here.”

The freedom to set their own hours has also been a boom to Snyder and Karen, who are married and raising young children. In fact, Karen can’t imagine working anywhere else. “Getting to spend time with Carrie and Beth and doing all these wonderful things we are able to do together is the greatest benefit of this job,” she says.

Snyder is looking forward to another successful year. “My big dream,” she says, “is that we can continue to do this for a long time.” But perhaps her long-time friend and partner, Carrie Shryock, sums up the feelings of all three women best.

“We want to offer great products to our customers, but we also want to connect with our customers, not just be a company, but have a company that our personalities show through,” she says. “It’s been really fun to see it grow. If you had told me a year ago that we would have this studio in the barn, be in all the stores we are in and have all these employees, I would have thought that was crazy.” CBT

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 35

The city prepares for expansion along its northeast and western boundaries.

By Vicki Hodder thinkstock.com

Rapid growth, sprawl, cost recovery: The City of Columbia’s newly minted comprehensive plan responds to these and other resident concerns in its emphasis on development and redevelopment in established neighborhoods. The plan’s focus on a compact and contiguous community is clear, reflected in part by repeated calls for making livable and walkable neighborhoods a priority.

Yet, despite that wary approach to expansion, Columbia is on the cusp of significant growth on both its northeast and western boundaries. City officials already have begun the northeastern expansion by annexing in late January more than 140 acres of city-owned parkland that houses the Lake of the Woods golf course and pool.

Meanwhile, voters last November laid the groundwork for annexing properties west of town by approving a $32.3 million bond issue that includes money to build a city sewer line out to Joe Bechtold’s Midway property near the intersection of Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 40. Municipal policy has long required that property owners who wish to connect to Columbia’s sewer system agree to become part of the city.

“What a Bechtold annexation agreement would do, I think, from a city planner’s perspective, is establish in essence the westernmost boundary of a future City of Columbia municipal limit,” says Patrick Zenner, Columbia’s Development Services manager.

Columbia’s moves toward expansion have not been unheralded. Indeed, Columbia’s master plan specifically points to the ongoing expansion northeast of the city.

And plans to provide sewer service to Midway commercial properties have been on the books since at least 2004, says Steven Sapp, public information specialist for Columbia Public Works.

Stretching boundaries Although the city’s comprehensive plan, called Columbia Imagined, anticipates that the new Battle High School on St. Charles Road will stimulate additional development, expansion of Columbia’s borders actually only began last August with the modest annexation of a .22-acre site at the southeast corner of St. Charles Road and Demaret Drive. Small though the property addition was, it paved the way for future annexations by making Columbia’s border

contiguous to the Lake of the Woods golf course. Columbia City Council members voted in January to bring the recreation area, which, though owned and operated by Columbia, could not annex until it was contiguous to the city, within the community’s corporate limits.

Other annexations are likely to follow.

Somerset Village, a proposed 128-acre residential and commercial development that borders the golf course on its south side, is in the midst of revising its zoning application to prepare for annexation. Columbia already has a pre-annexation agreement with the Somerset Village property owners in place, Zenner says.

From there, city plans to bring Battle High School within its boundaries can move ahead. Connected to Columbia’s sewer system through a roughly $1.26 million project jointly funded by the city and the Boone County Regional Sewer District, the high school’s approximately 80-acre site will be adjacent to city borders once Somerset Village annexes.

“There is an annexation agreement with the school district,” Zenner says. “That is what was required as a prerequisite to being able to open the school this past fall.”

North of the Battle High School tract is a 25-acre city-owned parcel slated to hold a community park as well as about 40 acres on which the Columbia Public School District plans to build a new elementary school, expected to open in 2015. Both sites eventually will connect to the city’s sewer system via the line built for Battle High School, Zenner says, and will become part of Columbia.

Beyond the school and park sites are an estimated 1,000 acres in unincorporated Boone County north of Battle High School and west of Route Z that city and county sewer officials believe may wind up within Columbia’s corporate limits.

A cooperative sewer construction agreement between the two government entities — approved by the City Council in 2010 — foresees residents there receiving sewer service from the Boone County Regional Sewer District but annexing and developing the property to city standards.

Officials say the land currently is largely zoned for agrarian use.

Another estimated 1,000-plus acres of unincorporated Boone County land south

of St. Charles Road on both sides of Route Z is slated in the agreement to receive city sewer service. Indeed, the November sewer bond request included $1.14 million to finance a sewer line extension designed to serve that area, which sits just south of Battle High School. The project, called the North Grindstone Outfall Extension Phase III in city plans, would run a line from just south of Battle High School to Route Z. Although Columbia might eventually annex some or all of these acres near Battle High School, Zenner emphasizes that no immediate plans exist to do so. The territorial agreement is an effort to plan ahead for the development that the new secondary and proposed elementary schools might prompt, to lay out and understand what might happen in the area depending on road improvements and developer proposals, he says.

“It will eventually be part of the city, but it is not something that we are interested in annexing today or even in the near future,” Zenner says. “It’s all dependent upon who develops that.”

Midway as an endpoint Plans for expanding Columbia’s western border are more nebulous. At the center is a proposal to extend a city sewer line roughly one and a half miles from the existing line west of Columbia’s Bellwood Subdivision near Strawn Road and Broadway to the Midway Truck Stop. Design work on the project is scheduled to begin next year, so the line’s exact route has not yet been decided, Columbia Engineering Supervisor Steve Hunt says.

Still, the extension has been part of Columbia’s long-range planning for years, having been included in its 2004 sewer utility master plan, says Sapp, of Columbia Public Works.

Sapp says the plan came to the fore when Midway business owners informally asked last year that the line be built.

Joe Bechtold, owner of the roughly 200 acres on which Midway Truck Stop and its affiliated businesses stand, says he sought the sewer extension to pave the way for future growth on his property. Although Bechtold says he has no immediate plans to expand his Midway business ventures, connecting to the city’s sewer system allows for the possibility.

Columbia can more efficiently treat the site’s wastewater than the onsite lagoon currently serving the property, Bechtold says. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 37

Cleaning up Still, Zenner says Columbia’s plan will adapt to recognize the city’s westward expansion, and he points to the benefits the city will receive by building the new sewer line and annexing the Midway property. Columbia will eliminate potential environmental problems by extending sewer service to the area while creating the opportunity for new tax revenues, officials say.

Columbia has been working for years to reduce the number of lagoons and other small 38 \\\ march 2014

SLATED AND POTENTIAL ANNEXED PROPERTIES

1 = CITY PARK SITE 4 = SOMERSET VILLAGE OF THE WOODS 2 = BATTLE 5 = LAKE ELEMENTARY GOLF COURSE & RECREATIONAL AREA HIGH 3 = BATTLE SCHOOL

Existing BCRSD Wholesale Service Existing and Proposed BCRSD Customers No Annexation or Development to City Standards

Route Z

New BCRSD Customers Annex and Develop to City Standards Proposed City of Columbia Customers Slated and Potential Annexed Properties Current Annexed City Properties

Battle Ave.

“We’re maxed out on what we can do with our lagoon,” Bechtold says. “We really can’t grow.”

The proposed sewer extension — dubbed the Henderson Branch Sewer Line for the stream the line is to follow — will probably also be capable of serving Perche Creek Golf Course and Midway Arms, both of which also currently use small onsite wastewater treatment systems, Zenner says.

He adds that those property owners ultimately will decide whether to hook up to the main trunk line Columbia will be building because the city cannot require it. The sewer line will not run far enough west initially, Sapp says, to replace the contractual wastewater treatment provider used by Columbia Public School District’s Midway Heights Elementary School at 8130 W. Highway 40.

City officials included the Henderson Branch line extension’s estimated $2.6 million price tag in the November sewer bond issue proposal, which won approval from nearly 80 percent of those who voted. Zenner expects the city will pick up the entire tab, but Boone County Regional Sewer District General Manager Thomas Ratermann says that remains to be seen. Columbia and the sewer district will work that out while negotiating a staterequired connection agreement to determine how affected residents and businesses will be served, Ratermann says.

Ultimately, the Midway sewer line will extend Columbia’s western border, though it’s unclear exactly when or by how much. It’s an expansion unforeseen by the Columbia Imagined comprehensive plan, which urges growth within areas already served by city utilities. And it’s an expansion that will stretch Columbia’s western border as far west as it is likely to go, in Zenner’s eyes.

He says he believes the city’s infrastructure — its police, fire, sewer service and road maintenance capacities — may well be stretched to capacity by a Midway extension that would create “a western extreme for the City of Columbia.”

“The infrastructure capacity and our infrastructure systems define how far we truly can grow,” Zenner notes.

4

2

les Rd.

1

r St. Cha

4

3

5

I-70

onsite wastewater treatment plants in the area with city sewer service. Building the Midway sewer line could eliminate discharge from numerous small wastewater facilities that currently flows into Henderson Branch stream and from there to Perche Creek, which runs through the western portion of Columbia, Columbia Sewer Utility Manager David Sorrell says.

“So by eliminating those discharges, you have a cleaner stream,” Sorrell says. “Hopefully they’re meeting their permit requirements, but it’s still not the same as just regular rainwater.”

Zenner considers the environmental benefit Columbia’s “ultimate goal” of the Midway sewer extension. Lagoons over a period of time will fail, creating the potential for far greater environmental impacts than those created by municipally treated sewer discharges, he says.

Columbia stands to receive financial benefits from the project as well. The city would receive connection fees from those who sign on for the municipal sewer service and regular user fees once they’re customers. But a more substantial benefit likely would come from sales and property taxes Columbia would collect once the new Midway sewer customers annex to the city.

“It has the potential to bring on some very large sales tax-producing businesses that could be valuable to the city in the long term,” Zenner says.

That expansion in Columbia’s tax base might not be matched by a residential expansion on the city’s west side. The nature of the land between Columbia and Midway, which includes floodplain and other topographical features that make it difficult to develop, prompts Zenner to predict that development on the west side of town will be relatively light even after city sewer service is available.

“The infrastructure capacity and our infrastructure systems define how far we truly can grow.” — Patrick Zenner, manager, Columbia Development Services “Because we’ve got too much land area that’s probably prime that’s already near the amenities that most people want — schools, convenience commercial, roads and everything else — that just provides you a much more efficient way of getting around and getting your daily needs,” he says.

“This particular area is really rural and probably going to remain that way.” CBT

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columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 39

SettingtheBar How the city measures performance and efficiency — and why it even matters.

By Sarah Redohl 40 \\\ march 2014

Hanging on the wall of City Manager Mike Matthes’ second-floor office is 12-point code of ethics. His favorite point is the third: “Be dedicated to the highest ideals of honor and integrity in all public and personal relationships in order that the member may merit the respect and confidence of the elected officials, of other officials and employees and of the public.”

The code of ethics is that of the International City Managers Association, an organization Matthes considers “the gold standard” of good government organizations.

The ICMA has its code of ethics, an ethics hotline and its own form of sanctions against out-of-line members. The sanctions can range from a phone call from an ICMA representative to a life ban and full-page advertisement in the local paper explaining your sentence. Matthes provides a recent example: a city manager in California who convinced his city’s council to pay him an $850,000 salary.

“You’ll have a very hard time working in the field again if you’ve done that,” Matthes says.

“For public entities, it’s not about profits,” says Toni Messina, Columbia’s civic relations officer. “It’s about efficiency in doing what we said we’d do to serve the public.”

To measure that efficiency, the ICMA also puts together annual performance measurement reports in 19 service areas for 165 jurisdictions that provide benchmark data, comparisons and case studies. Since Matthes became city manager in 2011, the city has paid the $5,500 fee to participate in the survey, which Matthes says is vitally important to reaching the city’s goals of excellence.

Shaping department objectives

Dreamstime.com

Each March, various city departments have to submit their data to the ICMA. The submission process involves hundreds of questions, according to Lelande Rehard, a twoyear fellow working in Matthes’ office who has been in charge of data submission and distribution and is currently training the next fellow to manage these duties.

The city has participated in the survey twice, but Rehard looks forward to receiving the 2013 results this August.

However, there are some common trends Rehard and others have already spotted. In a presentation to the City Council explaining ICMA’s Center for Performance Measurement, he notes that there is a lack of perception measures for internal services, certain service areas (particularly public safety, roads and IT) are underfunded, and the city performs its duties with fewer employees, particularly among the Police and Fire departments.

“Often we have less staff and spend less money with the same level of satisfaction,” Rehard says, “but we may not be able to keep that up forever.” For example, Columbia has 1.77 officers per 1,000 residents, while the Midwest average is 2.2 officers per 1,000 residents, according to 2010 FBI estimates.

“Often, we’re setting the bar, so it’s tough to find places who are doing it better,” Rehard says. Columbia was the only city to be featured in two out of 24 case studies of

excellence in the 2012 report: Leveraging the Landfill for Local Utility Procurement and Coordinating Housing Services and Targeting Neighborhood Improvements.

Columbia Sanitary Landfill became the first bioreactor landfill in Missouri in 2009 and one of only 10 in the United States. The case study commended the plant for supplying 1.5 percent of Columbia’s energy use — a number that is expected to increase to 2.5 within the next decade.

The second case study regarding housing commends Columbia’s use of outside capital. It reports that 77.6 percent of the program area’s funds came from outside capital, “the second-highest percentage among responding municipalities,” the report reads.

“Although the city was not able to meet recent goals in terms of total households assisted through the Homeownership Assistance Program, the city has still been able to leverage outside capital at a high rate,” the report reads.

“Additionally, partnerships with local development organizations have leveraged nearly 60 percent of the funds needed for new affordable housing construction.”

Randy Cole, housing programs supervisor in the city’s Community Development Department, has found even more ways to incorporate the report into his department’s objectives.

“We have our own software where we track participants and people we serve in our program and our expenditures,” Cole says. “It mirrors a lot of reporting we already have to do for [the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development].”

Although Cole says he only reviews the report once or twice a year, he says it “impacts what we do daily because knowing we measure performance and knowing performance is important affects your work and helps you move projects forward and get things done.”

The report, however, is not complimentary on all levels.

“We’re paying a lot [for solid waste disposal],” Rehard says. “Satisfaction is really high, but so is the cost.”

Matthes says that though the city looked into roll carts, a report recommendation that is shown to be more cost effective and less likely to result in employee injuries, there wasn’t enough citizen support to even begin a pilot project.

“Sometimes people don’t want to see changes because our customer service is very high,” Matthes says. “Ultimately, our community gets to decide what we do. What’s efficient isn’t always effective.”

Rehard says it’s likely that changes will still need to be made to the solid waste division to see if it can reach a higher efficiency with comparable levels of customer satisfaction.

“For me, I’m more interested in how we do over time and how we perform to the citizens’ satisfaction than to how we stack up to other cities,” Rehard says.

There are difficulties in making comparisons. Rehard says there are certain obstacles or benefits we can’t control such as our climate, form of government or the state in which we live. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 41

27,157

30,000 –

78%

42,034 State College , PA 42,034

53,678 42,034 Manhattan, KS

Cedar Rapids, IA

1 24,790 24,790

Coral Springs, FL

2

3,726 3,726

1 O'Fallon, MO

State College , PA

O'Fallon, MO

Columbia, MO

Coral Springs, FL

N/A State College , PA

1 Total lane miles within jurisdiction

2,000 – 2,174

1,500 – 1,000 –

115

575

500 – Expenditures

0–

1,327

Revenue

1,614

$7,622,732 $4,068,339

$10,508,053 $4,092,133

2,500 –

2.5 Mil –

0– State College , PA

Columbia, MO

Coral Springs, FL

Cedar Rapids, IA

Tacoma, WA

Columbia, MO

Coral Springs, FL

Cedar Rapids, IA

State College , PA

Columbia, MO

Coral Springs, FL

0–

Cedar Rapids, IA

5 Mil – 5–

1

Recycling

Parks and recreation revenue and expenditures 7.5 Mil –

10 –

Tacoma, WA

Columbia, MO

10 Mil –

12.5

Columbia, MO

20,000 –

$3,576,328 $4,547,952

11.2

Coral Springs, FL

Refuse

40,000 –

Tacoma, WA

13

O'Fallon, MO

80,000 –

Tacoma, WA Cedar Rapids, IA

Pickups per week

39,984 42,882

Columbia, MO

Coral Springs, FL

Cedar Rapids, IA

15 –

Coral Springs, FL

Refuse and recycling accounts

Average years of service for jurisdiction employees 17

Columbia, MO

Manhattan, KS

0–

20 –

$678 $775 $758 $678

Columbia, MO

40,167 40,167

$425,862

500,000– 0–

Tacoma, WA

60,000 – $1,182,988

1,000,000 –

Total expenditures, per capita

4,171 3,122 1,014 740 51,267 53,635

1,500,000 –

122,681

2,000,000 –

Park acreage

65,957 65,957

Home rehabilitation funding

Coral Springs, FL

State College , PA

Tacoma, WA

Columbia, MO

0–

State College , PA

Cedar Rapids, IA

Manhattan, KS

3 122 188

O'Fallon, MO

Columbia, MO

Coral Springs, FL

Cedar Rapids, IA

Total # liability claims filed

42,034

53,678

N/A

80,519 42,034

10,000 –

N/A

42,034

80,519

50,000 –

0–

N/A

126,323

110,483

122,681

100,000 –

inspections 110,483

20,000 –

15% 228%

Permits

19,800

150,000 –

Tacoma, WA

42 \\\ march 2014

Permits and inspections

26%

$1,827,359

According to Messina, internal data and the citizen survey are more widely used in developing the strategic plan of the city. In the 24-page 2012 Strategic Plan, the ICMA is mentioned only once, as a performance measure to benchmark cost of service under the goal to ensure that there are resources to meet existing and future infrastructure demands. Rehard says benchmarking utility fees is an excellent use of the data.

Slightly more than half of the 2012 ICMA survey respondents reported having a strategic plan in place. Columbia’s strategic plan is, in a large part, due to the city’s Journey to Excellence initiative, in which the City Council wanted city staff to ultimately win the prestigious Baldrige Award, Messina says.

Locally, MidwayUSA received the award in 2009. As for the public sector, the City of Coral Springs, Fla., Messina says, was one of the first local governments to win a national quality award.

A couple years ago, Columbia city leaders hosted a conference call with Coral Springs city leaders to ask how they got started on the road to excellence.

The response? Fifteen years.

“We’re about five or six years into it,” Messina says. “We’re constantly setting, measuring, reassessing and looking at the bottom line [of our performance].”

And if Columbia hopes to win a national or state award, it needs a strategic plan. “If we want to have a strategic plan,” Rehard says, “we need to measure our performance.” CBT

200,000 –

126,323

The road to excellence

Current population and percentage growth since 1980

Tacoma, WA

“For public entities, it’s not about profits. It’s about efficiency in doing what we said we’d do to serve the public.”

— Toni Messina, Columbia civic relations officer

A ll Stac k e d U P 199,600

Another problem? Not all cities measure data in the same way. For example, Cole says because public service isn’t a part of his department, he can’t provide answers to their questions, even though those questions fall under his service area in the ICMA. He also says it’s vital to remain consistent in how you’re reporting the numbers.

“There are a lot of measures we don’t get because we don’t keep that data,” Rehard says.

But he has also looked into what it would take to calculate those measures in the future. And, in fact, Columbia had higher response rates than the handful of cities selected for comparison in the adjacent sidebar.

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 43

Operating as the go-between for the Columbia Water and Light Department and the Columbia City Council, the appointed members of the Water and Light Advisory Board have more on their plates than reading reports and making suggestions. But what exactly are the powers and functions of this team of middlemen? Who are its members? And how does it affect us every day?

By Sarah Redohl 44 \\\ march 2014

It isn’t often that one thinks of all the moving parts that ensure water runs when you turn the tap and the lights come on when you flip the switch. One might think about it, though, if either didn’t work.

Providing reliable utility services to Columbia’s citizens is the job of the city’s Water and Light Department. But the department doesn’t operate alone. The Water and Light Advisory Board acts as a middleman between the department — the administrative body — and the City Council, which establishes policies and laws. But what are the powers and functions of the Water and Light Advisory Board? Who are its members? And how does it affect us every day?

What is the Advisory Board?

Thinkstock.com

According to Tad Johnsen, director of the Water and Light Department, the Water and Light Advisory Board is one of only a handful of boards included in the city charter. The charter states that the five-member board must be appointed by the City Council to serve four-year terms.

The board meets the first Wednesday of each month, but being a part of the board is a much greater time commitment than the three-hour meetings. Connie Kacprowicz, the spokesperson for Water and Light, estimates that each board member spends an additional seven hours each month in preparation.

“Utility is a big business,” Johnsen says. “You have to understand the lingo: What’s capacity? What’s energy? How is a rate structure put together?”

“The Advisory Board gives the council a group that’s focused just on what we do,” he says.

Johnsen, who was selected by the city manager to lead the department, must be “trained and experienced in the operation and management of public utilities…” according to the charter.

The board, however, has less stringent requirements. The charter states members must be qualified voters, residents of Columbia for at least one year, and they must also be “sympathetic” to municipal operation of the water and light system.

The third qualification is up for interpretation.

To Johnsen it means they must be interested enough in the topics of water and light to spend the time to learn how they work.

Board Chairman John T. Conway, P.E.,, believes it means representing the public’s viewpoints and to be sympathetic to their plight. “We don’t have stakeholders other than the general public and the council,” he says.

“I think, too, as I reflect over the time I’ve been a part of the board, that there needs to be representation of the business community in this city.

That’s kind of the driving force of our community, and these utilities are important to them.”

To former board member of eight years Bob Roper, it means being sympathetic to the needs of the ratepayer.

Roper thinks the fourth qualification outlined in the charter is vitally important: respect for “the policies…to ensure the sound and efficient management of said system.”

“You not only have to be sympathetic, but you have to do it in an efficient management system,” he says. “That was the springboard for how I looked at my job.”

The powers of the board are solely advisory. Any member can call the director of Water and Light and put an item on the agenda, but most initiatives come from Johnsen and his staff.

There’s an annual agenda including items the board must address every year, such as capital improvement projects and the renewable energy report. Financials, quarterly reports and any budgetary purchases that must be approved by the City Council are included on every agenda.

“Typically, we drive the agenda on items we need their support on,” Johnsen says.

“It comes together organically,” Kacprowicz says. “Projects come up, and we just have to break down the process for completing that project.”

Conway says they’re also funneled information from other boards and commissions such as the Environment and Energy Commission. He says the board might also be given initiatives by council members.

“For example, Barbara Hoppe wanted to look into the budget, just to start a dialogue of what we can do,” he says.

The board itself, however, isn’t designed to bring initiatives to the council, Johnsen says. “They’re supposed to be experts with community involvement in Water and Light.”

Johnsen and Conway agree that as long as the department staff and the board concur on recommendations, the council almost always approves its recommendations. The department can still bring recommendations not approved by the board to the council, “but we have to understand it’s more onerous to explain why this is a good thing,” Johnsen says, adding that those instances are rare. He says he can’t recall instances when the columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 45

board has brought recommendations to the council that the department didn’t agree with, though the department can send its views for or against any board recommendations to the council.

“We need to recognize that the department staff is the expert,” Conway says.

Who are its members?

The board’s current members and terms are: Chairman John Conway, 2014; Henry “Hank” Ottinger, 2015; Vice-Chairman Dick Parker, 2015; Tom O’Connor, 2016; and Jack Clark, 2017.

Although the requirements outlined in the charter are slim, Conway says it’s important to have a longer history in the community than the required one year.

“You have to spend an amount of time here, long enough to get a flavor for what’s important to the citizens and how the community engages with city government,” he says. “You have to be willing to learn and put in the time.” Conway has spent countless hours earning a public power governance certificate from the American Public Power Association. He was the first in the nation to complete the two-year program. All board members are invited to participate in webinars, conferences and meetings from the APPA and other industry groups.

On a local level, the department regularly sends reading materials to the board. Sometimes it’s as short as a single-page memo; other times it might be a 120-page document.

“Some council members indicated we should have regular changeover of members, but we don’t consider that an advantage because it takes a lot of investment to get someone up to speed,” Johnsen says.

He estimates that most board members serve between 10 and 15 years, and it takes a couple years to learn the board’s nuances.

“For those first couple of years, you better be a good listener,” Conway says. “Most board members come with an expertise in one part or aspect of Water and Light.”

For Johnsen, variety is the quality he most prefers (though the department plays no role in appointments). “We’ve had people from finance, engineering consultants, the environmental side...” he says. “One thing we try to do is have people from different backgrounds.”

Conway has a civil engineering background and more than 20 years of experience on the board.

On his application in 2010, he also lists public finance experience, having lived in the community for more than 40 years and his leadership and management experience from the private sector.

46 \\\ march 2014

Ottinger retired as an associate professor at Westminster College and has lived in Columbia since 1962. He’s served on various mayor-appointed task forces, according to his 2011 application. He has chaired the local Sierra Club several times in the past, and he remains a member of that group.

His listed qualifications include having served as a member of two Water and Light director searches and on the task force for the Integrated Resource Plan for Columbia’s future energy use.

“Ottinger brings a dimension of environmental concern,” Conway says.

Parker is in his second term on the board.

“Parker is a scientist,” Conway says. “He can delve into the nitty gritty details.” He has a Ph.D. in zoology and has served on the Environment and Energy Commission and Integrated Resource Plan committee.

“Parker was a professor and an academic, and he’s focused on some conservation approaches,” Johnsen says.

for them to say it took them longer to get a grasp on the department finances,” he says.

“They certainly have to understand the financials: how bonds work, what a credit rating is, how we establish that,” Johnsen says. To learn more about the financial side, the board completed a “Finance 101” session in May of 2012, according to the Annual Water and Light Advisory Board Report, which covers the last half of 2012 and the first half of 2013.

“I was very much aligned with being a financial watchdog,” says Roper, who was formerly an executive vice president of Boone County National Bank and president of Central Trust and Investment Co., an affiliate. “I felt that I represented the city’s ratepayers on that board.” “[The department is] very good about answering questions and presenting financial statements in whatever detail we wanted,” he says.

“With my background in banking, I tended to ask a lot of questions on that.”

How does it affect us every day?

“There are pros and cons to both. It’s easy to say the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but we don’t live on the other side of the fence.”

— Tad Johnsen, director, Columbia Water and Light O’Connor has served on the Advisory Board since 2006, was a part of the source water protection task force and owns H2O’C Engineering, where he specializes in water quality and treatment. He cites his wish to serve as his “ongoing interest in our water and energy issues and sustainability of supplies.”

Conway adds that, due to his business ownership, he also brings an element of business experience to the group.

Clark, who owns DSC Advisory Services, has a background in long-range planning, a master’s degree in urban affairs and has served on the comprehensive plan task force. It was his interest in investments in infrastructure that prompted him to serve on the board, according to his application. “[Clark] is very interested in seeing photovoltaics on our system,” Johnsen adds.

Conway says he thinks finances are among the current board’s struggles.

“I think if you asked them which dimension they struggle with most, well, it wouldn’t be uncommon

Despite a 5 percent increase in water rates and a 1.5 percent increase in electric rates in October 2012, the annual report states that customer satisfaction improved in 2012 and surpassed national benchmarks.

The report also noted that the 2012 fiscal year demand side management and demand reduction report stated that energy-efficiency programs saved the city more than 4 million kilowatt hours.

According to the Integrated Resource Plan of 2008, which is an independent assessment of Columbia’s future energy needs completed by an outside consultant, energy efficiency was a top priority. The report was updated in 2013 and suggested the pursuit of wind energy and natural gas.

Even with renewable energy spending down 37 percent from 2012 to 2013, renewable energy will continue to be a priority. The city’s renewable energy ordinance sets standards for renewable energy use to 15 percent before 2018, 25 percent before 2023 and 30 percent before 2029. It also states that these levels must be achieved “without increasing electric rates more than 3 percent or higher” than what it would cost to generate or purchase electricity from 100 percent nonrenewable sources.

Roper estimates that the city will only reach 10 to 13 percent renewable sources before it reaches a 3 percent rate increase.

“Utilities have to be reliable — you need to know that lights will turn on when you need them — and they need to be cost effective,” Roper says. “Even if you were to reach 30 percent renewables, you’d

have to make sure your system can support the community’s needs if renewables are unavailable. None of it looks bad until it goes dark or prices skyrocket.”

“To put it in the simplest of terms, if you have a resource that you know any time you press the button it’s going to generate power,” Johnsen says, “then it’s worth more than a resource that’s going to generate power only when it can, like solar and wind.”

Johnsen and the board spent many meetings attempting to address this very problem and developed a formula to assess those values.

If rates do increase by more than 3 percent, or the city doesn’t meet its renewable energy goals, there are no punishments in the ordinance, but Kacprowicz says, “The plan is to go forth and try to meet the mandate within that cost cap.”

But tensions remain. Although nuclear power’s inclusion as a renewable resource has been a source of tension internationally, it’s also been a source of tension locally.

“When Ameren and Westinghouse wanted to build [small modular reactors] in our area, just for the heck of it, I offered a motion to support that,” Roper says. The motion failed 3-2. “Our city’s own Water and Light board rejected it. … That was a major moment because I thought the whole town supported it.”

“This thing is supposed to make money,” Roper says. “What you want is to operate at a profit, keep rates as low as possible and put that excess in your reserves. If the board and City Council aren’t careful, it could impact our bond rating. The key part is to ensure sound and efficient management of the operations.”

Does the board have too much power? Is there a better way? Most municipal-owned utilities have a separate governing board whose powers extend beyond the advisory — they decide operations, Johnsen says. “I can’t name any others that are like ours.” That said, does the board have enough power?

“The power comes from having a credible board,” Roper says. “It can’t force anything to happen, but if it has quality people and a good record, people will listen to its recommendations.”

“There are pros and cons to both,” Johnsen says. “It’s easy to say the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but we don’t live on the other side of the fence.” CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 47

48 \\\ march 2014

There’s economic promise coming out of Callaway County if key Missouri players have their way in creating and manufacturing SMRs here.

By Debbie Cutler | Photos Courtesy of Ameren

In the heart of the heartland is Callaway County, Missouri’s second largest at 928 square miles. Hovering above the county’s surrounding patchwork of farmland is Callaway Nuclear Power Plant, the heartbeat of the county.

With a scattered population of 44,000, Callaway County may very well be the site of a potential worldwide manufacturing plant for small modular reactors, giving Missouri — and Callaway — a chance to shine.

Callaway Energy Center, built in 1984, allows for low electric rates to more than 750,000 households in the area, including larger cities such as Columbia. The rates are “much lower than national, lower than the Midwest and just about the lowest electric rates in the state of Missouri,” says Warren Wood, Ameren Missouri’s vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs.

About 20 percent of Ameren Missouri’s power comes from Callaway; the remaining 80 percent comes mainly from coal-powered plants. The small modular reactors, or SMRs, are drawing-board units and at a cost of $900 million to $1 billion each, could possibly be produced in mass in Missouri if Ameren Missouri and other electric companies, as well as stakeholders, have their way.

“The county is really hoping to get the new module plants,” says Jody Paschal, newly elected Callaway County assessor. “They would really increase our economic base and grow our communities even more. I think people enjoy working there, and I don’t think people feel unsafe having it in our community.” columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 49

of construction work that would be done with such a project.”

But why?

Everyone is affected by what leaders decide to do to replace existing infrastructure.

“If we are serious about reducing carbon emissions, we need to be serious about nuclear power. It’s just as simple as that.” — Warren Wood, vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs, Ameren Missouri

In the beginning there was DOE The story somewhat began in April 2012 when Westinghouse Electric, an international company with a presence in Missouri, first applied for Department of Energy federal funding to develop and manufacture SMRs, which are about a fifth the size of the large units currently in existence, in Callaway County. They didn’t receive the funds. A second application went out to DOE in April 2013. Again, denied. What’s next with Westinghouse and its partner in production, Ameren Missouri, is anyone’s guess.

According to Ameren, the company is still looking at other options, such as pooled funding among existing Missouri energy companies and other interested stakeholders, Wood says.

50 \\\ march 2014

According to Westinghouse spokesperson Sheila Holt, developing and manufacturing these SMRs are still part of their current and future energy goals for next-generation nuclear technology — somewhere in the United States.

When pressed in an email about whether Missouri was part of their game plan, there was no response.

According to the State of Missouri, also a key player in the project, the state is ready when it comes time to assist if the project comes to fruition. “The state can provide numerous things in support of this type of venture,” Boone County Commissioner Dan Atwill says. “Tax credits, roads, encouraging businesses to participate, making it a friendly environment for the type

“Over the years, you really have to look at their average cost of energy, and we look at different options, and the future for nuclear power is attractive, especially as you look at an environment in the future where carbon emissions are regulated,” he says.

SMRs would provide a reliable and affordable energy source for decades, adds Todd E. Culley, CEO and general manager of Boone Electric Cooperative. Plus, the spent fuel could possibly be recycled and placed back into use, Culley says. But so far, he says the United States has not participated in recycling spent fuel, as other countries have.

In addition, another large nuclear plant is not the answer. Callaway was built during a time of urban sprawl, Wood says. It was a time when houses were being built, people were adding air conditioners to their homes and residents were purchasing a long list of new appliances. Therefore, large was needed: a large reactor, a large turbine, a large generator.

The economy has since slowed down, Wood says, with more energy-efficient homes and fewer homes being built. The SMRs are the perfect solution, he adds.

Is it safe?

According to Wood, Culley, Paschal and Atwill, these small nuclear units appear to be safe and, in fact, will help in the perceived need to reduce carbon emissions and stop climate change.

“If we are serious about reducing carbon emissions, we need to be serious about nuclear power,” Wood says. “It’s just as simple as that.”

Still, Atwill says there are some risks.

“There’s always some room for an accident.

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 51

“If you look at the SMRs’ potential worldwide, in my mind there is no question [production of them] will become a significant economic development opportunity for one or several countries,” Wood says. “And the United States has an opportunity to be a leader in this if we step up and perform. Or we have the opportunity to let other countries lead in this area. I hope our country is not going to let the second option happen.”

What’s next with Westinghouse and its partner in production, Ameren Missouri, is anyone’s guess.

But for Wood and others, they want Missouri, not another site in the United States, to be home to these SMRs and all that would mean to the state and its future. With funding from a variety of sources, the sharing of costs would make it more feasible for all involved. “To summarize, we are stepping back and looking at options,” Wood says. CBT

Quick Glance at SMRs One of the issues has been the possibility of earthquakes, but I think this one is on solid ground compared to others. “(Still), I can say I’m 100 percent for the small modular reactor,” he continues. “From what I’ve learned in the process, I’m very confident it’s a very safe and efficient mechanism for the creation of electricity.”

Who benefits?

Of course the energy companies benefit by having a less-expensive, long-term mechanism for bringing a mostly carbon-free energy to the state as well as acting as world leaders in the development, manufacturing and sale of SMRs across the globe.

But the state and its people would also benefit.

SMRs could bring another industry to the state.

Although the economy is strong here — Missouri was a top-10 state for job growth in 2013, and Columbia’s unemployment rate is at 3.7 percent, according to a January 2014 report by Gov. Jay Nixon — Atwill says the state needs to continue to look for safe and beneficial economic stimulators, such as SMRs. 52 \\\ march 2014

To build units for Missouri’s use would mean thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions.

“But really, when we look at the transformational economic development opportunity this represents, it comes down to our ability to be a manufacturing center for the modules shipped to other states and countries,” Wood says.

“That’s when you really get into the 10,000 to 20,000 jobs.”

Mike Brooks, president of Regional Economic Development Inc., says there are two specific ways to evaluate the impact. “One is the actual construction and development of SMR reactors at the Callaway facility; that is a significant economic impact,” he says. “The other opportunity here is having Missouri being the focal point for the actual assembly and research assembly of the SMRs that would be shipped all across the world. But by virtue of Westinghouse not being a recipient of the federal grant, we don’t know what effect it will have on this bigger picture of what SMRs might mean to Missouri.”

Benefits: • Reduces carbon emissions • Increases economic development to state and area • Minimizes future increases in electric rates • Replaces old infrastructure currently in place • Reduces number of coal-fired plants • Provides power away from large grid systems • Provides thousands of jobs, even as much as 20,000 to area • Reduces risk (including terrorism attacks) as units are built underground Drawbacks: • These are the first units being built, resulting in unknown challenges.

• Some opposition with fears of waste product and safety • Funding not currently available for project through the Department of Energy • Even though the United States is jumping on board to lower emissions, some other countries aren’t, and with no boundaries for the upper atmosphere, the overall fact of climate issues globally is still a negative no matter what is done.

Invest in the lives of our student-athletes by joining the Tiger Scholarship Fund today!

www.TSF-Mizzou.com or call 573-882-0704.

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columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 53

the

Rock that Built us A primer on mid-Missouri quarries: the past, present and future of the industry

By Dianna Borsi O’Brien Photos by Anthony Jinson

54 \\\ march 2014

Just about

everything you see built in Columbia — from the University of Missouri’s iconic columns and white campus to the fine brick homes on Broadway and buildings in between — came from the area’s quarries. At one time, Columbia had upward of 30 quarries and several brickworks. Today, all the brickyards are closed, and only three working quarries remain, none of which continue to produce building blocks.

Yet, local quarries continue to turn out the stone that literally supports your entire life: from the foundations of your home; your favorite retail space; what surrounds the water and sewage lines leading into every building; the material for every road, street and sidewalk, as well as the trails in the park; even agriculture products. The list seems endless.

But many people still think of quarries as dirty, dusty, dangerous places from the past, an image Doug Mertens, one of the owners of Mid-Missouri Limestone, which operates a quarry in northern Boone County, is busy dispelling.

“It’s a misunderstood industry,” says Mertens, whose family owns and operates five quarries in the central Missouri area. “People think we’re pillaging the earth, but we’re not. We’re providing a product that supports our way of life, everywhere, all the time.”

For an example, Mertens points to Battle High School.

“We supplied the vast majority of the aggregate necessary to make that beautiful building, but all people see is that beautiful building,” he says. That’s because the rock that came out of the 200-acre quarry in Sturgeon and another Mid-Missouri Limestone quarry in Millersburg is under the building and the parking lot and provides drainage and the rock for all the asphalt paving. Mid-Missouri Limestone provided 55,000 tons, roughly 3,235 dump-truck loads, of aggregate for that project. columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 55

Rocking the economy These quarries are a crucial component of Columbia’s economic development and save us money, whether we know it or not.

“It’s infrastructure,” Mertens says. Rock is part of every single construction project, from homes to roads and bridges, and it’s heavy and expensive to transport, which means Boone County benefits from having materials available locally.

Here’s where rock goes: • Roads, whether made of asphalt or concrete, are made up primarily of rock. One mile of a typical two-lane asphalt highway requires roughly 25,000 tons of aggregate, according to a 2006 DNR publication.

• Homes and buildings: Each home can include more than 229 tons of rock, for drainage, the foundation and concrete, according to the American Geological Institute.

56 \\\ march 2014

• Cities and counties buy rock for drainage operations, conservation and water management, laying water and sewage lines and road and street building and upkeep.

• Agricultural lime used on farm fields.

Past woes Up until 1971, quarries were lightly regulated, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Land Reclamation website. As one quarry expert says, almost anyone could — and did — start digging on any land they owned.

Columbia residents might recall the 2002 incidents when Boone Quarries-East on Creasy Springs faced complaints about blasts that sent rocks into neighboring yards. Then there are the recent complaints against the operator of Boone Quarries, Con-Agg of MO LLC, which operates Subtera, an underground storage facility, where MU says about 300,000 books are a potential loss due to mold.

The website of the U.S. Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration shows all of Boone County’s quarries have received citations over the years, though none are classified as serious. Mid-Missouri Limestone received an MSHA safety certificate award in 2012.

“It’s nearly impossible,” Mertens says,” for a quarry to not have a citation.” That, he says, is because local, county, state and federal agencies have taken steps to make sure quarries are regulated, monitored and inspected.

In general, Mertens says he supports the oversight, noting it keeps everyone safe. After all, he lives in the area, and all of his employees are more than just workers; they are neighbors and friends.

Getting up These days, getting into the quarry isn’t easy. Anyone coming on the premises must be accompanied at all times; employees must receive 24 hours of training within 90 days and continued train-

ups and downs. When housing and commercial building took a hit, so did Missouri’s $1 billiona-year limestone industry, says Steve Rudloff, executive manager of the Missouri Limestone Producer Association. Limestone is mined in 92 of Missouri’s 114 counties and employs roughly 2,500 people statewide. But during the economic slump of 2008 and 2009, Rudloff says, some quarries saw a 30 percent reduction in sales followed by another year with the same kind of fall in sales.

When governments, from local cities to counties to the federal government, cut back on asphalting, paving and other infrastructure expenditures, Missouri’s limestone quarries take that hit, too. And though housing starts are recovering, the struggle to find funding for infrastructure, from roads to bridges, continues to make the news almost daily.

In Missouri, the outlook is bleak for road construction. A Missouri Department of Transportation news release states due to fuel efficiency, less driving and increased material costs, MODOT has lost roughly half of its purchasing power since 1992, the last time the 17-cent-pergallon state fuel tax was increased. The release notes now that 17 cents equals about 8 cents in buying power and continues to plummet yearly.

In short, Rudloff says, MODOT has very little money for new construction projects.

Better times

ing. The perimeter of the quarry pit is guarded by a row of boulders surrounded by a wide berm of warm-season grasses, and Mertens makes sure a reporter and a photographer seeking a better view of the pit stay within legal areas.

At the quarry, Mertens points out the monitoring devices and describes the EPA regulations for water runoff and air quality and fees paid to ensure testing and compliance and the efforts his firm has made to meet and exceed those requirements.

Now, quarries are required to reclaim the land after mining. The result, Mertens says, can be a place that looks even better than before, a place that becomes, in some cases, a park instead of just a hole in the ground. Anyone who has ever walked by the Quarry Heights Neighborhood park near the MKT Trail can see how a former quarry can be transformed. The area was named to Columbia’s Most Notable Properties List in 2009.

At Mid-Missouri Limestone in Sturgeon, Mertens points out the high berm and tree plant-

ings, where the nearest neighbor is nearly out of sight. Along the way, he notes the one-mile stretch of road his firm transformed from a onelane unpaved county road into a two-lane smooth stretch of a highway-like road, built to bolster his firm’s request for a conditional-use permit from Boone County when it expanded operations in 1999. He points out the new homes built along that road since the quarry upgraded the road and adds that those homeowners apparently didn’t mind that the road led to a quarry.

In Columbia, both Boone Quarries don’t have the luxury of being far from town; the city has grown up around both the Creasy Springs and Stadium locations. Other quarries close to town, the ones on Rock Quarry Road and by the MKT Trail, closed decades ago.

Dangers to quarries With quarry products so integral to daily life, the industry is vulnerable to the economy’s

Some of Columbia’s best rock was quarried during the 1800s and 1900s. Although no shaped blocks are quarried locally, some are still produced elsewhere in the state; the Columbia Public Library is built of Missouri-quarried stone.

Other quarries were probably mom-andpops that went out of business. That’s how Liz Kennedy, one of the owners of Columbia Brick

“We believe Boone County to be a growing market, and Columbia is a growth market.

We’re here to stay.”

— Doug Mertens, owner, Mid-Missouri Limestone columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 57

and Tile, described the firm that was the city’s last remaining brickwork, prior to its 1984 closure.

“It was kind of a family thing,” she says. Her father, Fred Kennedy, bought into the business with William Powell in 1950. The firm could turn out 35,000 bricks a day and employed 35 workers, according to a 1971 newspaper article. With automation, other brick manufacturers could produce bricks cheaper and with a more uniform color, Kennedy says.

The quarry, she says, was located roughly where Lowe’s and Walmart on Conley Road are today.

In the 1940s the brickworks were called EdwardsConley Brick and Tile, owned by W.E. Edwards and Sanford Conley.

“It’s a misunderstood industry. People think we’re pillaging the earth, but we’re not.

We’re providing a product that supports our way of life, everywhere, all the time.”

— Doug Mertens, owner, Mid-Missouri Limestone But in the 1980s, the Columbia brickworks with its hive furnaces and use of locally quarried clay and the resulting natural color variations simply couldn’t compete. Kennedy says the company faced rising costs, increased competition and regulations, and she and her brother, Jack Kennedy, decided to close the company. But in the yard of her brick home with its many brick walkways, she still has stacks of the eight different kinds of bricks the company made, from face brick to fire brick to red tile.

More local quarry closures aren’t expected, though. Instead, Rudloff says he expects to continue to see smaller operations bought out by larger operations.

As for Mertens, he’s not looking back but ahead.

His firm upgraded operations at the quarry in 2006. “We believe Boone County to be a growing market, and Columbia is a growth market,” he says. “We’re here to stay.” CBT 58 \\\ march 2014

Where They Are Now ➻ W H ERE I T W A S : Felty’s Quarry, once owned by John N. Fellows, a 1893 MU grad, was probably where the 1983 Rock Quarry Building is now, just outside Capen Park. Described as located at South College Avenue, it may have included the quarry across the street as well, where the 1993 Museum Support Building now stands. MU publications from the 1960s and 1970s show it as a former quarry and a popular place for students to enjoy rest and recreation.

WHAT IT BUILT: Fellows says his quarry provided rock for the MU white campus, according to The Missouri Alumnus, December 1957. ➻ W H ERE I T IS : The Richardson Quarry, according to a 1904 publication, has also been called the Garrett Quarry and the Raid Quarry. It seems to be at the same location as Boone Quarries-East on Creasy Springs.

WHAT IT BUILT: A 1904 document states the Richardson Quarry, now Boone QuarriesEast, provided rock for the white campus. ➻ W H ERE I T IS : Boone Quarries-West has been operational at it's Stadium Drive location since 1954. ➻ W H ERE I T IS : The Mid-Missouri Limestone quarry is also known as the Riggs Quarry No. 4. It is at 1801 W. Williams Road in Sturgeon. Mertens says the quarry also was known as the Russell Dodd quarry.

WHAT IT BUILT: No historical information is available about a specific building its materials were used for. The quarry did, however, produce Burlington rock, which was often used for exterior building blocks. ➻ W H ERE I T W A S : The Stewart Quarry, near the MKT Trail, was once owned by J.A. Stewart, and was operated as a quarry until a spring made that impossible. In 1950, Hirst Mendenhall of Boone Realty Corp. bought the quarry and deeded it to the Quarry Heights subdivision for use as a park. It was also previously known as Spencer Quarry.

WHAT IT BUILT: A 1915 publication states the Stewart Quarry also provided rock for the white campus and the Missouri Capitol. In 1920, this quarry may have been used for building materials for homes on Edgewood. The Missouri Alumnus, September 1920 refers to houses on Edgewood being built with materials from the Spencer Quarry, “south of town.” ➻ W H ERE I T W A S : Columbia Brick and Tile was at 2801 E. Walnut.

WHAT it BUILT: From 1930 to 1940, it operated as Edwards-Conley Brick and Tile.

An article in the Sunday Missourian, Vol. 5, No. 23, Sunday, Sept. 12, 1971, supplement quoted owner-operator Bill Powell saying Columbia Brick and Tile “supplied almost all the brick in every building on the University Campus with the exception of some of the older ones and the addition to the law school.” The Virginia Building, now the Atkins Center, on Ninth Street was built with bricks from the Edwards-Conley Brick and Tile Co.

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Business★Showcase Fighter pilots enter the business world for showcase luncheon.

When some of the biggest names in Columbia business convene for a day of networking, sometimes the unexpected happens.

At this year’s Chamber of Commerce Business Showcase, which will be held March 4 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center, the unexpected just might be Afterburner, a team of fighter pilots that gets its name after a jet engine component that provides supersonic thrust, who will take the stage for the 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Women’s Network luncheon and present a keynote address on flawless execution.

Afterburner describes flawless execution as a strategy of business leadership that focuses on improvement through a cycle of planning, briefing, executing and debriefing among all levels of management. Flawless execution is modeled after mission strategies Afterburner CEO Jim Murphy learned during his time in the Air Force.

Anne Farrow, a Women’s Network member since 1990 and Monthly Program Committee member, says she first saw Afterburner speak about flawless execution at a national industry conference five years ago and thought they might be a good fit for Columbia’s showcase.

“It was interesting to me to hear how the military handles their missions and how that really could equate to a corporate business model,” Farrow says.

Farrow, who served as the Women’s Network president from 2007 to 2008, says because she doesn’t know anyone in the military, she didn’t realize how well some military lessons could translate to the civilian business world “A lot of us as individuals don’t get that insight into what happens in the military,” Farrow says.

“We don’t see and appreciate how flawless they are and how on target they have to be in everything that they do. If we could just take a little bit of that and put it into our business model, we would have so much potential to be great.”

Women’s Network Director Brenna McDermott says the Women’s Network luncheon is always a highlight for showcase participants.

Although the Women’s Network holds a luncheon each month — February’s was a talk about arts in society by former Columbia Office of Cultural Affairs Director Marie Nau Hunter — the

Chamber Showcase crowd is larger and provides the network an opportunity to showcase the luncheons and its other activities to a wider base.

“Afterburner has a reputation for giving a really energetic presentation, and we’re excited to have them,” McDermott says.

Farrow says she believes Afterburner’s message caters to a wide variety of industries. She says the address could easily be applicable to personal planning decisions such as retirement or saving money for a child’s college tuition.

“It’s not industry specific,” Farrow says. “What they talk about can be applied to any business and any industry. It has a lot of relevance for things you can pull out of your personal life as well.”

The addition of pilots might be a more recent development, but planning started early for the

Afterburner describes flawless execution as a strategy of business leadership that focuses on improvement through a cycle of planning, briefing, executing and debriefing among all levels of management.

By Claire Boston

2014 showcase. Past exhibitors had priority on booth space through October, and booths were completely sold out by January. Each of the booths comes with a ticket to the luncheon.

The showcase, an annual networking event for business that features the chamber’s ambassadors, Women’s Network and Emerging Professionals in Columbia mentorship program, has been held since 1991, says Victoria Brees, the chamber’s director of program development.

Last year, around 1,500 people walked through the event’s front doors. The Quarterly Membership Breakfast that kicks off the event typically draws more than 500 participants.

For the Women’s Network, Farrow says Afterburner is one of the network’s two big speakers of the year. The network typically also hosts a highprofile speaker in the fall. Last October, the group brought in Denver-area LinkedIn expert Kevin Knebl. An August presentation on conflict and communication from Matt Moore, who is the executive vice president of Shelter Insurance and also serves as a Southeastern Conference football referee in the fall, also proved popular.

Whether the Women’s Network hosts referees or fighter pilots, Farrow says the focus of every luncheon is teaching useful skills to members and guests.

“We try to mix it up and do different topics,” Farrow says. “We really try to bring skills and knowledge to our members.” CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 61

62 \\\ march 2014

Nonprofit Spotlight

➜ Community Support Center 800 N. Providence Road Columbia, MO • 573-443-1100

›› Central Missouri Community Action

Taking Action in Boone County Achieving community goals within central Missouri In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty, it’s fitting to recognize community improvements that were made possible

by Central Missouri Community Action. Since 1965, CMCA has strived to organize local groups to advocate and work toward common community goals including ridding our community of poverty.

In Missouri, there are 19 community action associations that work to improve their communities through similar programming. The central division is made up of eight Missouri counties.

Throughout its years of existence, the association began to move more toward project management once strong partnerships were created with area services and when federal funding became available. But Executive Director Darin Pries came on board eight years ago, and he is determined to move CMCA’s goals back to its original missions.

“We’ve been slowly reconnecting with our roots and community organizing because we believe that’s the most important way to make lasting change instead of focusing on an immediate change,” he says.

To ensure the correct programming and funding are taking place, CMCA completes a community assessment every three years, the next of Darin Pries Executive director “I believe reconnecting CMCA to our roots of community organizing is the most important way to make lasting change and not focus on immediate change.”

which will be completed this year. In addition to the assessment, focus groups are created to discuss awareness of services and locate gaps in the system to improve central Missouri.

“I believe Darin has put together an incredible staff to make a difference for our communities,” says Karen Miller, Boone County CMCA board member. “He is always developing better ways to provide services and reward staff — the perfect combination of elements to get the biggest bang for the buck.”

CMCA prides itself on successful programs, such as Head Start and Early Head Start. Out of all the programs CMCA works on, these are the largest.

“We focus on quality classroom intervention,” Pries says. “There’s also a big emphasis put on families to make sure the family dynamic matches the classroom and improves as they move into their K-12 years.”

In addition to classroom enrichment, Head Start provides a holistic approach to making sure kids are ready for their school years. This includes physicals and immunizations, vision and dental health, employment programs for parents, etc.

An additional project that made its debut last year was a micro-lending initiative. The micro-

Karen Miller Board member “Making introductions to those who could possibly be partners in different programs is an important aspect of what I do. ”

By Kristi McCann

lending initiative was created to offer financial opportunities for individuals who were unable to receive loans or never had a bank account. The program incorporates interested individuals into a classroom setting where they learn the process of starting a business. After that, they can create a market analysis and business plan to apply for a $5,000 to $10,000 startup loan.

“So far, we’ve had 47 people take the class,” Pries says. “Out of those people, two have started their own businesses, and two nonprofits have been created.”

By charging interest on the loans, the program will eventually become self-sustaining.

The best way to support Central Missouri Community Action is to make a donation. Fundraising is an important aspect to continuing these services within Boone County. Annual fundraisers, such as the barbecue competition set to take place at the Isle of Capri in June, help raise money and awareness for the organization.

According to Pries, it’s the community that keeps CMCA successful after all these years.

Central Missouri has the resources and nonprofit partners to focus on new things and create a stronger community. CBT Pictures by Kendra Johnson.

Jason Ramsey Board member “I love an organization that works to enable people to make positive changes for themselves. CMCA works to break the cycle of poverty, not just lessen its effects.”

Tondelaya Carter Board member "When I was growing up, organizations like CMCA helped a lot of people I knew and my own family. … Being affiliated with them, I thought I could help give back and do more in my community."

columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 63

64 \\\ march 2014

Technology

›› Monica Pitts reviews the latest trends in the business

Columbia Connects When looking at the social media all1. Remarkable content: Share worthy, constars in Columbia, it’s easy to see a trend. Those versation-sparking ideas that resonate with who are the most followed have an opportuthe audience, distributed regularly to build nity to tap into a larger audience of followers. momentum.

2. A culture of invitation and sharing: Invite all For example, local celebrities TJ Moe, James those you contact to find you and share your Franklin, Sarah Hill and, of course, our own Carl remarkable content. Then recipEdwards are local and in some rocate by following and sharing cases national household names. theirs whenever possible.

Who doesn’t want to know what In a recent survey conducted they’re up to?

by Adobe, of more than 3,000 Businesses such as Midwayof Internet users have participants, 71 percent of peoUSA and Veterans United are Googled themselves ple reported using their mobile national companies with a large devices to access social media. reach. Their consumers all have This doesn’t come as much of a a common element of intersurprise with a reported 60 perest they stay focused on, which cent of Twitter users and 65 perboosts engagement. cent of Facebook users accessing The Blue Note and True Google searches in 2013 the networks via mobile apps.

False Film Fest entertain audi1. Nelson Mandela 2. Paul Walker Other operating systems ence members regionally and 3. iPhone 5s are not extinct. Trends from nationally, which allows them W3Schools.com show Internet to broaden their following. They users most often utilize various hype upcoming events and films Social media popularity Microsoft Windows operating so their audiences can get the cursystems, with Mac and mobile rent information they crave withdevices on a steady increase. out having to continually visit With all this connecting going their websites. on through the Internet, it’s hard Local restaurants feed hunto believe that, according to the dreds of people each day, which, 2011 Internet Connectivity Usage in turn, provides them with 1.19 billion monthly active users Statistics provided by the U.S. hundreds of opportunities daily 300 million active users 215 million active users Census Bureau, 31 percent of Misto cultivate social media follow259 million users sourians did not have access to ers. They often pique follower 70 million users connect to the Internet from their interest by sharing specials and 66 million blogs homes; 18.7 percent did not have coupons.

36 million users a computer in their household, Although these businesses and and 13 percent had a computer but no Interindividuals on the list may have the opportunet access. With the ever-growing popularity nity to tap into a larger audience of followers, of mobile devices and improved coverage areas, that doesn’t mean they haven’t worked for the there’s no doubt we’ll see a huge increase in conreach they’ve built. Building an audience the nected Missourians in the next report. CBT size of an all-star following requires two things:

56% 2.2 Trillion

Monica Pitts

Local social media all-stars 1. Mizzou 31,945 249,441 2. Carl Edwards 246,034 3. MU Football 42,955 68,401 4. Mizzou Athletics 42,795 387,342 5. MU Basketball 29,816 69,486 6. James Franklin 25,097 7. MidwayUSA 22,195 222,626 8. Brent Beshore 22,096

16. Tropical Liquers 13,328 17. Les Bourgeois 12,759 18. Columbia Daily Tribune 11,308 7,605 19. True/False Film Festival 10,226 5,092 20. Nightlife Columbia 9,725 21. The Blue Note 9,664 30,632 22. Shakespeare’s 9,336 35,759 23. Flat Branch Pub 9,918

9. TJ Moe 21,669 10. Columbia, Mo. 21,887 11. Dave Matter 18,705 12. Mizzou Nation 17,249 4,317 13. The Missourian 13,300 4,805 14. Mizzou Alumni 12,879 16,922 15. Roots N Blues N BBQ 13,685

24. Harpo’s 8,997 5,970 25. Hooters, Columbia 8,803 26. Mojo’s 5,808 27. Sarah Hill 5,351

nited Veterans Uay with blows it aw26 117,7 ers & llow Twitter fo ,215 1,236 ns.

Facebook fa

➜ P i tt s i s th e ch i e f c r e at i v e d i r e ct o r o f M ay e C r e at e D e s i gn . columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 65

JOIN WOMEN’S NETWORK IN CELEBRATING THE 20TH ANNUAL

ATHENA AWARDS EVENT INFO

ABOUT THE AWARDS

SAVE THE DATE: Thursday, April 10, 2014 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Stephens College

EVENT REGISTRATION: www.events.columbiamochamber.com

The ATHENA Leadership Award ® and ATHENA Young Professional Award ® are programs of ATHENA International, an organization dedicated to supporting, developing and honoring women leaders, inspiring women to achieve their full potential, and creating balance in leadership worldwide.

SPECIAL GUEST: MARTHA MERTZ, FOUNDER, ATHENA INTERNATIONAL

Mertz developed her vision for ATHENA International while serving on the Board of Directors of the Lansing Michigan Regional Chamber of Commerce. In 1982, after recognizing that the Chamber’s boardroom did not reflect the reality of the business community, Mertz spearheaded a new leadership award program: The ATHENA Award®, named for the strong, enlightened goddess. The award would go to individuals who excelled in their professions, gave back to their communities and helped raise up other leaders, especially women. Since the program’s inception, more than 6,000 awards have been presented in over 500 communities worldwide.

PRESENTING SPONSOR

SPONSORED BY DR. GREGORY H. CROLL, M.D. 66 \\\ march 2014

Celebrations

›› Flat Branch Pub & Brewing

flat branch t u r n s 2 0

Staying Power

Flat Branch Pub & Brewing turns 20

Owner Tom Smith, left, and General Manager Lance Wood sip original brews at Flat Branch. Wood started as a bartender when Flat Branch opened 20 years ago. Photo by Anthony Jinson.

Timeline 1994 › Flat Branch opens on Fifth Street in Columbia.

› Smith is featured on the first Columbia Business Times cover in a story called “Smith Succeeds with Bytes and Brew.”

2000 › A major restaurant renovation adds a pizza kitchen, removes stairs and takes the kitchen out of public view.

2003 › Larry Goodwin comes from a Nebraska pub to head brewing.

› Sales of Bluesberry Lager raise $4,500 for the Roots N Blues N Barbeque Foundation’s Blues in the Schools music education program.

2014 › Flat Branch will host a 20th anniversary celebration with a party at the pub followed by a show at The Blue Note.

All proceeds from the event will benefit Blues in the Schools.

If there’s one word that describes Flat Branch Pub & Brewing’s 20 years in Columbia, it’s consistency.

Save for a major January 2000 renovation that brought the pub its pizza kitchen, owner Tom Smith says Flat Branch’s backyard has seen more change in the past 20 years than the restaurant itself.

“This beautiful park behind us was a toxic waste dump, literally,” Smith says. “It had been an oil storage depot for the train line that used to come through here. The tanks had leaked, and it took them years to get that cleaned up.”

Beyond toxic waste, none of the area around Fifth and Cherry streets was developed on April 18, 1994, when Smith opened the pub. The underdevelopment, however, didn’t stop people from coming. For beer aficionados and fresh food-lovers alike, Flat Branch filled a niche Columbia was missing.

“I think we pioneered craft brew in Columbia, but we certainly didn’t invent craft brewing,” Smith says. “In Columbia, to attract the kind of crowds we do day in and day out, you have to appeal to everybody.”

After a strong start, Smith says it took a few years for the restaurant to perfect its menu and staffing. By 1999, everything started coming together. All kinds of clientele — young professionals who line the bar, students who go out on dates, university departments that host meetings and families who bring their young children — came to the restaurant. And then they came back.

“We have, with the help of our staff and, most importantly, our guests, built a very strong community based around the pub,” Smith says.

New industry Smith, a longtime home brewer, successfully launched a software company in 1985, and

By Claire Boston his only hospitality experience was a job as a pizza deliveryman at the Ninth Street Dominos during his college years. Visiting Colorado, where brewpubs first exploded, left him thinking that Columbia needed a pub of its own. A friend at a Columbia-based small business incubator connected Smith with another man who had a workable business plan for a local pub and connections to Ft. Collins, Colo.-based CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing, which bootstrapped Flat Branch’s operation.

“The guys in Ft. Collins really came in handy,” Smith says. “They were basically our consultants on the space, the brewery, the kitchen and pretty much the whole deal.”

Flat Branch was brewing from day one, but current master brewer Larry Goodwin joined the team in January 2003. With help from another part-time brewer, he’s responsible for brewing Flat Branch’s eight fixed brews and four brewer’s specials.

“This is just a good combination of having volume and having freedom to brew,” Goodwin says. “Having so many taps gives you a big advantage.”

Goodwin says he normally brews three times a week, at 265 gallons (eight and a half barrels in brewer speak) a week to keep up with demand. Customer favorites include the Katy Trail Pale Ale and Honey Wheat varieties, but Goodwin says the seasonal Great Pumpkin Ale has been a runaway hit in recent years.

After 20 years in the business, Smith says he has no plans to bottle or do any other major expansions. Instead, he wants to stay focused on the customers, craft food and high-quality beer.

“My philosophy is no matter what the product is, it comes down to quality product, value and doing great customer service,” Smith says. “It sounds kind of cliché, but it’s really the bottom line.” CBT columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 67

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Economic Index ›› It’s all about the numbers Labor: Columbia labor force December 2013: 99,565 December 2012: 97,647 Columbia unemployment December 2013: 3,674 December 2012: 4,047 Columbia unemployment rate December 2013: 3.7 percent December 2012: 4.1 percent Missouri labor force December 2013: 3,003,293 December 2012: 2,976,320 Missouri unemployment December 2013: 173,183 December 2012: 192,591 Missouri unemployment rate December 2013: 5.8 percent December 2012: 6.5 percent

Construction: Residential building permits December 2013: 100 December 2012: 101 Value of residential building permits December 2013: $9,190,722 December 2012: $13,576,361 Detached single-family homes December 2013: 23 December 2012: 40 Value of detached, single-family homes December 2013: $5,193,851 December 2012: $7,763,026 Commercial building permits December 2013: 19 December 2012: 19 Value of commercial building permits December 2013: $4,730,895 December 2012: $18,764,571

Commercial additions/alterations December 2013: 19 December 2012: 12 Value of commercial additions/ alterations December 2013: $4,730,895 December 2012: $9,891,000

Housing: Single-family homes sales, Boone County December 2013: 134 December 2012: 129 Single-family active listings on market, Boone County December 2013: 813 December 2012: 743 Single-family homes average sold price, Boone County December 2013: $185,565 December 2012: $190,518 Single-family home median sold price, Boone County December 2013: $163,000 December 2012: $156,500 Single-family homes average days on market, Boone County December 2013: 88 December 2012: 75

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www.gfidigital.com | Andrea Paul | (573) 424-1864 | apaul@gfidigital.com columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 69

New Business Licenses ›› Columbia residents and their upstarts

Columbia Retail 2300 Bernadette Drive Toys and heat packs Como Smoke and Fire 4600 Paris Road, Suite 102 Restaurant/bar Culinary Connection Kitchen Rental 124 E. Nifong Blvd., Suite B Commercial kitchen rental Ebony Beauty Supply of Columbia 24 E. Business Loop 70 Beauty supply store Family Facets 701 Vandiver Drive, Suite A Social work therapy and services Go Baby Go 2609 E. Broadway, Suite 203 Baby retail Walmart No. 6933 308 S. Ninth St., Suite 105 Retail sales Lake George Assisted Living 500 E. Richland Road Long-term care facility

70 \\\ march 2014

New World Recycling 3804 Waco Road Recycling of aluminum, copper, brass and steel Stewart Staffing Solutions LLC 313 E. Ash St. Temporary staffing service Tootsie’s Upscale Resale 1729 Paris Road Clothes and accessories resale/thrift shop Waterwood Gallery 2301 Chapel Plaza Court, Suite 3 Art gallery Zaxby’s 3922 S. Providence Road Restaurant, fast-casual chicken Providence Bank Mortgage Center 700 Cherry St., Room B Loan production office Gumby’s Pizza North 912 Rain Forest Parkway, Suite C Pizza and delivery restaurant

Geraldine A. Bearelly LCSW 1930 Field St. Social work services in the homes of clients only Spic and Span Clean 4451 County Road 227 House cleaning, residential/ commercial Universal Protection Service 2300 Bernadette Drive Security guard service ADR Enterprises 302 Maplewood Drive Vendor resale of food from wholesaler to Columbia Columbia Insulation Co. 1654 N. Doulton Drive Fiberglass insulation Heartland Premier Homes 2432 E. Buffalo Drive Construction building homes L.B. Meek, Painter 4110 W. Highway 124 Residential/commercial interior/exterior painting Advanced Heating and Cooling 3909 Hominy Wood Road HVAC repair service

Save-A-Lot 2006 E. Broadway Retail grocery store

Accurate Home Safety LLC 6801 W. Highway 40 Retail of fire safety products

Premier Industries 1400 Forum Blvd., Suite 20 Sales of air filtration systems

Bill Moore Construction 1540 Business Highway 54 S. Construction company

B & H Services 2003 Lafayette Court Onsite services to lawn equipment and yard work

Regal Car Sales and Credit 3200 W. Business Loop 70 Used car sales

Columbia, MO Tile 608 N. Route B Retail tile store, sell and install tile and hardwood

Pure Audio 4200 Merchant St., Suite 103 Custom audio and video installation CBT

By the Numbers ›› Boone County statistics

Big Boone County industry employers:

Industry: economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories. Manufacturing may not be a top industry in Columbia, but it certainly pays the bills and brings good business to our city. Take a look at some industryrelated numbers in Columbia.

4.3% 2.1% 2.3%

Source: Regional Economic Development Inc.

= 20 people

of columbia workers are employed in manufacturing occupations;

MBS Textbook Exchange

Hubbell Power Systems Inc.

Kraft Foods Columbia

MidwayUSA

Square D

3M

Pepsico*

OTSCON

MFA Inc.

Average annual salary, by industry, in Columbia: Source: 2007 Economic Census Industry Series

Manufacturing:

work in wholesale trade;

wholesale trade:

in transporting and warehousing and utilities.

retail trade:

= $5,000

Source: 2008-2012 American Community Survey

Heating fuel use for occupied housing units in Columbia: Source: 2008-2012 American Community Survey

utility gas 28,351

electricity 14,085

Bottled, tank or lp gas 355

Key solid waste site map:

wood 180

coal 24

fuel oil, kerosene, etc.

22

solar 0

other: 44 None: 92

Columbia trash facts: Source: Missouri Department of Natural Resources

48.7%

Columbia: First city in Missouri to have a bioreactor landfill in 2008. This bioreactor could power approximately 1,500 homes (1.5 percent of Columbia homes).

258

people are employed by the u.s. Department of agriculture

303

people are employed by the u.s. postal service columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 71

6 Questions

➜ Columbia Water and Light 701 E. Broadway Columbia, MO 65201

›› Get to know your professionals

Powering Columbia

Tad Johnsen, director of Columbia’s Water and Light Department 3.The last IRP was in 2008, and the topic of discussion was energy efficiency. What recommendations from 2008 has Water and Light accomplished? A number of load-control programs resulted from the 2008 IRP, and resulting program data was collected. The 2013 update used this data to evaluate their actual vs. projected effectiveness. The development of biomass generation at the Municipal Power Plant has been progressing, and another biomass test burn is currently in process. Natural Gas and renewable generation sources have been added to our current supply.

2. What did you discover in the 2013 IRP? How might it affect the next five years? With the current environment, future generation resources are limited to natural gas fuels and renewables. The IRP showed that a majority of our load-control programs are working as or better than projected. Staff has developed a Recommendation and Implementation Plan intended to guide our activity in these areas for the next five years. This plan continues measuring the performance of load-control programs, implements changes to keep pace with current technology and builds on the current successes.

Fun Fact: 72 \\\ march 2014

Photo by Anthony Jinson.

1. Every five years, Columbia Water and Light completes an integrated resource plan. What is the purpose of this plan? Integrated resource planning for utilities is the process of forecasting future loads, assessing current supply resource and then developing a plan to meet the community’s electric needs by integrating the cost of supply resources with loadcontrol options. This creates a road map for the most costeffective ways to control future power costs.

4. I’ve heard that the forecast looks good on developing a community solar power program for which residents who can’t have solar panels on their own homes can lease or buy a panel in a shared space. What is the timeline for that project?

The Staff Recommendation and Implementation Plan proposes using the West Ash Pump Station property to develop a community solar pilot. With support from the National Renewable Energy Labs, we are working with the Water and Light Advisory Board to develop the structure of this pilot. We are hoping to build this photovoltaic system during the 2014 construction season.

5. What are some of the most significant challenges in bringing that idea to fruition? Our goal is to keep the costs in line with private installations so it is a favorable option for homeowners and renters. The contractual arrangements supporting this will be a challenge. The pilot will give us a good idea of the community’s interest and if the structure of our program is a good one.

6. Water and Light has also been able to move forward with low-interest loans to people and businesses that want solar energy but need financing options. How does this diverge from what you offered in the past, and what does it mean for businesses in Columbia? Currently, we offer rebates in support of privately owned photovoltaics and have an active loan program to support energy-efficiency projects. The Staff Recommendation and Implementation Plan proposes to expand our loan program to include net-metered photovoltaic projects. Offering financing alternatives to our customers is a natural progression in supporting the community’s desire for photovoltaic production. CBT

➜ Johnsen joined Columbia’s Water and Light Department in 1994 and has moved up through the ranks since. ➜ Fxxxx

ADVERTISER INDEX Accounting Plus............................................... 75 Anthony Jinson Photography.................... 35 Athena..................................................................66 The Bank Of Missouri.....................................26 Blues in Schools - Name that Tune.........64 Boone County National Bank...................... 11 Business Showcase........................................ 51 Caledon Virtual.................................................29

THE BUSINESS TIMES COMPANY IS HIRING

Carpet One.........................................................16 Casey Buckman Photography..................60 Child Care Aware.............................................30

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER / EDITOR

City Of Columbia Water & Light...................6 Clapboard Pictures.........................................14

Responsible for day-to-day management, coordination, and endof-issue processes of Jefferson City magazine.

Columbia College/ Media Buyer Marketing.................................39 Commerce Bank.............................................43 Dave Griggs Flooring America...................62 GFI Digital............................................................69 Hawthorn Bank.................................................76 Jazzercise..............................................................8 Joe Machens Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge Ram...............................................9 Joe Machens Ford..............................................5 Joe Machens Volkswagen............................18 KMIZ..........................................................................4 Landmark Bank...................................................2

CREATE EXCEPTIONAL CONTENT WHILE MEETING DEADLINES & SATISFYING BUDGET REQUIREMENTS

Where content

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MarketVolt..........................................................62 Mayecreate Web Design...............................10

TEAMWORK

Mercedes Benz of Joe Machens............... 12 Midwest Block & Brick................................... 22

Work side-by-side with publisher, advertising representatives, designers and freelancers.

Midwest Computech.....................................30 Modern Litho/Brown Printing.....................59 Moresource Inc...................................................7 Naught Naught Insurance Agency..........62 Plaza Commercial Realty.......................70-71 Redi (Regional Economic Development Inc.).......................................... 47 Room 38.............................................................. 22 State Farm Insurance Stephanie Wilmsmeyer................................ 28 Tech Electronics..............................................43 Tiger Scholarship Fund................................. 53

EDITORIAL Responsible for creating, assigning, writing, editing and proofreading of all articles each issue.

ON THE WEB Develop corresponding digital content for online social media & website.

University Of Missouri Health Care............3 Watkins Roofing...............................................69 Wilkerson & Reynolds Wealth Management.....................................................39 Williams Keepers.............................................68

INTERESTED? SUBMIT YOUR RESUME TO ChrisH@BusinessTimesCompany.com columbiabusinesstimes.com /// 73

Flashback ›› Then and now

➜ The Columbia business landscape is always evolving, but it’s important to remember our historical roots.

By Steven Benna Photo by Kendra Johnson

Columbia College’s Federal Hall currently acts as an integral piece in the college’s expansion. Federal Hall now houses the school’s nursing program and online campus, but before that it was a post office, the Federal Building and the YouZeum. The building has a long history, and its name pays homage to that.

The building at 608 E. Cherry St. originally operated as the Columbia Post Office, before the post office was relocated to Walnut Street.

The Columbia Post Office has been around since at least 1820, though it wasn’t always located on Cherry Street. After the post office moved to Walnut Street, the building became

the Columbia Federal Building, which housed federal and governmental offices. Two murals from this building’s time as a post office were moved during the building’s reign as the Federal Building One mural was moved to the City Council chambers, and the other was stored in a barn before being placed at the entrance of the Federal Building. Both murals are now located in the National Archives at Kansas City.

The structure remained the Federal Building until the YouZeum secured it in 2003. Federal funding was granted to the YouZeum in 2005, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune.

Following a decade of planning and fundraising, the YouZeum opened its doors in 2008.

The $8.5 million project did not meet expectations. Although it was predicted to draw in about 60,000 visitors per year, it only averaged 18,000. The YouZeum closed in October 2010, with a total income for that year of about $250,000.

After one failed bid, Columbia College capitalized on the closing and acquired the 30,000-square-foot building that same year.

Because the building has always been used for federal or educational purposes, there are no taxes and no appraised value. CBT

➜ We love Columbia business history. If you have any interesting photos and stories, please send them to Editor@BusinessTimesCompany.com 74 \\\ march 2014

MARK BURRIS, owner MB Plumbing

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