Calendar of Events

May 13, Wednesday
Minimize the Impact on Your Landscaping Business and Build Toward a Stronger Future Webinar

Time: 1:00-2:00 pm
Location: online—FREE!

We’re currently facing a global situation that none of us have experienced before, but humanity is resilient and will come through stronger than ever.

Some business owners may be looking for ways to minimize the impact of social distancing on their businesses, and even get a few suggestions on how to build their processes now to hit the ground running when restrictions are lifted.

Join DynaSCAPE’s Aman Singh and special guest Justin White, CEO of K&D Landscaping, for a free webinar in which they’ll discuss cash flow management, technology & learning, the importance of leadership, communication and a dedicated company culture, and ultimately how to navigate through these challenges to come out of this bigger and stronger.

For further information please contact Justin White at: justin@kndlandscaping.com

Link for registration here.

May 13, Wednesday
Irrigation Controller Webinar

Time: 1:30-2:30 pm
Location: online—FREE!

Hunter Industries will be hosting a FREE hour long webinar for CLCA members. Attendees will learn how to present a no-touch solution for today’s customer! We will talk cloud software, wifi hardware, and all the parts and pieces that go with it.  

For further information please contact Jeremy Yearton at: jeremy.yearton@hunterindustries.com

Link for registration here.

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.

However, watch this space for information on our “VIRTUAL BEAUTIFICATION AWARDS Competition.” **

May 2020 President’s Message

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

We are back! Thanks to the hard work and effort of many companies, associations and individuals, we are officially able to resume our landscape operations as of May 3rd. The CLCA spearheaded in a coordinated effort with NALP to convince our state and local officials to allow us to reopen for business. A big thanks to our State President Regan Barry and Executive Director Sandra Giarde for leading the charge and bringing us together. Opening early comes with a responsibility; we must ensure our crews are trained and following updated safety protocols. There are new safety protocols coming out daily, so make sure you bookmark your county’s Covid-19 website page to stay in the know. For instance, Santa Clara County has a SCP-protocol (small construction project) in place which requires every job site to have a Covid-19 site supervisor, daily screening of employees including temperature checks, and several more protocols that will all be enforced. If you have any questions with local jurisdictions, please reach out to our on-call CLCA Lawyer who can help sift through your specific situation. 

PPP: With changing laws and contradicting statements between the SBA & IRS, many businesses are still left confused and unfunded. Larger banks have seemingly fumbled the opportunity, where the smaller banks picked up the slack. I think this bodes that small-town county banks are still the best option for our banking needs. The SBA continues to issue guidance on an almost weekly basis during this rollout, and as of today, there is still a lot of uncertainty around the loan's ability to be forgiven. The basics state you must spend at least 75% of the loan on payroll and no more than 25% on utilities and rent. You have to cap payroll expenses at $100k per annum (excluding payroll taxes, group healthcare, retirement or other non-cash benefits). To qualify for 100% forgiveness, you must have 100% of your employees back to work by June 30, 2020 based on your employee count from either Jan 1, 2020 through Feb 29, 2020 or Feb 15, 2019 through June 30, 2019. There is a lot of discussion around fraud and taking the loan when you don’t need it, the statement you must certify is that: current economic uncertainty makes this loan request necessary to support the ongoing operations of the Applicant.”  I recommend you hold a meeting with your owners and discuss the need for the loan, take thorough notes and file that somewhere secure, as you may need those notes if your business gets audited. Additional FAQs are available on the SBA’s website. 

Brightview: In June of 2018, Brightview Holdings went public on the New York Stock Exchange. Since then I have been following their stock pricing and attending quarterly earnings calls. On May 6th, 2020 they held their FY Q2 earnings call where they reported a single-digit loss in revenue for the second quarter (most companies’ first quarter). The loss in revenue was due to a record low snowfall of 52% of the 10-year average, my guess is most landscape companies in California had a profitable Q1 as good weather actually helps our operations. In a dramatic statement to investors, Brightview pulled their financial guidance for the rest of the year, essentially confessing they are uncertain what will happen over the next six months. Their CEO, Andrew Masterman, did say they expect a “mid-single-digit” decline in FY Q3 2020 based on last year’s numbers. The most uncertainty comes from their ancillary services (add-ons/enhancements) of their maintenance clients, as this is where they are most profitable and this is where clients tend to cut during a recession. The bright side is that their acquisition strategy is still very strong and they announced the close of multiple deals over the last 90 days including Signature Coast in Napa, Four Seasons in GA, and Summit in SC, with the addition of dozens of other deals in the works. Executive Vice Presient and CFO John Feenan focused much of his time discussing free cash flow and explained that Brightview holds about $235M in liquidity. I believe the message he was trying to convey is that they have enough “cash” to weather the coming storm, even though they’re unsure how bad it will be. Overall, the presentation lacked much information on how they are handling Covid-19 and what their strategy will be going forward. The next call is in August and will be announced on the BrightView website. 

Membership: The CLCA is growing in popularity thanks to the hard work of our volunteers and staff. During the Covid-19 crisis, the CLCA has been a beacon of light providing updates and resources to the general landscape industry. We are seeing an increase in membership as non-member companies are finding value in joining. The CLCA offers so many benefits to members and I encourage you to visit the state website to learn more. 

Recession? The CLCA had a great webinar on the “coming recession” which is available on their website. No one knows what the future holds but based on all data points our country’s GDP contracted in Calendar year Q1, and is expected to retract again in Q2, it’s no surprise that in this current state our GDP would plummet. As you may know, a recession is two consecutive quarters of reduced GDP.  So yes, we will most likely be in a “recession” by July 1st, but it won’t be like ’08 or 01’; this will be different and there will still be opportunities. Education and preparation is now a competitive advantage, be smart with your resources and make sure you know where your business stands. If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know your business. Right now I encourage you to evaluate your cash position, review your current bank loans and your access to capital. Make sure your business can operate for at least three months without receiving a dollar in income, but ideally, shoot for six months. The best time to ask for money is when you don't need it. Don't forget: “cash is king” — you can't spend profits, only CASH. 

I want to close by saying thank you to everyone who has been participating in our weekly conference calls. I’ve personally received vital information and helpful resources out of the calls, and as plus I’m getting to know some of you better. I greatly appreciate the support system that contributes to making the CLCA so valuable. If you are interested in getting onto the call, please drop me an email at justin@kndlandscaping.com.

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 Henninger of Delta Bluegrass

This month Delta Bluegrass’ Jeff Henninger 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.

Education Corner

Beautification Project on Bridge Street in Watsonville 

by Michael Johnson

The long, wide medians that run down the middle of Bridge Street in Watsonville have been a bit of an eyesore for many years. Once lush lawns interspersed with Mayten trees (Maytensus boaria) had become overrun with weeds and trash. The 40+ year-old sprinkler system was constantly spraying water onto the street and was often in need of repair. It was time for change.

Fortunately, the City of Watsonville agreed to fund a three-year, multi-phase re-landscaping project to beautify the 22 foot wide medians with the help of several CLCA member businesses. The first phase was completed in March 2019 along the northern medians. Phase two was implemented between April 27 and May 7 as California began to include landscaping as an essential service during the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place order. The Assistant Director of Parks and Community Service at the City of Watsonville, Ben Heistein, collaborated with Sherry Bryan of California H2orticulture Services to create a gorgeous low-water use landscape design that includes Correa ‘Coral Beauty,’ Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips,’ Heterotheca villosa ‘San Bruno Mountain,’ and Lomandra longifolia ‘Breeze.’ The plants were chosen to be low growing for pedestrian and vehicular traffic safety and to provide year-round color and interest.

Sherry and Ben also worked together to create a drip irrigation system design to efficiently provide summer supplemental water to the new plants without watering the street. Chris Elliot, Aqua Green Landscape Irrigation, removed the antiquated sprinkler system and installed new valves, backflow prevention device (RPZ), and mainlines for the system along with a six-station Hunter Node to operate each zone. The drip lateral lines and emitters were installed by Corpsmembers from the California Conservation Corps (CCC) Monterey Bay Center.

The CCC crew provided most of the heavy lifting for the project, including spreading compost (2 inches thick), laying cardboard over the compost, installing 800 plants, and applying and spreading over 200 yards of mulch (6 inches thick). The compost and first layer of woodchip mulch was applied by Jet Mulch. Multiple people stopped to take pictures and videos of the truck spreading the mulch down the medians. I guess they’ve never seen a semi-truck with a large pipe spewing mulch onto a landscape. The rest of the mulch was delivered by Vision Recycling and spread the hard way, with wheelbarrows and rakehoes, after the plants were installed. This method of sheet-mulching reduces time spent removing grass and weeds from the landscape and smothers them without chemical applications. The cardboard decomposes in less than one year. Then, the mulch and mature plants shade the soil to drastically reduce weed seed germination. Ultimately this reduces labor and energy used for mowing, weeding, and irrigating the old weed-infested lawn, while beautifying the community with climate-appropriate plants that provide habitat and food for many beneficial insect and bird species.  

Several community members expressed their gratitude for the much-needed improvements. One resident delivered popsicles, another delivered doughnuts and water, and one resident made a wonderful sign expressing her appreciation and support for all of the workers involved. This was a fun and inspirational project to work on. The next time you’re in Watsonville, take a slow drive or stroll down Bridge Street and enjoy the new landscape.

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 Phil Dundas, Secretary
April 2, 2020, present online zoom meeting: Justin White, Craig Stenehjem, Phil Dundas, Katia Velasquez, Elise Huffman, Ki Bowman, and others

Call to order
by Justin White 12:04 p.m.

• Introductions and quick good news (10 seconds each!)
• March meeting minutes approved by all

Covid-19 Updates
• What does this mean for our chapter and future events?
—At this time it was decided to cancel all future events leading up to the golf tournament. The golf tournament is planned at Spring Hills but it’s uncertain if we will be able to have it.

Event Schedule
• Spring Mixer cancelled
• Spring Education event cancelled
• Suppliers Night moved to October 8, 2020
• Beautification Awards moved to July 15, 2021

Golf – Matt Gomez
• The event will be at Spring Hills Golf Club. It will be cheaper than last year.
• Scheduled for 9/10 or 9/11

Adjournment 
The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 p.m.