[President Perspective] [Meet the Member] [Monthly Meeting]
We have all seen the headlines regarding housing affordability in San Luis Obispo County. For those of us who already own homes, we are amazed how quickly our equity has increased over the past four to five years. Unfortunately, this boon for homeowners is also having a tremendous impact on those who have been priced out of the market.
The housing trends indicate that house prices will continue to increase, although at a slightly slower pace. The problem is that the housing prices have already exceeded what most employees can afford. To qualify for a conventional loan, a family must earn over $100,000 per year, and have over $80,000 for a down payment. For many, this requires two incomes to make the house payments, but for most, it simply means that they will never own a home. As a result, families are being forced to leave the area in search of more affordable housing.
For those of us in the position of trying to recruit and retain qualified employees, it is becoming an increasingly difficult proposition. Several of the people I have interviewed over the years have had to turn down an offer of employment after determining that they just could not afford to live here.
I believe that this is going to be one of the biggest challenges for engineering firms and public agencies in the near future. As I have been involved in ASCE over the past six years, I have noticed that very few new faces appear at our meetings. In fact, it seems that most of the positions that become available in our area are being filled by locals moving to different agencies or firms. The entry level positions are being filled by Cal Poly graduates that hope to stay on the Central Coast. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these positions have very high turn over rate, as the housing issue eventually sinks in.
So what can we do as engineers to help this problem? I believe that each of us should become politically active in our communities. As professionals, we should be involved in pressing these issues with our elected officials or running for office ourselves. We need to provide the technical expertise to guide effective expansion of our infrastructure, and management of our resources. No longer can we afford to sit idly by and expect change to occur without our input.
This input may come in the form of pushing for the creation of a new city where land prices are more affordable. There has been some discussion about creating a city in the California Valley or some other location. This could provide some exciting possibilities. The entire community and infrastructure could be master planned. High-speed rail to San Luis Obispo or other work places could reduce commuting time. The possibilities are endless, but without the input of civil engineers, providing affordable housing in this county is just a crazy dream.
Housing affordability is not a problem that can be fixed overnight, or maybe ever. But without a concerted effort by all those involved, either directly or indirectly, the difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified employees will continue to increase.
by Jeff van den Eikhof, P.E.
In honor of Memorial Day, this month's Meet the Member article is paying tribute to a civil engineer in history. That person is George Washington Goethals. George Washington Goethals was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 29, 1858, the son of John and Marie Baron Goethals. He received his training as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, from which he graduated in 1880. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on June 12, 1880. In the 1880's he served for four years as an instructor in civil and military engineering at the Military Academy. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1882, and to captain on December 14, 1891. In 1884 he married Effie Rodman.
During the Spanish-American War Goethals served as Chief of Engineers in the Volunteer Army, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was later placed in charge of the Muscle Shoals canal construction on the Tennessee River and also built canals near Chattanooga, Tennessee and at Colbert Shoals, Alabama.
On March 4, 1907, Goethals was appointed by President Roosevelt, Chairman and Chief Engineer of the Isthmian Canal Commission (I.C.C.). He served in that position until completion of Canal construction in 1914, following which he served as Governor of the Panama Canal until his resignation on January 17, 1917.
As Chief Engineer of the I.C.C., Goethals faced many daunting tasks. Aside from the task of eliminating disease, Goethals was faced by many unique problems, any one which was a stupendous work in itself. The first of these was the cutting down mountains near the center of the Isthmus in order to minimize the elevation of the canal itself. The second feat was the damming of the powerful and erratic Chagres River with the Gatun Dam and the formation of Gatun Lake. The third was the building of the huge concrete locks with filling and emptying systems and great steel gates with opening and closing devices. The Panama Canal was opened in 1914 and in 1915 General Goethals received the thanks of U.S. Congress "for distinguished service in constructing the Panama Canal."
From April to July 1917 Goethals served as General Manager of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, and on December 18, 1917, Goethals was recalled to active duty and appointed acting Quartermaster General in the U.S. Army. From 1918 to 1919 he was Chief, Division of Purchase, Storage and Traffic in the U.S. Army. At his request, Goethals was relieved of active duty with the Army in March 1919.
From 1919 to 1928, Goethals was President of George W. Goethals and Company, a New York engineering firm and advisor and consulting engineer to the Port Authority of New York. Goethals died on January 21, 1928, in New York City at the age of 69.
By Kari Wagner
Please join us on Thursday, June 17, at AJ Spurs for our monthly luncheon meeting. Simon Poulter and Brian Dugas of Padre Associates, Inc. will make a presentation consisting of a brief discussion on environmental compliance/permitting and then a presentation of two case studies: a Salinity Management Plan for the Calleguas Watershed; and the Marine Outfall Repair and Extension project for the Avila Beach CSD.