April 3, 2020
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates
Last week: My heartfelt gratitude goes out to the medical professionals, first responders, grocery store workers, truck drivers and countless others. My profession of engineering, particularly relating to construction, while not directly beneficial to most, is also considered essential. This past week we demonstrated why continuing construction during this time was beneficial. As part of a critical emergency project, we installed a very large pipeline down a typically busy street in a residential neighborhood. Instead of causing a significant traffic issue at afternoon rush hour, we were able to successfully perform our work with very little impact. Please keep us working!

Looking ahead: Small businesses make up 99.7 percent of U.S. employer firms and 49.2 percent of private-sector employment. The SBA Loan programs created by both the FFCRA and CARES Act are critical for the survival of small business. Promises have been made that these loans will be available as early as April 3rd, but the banks that are required to administer these loans still have not been given the verification requirements or potential exposure to begin originating these loans. The next couple weeks are critical for the Federal Government to finalize these terms and let businesses get back to business.

March 27, 2020
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates
Last week: “Construction Workers aren’t observing social distancing” was a comment I read in the Sun-Sentinel recently. That was followed by a request to remove the designation that construction is an essential business in the same post. I see a lot more things than the average person does when I drive around a city. I see all sorts of existing infrastructure, but I mostly pay attention to construction. The safest possible time for important infrastructure projects to take place is right now, when everyone is safely in their homes and off the road. We’re building critical projects, please let us work.

Looking ahead: With unprecedented access to the internet thanks to typically profit hungry conglomerates opening up wi-fi hotspots and with the average person having more than ample time on their hands, there is no excuse for a lack of response on www.2020census.gov. I’ve written many pieces about the importance of the census, making sure that every person is counted to give Broward County and Florida the proper share of national funding and the proper amount of representation in Congress and the Electoral College. Please take a few minutes and visit the site, it will only help us recover from COVID-19 more quickly.

February 21, 2020
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates
Last week: While most people were aware Presidents’ Day was last week, they likely didn’t realize that this fell within National Engineer’s Week. While I’ve been writing about this in the SF100 every year since I was invited to be in this prestigious group, but I think this is the first year that the average reader may care. Between broken sewers, sea level rise and boil water orders, the general public finally understands the importance of engineering and infrastructure in their everyday lives. I’m proud to be an engineer and with proper funding and public patience, we’ll get the infrastructure fixed.

Looking ahead: In the next few weeks, our Legislature will again do something relatively miraculous. In only 60 days, a group of an amazing 160 people will wrap up the business of a State that has a GDP of about $1 Trillion, comparable to France or Germany. Do they always get along? No. Do they get business done? Yes. I’m proud of everyone in the Legislature for giving of themselves, putting their private lives on public display and, more than anything, caring enough to serve. The next few weeks won’t be easy, thank you.

February 14, 2020
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates
Last week: News that Port Everglades was one of two seaports nationwide to receive a construction “New Start” designation in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 2020 Work Plan was released this past week. This designation funds $29.1 million to build a new facility for the U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Lauderdale further east so the Intracoastal Waterway can be widened by 250 feet where large cargo ships currently can’t move past docked cruise ships. It is anticipated that the project will create 2,200 construction jobs and nearly 1,500 permanent direct jobs locally resulting from additional cargo capacity.

Looking ahead: It is a critical time in the Florida Legislature’s 2020 session. We’re past the halfway point. Subcommittees have stopped meeting effectively killing most new legislation. Identifying what is most important to you as an individual is a critical thing. I’m watching several bills that impact my business, my industry and, most importantly, my family. I challenge every person that reads this to watch just one committee or full vote on a bill. It’s a great learning experience.