News

WSB announces 2020 staff promotions

We are pleased to announce the promotion of our newest leaders at WSB. Our Associates, Senior Associates and Principals demonstrate skills and leadership that advance WSB forward and support our vision and goals. We are fortunate to have strong, committed leaders at WSB that have chosen to invest in their careers with us. Please join us in congratulating our dedicated team members.

Principals

• Craig Alberg | Director of Contract Administration, Metro Region
• John Gerlach | Director of Pipeline
• Tony Havranek | Senior Ecologist
• Monica Heil | Senior Director of Municipal Engineering
• Ross Jentink | Director of Project Controls

Senior Associates

• Chad DeMenge | Director of Contract Administration – Northern Region, Minnesota
• John Powell | Senior Project Manager, Municipal

Associates

• Lisa Beckman | Senior Right of Way Specialist
• Emily Brown | Project Engineer, Municipal
• Bob Haseman | Chief Engineer, Houston
• Jen Holmstadt | Senior Project Manager, Geohazards
• Jeremy Kilbo | Senior System Administrator
• Karne Newburn | Corporate Counsel
• Jeff Sandberg | Senior Professional Engineer, Water Resources
• Erik Seiberlich | Senior Project Manager, Traffic
• Ryan Spencer | Senior Professional Environmental Scientist
• Liz Weber | Director of Financial Planning & Analysis

Jack Corkle, Director of Transportation Planning, to lead as President of ACEC Minnesota

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Minnesota Member Organization announced that Jack Corkle, WSB Director of Transportation Planning, will serve as their President for 2020-2021 starting July 1.

Shortly after joining WSB in 2012, Corkle was appointed as a member of ACEC Minnesota’s Board of Directors in 2013. She has served over seven years on the Board and is prepared to begin her new role as President, working alongside Executive Director, Jonathan Curry and President-Elect, Keith Jacobson. Corkle anticipates continuing ACEC’s work to promote the consulting engineering industry and plans to focus on partnership development within the Minnesota business community.

As President, Corkle will meet with state government officials to address legislation impacting the industry and secure opportunities for infrastructure project funding. Additionally, she will work with staff and others to develop educational and training programs for ACEC-affiliated firm members and continue to work with the Minnesota Department of Transportation and other agencies on strategies and planning for moving projects forward.

Additionally, Corkle is looking forward to bringing a more diverse talent pool to the Minnesota chapter. She believes that promoting an inclusive environment will strengthen the organization in the long-term. “We need new ideas, diversity of opinion and those who are passionate about the industry to be involved.”

WSB hosts graduation for free civil engineering career training program

May 21, 2020

Design and consulting firm WSB today announced that the company’s first Opportunity+ cohort graduated in a virtual ceremony. The program, Opportunity+, is a new workforce training and development program designed to prepare participants for long-term careers in the civil engineering industry. Opportunity+ launched in January of this year and is a free and fast-paced training course led by experts at WSB. Nine cohort members completed the first Opportunity+ training class and received their certificates during the ceremony.

“I am honored to have played in role in introducing the program participants to the world of civil engineering,” said Bret Weiss, WSB’s president and CEO. “The communities we live and work in are far more diverse than our industry. Opportunity+ is just one of the ways we are working towards building a workforce that looks more like the communities we serve. I am so proud of our graduates and their ability to master the skills needed for a successful career in the AEC industry.”

From January through April, program participants received accelerated training through evening and weekend sessions. The flexible schedule allowed participants to continue working during the day while completing the hands-on program. Today, Opportunity+ participants are prepared for careers as surveyors – a high-demand position in civil engineering.

 “The future of the Opportunity+ program is bright,” said Laura Rescorla, WSB engineer and program manager of Opportunity+. “We have plans to make a couple of tweaks and are currently exploring expansion opportunities for the 2021 cohort. I am so impressed with the participants and their dedication to growing their careers and taking a chance on something new.”

WSB has hired two program participants and has extended offers to several others.  The firm is working with hiring partners to help participants find their place in the industry and begin new career paths.

Program partners include the City of Minneapolis, CareerForce, Center for Economic Inclusion, EMERGE Community Development, Hennepin County and the City of Saint Paul.

WSB receives ACEC-MN Honor Awards

Engineering Excellence Awards

On Friday, January 24, the American Council of Engineering-Minnesota (ACEC-MN) awarded WSB two Honor Awards for the Fallon Avenue Overpass and Minnesota Highway 52: Victory Drive Memorial Corridor at the 53rd Annual Excellence in Engineering Awards Banquet in Brooklyn Park.

The Engineering Excellence Awards Program recognizes engineering achievements that exhibit the highest degree of merit and ingenuity. Entries are based on originality and innovation; future value to the engineering profession; social, economic and sustainable design considerations; complexity and client expectations. Minnesota engineering firms across the state enter their most innovative projects and studies hoping to be recognized for the work they’ve done to make the state stronger.

Fallon Avenue Overpass

The Fallon Avenue Overpass project is known as a bridge that connects the community. Situated along both sides of I-94, the Fallon Overpass serves as a major local connection in the city that improves transportation, economic development opportunities and public safety.

The project was conceived over two decades ago to provide a local gateway for growth and economic development for the community. Since 1994, the city of Monticello has experienced significant growth, and the Fallon Avenue Overpass provides a critical alternative crossing over I-94 to alleviate heavy traffic on Trunk Highway 25, which has approximately 40,000 vehicles per day, and CSAH 18. The over $9 million project included several project partners and required coordination of many stakeholders.

Minnesota Highway 52: Victory Drive Memorial Corridor

Along the shady stretches of Minnesota Highway 22, known locally as “Victory Drive,” 1,170 trees were planted to honor veterans from Beauford, Mankato and Mapleton. The trees represent the veterans who gave their lives in World Wars I and II.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation prioritized the total reconstruction of 11 miles of Victory Drive over two construction seasons, beginning in 2017. WSB was selected to complete preliminary and final design of the highway and the replacement of the bridge over the Cobb River, a popular canoeing route. During the project’s public outreach program, WSB’s Landscape Architectural Group was given the unique opportunity to work with the community to gather perspectives on how best to perpetuate the highway’s living veterans memorial for generations to come.

MPCA Releases Revised Soil Reference Values (SRVs)

Jake Newhall, Senior Project Manager, WSB

In early April 2020, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) released revised SRVs for contaminated sediment. These revised values slightly relax regulations placed on sediment disposal.  The graphic below compares the new regulations with the old regulations.

SRV levels indicate the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that have accumulated in some stormwater pond sediments around the state. PAHs break down over time and can be transported via stormwater runoff.

The adjustment in regulations creates cost-saving opportunities when managing stormwater maintenance projects.

Jake has more than 15 years of engineering experience designing and managing many types of water resources projects, including modeling, planning, design, maintenance programs, and construction. Jake has worked with various municipalities, counties and state agencies to solve challenging water quality and water quantity problems.

[email protected] | 763.231.4861

Bringing back the bees

Andi Moffat, Vice President of Environmental Services, WSB

At first glance, reducing the number of bugs, moths, and bees may seem like a good idea to enable people to spend more quality time outdoors. In reality, it’s a major issue that affects everything from local habitat to the agriculture in the United States and around the world. These insects are pollinators and their travel from plant to plant helps to pollinate flowers. These flowers can be native prairie or woodland plants, apples, raspberries, cucumbers, and even hay crops for the livestock industry. So even if thriving wildlife habitat doesn’t peak your interest, being able to put food on the table should.

Between the loss of habitat, use of pesticides, insect disease, and crops designed to kill insects, pollinators are declining. While this may seem like a daunting national challenge to try and tackle, but steps are being taken to bring the message to communities and to take a very local approach– all the way down to individual yards.

At the local level, the State of Minnesota has provided the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) funding to develop the “Lawns to Legumes” program that focuses on planting residential lawns with native vegetation and pollinator-friendly plants. The goal of this pilot program is to offer cost-share, technical assistance, and planting guides to eligible Minnesota residents to install pollinator-friendly native plantings in their yard.

While individual homeowners can get involved with BWSR, there will also be a call for local partners to create demonstration neighborhoods. Eligible applicants will include cities, counties, and watershed districts. The idea is that by turning the urban lawn desert into small pockets of pollinator friendly gardens, it will have an overall positive impact for these important species.

Learn more about the program or, if you are interested in responding to the RFP that is expected to be released in December, please contact Andi Moffatt at [email protected] 763-287-7196.

Andi is a Vice President with more than 23 years of experience leading people and projects that include planning, environmental, energy, highway, natural resources, construction and development. She oversees our Environmental services and approaches her work with passion and positivity.

WSB opens Denver office to expand region-wide services

Denver, Colorado – Fast-growing Minneapolis-based consulting and design firm WSB opened a new Denver office this week at 5660 Greenwood Plaza Blvd. in Greenwood Village. The new office will allow WSB to recruit and retain additional talent to serve clients in the Denver area. WSB, which provides engineering, planning, environmental, traffic analysis, landscape architecture, survey, and construction services for the public and private sectors, has been rapidly growing in the Denver area over the last year.

“We’ve been expanding our capabilities in the Colorado market over the past year and this new office marks our commitment to growing our services and team,” said WSB President and CEO Bret Weiss. “Clients throughout Colorado have access to the same full-service experience, advanced technology and industry-leading expertise offered through WSB.”

The Denver office is WSB’s second location in Colorado. The firm has had a dedicated Utility and Pipeline team in Westminster since earlier this year. WSB began expanding in Colorado through the acquisition of Legacy Engineering, Inc., a Denver-based land development engineering services firm. The new 3,400-square-foot office includes room for the current 11-person Denver team to expand up to 17 people.

“WSB is growing a new family here in Colorado,” said Jim Mill, principal and Denver office lead. “The new office reflects WSB’s culture and we are excited to share this with more people in this market.  A brick-and-mortar location adds some permanence to our Colorado operations and is attractive both for our team members and clients.”

Headquartered in Minneapolis, WSB is the fourth-largest engineering firm in the Twin Cities. When it was founded in 1995, the company had five staff, one office and three different services areas. Today, the company offers services in more than 25 areas, employs more than 450 people and has expanded its markets beyond Minnesota with 12 offices across four different states.

A note from our CEO | Celebrating 24 years of WSB

October 4, 2019 marks WSB’s 24th year of business. Every year on our firm’s anniversary, I reflect on WSB’s journey. Recently, I was in New York City at a conference and was reminiscing on the past 24 years and thinking about the future. While in New York, I saw the musical Hamilton again and began to understand why I’m drawn to it. One of the early songs in Hamilton is called “My Shot.” Alexander Hamilton sings about his place in history and how he is not going to throw away the opportunity that he has been given. He says that he is like his country, “young, scrappy and hungry.” That description is a good way to describe WSB founders Ron Bray, Pete Willenbring, Don Sterna and myself 24 years ago. In terms of firm age and staff, that description remains true in 2019. We have grown from seven staff in one oversized office in 1995 to more than 500 staff in 12 offices throughout four states today. Our secret sauce has always been our attitude of hunger and scrappiness – now reflected in our WSB Way values that remind us to be bold, authentic, passionate, optimistic and visionary.

As four founders on the verge of something new, we didn’t throw away our shot and we continue to work every day to provide opportunities to our staff so they can take their shot in a supportive and collaborative environment. Now 24 years later, I am more inspired by our team and have more passion and fire to be the best that we can be. Our industry is changing at a pace that we haven’t seen before, and we must be at the forefront of that change. I’m amazed when successful companies choose to relax and rest on past successes. Nothing is promised to us and without continued improvement and change, those companies will not exist in the future. From technology, productivity, sustainability to diversity, there is much more to do, and I believe that we are well-positioned to continue to lead. In recent years, we’ve been improving quality, expanding our offerings to new markets and service areas, and focusing on hiring and developing an amazing team. I am so thankful for our staff and clients who have helped build WSB and I am excited for our future successes as we begin to celebrate our 25th year in 2020.

In the musical, Hamilton’s wife says that he writes like he is running out of time. I can appreciate that feeling as we race to be our best. WSB is still a young company and there is much more ahead of us. My advice to our staff is to keep their heads up and watch for opportunities. Don’t make assumptions or preplan your career. You might miss out on something wonderful that you couldn’t have imagined. We have lived by that philosophy over the past 24 years and I know that our 25th year will be no different.

Today, we take time to celebrate the success we have had for 24 years, and after we will look to the future and move forward with passion, optimism and a bold vision to be the most authentic firm we can be. As Alexander Hamilton says, “That would be enough!”

New Land Use Planning Review Process in Texas

As of September 1, Texas has made several changes to the land use planning review process. Specifically, the site plan and subdivision platting approval processes have been shortened to 30 days. The chart to the right demonstrates the revised work flow and timelines used in order to compile with the new planning review process. This new schedule is increasing pressure on local municipalities who are likely feeling pressure to comply with the new application process.

Our community planning team is experienced with navigating legislative and ordinance process changes that create tight deadlines. We have spent years leading clients through city internal reviews and staff capacity issues. By assisting with ordinance and procedural changes, tracking applications, handling communications, and ensuring that all statutory requirements are met, we help our clients meet the needs of their communities. Our team uses an interactive and quality control approach to account for every detail to ensure our clients’ success and the smooth operation of their Planning Department.

Client communities can relax and feel confident that their boards, councils and commissions have all the information they need to make educated decisions during the changing legislative landscape and the entire planning review process.

Learn more about how we can help, contact us.

Fallon Avenue Overpass receives APWA Honorable Mention

The Fallon Avenue Overpass project recently received an honorable mention for this year’s 2019 Minnesota Chapter APWA Project of the Year Awards. The APWA Awards program recognizes excellence in public works. We were honored to partner with the city of Monticello on a project that connects the community.