CMA staff members Jose L. Acosta, David Cowan, Suzanne Dombrowski, Shahin Hekmat, Diego Jara Li, Tanya McCormick, Nick Musick, Justin Tagle and Brent Whitfield attended the 2021 Joint Professional Societies Legislative Breakfast at the Doubletree by Hilton in Palm Beach Gardens on December 14. CMA served as a table sponsor and Brent lead the event organizing committee and moderated the panelists who presented on planning for a resilient Florida.
SunSentinel Mention
December 12, 2021
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC
President, Chen Moore and Associates
Last week: With Gov. DeSantis unveiling the “Always Ready Florida” program’s first wave of projects, including $270 million spread over 76 projects throughout Florida, it appears the ball is starting to roll. The plan still has to be approved by the Legislature in the 2022 session, which means it could always be subject to change, although Republican leadership in the House has signaled support. For now, it’s made up of a list of projects that were initially submitted to the Resilient Florida grant program, the first-ever pot of state money specifically designed to help cities and counties adapt to climate change.
Looking ahead: I moderated a session at the 13th Annual Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit relating to resilient infrastructure. The real work comes in the following weeks, though, as our leaders come back and begin to make regional plans. The New York City Economic Development Committee (EDC) is preparing a nearly $4 billion plan to build protective flood walls, 12 to 15 feet above sea level, to protect the incredible assets in Lower Manhattan. It will take that kind of regional approach for South Florida to make meaningful progress. Water will always find its path of least resistance.
Happy Holidays From The Chen Moore Bunch!
Two CMA Staff Passed PE Exam
We are proud to announce that the following CMAers Nicholas Karpathy, Sathvika Ramaji and Justin Tagle recently passed the PE exam. Congratulations!
CMA Donates to ASCE East Central Branch Younger Member Forum Food Drive
The CMA Community Service Committee in the Orlando Office participated in the ASCE Younger Member Forum Food Drive in Winter Park on November 17. A total of 563 pounds of canned goods were donated to Second Harvest food bank! CMA Associate Engineer Madeline Batey coordinated the collection and delivery of the canned goods. Thank you to everyone who helped make this food drive a success! https://www.eastcentralasce.org/
CMA Staff Donates to Feeding South Florida for Annual Food Drive
CMA’s Community Service Committee held our annual food drive this month to benefit Feeding South Florida (FSF) and raised $440 dollars in addition to collecting six boxes of donations. CMA donated 185 pounds of food which is the equivalent of 154 meals! CMA Senior Engineer Jennifer Smith, P.E. delivered the donations to the FSF warehouse on November 12. FSF partners with over 400 nonprofit agencies and distributes 44 million pounds of food annually throughout Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. Thank you to our entire team for your generosity and support! https://feedingsouthflorida.org/
CMA Staff Attend Annual Leadership Florida Conference
CMA Director of Water Resources Brent Whitfield, P.E., ENV SP, Principal Engineer Safiya Brea, P.E., LEED AP and Executive Vice President Jose L. Acosta, P.E. F.ASCE, attended the Leadership Florida Annual Meeting at the Diplomat Beach Resort November 12-14. https://www.leadershipflorida.org/
CMA Staff Members Inducted at FES Broward Branch Ceremony
The FES Broward Branch Induction was held virtually on November 10th. The President of FES, Carlos Penin, P.E. inducted CMA Project Engineer Teresa Lewis, P.E. as President, CMA Project Engineer Vince Locigno, P.E. as Vice President, and CMA Engineer Charmaine Emanuels, E.I as the Scholarship and Student Liaison Chair. Other CMA staff members Safiya Brea, P.E., Shahin Hekmat, P.E., and Daniel Davila, P.E. attended to support the branch and newly inducted members. https://www.fleng.org/general/custom.asp?page=Broward
Robert Best, P.E. Helped to Author ASCE Florida Infrastructure Report Card
CMA Principal Engineer/Orlando Office Leader Robert Best, P.E. helped to author a portion of the 2021 Florida Infrastructure Report Card with other ASCE members. Rob’s research was specific to drinking water. The ASCE Report Card is a comprehensive assessment of Florida’s infrastructure and was released last month in Tampa after two years in the making. The release took place at the Marriott Tampa Airport and featured CMA President and FLASCE Past President Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, FACEC, David Gwynn, P.E., Secretary, FDOT District 7, State Senator Jeff Brandes in addition to Report Card Chair Kathi Ruvarac and Section President Tzufit Boyle. Congratulations to the entire team! www.fla-asce.org
ASCE Palm Beach County Webinar
Representatives of CMA will attend the ASCE Palm Beach County Webinar on November 9 from noon to 1pm https://branches.asce.org/palmbeach/