IN THIS ISSUEIn Memory of Brian Crider

Now Part Employee OwnedNew Transportation Division in North Carolina

Conference InformationWittenberg Indoor Practice Facility

Wendy’s - Maxtown RoadUpground Reservoir Update

Recent WinsSustainability

ms Community News

ES O P

news notesms consultants, inc. engineers, architects, planners

March 2015 • Volume 23, Issue 1

1 News | Notes

With 2015 well underway, I want this issue of NewsNotes to reflect on all the accomplishments of ms consultants, inc. employees this past year.

During 2014, ms saw a wide range of accomplishments. The hard work of all employees led to not only the highest ranking on Engineering News-Record Top 500 Design Firm list since first appearing, but ms also ranked on Architectural Record’s Top 300 Architectural Firm list for the first time in its history.

There were a broad range of other accomplishments. Some highlights include yet another successful employee wellness program, transition of minority ownership of the firm to an employee-owned stock ownership plan, and of course, the completion of many projects –including the filling of a near decade-long reservoir project, the John R. Doutt Upground Reservoir.

Please take a moment to read about our year in review in this issue of NewsNotes. Thank you to all employees and clients who made this past year a success!

In this Issue

Columbus, OH2221 Schrock Road

Columbus, Ohio 43229 614-898-7100

Youngstown, OH333 East Federal Street

Youngstown, Ohio 43229 330-744-5321

Akron, OHOne Cascade Plaza

Suite 140Akron, OH 44308

330-258-9920

Cleveland, OH600 Superior Avenue East

Suite 1300Cleveland, Ohio 44114

216-522-1926

Raleigh/Garner, NC155 US Highway 70 West

Garner, NC 27529919-772-5565

Indianapolis, IN8900 Keystone Crossing

Suite 775Indianapolis, IN 46240

317-566-0050

Pittsburgh, PAAirport Office Park 4, Second Floor

333 Rouser RoadCoraopolis, PA 15108

412-264-8701

Harrisburg, PA1215 Manor Drive

Suite 203Mechanicsburg, PA 17055

717-697-2373

Charleston, WV206 Capitol Street

Fourth FloorCharleston, WV 25301

304-346-1211

Visit us online: msconsultants.com

Thomas E. MosurePresident and CEO

In Memory of Brian Crider...........................................................2

Now Part Employee Owned.....................................................3

New Transportation Division in North Carolina..................4

Conference Information..............................................................4

Wittenberg Indoor Practice Facility...........................................5

Wendy’s - Maxtown Road............................................................6

Upground Reservoir Update......................................................6

Recent Wins...................................................................................6

Sustainability...........................................................................7

ms Community News...................................................................9

2

In Memory of Brian Criderms lost a colleague and friend, Brian Crider, on January 17, 2015. Brian joined ms consultants more than 15 years ago as a landscape architect and was most recently Vice President of Global Sales. He was an amazing father, son, brother, colleague, and friend.

In memory of Brian, donations for college funds have been set up for his daughters, Alyssa and Jamison. These 529 tax-free accounts will assist their college educations. Contributions to this fund are continually being collected.

Donations can be sent to:

College Advantage Fundc/o ms consultants, inc.2221 Schrock RoadColumbus, OH 43229

Checks should be made payable to College Advantage Fund. Questions can be directed to Monica Mosure at mmosure@msconsultants.com.

Thank you to all of those who have donated and continue to donate in memory of Brian.

Brian will truly be missed.

3 News | Notes

ms News

Now Part Employee Owned

The new ESOP allows all employees to become company shareholding owners and take part in its continued expansion and growth.

“In a time where almost half of new businesses fail in the

first five years, our growth and longevity can only be attributed to the hard work and dedication of each and every ms employee,” says Thomas Mosure, President and CEO of ms consultants. “We want to share the success of the company

with everyone at ms, and our ESOP allows us to do just that.”

The ESOP enables the current and future employees to supplement their retirement savings and participate in the growth of the business and offered at no cost to employees. Contributions from the ESOP are provided to employees when they leave the company or retire.

ms consultants joins a list of nearly 12,000 U.S. ESOP companies, roughly 11 million employees nationwide, who share in the benefits of ESOPs.

ms closed its 50th year in business with a transition of minority ownership of its firm to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).

ConferencesThe 68th annual Ohio Transportation Engineering Conference (OTEC) was held on

October 28-29, 2014 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. One of the largest transportation conferences in the nation, OTEC features speakers, technical sessions, and an exhibition hall. 2014 hosted over 250 exhibitors and 3,000 participants! This event is sponsored yearly by the Ohio Department of Transportation and The Ohio State University.

This year, ms was a Gold Standard Sponsor. Additionally, Gary Gardner, P.E. moderated the Design of Major Structures session. Thank you to everyone who made this event a success!

ES O P

4

ms News

New Transportation Division in North CarolinaIn addition to its existing architectural services, ms consultants,

inc. is excited to announce that we have added transportation services to our Raleigh/Garner, North Carolina office.

ms consultants has been located in North Carolina since 1999. Our office provides a full-service offering, including:

• Architecture• Construction Administration/Management• Traffic Engineering• Bridge Design• Structural Engineering• Environmental Assessments and NEPA Documentation

During August 26-August 29, water professionals gathered in Columbus, Ohio for One Water, the Ohio WEA-AWWA 2014 Technical Conference. During the week, ms employees presented on various projects, including the Cosgray Road Extension (presented by Anil Tangirala, P.E., C.F.M.), and Upground Reservoirs (co-presented by Ken Ricker, P.E., and the Columbus Division of Water).

Download the Upground Reservoir presentation at:

http://bit.ly/upground_onewaterohio

West Virginia Construction & Design ExpoMarch 25-26 - Charleston, WV

WEF 2015 Collection Systems Conference April 19 -22 - Cincinnati, Ohio

ACEC Annual Convention and Legislative Summit April 20-22 - Washington, DC

AWWA PA 2015 Annual Conference April 21-23 - Hershey, PA

ASHE 2015 National Conference May 27 - Baltimore, MD

UPCOMING CONFERENCES:

Quenching Central Ohio’s Thirst for Additional Water Supply: The Columbus Upground

Reservoir Project

Richard C. Westerfield, P.E., PhDKen Ricker, P.E.

Lisa Samples, Ph.D., P.E is a Structural Engineer, with registrations in North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Lisa specializes in structural design and ratings analyses for simple and complex bridges, culverts and retaining walls.

With over 24 years experience, Tyson Graves, P.E. serves as a Traffic Engineer in the Raleigh/Garner Office. Tyson holds registrations in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Contact the Raleigh/Garner office at 919-772-5565 for more information.

5 News | Notes

Featured Projects

Wittenberg Indoor Practice Facility

ms consultants has been selected as the architect for the new Wittenberg University Multi-Purpose Indoor Recreational Facility in Springfield, Ohio. This new facility will be connected to the north end of the existing HPER Center and adjacent to the existing football field, creating a central area for various sports and recreational activities on campus.

At over 130,000 square feet, the indoor facility will house a 300-meter track with six lanes, turf football and lacrosse fields, locker rooms, offices, concessions, a vending area, and general amenities. A drop-down netting system will subdivide the facility interior, providing dedicated areas for baseball, batting cages, golf, and

track and sports club practice events.To ensure all needs were met, ms

consultants along with SportsPLAN Studio developed a Facility Program by conducting numerous visioning sessions that included the steering committee, the athletic staff, coaches, communications and sports information staff, sports medicine, recreational/club sports and intramural staff, along with university security, safety, fire, facilities management, physical plant, and housekeeping. These meetings led to a comprehensive needs assessment which allowed ms to further develop the design phases for the project.

The Wittenberg campus features collegiate, gothic architecture. ms consultants collaborated with

the historic preservation consultant, HP Group, LLC, to ensure the exterior design of this new recreational facility incorporates the historical architecture and will integrate into campus seamlessly.

Check future NewsNotes issues to see progress updates and photos on the new facility.

For more information about this project, contact David Kiraly at 330.774.5321 or dkiraly@msconsultants.com.

ms consultants has been selected as the architect for the new Wittenberg University Multi-Purpose Indoor Recreational Facility in Springfield, Ohio.

ColumbusSpringfield

The ms consultants Wittenberg Indoor Practice Facility Team

New Indoor Athletic Facility | Youngstown State University - a model for the new Wittenberg facility

6

Last issue, the 850-acre Columbus Upground Reservoir project was featured. During May 2014, the reservoir was filled with 9.3 billion gallons of water! Additionally, this reservoir is now known as the John R. Doutt Upground Reservoir. The reservoir was dedicated, and subsequently renamed, on September 30, 2014, in honor of the former Columbus Water Administrator. Most recently, the reservoir project was selected to receive Engineering Excellence Awards from ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies) and ACEC Ohio.

Wendy’s - Maxtown Road

Featured Projects

• New Franklin Program Management, Sanitary Sewer Improvements, Summit County, Ohio

• Lincoln Way Streetscape, Massillon, Ohio

• Bridge Replacements, NCDOT

• Southern Beltway Project—Develop final design, including road widening for I-79 and interchange design for SR 0576 with I-79, Washington County & Allegheny County, PA

• Wittenberg University Indoor Practice Facility, Springfield, Ohio

• Upper Pogues Run CSO Abatement, Citizens Energy, Indiana

• Bentleyville Interchange, Washington County, Pennsylvania

• Muskingum Watershed Conservancy Program Management, Dover, Ohio

• New Vehicle Maintenance Garage, ALCOSAN

• Western Reserve Port Authority, Capital Improvement Projects, Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport

• Construction Administration & Inspection, Ohio Turnpike

• Continued work with Vallourec Star, Youngstown, Ohio

• Continued work with ALDI, Inc.

• Northland & Independence High School Track Renovation Columbus City School District

Project Update

Before

After

RECENT WINSOffering a broad range of architecture and building design services in

a variety of markets–including retail, restaurant, education, and more–ms consultants recently completed a remodeling project for Wendy’s. The Wendy’s Maxtown Road project was an existing 3,388 square foot restaurant located in Westerville, Ohio. This remodel included updates to all the exterior finishes, interior dining area and the site. The interior remodel included all new finishes and furniture. Site work included the addition of an outdoor seating area on a new 20 foot by 12 foot, stamped concrete patio and the addition of a second drive-thru lane. You can see this revamped Wendy’s on Maxtown Road in Westerville, Ohio.

7 News | Notes

Industry News

Green Ratings SystemsThere are two commonly used green building rating

systems, the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® Green Building Rating Systems™ and the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes® Rating System. Both systems are nationally accepted for both new construction and existing building assessments but are unique programs with their own set of requirements. To see a comparison of the two programs, visit our blog post: msconsultants.com/green-globes-vs-leed

But green rating systems are not limited to buildings. The Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Rating System™ evaluates all types and sizes of infrastructure projects, including energy, water, waste, transport, landscape, and information technology projects. This system is intended to help project stakeholders meet sustainability goals and make collaborative and meaningful project decisions to better the surrounding community. The 60 sustainability criteria for Envision™ is divided into five sections: quality of life, leadership, resource allocation, natural world, and climate and risk. Award levels are Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

Sustainability is frequently mentioned these days, from the foods we eat to the houses we live in. The term “sustainable” is not just a buzzword, but an important attribute to the wellbeing of our environment today and for the future.

In short, sustainable practices are kept to ensure that we will have and continue to have adequate water, materials, and resources to protect both human health and the environment. While the old adage “reduce, reuse, recycle” is still an important factor today, it is also important to keep sustainability in mind within engineering and architecture as well.

SUSTAINABILITY: Green Ratings Systems

Sustainability at ms consultants

As an engineering, architecture, planning, and environmental consulting firm, ms consultants, inc. knows the importance of sustainable efforts and practices in the projects we complete. One of our most recent LEED Certified projects is the North Carolina National Guard Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) Support Facility located on the Fort Bragg base. As one of the North Carolina National Guard and Fort Bragg Garrison requirements, the new hangar facility had to pursue a minimum LEED Silver Certification. After assessing all of the LEED Silver requirements and without additional costs to the project, the project team made small revisions to the initial building design and was awarded LEED Gold Certification in July 2014! This project joins nearly 100 other LEED Certified projects completed by ms.

8

Industry News

Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) Support Facility Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Gay Street Improvements Columbus, Ohio

Featured ms consultants Sustainable Projects

As one of the North Carolina National Guard and Fort Bragg Garrison criteria, this facility was required to pursue a minimum LEED Silver Certification. After assessing LEED Silver requirements and without additional costs to the project, the ms project team pursued a higher LEED Gold Certification.

To achieve the higher certification, the team added a geothermal heating/cooling system, gravity-fed solar panels for hot water, and photo-voltaic electric panels, which all qualified as on-site renewable energy. In addition, the team integrated a rainwater-capture system into the building design to house grey-water for flushing toilets and to supply water to the covered wash bay to maintain all TUAS equipment on-site.

As the first rain garden developed for a public works project in the city of Columbus, Ohio, the Gay Street Rain Garden adds a sustainable element and aesthetic improvements to the area.

During the conversion of the operation of Gay Street from one-way to two-way traffic flow in downtown Columbus, ms also designed an urban rain garden into the drainage system. This rain garden reuses existing stormwater by channeling and filtering the runoff to irrigate streetscape plantings.

Rain gardens like this have multiple benefits. They reduce rain runoff by allowing the stormwater to soak into the rain garden’s soil, reducing erosion, water pollution and diminished groundwater for the area. Rain gardens also reduce the use of local water for plant life, adding beautification without exhausting resources!

Kari Mackenbach, CFM, BCES, ENV SP, joins ms as Director of Sustainability

Ms. Mackenbach brings more than 20 years of sustainability and water resources experience to the ms consultants team as the Director of Sustainability. In this role, Kari is responsible for leading all sustainable efforts for clients across the nation. From creating the first flood mitigation plan in Licking County, Ohio, to managing the first two coordinated efforts in Ohio to receive natural hazard mitigation plan funding, Kari combines her dedication to sustainability and infrastructure knowledge to deliver clients and communities with impactful and long-term change.

Read more about Kari and other industry news on the ms blog, msconsultants.com/blog

9 News | Notes

ms Community

Step Up for Diabetes

Employees were provided with a pedometer to track their steps over this 8-week period. To encourage more steps, weekly progress updates were provided company-wide along with some healthy competition among teams.

Once the 58 million step goal was met, ms committed to distributing a $10,000 donation among regional diabetes associations, local to each office. Nearly 26 million people in the U.S. have diabetes and over 79 million are pre-diabetic, and for both, a healthy lifestyle is critical. The overall goal of this event was to not only promote the wellness of employees but give back to the wellness of our local communities as well.

And, with a final step count of 75,872,840, the goal was exceeded! Not to mention, the collective distance of all those steps is greater than the Earth’s equator!

ms made charitable contributions to the Central Ohio Diabetes Association, and regional American Diabetes Associations and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundations.

In recognition of ms’ continued work with the Central Ohio Diabetes Association, the Conway Center for Family Business honored ms with the Community Engagement Award. For more details on this award, visit msconsultants.com/community-engagement-award.

PEDOMETER CHALLENGESTEP UP FOR DIABETES

FINAL TOTAL = 75,872,840 STEPS!

20% - WARMING UP

40% - OUT OF THE BLOCKS

60% - HITTING OUR STRIDE

100% - BREAKING THE TAPE

80% - FULL SPRINT

wellnessATWORK

ms employees participated in our annual pedometer contest June 16-August 10 and this year, there was an added bonus, a $10,000 donation to regional diabetes associations!

10

ms consultants ranked

3rd Healthiest Medium-Sized

Employerby Columbus Business First

ms Community

Healthiest Employer Award and RecognitionFor the second year in a row, ms consultants

has been named one of Central Ohio’s healthiest employers by Columbus Business First. Additionally, ms was recently awarded a 2014 Healthy-Ohio Worksite Bronze Level Award from the Ohio Department of Health. This award is a step up in the rankings from last year’s recognition as a healthy

worksite. Next year’s goals include increasing support for stress reduction at work and home, improving the activity level of all employees, and expanding opportunities in community and charity-based activity involvement.

ms received2014 Healthy-Ohio Healthy Worksite

Bronze Level Award from the

Ohio Department of Health

While ms offices have been maintaining recycling programs for years and has been a Columbus GreenSpot business since 2010, ms recently completed its eCycle drive.

Only 25% of the nation disposes of electronics properly, according to the EPA. To combat this statistic, ms encouraged employees to bring outdated electronics into the office for recycling. This led to a collection of televisions, computer

monitors, vacuums, and more!

The usable raw materials of these items will be broken down and recycled into new electronics. Thank you to all who participated!

ms’ Sustainable Efforts at Home ms Akron

Has Moved!

Effective February 9, the ms Akron office has relocated. But don’t worry, we didn’t move far!Our new office location is:

One Cascade PlazaSuite 140Akron, OH 44308-1136Phone: 330.258.9920Fax: 330.258.9921

ms Akron will be hosting an open house to unveil the new space in the near future. Be on the lookout for details in the spring!

2013 marks ms consultants’ 50th year in business, having been founded in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1963.

That’s the same year that Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous “I have a dream” speech, the same year the very first James Bond movie (”Dr. No”) arrived in theaters and the same year the first album by some rock group named The Beatles hit record store shelves in America.

The company has come a long way since the early days when Thomas F. Mosure and Thomas Fok worked out of the basement of a small building on Market Street in Youngstown.

ms consultants now has four offices in Ohio and has expanded into Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and North Carolina.

To celebrate our 50th year, we’ve been having parties and social events at all office locations. We’ve also added a page to our website with a timeline of our history and other major events and fun facts that have occurred since 1963.

To visit the website, go to: www.msconsultants.com/timeline/We’re proud of the service we’ve been able to provide during the past 50 years, but couldn’t have done it without the support of our many

clients, business associates, friends and employees.So a very special thank you to everyone involved, and we’re already looking forward to the next 50 years!

ms is celebrating our 50th anniversary!

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 225

YOUNGSTOWN, OH

NewsNotes is published by ms consultants, inc. Please submit all questions or comments to Chuck Campbell at 614.898.7100 or info@msconsultants.com.

Guests and ms staff crowd the lobby during the Columbus anniversary party.

PART OF THE

TEAM

NewsNotes is published by ms consultants, inc. Please submit all questions or comments to Marketing at 614-898-7100 or info@msconsultants.com.

Printed in USA, using eco-friendly printing practices.

From the Ohio Department of Transportation press release:

ODOT Set to Begin Largest Single Construction ProjectPortsmouth Bypass is first ever “Public-Private Partnership” in Ohio

COLUMBUS (Monday, September 22, 2014) – The Portsmouth Gateway Group is likely to build the largest single construction project the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has ever embarked upon.

The Portsmouth Gateway Group says it will cost about $429 million to construct the entire Portsmouth Bypass, which is a 16-mile, four-lane limited access highway from U.S. 23 north of Lucasville to U.S. 52 near Sciotoville. The new roadway will complete the missing link of the Appalachian Development Highway System in Ohio.

Not only is this the largest project in ODOT history, but it is the first-ever Public-Private Partnership (P3).

Read more of this press release at ODOT’s website, dot.state.oh.us

The Portsmouth Bypass project was recently renamed the Southern Ohio Veterans Memorial Highway.