Calendar of Events

Now thru July 15, 2020
Pic Your Pic !

We’re reframing one of our favorite events of the year. Enter your Beautification-Award-deserving work online in 2020. It's easy. Just “Pic Your Pic” and share it. Show your strengths in woodworking, plant combination, irrigation, etc. It’s up to you, it doesn’t have to be a complete project just something you’re proud of.

Follow this link to learn more here about this fun & friendly challenge on our Facebook page!
Don’t have a Facebook account? Contact Katia Velasquez: katia.velasquez@netafim.com for more details or scroll down past the President’s Message and read the article in this newsletter.

June 4, Thursday
Maintaining Customer Relationships During the Corona Virus

Time: 4:30-5:30 pm
Location: online—FREE!

Build a better relationship with your customers. Account managers, project managers, new development managers and contractor owners can benefit from this class.

Contact Katia Velasquez for details at (831) 331-1874 or katia.velasquez@netafim.com

June 4, Thursday
Central Coast Chapter Board Meeting

will be held as a virtual meeting.

Contact Justin White for details at (831) 331-3476 or justin@kndlandscaping.com

July 2, Thursday
Central Coast Chapter Board Meeting

will be held as a virtual meeting.

Contact Justin White for details at (831) 331-3476 or justin@kndlandscaping.com

September 11, Friday
Golf Tournament

Time: 4:30-8:00 pm
Location: Spring Hills

More information will be coming soon. Contact Justin White at (831) 331-3476 or justin@kndlandscaping.com

** Our new Beautification Awards Banquet has been postponed until June 25, 2021 due to difficulty scheduling around the COVID virus.

June 2020 President’s Message

by Justin White, Chapter President, K&D Landscaping Company

“Forging Ahead”

It’s time to forge ahead. Everyone is painfully aware of where we are right this minute, but it’s time to talk about how we move forward as a country and a community. Use June 1st as a reset switch, a time to start a new chapter. A time to redefine what your 2020 goals are and what you want to accomplish. In the recent months we have given up on our goals, many of us switched to thinking of how to survive instead of how to thrive. We must look at the rest of this year as an opportunity to improve and to set a new standard. Don’t lose sight of those goals you set earlier in the year, you still have a chance to make them happen!

Many leading indicators including an increase in consumer spending and consumer confidence in May are pointing the way to a sharp increase in GDP over the next two months. According to the Commerce Department, personal income rose by 10.5% in April. During the same time, personal savings increased from an average of 12% of income to an average of 33% of income. This means that Americans made more money and saved more money in record numbers. 

It’s my opinion that these statistics will add up to a strong second half of 2020 for the central coast landscape community. The reasoning behind this being that when people spend more time at home, they spend more time in their landscape. That decision about calling the landscape contractor gets moved up the agenda ahead of that trip to Europe, or that new car. Because we have a strong financial influence from Silicon Valley, we are in a bit of a bubble here on the central coast, many companies like Zoom in San Jose or Looker in Santa Cruz are booming right now, leading to an increase in wealth. 

Many CLCA members received PPP funding and I have been inclined to continue my research and provide a summary in these newsletters. The biggest updates on PPP funding are:

• First samples of forgiveness paperwork are being provided. The forgiveness application is very complicated and will make the original loan app you did look like a walk in the park. Start working with your CPA and bank right now to make sure you have everything in line. 

• Time frame for use of funds will be extended beyond the 8-week spend limits, the final decision will be made next week when the senate resumes session but right now it will be somewhere between 16 weeks and 24 weeks, the senate wants 16 weeks, the house wants 24. 

• The employee count requirement is scheduled to get pushed out but there is no agreed upon date, probably will end up being similar to the 16- vs. 24-week window. 

• Loan term may be extended from 2 years to 10 years.

• The house wants to allow companies who received the funds to also take advantage of the tax deferral portion of the CARES act. Right now if you take PPP loan funds you can not defer taxes, payroll or otherwise.

Here at the Central Coast Chapter we are always looking for new ways to bring value to our members. And here is the next opportunity to improve you and your teams’ skills. CLCA Central Coast has teamed up with Katia Velasquez from Netafim to bring you a great webinar on how to maintain and improve your customer relationships. In a time like this, relationships are key, and in this webinar Katia is going to provide you with simple methods to make sure your relationships are stronger as we emerge from this. Tune in June 4th @ 4:30 pm, details of the webinar are included in this newsletter. 

Over the last month we have accomplished so much in the landscape industry; we are the first sector of our economy to open backup and we have been brought closer together as an organization. I just want to thank those of you who have spent your Wednesday afternoons on the Central Coast conference call. We have been blessed with educators like John Kern from MPC, manufacturers such as Jeremy Yearington from Hunter/FX and Katia Velasquez from Netafim, suppliers such as Craig Stenehjem from SiteOne and Matt Gomez from Ewing, some regulars from the contractor side are Phil Dundas, Scott Long, Gregory Miller, Kurt Christiansen and Regan Barry. A big thank you to those others who have joined in on our calls, too many to list here. I am excited about the strength and momentum our organization has and what the next month has in store for us. 

To your 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

This is a good time to support Central Coast’s Partners for Success Program. Joining provides an opportunity to increase your visibility in the community, to be seen as a leader 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

Jeff Calhoun of FX Luminaire

This month Jeff Calhoun is featured in our “Partner’s Corner.” Read more here.

— Santa Clara County Extension of Shelter-in-Place Orders —

Announcement from CLCA Executive Director, Sandra Giarde

Pertinent quotes from the full article:

“The seven Bay Area Public Health Officers who ordered a shelter in place in mid-March will extend the orders through May 31 while some restrictions are eased and tools to strengthen containment of COVID-19 are put into place.”

“All construction activities, certain businesses that operate primarily outdoors, and some outdoor activities will be allowed to resume with specific conditions.”

“These new Health Officer orders, which take effect May 4, cover everyone living or working in the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara as well as the City of Berkeley, an independent public health jurisdiction.”

“Under the new orders, all construction projects will be allowed to resume as long as the project complies with safety protocols included with the order.” 

“Certain outdoor businesses can also begin operating again, and people can visit those businesses to perform work or obtain goods, services, or supplies. This includes wholesale and retail nurseries, landscapers, gardeners, and other businesses that primarily provide outdoor services as set forth in the order.”

Find out about current shelter-in-place orders. Some have been extended, some lifted. See links for specific counties below:

Alameda County information here.
Contra CostA County information here.
Marin county information here.
San Benito County information here.
San Francisco bay AREA Information here.
San Mateo County information here.
Santa Clara County information here.
Santa Cruz County information here.

special announcement:

Landscape Maintenance Service Needed

The City of Carmel-by-the-Sea is soliciting bids from qualified contractors for landscape maintenance services. Link is provided here. https://ci.carmel.ca.us/pod/city-invitations-bids-and-requests-proposals

Advertise in the Central Coast Seascape Newsletter!

Advertising is now available for 2020 in our newsletter! Reach your target audience monthly. Sign up for large, medium, or small ads. For specs and pricing contact: clcaccc.editor@gmail.com. OR sign up online here.

Board Meeting Minutes

Central Coast Chapter CLCA April Board Meeting

By Ki Bowman
May 7, 2020, present at online zoom meeting: Justin White, Katia Valasquez, Regan Barry, Jeremy Yearton, Ki Bowman, Elise Huffman, John David, Craig Stenehjem, Andrew Tuckman, Gregory Miller

Call to order
by Justin White 12:05 p.m.

The April meeting minutes will be reviewed before the next newsletter.

Covid 19 Updates
Justin is putting together a sample template for state protocols specific to landscapers that can be posted in both the chapter newsletter and web site. Information will cover Santa Cruz and Monterey County mandates with links to San Benito and Santa Clara Counties. Other content may included links to required postings, FAQs re. PPP loans. Chapter conference calls on this subject will continue for the time being.

Education
Last webinar was found to be useful. Jeremy informed the group that an upcoming video may cover touchless irrigation. Regan added that a WELO series is also on the calendar. Regan suggested content relating to new ways of doing business in the new economy following the health crisis.

Newsletter/Website
Discussion about what articles are still needed for the next issue.

New Event Schedule
No events are currently planned until the Golf Tournament, Sept. 11 at Spring Hills. Beautification Awards 2021 will be held on July 15 at the Dream Inn.

Regan suggested that an interim virtual Beautification Awards competition could be held on Instagram. We could post a project a week, with 2-3 best photos of each submission. More planning will follow, with Ki and Elise collaborating on the social media outreach.

Justin encouraged the development of a LinkedIn account for the chapter, as it is very flexible for networking. Associate member features and/or contractor tips were suggested content.

Outreach
Chris Elliott stepped into the conversation to suggest the chapter’s involvement in a memorial installation for Vai Campbell of Soquel Creek Water District, who recently passed away. The board agreed to the idea and Chris will get more information from Sherry Lee Bryan, who is coordinating the project.

Adjournment 
The meeting was adjourned at 1:06 p.m.