President's Report

I would like to thank Joe Vela for his participation and setting up of this past months meeting.  As I sat at the meeting I could not help but think about how fortunate we are to be in such a strong chapter. As Pat Haney said we all enjoy having some of the foremost experts like our panel member Mr. Joe Barbera PE, Mr. Frank Teebagy PE, Mr. Joe Ianessa PE and Mr. Bahig Kaldas PE.  These men are very accessible to all members and can provide great insight to our younger members.  I personally encourage our younger members to utilize this vast library of knowledge so that they can provide better designs for their clients.

Manny Garcia has been hard at work creating the sub-committee which will meet with the board at the beginning of each quarter to review possible code changes and policies.  I encourage all members to contact Manny with anything you feel might have to be reviewed with the plumbing board.  It is the Boston Chapters Board of Director's mission to improve communication with the Plumbing Board to help with the way we do our business so we might serve our clients better.  I would like to personally thank Manny and his Board members for all their hard work at putting this effort together.  I was discussing the Mass plumbing code with Jim Galvin the other day and, as he stated, the Mass plumbing code is probably the strictest in the nation.  I believe if our members can gain greater knowledge by the information disseminated by this board it will help us all.

I had the pleasure this month to attend the National Grassroots meeting as a webinar with 13 other chapters in attendance.  And I am happy to report ASPE National is heading in the right direction with their finances. I commend the National board lead by Julius Ballanco PE and aided by help from our own Bill Hughes CPD as the VP Education.

Next months meeting should be a very informative and enjoyable night. Jim Polando has set-up a meeting on Gas venting sizing in conjunction with the code changes Manny has been reporting on.  Also, this years Keystone award will be given out by Joe Barbera the chairman of the Keystone award committee.

Remember to watch the calendar in the newsletter on the upcoming dates for the Golf Outing and Summer Outing.  I would like to once again Thank VP Membership John Callahan CPD and John Carter for all their hard work on these two events.  These two summer events should make our ASPE Summer very enjoyable.

As I announced at the chapter meeting I have appointed Jeff Gooding to the post of affiliate liaison to the board I would like to take a minute to welcome Jeff onboard and thank outgoing affiliate liaison Tom Farrell for all his hard work and dedication to the chapter.

By Frederick Neth
President Boston Chapter ASPE

Vice President Technical's Report

Proper Flue Vent Design for Water Heaters and Boilers

Please join us in May for a presentation by Don McInroy (of Security Chimneys) focusing on educating members of ASPE on the proper design of a vent system, as well as the selection of the appropriate materials to be used, for venting water heaters and boilers.  We all are becoming aware that The Commonwealth of Massachusetts will be requiring the Plumbing Contractors to be responsible for the provision of flue vents for water heaters and boilers.  This change will have a direct impact on the scope of our (the plumbing designers and engineers) work.  To this end, Don will be presenting a proven design approach, and a design program to assist us in the design of these systems.

In Don's words:

"There is a wide variety of gas and oil fired equipment being offered around the country now.  Some have an atmospheric vent, some are positive pressure vents and lately there are those that are both positive pressure and condensing."

"Each type has a different approach to the design and selection of materials."

It seems the State does not believe the venting design can be left in the hands of a local sheetmetal contractor due to some serious problems in the past.  Don will speak to the generic problems associated with various vent conditions and their potential solutions.

Please join us for the final regular meeting of the year, and bring a business card to drop in the fish-bowl for the Long Beach California ASPE Convention Free-Trip drawing.  Hope to see you all there.

By James Polando, PE, CPD
Vice President, Technical

Vice President Legislative's Report

MASS PLUMBING BOARD DECISIONS

I have been approached by some of our Society Members regarding my articles dealing with Mass Plumbing Board (the Board) decisions and especially the article regarding the clarification of the responsibilities for "ownership" of subsoil drains.

What has happened is that our members have changed their documents and then during the process of both design and construction they have been challenged by the Architect, other design team professionals, and in at least one case that I have heard about; the local Plumbing Inspector.

I brought the question to a Board Member who is my liaison to the Board asking if these Board interpretations are valid as code changes.  The answer that I received:

"It is a Board Decision voted on by the Full Board and becomes a Board Policy until the Code is changed after the public hearing Process, A policy is a binding decision and must be followed."

If you are faced with a challenge on any of these articles that have appeared, you can resolve it by contacting the Plumbing Board or you can e-mail me at Mgarcia43@comcast.net and I will share my information with you.  In one recent case, the Engineer who was challenged used a fax communication that I received from the Plumbing Board and that satisfied the Inspector.  The challenges by the Design Professional such as the Landscape Architect or the Civil Engineer particularly on the sub-soil drain situation (which they previously "owned"), have not been as easy to resolve.  I will be happy to try to help you.

There are other such Board Policy decisions which have been made and are, in effect, code changes as per the above quote.  I am working with the Board to obtain these changes so that we can share them with our members.  

In the meantime, in response to a question from one of our members, I inquired about a new code.  I was informed that a new code is months away.  In order to do a new code there will be public hearings on the draft.  I am informed that a working draft is not yet ready so the process has not started.

Manuel B. Garcia, P.E., C.P.D
Vice President, Legislative

Vice President Membership's Report

Boston Chapter Annual Summer Party Extravaganza

Mark you calendar now: Saturday, July 26th "A. nnual S. ummer P. arty E. xtravaganza".  This event has been planned for one reason, and one reason alone: to offer all the Boston Chapter members an affordable family-oriented event that every family member will enjoy.

Start the day with a 30-minute harbor cruise from Long Wharf to Thompson Island. Once you arrive on the Island we've got activities for kids and grownups alike; including sporting events, games, races, etc.  We've got a fully catered Backyard Barbeque with all the fixings.  The kids can play on the beach, play Frisbee, fly a kite; they can even go fishing if they bring their fishing pole.

Maybe the kids are grown and you'd rather just enjoy a nice glass of wine and a quiet conversation with friends under the pavilion overlooking the harbor.  Well, you can do that too. Maybe you'd like to join in and play a little softball or volleyball…we've got that for you as well. Whatever your preference, we've got it planned for you.

In an effort to keep this family-oriented event as affordable as possible, the Boston Chapter is underwriting a large portion of the cost of this event.  To that end, the cost of the Summer Party will be $40 per adult, children 16-11 will be $10, and children 10 and under will be free of charge. That's pretty darned good.  You'd spend more than that on just a harbor cruise.  Do yourself a favor and reserve that Saturday to be outdoors with your family, enjoy yourselves doing something different.  You'll be glad you did.

There will be a separate flyer and sign-up sheet mailed out to all current Boston Chapter members next month.  If you aren't a member, you'd better hurry up and join.  Space will be limited so don't wait too long to RSVP.  Consider yourself warned.

Membership Numbers

The Chicago Chapter is the largest of all the chapters with 385 members. The Boston Chapter currently has 346 members and is the second largest ASPE chapter.

If anyone is interested, the Boston Chapter is one of fourteen chapters that comprise ASPE's Region 1. The other thirteen Region 1 Chapters, (ranked by size) are as follows:

Philadelphia - 225 members
New York City - 191 members
Washington, DC - 170 members
New Jersey - 130 members
Baltimore - 124 members
Montreal - 117 members
Quebec - 69 members
Connecticut - 68 members
Ottawa Region - 64 members
Central New York - 63 members
Richmond - 56 members
Capital Region NY - 54 members
Virginia Blue Ridge - 49 members

By John Callahan, CPD
Vice President, Membership

March 2008 Past President's Report

Greetings everyone.  As you know, our April, 2008 meeting will be a special event.  We are planning on having some of the most knowledgeable Plumbing Engineering minds in the business assembled for a panel questions and answer period.  This will not be a formal discussion with the hoi-polio but something more attuned to a simple "fireside chat".  The program will be open but moderated to keep it on course.  All Plumbing Design and Engineering questions will be asked.  So whether you are a novice designer or a grizzled veteran, we all have questions, and April's meeting will be a "great" way to obtain answers on any kind of plumbing issue or problem that you might have encountered.  I have some questions myself.  Since we are anticipating many thought-provoking questions and since we have a limited time frame, we are asking that you please forward to me your questions or issues so that we can assemble them by topic, thereby keeping the discussions moving smoothly.  Of course those in attendance can also take an active role and answer questions or debate the topic at hand because there is always more than one way to engineer and design systems.

You know, this is one of the only times that I can remember that we've had a special meeting such as this.  It will be a great opportunity for us to "pick their brains" and obtain answers that you simply won't get from any book or school.

Please e-mail your questions and thoughts to me at jvela-aspen@cox.net by March 31, 2008.  Thank you and hope to see you there…

By Joseph A. Vela, CPD
Past President, Boston Chapter, the ASPE, 2003-2005

ASPE Boston Chapter Golf Outing 2008

Spring is Just around the corner and time to dust off the old golf clubs.  It's been a long cruel winter so let's look ahead a little to Summer.  Your Golf committee has been hard at work to make this year's event the best ever.  The annual ASPE-Boston golf outing will be held this year on Friday August 22nd at the beautiful Wayland Country Club.  The format will once again be a Florida style scramble allowing everyone a chance to contribute to their respective team scores.  The golf will be followed by a delicious dinner of Filet Mignon and Seafood Casserole

The event is open to all ASPE members, affiliates, clients, friends, and ringers.  The more the merrier! Mark the date and stay tuned for more details.

Sponsorship opportunities exist currently for:

• Continental Breakfast
• Hole Contests
• Putting Contest
• Hole in One Contests
• Hole Sponsors
• Gift bag goodies

Please contact any Golf Committee member for more information.

John Carter    Rich Dean    Larry Whalen    Patrick McAuliffe