The Seascape
Newsletter of the CLCA
Central Coast Chapter
February 2020
February 2020 Calendar of Events
February 13, Thursday
Central Coast Chapter Board Meeting
Time: 12:00-1:30 pm
Location: seascape golf club
Contact Justin White at (831) 331-3476 or justin@kndlandscaping.com
March 5, Thursday
Central Coast Chapter Board Meeting
Time: 12:00-1:30 pm
Location: seascape golf club
Contact Justin White at (831) 331-3476 or justin@kndlandscaping.com
April 2, Thursday
Central Coast Chapter Board Meeting
Time: 12:00-1:30 pm
Location: seascape golf club
Will include awards discussion for Suppliers Night. Contact Justin White at (831) 331-3476 or justin@kndlandscaping.com
April 9, Thursday
Suppliers/New Members Night
Time: 4:30-8:00 pm
Location: seascape golf club
You can learn more and sign up online to reserve your space. Contact Justin White at (831) 331-3476 or justin@kndlandscaping.com
February 2020 President’s Message
by Justin White, Chapter President, K&D Landscaping Company
State of the Industry
Before jumping into this month’s newsletter, I’d like to thank everyone who came out to our kick-off mixer at Pour Tap Room, downtown. Our next scheduled event will be Suppliers Night on April 9th, sign up today to ensure your spot! This year the CLCA is co-sponsoring the Nor-Cal Nursery and Garden Show February 27th in San Mateo. Come out and connect with some new vendors and learn about the new trends in plant material.
As I’m writing this the President is giving his State of the Union address. I thought I’d give you an update on the “State of the Industry.” I’ve had the pleasure of engaging with many landscape companies throughout California over the last few months and through those candid conversations, I would like to share some of my takeaways of where we stand as an industry. Winter 2019-2020, the industry as a whole is doing well. The backlog is higher than most years and companies have been exhibiting more bullish actions, which differs from just three months ago when many companies were grabbing up large contracts in worry of a looming recession. Most companies are expecting double-digit growth this year in the 10-15% range and they have identified what their number one challenge will be...you guessed it: finding and keeping talented labor. Another challenge the industry is facing is a reduction in the number of young and upcoming professionals. Whether it’s tradesmen, foremen, architects or entrepreneurs, the rate of young people entering the industry is dropping off at a staggering rate. What will the result of this be in ten years? Is there anything we can do to change this? Many questions come to mind.
The next update is around technology. I am impressed with the amount of technology entering the green industry right now. We have a robotic mower revolution around the corner. Your average landscape company has four different software platforms they are using and even sprinklers are becoming “smart.” What does this mean for you as a landscaper? I think it means that you must be disciplined about what you choose to bring into your operation, while at the same time being strategically innovative on how to offer your client the best value through technology. The first to the party doesn’t always get the cake, take Blockbuster for instance. If you’re interested in learning more about landscape technology, I’ll be speaking in sunny Orlando, Florida February 19-20th at the Lawn and Landscape Technology Conference.
Is the cannabis industry affecting our workforce? Whether it’s now or later, the booming cannabis industry in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties will have an impact on us as landscapers. With our ideal climate and agriculture-focused economy, the cannabis industry is subject to increase by 10x in our area over the next five years. You may want to be prepared to fight a little harder for your labor.
A trend in our industry over the last five years is an increase in water usage awareness. We’ve recently had several strong producing winters, however, with the lack of storage and saltwater intrusion, our local water issues are only getting worse. Ratepayers will be paying substantially more in the coming years and the fines will only be increasing for over-watering. This means the attention will again be laser-focused on the landscaper’s use of water. Start now by installing procedures and values within your organization that focus on conserving water so you can stay ahead of the curve.
Is there a lack of quality contractors? I hear this from designers and owners alike. The pool of contractors who truly care about their reputation and work with integrity, is shrinking. I am proud to represent the CLCA as one of the leading industry associations whose members strive for craftsmanship, quality, and professionalism in everything they do. Its just another reason the CLCA is great for our industry! Can you differentiate from the competition by explaining to your client that you are a member of the CLCA and what that means?
Landscaping is becoming more expensive, and at a rapid rate! I have never seen the cost of doing landscaping increase so much and so quickly as in the last three years. From labor to materials to equipment, the cost of doing business seems to be spiking quicker than we can keep up with. There are plenty of opportunities out there right now, but are you increasing your prices as quick as your costs are climbing?
Government regulations, and a lot of them. I touched on this a few months ago and I hope some of you took advantage of the CLCA’s free, on-call lawyer. There have been many changes within our industry's laws and if you haven’t reviewed them recently, there is a good chance you may be out of compliance, so time for a check-up!
In conclusion, change and movement are abundant in our industry right now. I see every challenge as an opportunity for the CLCA to make a difference and set the standard. If you have comments, questions or ideas on this article please drop me an email at justin@kndlandscaping.com.
To our success,
Justin White
CEO, K&D Landscaping Inc.
justin@kndkandscaping.com
C: (831) 331-3476 │ O: (831) 728-4018
2020 Central Coast Chapter Partners for Success Program
Our Partners for Success Program is a win-win opportunity for suppliers and contractor members looking to increase their visibility in the community, and be seen as leaders in the green industry by helping sustain the many educational and enrichment offerings of our association. For more information, contact Justin White justin@kndkandscaping.com. Or, better still, go directly to our online registration! Join us!
PaRTNERS CORNER
Matt Gomez of Ewing Irrigation & Landscaping
This month Matt Gomez is featured in our “Partner’s Corner.” Read more here.
upcoming Event
Suppliers/New Members Night
Thursday, April 9, 2020 4:30-8:00 pm
The Seascape Golf Club in Aptos, CA
Save the date! Join us for the biggest, local tradeshow-style event in Santa Cruz. Local vendors from all over the central coast will show their products and services. Our industry will unite under one roof at The Seascape Golf Club in Aptos. You will want to RSVP. Suppliers/New Members Information & Registration Here.
This is one annual event not to be missed. Suppliers/Membership Night takes place at the beautiful Seascape Golf Course and is an evening when Partners, Associates, and community businesses display their wares, share expertise, and show us the latest in products. It’s an opportunity for our membership, new and old, to become informed of quality merchandise and available services. helping out companies compete in the marketplace.
We would like to welcome New Members for 2020!
Recent Event
Pour Taproom Mixer 2020
Thank you everyone for coming out for the meet and greet on Friday night 1/22 at Pour Taproom!
Craft beer, a little wine, some appetizers, a great way to kick off the new year with partners, associates and chapter members. “A wonderful chance to get to know each other, catch up, talk a little shop and become better friends. It’s these casual meetings we have as a chapter that create a good working environment within our community. It also allows us the opportunity of support, availability to ask questions of each other and provides a solid sense of professionalism for the landscape community.”—Tish O’Reilly
UCSC Arboretum Home Garden Tour 2019 & 2020
The UCSC Arboretum Home Garden tour was a big success this last spring, with eight small residential gardens ranging from the Santa Cruz Westside to Aptos. The individual homeowners did their own preparations, and the Arboretum Friends Board did an excellent job with organization, communication, set-up, direction of parking, and manned the tables at each of the gardens on the day of the event. It went very smoothly, and there were about 300 tickets sold. The gardens ranged from tightly designed urban spaces to larger lots that included edibles as well as ornamentals. Homeowners were delighted with the turnout and the opportunity to show their gardens to appreciative visitors. This year, the UCSC Arboretum would like to solicit gardens from among CLCA contractors’ clients and provide recognition for their work, hopefully to showcase larger properties that receive expert maintenance.
Please ask your clients, those who love to display their plants and designs, to consider being part of the 2020 event, we hope to have 5-6 gardens on the tour. The focus for the 2020 Home Garden Tour is “mountain properties”—from Bonny Doon to Soquel.
If you are interested in participating please contact Phil Dundas at The Landscape Company for more details.
Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference
The leading software and technology conference and trade show for the green industry
Justin White will be speaking at the Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference, Feb 19-21 in Orlando, Florida! Industry professionals who have successfully integrated software and technology into their companies to operate more efficiently will make presentations.
An exhibit floor will give attendees a chance to learn about the latest technological advancements and find out which are the best fits to help run their businesses.
Whether you are already investing heavily in technology, or curious to learn where to start, this conference and trade show will help you become more knowledgeable about a rapidly changing topic.
Lawn & Landscape Technology Conference…More
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January Board Meeting
Central Coast Chapter CLCA January Board Meeting
By Justin White
January 15, 2020, present: John David, Jerry Alison, Elise Huffman, Ki Bowman, Michael Johnson, Craig Stenehjem
Call to order by Justin White at 5:00 p.m. at the Pour Taproom, right before the New Year’s Kick-Off
Meeting Topics
1. Suppliers Night
2. Chapter Partner Program
Let’s all work to get more members to sign up for the chapter partner program. Craig is going to call everyone who signed up last year.
3. Educational Event
Let’ do something along the lines of a controller programming class that members can send their employees to. Michael will be looking for a date and location for this spring.
4. Beautification Awards Night
We will be having the award dinner at the Dream Inn again and it may need to be moved to a later date
5. Central Coast CLCA logo
Ki presented different iterations of the central coast CLCA logo, feedback was given and she will be bringing an updated logo to the next board meeting
6. Discussion about how to bring more value to members
It was discussed how to bring more value to our members and most feedback was around education and networking events
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m.