KPA Associate, Trae Sutton, PE, had the privilege of introducing Governor Rick Perry at the State MathCounts Competition held on March 27, 2010 in Austin. Governor Perry was the surprise guest speaker for the competition. Trae served this past year as Chair of the State MathCounts Committee sponsored by the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. MathCounts is a problem solving based math competition used to promote and educate 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students about the Engineering Profession.

Trae also attended the National Competition in Orlando, Florida May 6th through 9th, 2010.

Thomas Valle co-authored a technical paper entitled “Recovering Capacity of a Fouled Membrane” and participated in the presentation of the paper at the 2010 Texas Water Conference held in Corpus Christi in April 2010. Texas Water is billed as the “largest regional water conference in the U.S.” and is attended by water professionals from across Texas and the southwest region.
The paper detailed the historical operation of the City of Temple Membrane Treatment Facility, the subsequent findings of a study performed by KPA to determine the cause of the fouling / reduced capacity of the facility and the operation after implementation of the recommended modifications to cleaning procedures.

The Study and subsequent construction project are detailed here.

Co-authors of the paper were Nicole Torralva, P.E., City of Temple and Greg Pope, P.E. and Hani Michel, P.E., both with Carollo Engineneers.

On Monday, November 30, the Temple Parks & Leisure Services Department dedicated the City of Temple’s newest trail. The Pepper Creek Hike & Bike Trail, designed by KPA, is not only an amenity to serve the bioscience district and the Scott and White West Campus, but also a fantastic new resource to help members of the Temple community to get fit and stay active.

The Pepper Creek Trail was created as a project of Temple’s Reinvestment Zone Board. It is approximately 1.2 miles long and features benches, metal-framed bridge and a large water feature and goes through the natural wooded area. “We are really excited about what the trail offers our community,” Parks & Leisure Services Director Ken Cicora said. “I’ve spoken with a number of residents who have already walked the trail, and everyone is extremely impressed.”

The trail is unique to Temple in a few other ways. At twelve feet, it is easily the widest trail in the City, making it ideal for not just hikers but also bicycles, strollers and more. “We imagine that this trail is going to be used by a lot of Temple families,” Cicora said. “It is really designed for a broad range of physical abilities, and it offers a number of great places to take a break and enjoy the view.”

The Pepper Creek Trail was constructed within an approximate budget of $2.1 million. “It’s set a new standard for trails in Temple,” David Patrick of KPA said. “We’ve done a lot of work in Central Texas, and I would say this is over and beyond what we’ve done even in Austin or Round Rock.”

On July 7, 2009, the Texas Excavation Safety System Seminar was held at the Bell County Expo Center. Mack Parker, P.E., John Simcik, P.E., Trae Sutton, P.E., Ginger Tolbert, P.E., Brian Baker, and Fabian Gomez attended the event. The event was sponsored by Exxon Mobile Pipeline Company, Sunoco Pipeline, Koch Pipeline. The seminar provided an opportunity to learn more about the requirements for notifying owners of underground utilities prior to excavation, including Texas law which requires at least 2 working days notice before beginning excavation.

In addition to learning the law and associated penalties for violations, attendees gained insight as to who participates in the one-call system, how to go about requesting a utility locate, and how contractors can minimize their risk by using safe, accepted digging practices. For more information, please visit www.digtess.org.

Rick Kasberg, PE attended a seminar on Practical and Hands On Odor Control hosted by Bay Products Inc on April 6th and 7th, 2009. The seminar was tailored for design professionals and utility directors of wastewater systems.

The seminar consisted of numerous presentations from design engineers, manufacturer representatives and utility directors on various topics from fabrication techniques, fan design, odor characterization, design and operation of odor control systems.