Every time I see a tagged rebar or

pipe lying on the ground next to where

it should be, a part of me weeps. It‟s

true. I think of all the time it took

someone to traverse to that location,

pound in that pipe with a hammer,

document its position, draft the map

and file it. That‟s a lot of energy, a lot

of effort, (a lot of money) that lies on

the ground. I wish there was some-

thing we could do about….. maybe the

Ancient Romans had the right

idea. Courtesy of Wikipedia:

In Roman religion, Terminus was the god who protected boundary markers; his name was the Latin word for such a marker. Sacrifices were performed to sanctify each boundary stone, and landowners celebrated a festival called the "Terminalia" in Terminus' honor each year on February 23……… Siculus Flaccus, a writer on land surveying, records the ritual by which the stone was sanctified: the bones, ashes, and blood of a sacrificial victim, along with crops, honeycombs, and wine, were placed into a hole at a

point where estates converged, and

the stone was driven in on top.

Thanks to everyone who attended the

January and February chapter meet-

ings. I think we‟ve had a great start to

the year. We will have no meeting in

March (the state conference is later in

the month). These meetings get better

the more that people attend. There

are not many places where you can

enjoy a nice dinner, beverage of your

choosing, and „talk shop‟.

We are once again doing the Bay

Bridge Boat Tour, scheduled for May

12th. If you are interested, please e-

mail me at

frank.borges@towill.com. We are

asking for a $25 donation per seat to

support our scholarship fund.

I hope everyone is having a successful

start to 2012, and that we will have

another great turnout at our next

meeting on April 11th at Alameda County

Public Works.

Officers: PRESIDENT Frank Borges (925) 682-6976 ext. 1036 frank.borges@towill.com VICE-PRESIDENT

Craig Roberts (415) 283-8581 craig-

roberts@alumni.calpoly.edu SECRETARY

Jan Gill (510) 543-5950

Jan.gill@earthlink.net TREASURER

Dave Murtha (510) 627-1474

dmurtha@portoakland.com IMMEDIATE PAST PRESI-

DENT John May (925) 476-2345

john.may@towill.com NEWSLETTER EDITOR Greg St. John

(510) 544-2375 gst.john@ebparks.org

April Chapter Meeting about Monument Preservation

President‘s Note

Roman God Terminus

Inside this issue:

Board of Directors Meeting 2

JPPC Fresno Synopsis 4

February Chapter Minutes 5

Scholarship Thank You‟s 6

Advertisers 7

LS/LSIT Review Seminar 9

Penland, Alameda County Surveyor .

The database approach to Monument

Preservation is an inventive approach

to helping public employees, develop-

ers and contractors better under-

stand how their projects impact sur-

vey monumentation. The meeting will

There will be no meeting for March,

but April will be catered at Alameda

County Public Works Department in

the Public Works Auditorium. This

special presentation Alameda County‟s

Survey Monument Preservation GIS

database will be presented by Reid

be held at:

Alameda County Works

399 Elmhurst Street

Hayward, CA 94544

Win a free Record of Survey! Spouses

are encouraged to attend and will be

the guest guests of the Alameda Coun-

ty Surveyor. See you there!

California Land Surveyors Association—East Bay Chapter

Traverse Notes from the Initial Point February 2012

Chapter Representatives: Steve Martin Hal Davis Gwen Gee (Alternate)

Committee Chairs: MEMBERSHIP

Janine Hampton

GOVERNMENT LIAISON COMMIT-

TEE

Hal Davis

East Bay Chapter President,

Frank Borges

ation (State) bylaws. Feedback will be

provided to the chapters.

State Education Foundation awarded 46

scholarships, a total amount of

$43,875. These scholarships have been

or will be awarded at various venues

(Fresno State Conference, the CLSA

Conference or local Chapter presenta-

tions). The Foundation would like to

encourage all CLSA members to sup-

port the Education Foundation by be-

coming a member; while the auction

provides the basis for foundation

scholarship, membership dues are also

important in funding the Foundation.

Each Chapter is entitled to 25 compli-

mentary brochures of each CLSA Asso-

ciation brochure; the Chapter officers

can contact the Central Office for

these.

The State Workshop committee re-

quests that each chapter appoint a

workshop coordinator and notify the

Central Office. The Chapter President

will be considered the coordinator

until notified of the workshop coordi-

nator.

Chapters are encouraged to maintain

their websites weekly. Suggestions

are to add Chapter newsletters and

membership forms. Planned webi-

nars on maintaining chapter pages

Current officers, 2012:

William Hofferber: Immediate Past President

Frank Lehmann: President

Tom Taylor: President-Elect

Rolland VanDeValk: Secretary

Jay Seymour: Treasurer

Overview of Treasurers Report for 2011

Income

Dues $250,025.69

Miscellaneous $771.19

Goods Sold $303.03

Total Income $255,068.67

Major Expenses (not all expenses shown)

Central office $109,207.05

CLSA Officers $11,861.93

Executive Committee $3,661.09

Executive Director $40,006.49

Legislative Committee $6,313.96

Legislative Advocate $42,246.71

Scholarships $5,500

Conference

Income $177,204.93

Expenses $176,633.78

Cal Surveyor

Income $27,036.00

Expenses $46,146.32

Parrish Seminar 2011

Income $14,747.50

Expense $12,648.03

Conference dates are March 23-28, and it

will be at the Silver Legacy in Reno. Chapters

are encouraged to donate items for door

prizes and items for the scholarship auction.

Solicitations made for money for student

assistants at the conference. Bowling Tour-

nament will be held in concurrence with the

conference, Saturday night.

Land Surveyor‟s week is March 18-24, 2012

Professional Development Program is a

complementary benefit to CLSA members.

State Bylaws Committee has reviewed the

chapter bylaws for conformance with Associ-

California Land Surveyors Association

Board of Directors Meeting on February 2, 2012

Page 2 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point

―the GIS

community felt

that ‗the scope of

Land Surveying

should be as

narrowly defined

as possible‖

(continued on page 3)

on the CLSA website

Legislative Committee provided the

following:

An update on language for the proposed

legislation for exam requirement as

they relate to engineers sitting for the

LS exam: currently any registered

engineer or holder of an EIT can skip

the prerequisite of passing the LSIT. The

original suggested change was that all

engineers must first pass the LSIT

before the LS; current proposed change

now allows civil engineers to circum-

vent the LSIT exam but other registered

engineers or EIT holders would be re-

quired to take and pass the LSIT.

Governor Brown is not a fan of Continu-

ing Education/Professional Develop-

ment, not wanting to support anything

that may put the brakes on commerce

in any way.

Lot Line Adjustment sub-committee

chair is now Ian Wilson; sub-committee

is working on a draft report.

Preservation of un-filed maps (by using

the record of survey process): this

proposed legislation was pulled to con-

sider copyright issues

New applicants for any state licensing

must provide fingerprints.

The Monument Preservation Committee

presented a 4 or 5 slide PowerPoint

presentation available to CLSA mem-

bers for community education and

outreach.

BPELSG Liaison noted that Ray Mathee

has accepted a position with the Board.

The Board is currently looking for con-

sultants to assist with the LS Exam

development, and consultants to review

enforcement cases.

State membership is up in 2011, to 1463,

Donations are needed to raise funds

for the Scholarship auction at the

CLSA conference.

Items such as gently used survey

equipment, books, framed photos, are

requested to help with money to

award scholarships to qualified appli-

cants. Many Chapters also donate gift

baskets or items produced locally in

the Chapter area. Anything of value to

a Surveyor will help raise valuable

funds for surveying students.

Please contact Steve Martin, Chapter

Representative sjmartin@ebmud.com

Donations Needed for the Scholarship Auction at the Conference

Do you have an idea for future speak-

ers at the East Bay Chapter meetings?

Please contact Chapter Vice Presi-

dent, Craig Roberts craig-

roberts@alumni.calpoly.edu

Are you or your firm interested in

advertising in Traverse Notes from the Initial Point? Do you know some

one that might be interested? Please

contact Newsletter Editor, Greg St.

John gst.john@ebparks.org Advertis-

ing Rates are as follows:

Quarter Page : $10 per month or $90

per year; Half Page: $20 per month or

$180 per year; Full Page: $30 per

month or $270 per year.

Sustaining Membership: Now $200

per year which includes ¼ page free

advertising in the newsletter for 1

year and up to 6 memberships.

All job announcements are always

free.

East Bay Chapter Membership

If you haven‟t had the opportunity to

renew your membership to the East

Bay Chapter, a membership form is

attached as a part of this newsletter.

Please send forms to Chapter Treas-

urer, Dave Murtha dmur-

tha@portoakland.com

Does the East Bay Chapter have your

current email? Please send updated

contact information to Chapter Secre-

tary, Jan Gill jan.gill@earthlink.net

Board of Directors Meeting (continued from page 2)

Page 3 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point

California Land Surveyors

Association

―further the

common good

of its members

in their

practice of

land

surveying.‖

Your Donations are Needed!!

reversing a trend in declining membership

since the high of 1590 in 2008.

The National Society of Surveyors Liaison

informed the Board that Curt Sumner re-

ported that the GIS community felt that „the

scope of Land Surveying should be as nar-

rowly defined as possible‟. Curt will investi-

gate this as to what the intention of this

provocative statement really is.

Now is the time for Tri-Star activity in the

chapters; May 4th is the day Trig-Star pack-

ages are to be returned.

The Surveying Merit Badge Committee

reported that Dee Smith is continuing to

gain interest in a Girl Scout program, and

she plans to make a presentation on this at

the next CLSA Director‟s meeting.

The longest and most heated discussion of

the day dealt with the change of the

„Chapter Representatives‟ to „Directors on

the Board‟ and the ensuing change of sta-

tus or responsibilities. The difference be-

tween a representative and a director was

discussed at great length. ..more later on

this.

(The main part of this talk was how the Orange County JPPC operates.)

Feb 8, 2012: Pat Tami warns us all that old Board Decisions are just that, and the current Board may not hold the same viewpoint

Orange County does not have checking fees/surveyor fees for Corner Records or Records of Surveys, their reasoning is “why submit a

CR if a ROS costs the same, you have all that extra space to show your survey” (OC‟s map checking time is paid out of the County‟s Gen-

eral Fund which means they have higher sales or property taxes; their large survey section is NOT staffed by volunteer PLSs).

They apparently interpret the LSA to read that Corner Records are for monument preservation and that setting monuments on previous-

ly un-monumented corners, even corners shown on record maps, triggers a Record of Survey …but so many people seem so surprised

by this that it is possible I misinterpreted this part of his talk.

At the end of his JPPC function presentation, Mr. Frank brought up several Board interpretations and County of Orange County Council

rulings that are of interest to us all. Be sure to check out #11.

1. Can the County Surveyor define “durable” monuments? Consensus: YES

2. Can the County Surveyor determine what can or can‟t be on a Corner Record: County Counsel says yes

3. Definition of “monument‟ relative to required/allowed filing of Corner Records for preservation per Section LSA 8771(b): Consen-

sus: No reference needed to concrete nails, PK nails, tacks, etc.: these do not qualify as monuments. No mention one way or the

other on cut crosses.

4. LSA requires all research information be submitted with maps for checks? BPELS: YES

5. Orange County Surveyor (OCS) Requirement to tag all found untagged monuments, regardless of character or use: OCS policy

letter 2006-10-30: Only if used for boundary determination

6. OCS requires JPPC involved in any map review requiring 4+ checks: OC JPPC okay in 2006

7. Does LSA 8771(b) require record research to determine what monuments may be destroyed, rather than simply tying out whatever

is evident on the surface? BPELS opinion 2004-08-277: Research is required to determine what should and might be there, wheth-

er surface or subsurface.

8. ALTA surveys are exempt from recordation requirements of LSA? OC JPPC consensus: NO. BPELS opinion of 2007-01-03: affirms.

9. Contractors staking improvements without Land Surveyor involvement: BPELS opinion of 2006-04-19: this equates to practicing

land surveying…but clarification letter 2006-11-21: maybe not, only BPELS can determine on a case by case basis

10. Is a post 1982 City Engineer required to stamp his certificate on Final/Parcel Maps if the County or a Consultant Land Surveyor is

certifying for the map being “technically correct”? Yes, required by SMA section 66442(a) & (b)

11. 1998 BPELS Staff Counsel issued an Opinion that NO Record of Survey is required for establishing and documenting an easement:

OC JPPC requested BPELSG to re-evaluated that opinion 2011-02-21, no word as of yet.

12. LSA 8765 specifies that no Record of Survey is required “When a map is in preparation for recording or shall have been recorded

under the provisions of the Subdivision Map Act”. Is a Record of Survey required if the subdivision map is canceled, or never rec-

ords? OC JPPC consensus: If the survey would have required a Record of Survey under LSA 8762, then once the subdivision map is

no longer in preparation of recorded, the survey falls back under the requirements of 8762 and should be filed within 60 days.

13. Can a Land Surveyor remove another Land Surveyor‟s monuments?

LSA 8725 “It is unlawful for any person to…remove any survey monument…unless he or she has been licensed…”

LSA 8764 “The record of survey shall show…(a) All monuments found, set, reset, replaced or removed”

JPPC position: If this is a legal opinion, it should be used only in very special circumstances.

14. (Anecdotal story: competent surveyor found sub monument 20+ feet out of position. Removed bad monument and noted such on his

Record of Survey. Didn‟t want any fools holding the bad monument)

15. Decisions on monument preservation are being made at cities by City Engineers, Directors of Public Works and budget officers,

most without the knowledge or appreciation of the value of boundary control infrastructure. (Anecdotal story: one such person

saying that these monuments were all a big pain, he recommended removing them all and then hiring a surveyor as needed to

replace ones that they had immediate need) Is making these decisions practicing land surveying? OC JPPC has requested an opin-

ion from BPELSG.

OC has problem with surveyors noting boundary control points being shown on record maps as “established by ties” or “fits ties”

without the tie monuments or their measured relationship to control point shown. OC JPPC opines that monument descriptions,

bearings, distances and record data (if differing) shown to all monuments. This is not a problem in Contra Costa County.

Synopsis of the Survey Practice Issues Section 2012 Fresno State

Conference JPPC

Page 4 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point

51st Annual Geomatics

Engineering Conference

―old Board

Decisions are

just that, and

the current

Board may not

hold the same

viewpoint‖

MEETING MINUTES 1. Called to Order at 7:05 PM

2. Introductions

3. January 2012 Meeting Minutes approved.

4. Committee/Rep Reports

Treasurer‘s Report (Dave Murtha) The chapter took in about $2000 in memberships so far. Dave said he doesn‟t have the

final numbers yet as a few more memberships are expected to come in.

State Reps Report Frank Borges mentioned that the State Representatives are “Board of Directors “ and should now be

referred to as “Directors”, not Representatives.

Hal Davis said the board met last Saturday. Hal stated he will submit a report later.

Committee Report JPPC: Gil Hayes stated they are re-doing the Bylaws to reflect a change in the make-up of the member-

ship. He mentioned there are fewer city engineers and surveyors and thus not in balance with the private sector for the

Peer Review Group. So they will make an adjustment in the bylaws. See Gil Hayes for more information.

Janine Hampton stated that at the Fresno State Geodetic Conference, she attended a talk given by the head of the Orange

County JPPC on how the Orange County JPPC operates. She said that the Orange County JPPC is very active. She handed out

copies of the talk at the meeting and said it was well worth reading: “Synopsis of the Survey Practice Issues Section 2012

Fresno State Conference – Presentation by Roger A. Frank, PLS, Chairman of Orange County JPPC”. Janine pointed out one

particular item of interest: No. 11. 1998 BPELS Staff Counsel issued an Opinion that NO Record of Survey is required for estab-lishing and documenting an easement: OC JPPC requested BPELSG to re-evaluate that opinion 2011-02-21, no word as of yet.

5. Old Business

Chapter Bylaws Frank Borges said that the Chapter Bylaws were sent out to everyone for review and today we would take a

vote. He mentioned that the Bylaws needed to be sent out 14 days in advance (which was done) and that a 2/3 majority vote

was now required for approval. A vote was then taken in which all attendees approved the Chapter Bylaws. The Chapter

Bylaws will now be sent on to the State.

6. New Business

Art and Wind Festival Ross Kinnie announced that the “Art and Wind Festival”, which takes place in San Ramon, is coming up

and needs volunteers. If interested contact Mike Foley who is again in charge. It was voted and approved that the Chapter

give $50 to Mike Foley to be used where needed for the event.

Mt. Diablo Surveyors Historical Society Keith Nofield announced he is selling raffle tickets for the Mt. Diablo Surveyors

Historical Society at 5 tickets for $20. The prize is a Magnetic Locator. The winner will be announced at the close of the CLSA

conference in Reno.

CLSA Conference, Reno A recommendation was brought up to the Chapter to donate wine, as in years past, to this year‟s

CLSA 2012 Conference. It was voted and approved that the Chapter provide two cases of wine, one from Alameda County

region and one from Contra Costa County region, to the CLSA 2012 Conference at a cost range of $275-$300. Keith Nofield

offered to deliver the wine. Craig Roberts suggested we do this donation automatically every year without the need for a vote

every time.

7. Announcements

2012 CLSA East Bay Workshops Janine Hampton announced that the first workshop will be held on February 28, 2012 from

6-7:30PM at 255 Glacier Dr., Martinez (the same place as the NCA GPS Users‟ Group). This workshop will be on “How to Do a

Corner Record”. The cost is $20 which goes to the scholarship fund. Pizza will be provided. Janine hopes to get enough mon-

ey from the workshops to sponsor a student at the CLSA convention. Janine is preparing flyers for the upcoming workshops.

Bay Bridge Boat Tour – May 12, 2012 Frank Borges stated that anyone interested in signing up for the Bay Bridge Boat Tour

on May 12, 2012 should send him an email. Frank‟s email is frank.borges@towill.com

LS Review Course John May said the LS Review Courses have started and are going well with 22 in the class. He said a

volunteer teacher is still needed for “Construction Staking”. To help or attend the classes contact John at

john.may@towill.com

CLSA/NALS Conference 2012, March 24-28, Reno, NV It was announced that there will be a CLSA East Bay Chapter meet-

ing at the conference (time and location TBD).

CLSA East Bay Chapter Meeting - February 8, 2012—The Grand Oaks Restaurant, Oakland

Page 5 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point

―old Board

Decisions are

just that, and

the current

Board may not

hold the same

viewpoint‖

(continued on page 6)

American Society for Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing - ASPRS 2012 Annual Conference, March 19-23, Sacramento, CA Jan Gill, VP for the

No. CA Region of ASPRS, announced that the ASPRS 2012 National Conference will be held in Sacramento this year at the Sacramento Convention Center.

The dates are March 19-23 and just precede the CLSA Conference in Reno. For more information go to www.asprs.org or contact Jan Gill at

jan.gill@earthlink.net

Monuments Gil Hayes requested that if anyone discovers monuments with missing lids, to report those monuments to him.

5. Guest Speaker

The Guest Speaker was Patrick Tami, PLS & Vice President at RBF Consulting. He is also Land Surveyor Member of the BPELSG and past VP of NCEES.

Patrick‟s topic was ―Changes to the LS Exam‖.

He discussed changes to the Professional Land Surveyors exam that the California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists

(BPELG) will be implementing this April. He also talked about the changes the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) is

making to the Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) exam (or LIST exam) starting in January 2014.

5. Adjourned at 9:30PM

Ken Kulda Memorial College Scholarship Thank You Letters

Meeting Minutes (continued from page 5)

Page 6 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point

Ken Kulda Memorial College Scholarship Thank You Letters (continued from page 6)

Page 7 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point

Thanks to the following advertisers for their support!

Ken Kulda Memorial College Scholarship Thank You Letters (continued from page 7)

Page 8 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point

Thanks to the following advertisers for their support!

Please contact John May john.may@towill.com (cell) 925.575.4471 or Tom Finnegan

raiderman4life@comcast.net (cell) 925.783.4268. Classes to be held from Now until the Examination in April

2012 at:

Local 3 Union Hall

1620 South Loop Road, Alameda, CA

LS/LSIT Review Seminar

Would you like to enter a picture for the picture of the Picture of the month? Please send it in .jpg format to

newsletter editor, Greg St. John gst.john@ebparks.org.

CLSA East Bay Chapter CLSA

Suggested Topic Speaker Date

Legal Descriptions J.Hampton 3-Mar

LS Act and SMA J.Hampton 3-Mar

Water Boundaries M.Bell 10-Mar

Photogrammetry J.Adam 17-Mar

Construction Calculations R. Kinney 7-Apr.

Practice Exam J.T.May 24-Mar

Page 9 Traverse Notes from the Initial Point

Picture of the Month

Survey Rooster

Submitted by Steve Martin

Alameda County Survey Monument Preservation

Daniel Woldesenbet, Ph.D., P.E - Public Works Director

Reid Penland, L.S. - County Surveyor

1 of 3

CLSA – East Bay Chapter April 11, 2012

Location: Public Works Auditorium 399 Elmhurst St., Hayward, CA

Alameda County

Survey Monument PreservationProgram Highlights

Introduces this Application to the East Bay Chapter !

Win a Free Record of Survey ($500 value) !!

Spouses wil l be Guests of the County Surveyor !!!

2 of 3

CLSA – East Bay Chapter April 11, 2012

Location: Public Works Auditorium 399 Elmhurst St., Hayward, CA

Alameda County

Survey Monument PreservationPresentation Topics

Purpose

Key Features and Technology

Changing Public Policy

Data Development

INDS Viewer (Web-Application

3 of 3

CLSA – East Bay Chapter April 11, 2012

Location: Public Works Auditorium 399 Elmhurst St., Hayward, CA

CALIFORNIA LAND SURVEYORS ASSOCIATION EAST BAY CHAPTER

2012 MEMBERSHIP DUES FORM MEMBER INFORMATION:

1. NAME ___________________ _____________________ FIRST LAST

2. FIRM/AGENCY/COLLEGE ___________________________________________

3. MAILING ADDRESS ___________________________________________ STREET

______________________________ __________ CITY ZIP

4. CONTACT PHONE ( ______ ) ________________________________

5. E-MAIL ___________________________________________

MEMBERSHIP GRADE:

[___] CORPORATE ($35) BPELSG Certificate No. _____________

Check one: [___] Regular [___] Life [___] Retired [___] CE (Pre-1982)

[___] OUT-OF-STATE ($20)

[___] ASSOCIATE ($20) L.S.I.T. # _____________

[___] AFFILIATE ($20)

[___] STUDENT ($20)

[___] HONORARY ($20)

[___] SUSTAINING ($200) ATTACH FORMS FOR UP TO SIX (6) FREE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS 

Are you a C.L.S.A. State Member? [___] YES [___] NO NOTE: EAST BAY CHAPTER BY-LAWS REQUIRE STATE MEMBERSHIP WITHIN ONE YEAR OF JOINING CHAPTER IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN CHAPTER VOTER PRIVILEGES. _______________________________________________________________________ BRING COMPLETED APPLICATION WITH CHECK PAYABLE TO “C.L.S.A. EAST BAY CHAPTER” IN THE CORRECT AMOUNT TO NEXT CHAPTER MEETING OR MAIL TO:

DAVE MURTHA PORT OF OAKLAND 530 WATER STREET OAKLAND, CA 94607

PAYMENT INFO 

CHECK:         #  __________ 

AMOUNT:    $  __________ 

DATE:  ________________ FOR MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE USE