April 10, 2020
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates
Last week: This past week, my firm was able to submit an application for a loan authorized under CARES. While I had a week full of anxiety, I read the opinions of my friends on social media, saying Federal monies should be given to individuals and not to “bail out businesses”. 75% of the money in the program we applied for is required to be utilized on payroll. Once those individual checks run out, people will need businesses to come back to for jobs. Let’s make sure that they survive long enough to recover and get America back to being employed!

Looking ahead: No one wants to learn about a positive test result for COVID-19. Not the person who was tested, not their families/friends and certainly not the people they were recently around, including co-workers as applicable. I’ll attest that employers also don’t want to learn about an employee getting a positive test, because of the complexities of Federal Law. One law requires that you inform other potentially impacted employees, while another protects the privacy of the individual, potentially leading to misunderstanding. Employees need to know the limits on what employers can divulge and not let that lead to mistrust.

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.

February 1, 2020
Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP
President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: “Where am I going to get my peppered bacon” and “let’s start a petition” were two of the comments that I read in the story about Lucky’s Supermarkets closings in South Florida this past couple weeks. As a business owner, I was disappointed in the lack of understanding by the general public of how private businesses work. Businesses don’t owe the public anything. They exist to sell a product or provide a service that generates profit. Maybe they have a great culture and performance community service, but that’s ancillary. I’m scared about the potential election results with comments like these.

January 17, 2020

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: My family shopped at Searstown when they moved to Broward in the 1950’s. I’ve had cars fixed and bought corduroys there. But to see the number of “experts” weigh in on what that potential development would require to me is a bit crazy. I’m not affiliated with the development, but the “experts” within our readership need to understand how development works. Developers already do studies to show traffic and utility impacts. They already pay impact fees that pay for additional capacity which also pays for repairs to the existing system. Broken infrastructure is terrible, but development actually helps the problem.

Looking ahead: Next week, I’ll be taking the leadership of my firm on a retreat to “recession proof” our company as the possibility of an economic slowdown grows. I’ve read dozens of articles and recently heard in person the improving outlook of the economy of the State of Florida. Right now, the deficit for the state could be made up by either signing an agreement with the Seminole Tribe OR agreeing to tax internet sales. Doing both would be a windfall for the State. Let’s keep our eye on the ball as we review budgets and appropriations.

January 10, 2020

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: I just want to thank the City Commission of Fort Lauderdale for taking swift action to repair the most critical elements of their sewer system while reviewing a potential slowdown in development activity with caution. We need all hands on deck for this situation.

Looking ahead: Next week, the Florida Legislature begins its 60 day sprint that must only end with a balanced budget. In my industry, I’m seeing so many bills that have impacts, minor and major, without much conversation with our actual industry in most cases. I’ll be attending the annual State of the Taxpayer dinner put on by Florida TaxWatch. This annual event celebrates the beginning of session, but also puts a reminder in Tallahassee that regardless of the impacts to individual professions, Florida TaxWatch is looking out for the interests of every taxpayer in the State.

January 3, 2020

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: For the past several weeks, I’ve remained silent as letters to the editor have rolled into the Sun Sentinel suggesting that an end to development is the best suggestion to “fix” the water and sewer infrastructure issues in my native Fort Lauderdale and other cities in South Florida. As an engineer, I can assure the public that the problems we are experiencing are, by and large, not a result of new development, but rather the realities of infrastructure reaching the end of its useful life. Development is a chance (and funding source) to build replacement facilities and pipelines.

Looking ahead: Next week, I have the privilege of attending the dedication of the largest single-story building in the world as an ASCE’s Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The Vehicle Assembly Building is the large building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, designed to assemble the large pre-manufactured space vehicle components, such as the massive Saturn V and the Space Shuttle; and stack them vertically onto the Mobile Launch Platform. The future Space Launch System (SLS) will also be assembled there. What a great reminder of the significance, both altruistically and financially that the history and future of the Space Industry has to Florida.

December 13, 2019

Peter Moore, P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP, LEED AP

President, Chen Moore and Associates

Last week: Last week, Florida TaxWatch celebrated its 40th annual meeting at the Breakers. It was a fantastic event with speakers including former Senator LeMieux, former Governors Martinez and Graham, Congressman Mast and Governor Desantis. While the many accomplishments of Florida TaxWatch were highlighted, the focus on the meeting was the inextricable link between the environment, and resiliency, to Florida’s economy was the larger overall theme. Floridians wants, and deserve it all ﾖ jobs, the environment and a great place to live!

Looking ahead: For those in South Florida, it sometimes goes unnoticed that the last Legislative Committee Week wrapped up Friday. I don’t know about anyone else reading the SF#100, but there are dozens of bills impacting my business. From potentially eliminating my professional license, to changing the thresholds allowable for public agencies to hire professional services and a bill allowing a separate license for structural engineers, there are big changes possible for those that don’t get involved. I’m looking forward to an exciting session in the coming new year!