Perspectives
From the Desk of Gary Slocum, Volume 2, Issue 2
New Mexico One Call’s Annual Meeting was held on May 5, 2010 and was a big success. There were more than 75 members in attendance. Roger Cox, publisher of our New Mexico 811 magazine, was our guest speaker and proved to be very informative and entertaining.
I would like to issue a warm welcome to our new Board Members: Carlos Arras, representing Electric; Jeff Moore, representing Telecommunications; and Patrick Shaw, representing Associate Members. I would be remiss in not giving a hearty “thank you” to Steve Henson, Bill Garcia, and Kari Biernacki for their strong support and dedicated leadership to the organization. They are truly pillars of damage prevention in New Mexico.
We have scheduled a special meeting on D.I.R.T. reporting and tracking efforts. The meeting will be held at the Hilton Hotel on June 23, 2010, located at 1901 University Blvd. NE, in Albuquerque at 9:00am. This is a presentation on the Pipeline Safety Bureau’s D.I.R.T. Tracking tool, and an overview of damage reporting and damage management for NMOC Members.
We are pleased to announce that we had a successful implementation of our after-hour’s emergency Phone Up Service. NMOC has joined with the Utility Notification Center of Colorado (UNCC) staff to cover after-hours emergency phone ups for holidays, weekends, and after-hours emergency calls.
New Mexico One Call’s new office building and back up “pill box” for disaster recovery will soon be out for bids. In 2006 NMOC purchased a 2.2 acre site on Eubank Blvd NE, just north of Lomas Blvd for the building site. A key factor in choosing the site location was communication infrastructure, including fiber. NMOC Board of directors’ will review bids and finance packages by late summer or early fall. We are anxious to begin construction on the new complex.
The NMRCGA Conference is scheduled for June 15-17 at Isleta Hotel and Conference Center (soon to be Hard Rock Conference and Resort Center). This promises to be a very good conference for the excavating industry. Vendor booths are sold out and conference attendees will have opportunity to see and visit a myriad of industry professionals and regulators. In addition to the classes, demonstrations and exhibits, a golf tournament, 4-wheel Polaris Sportsman 500 raffle, a “buckaroo” auction promises to entertain all participants.
Panel discussions will be conducted on mandatory white lining, spotting privately owned facilities, and mandating that all new facilities are traceable. Your view point is extremely important as the NMRCGA tackles these issues.
Thanks again to those of you who have committed to supporting our damage prevention efforts, including New Mexico 811. This issue is focused on pipelines. One of New Mexico’s strongest industries is also one dedicated to safety and damage prevention. They are a back bone to New Mexico’s economy.
On behalf of New Mexico One Call, I salute you for your support and commitment to safety.
