President's Message (posted 5/5/10)
by James C. Tibbett, R.L.S. (email)

My column this issue will focus on the Right of Entry bill considered by the Indiana legislature, surveying equipment contributed to Vincennes University, the new ISPLS office location, input from ISPLS members to the Board of Directors, sage advice from my father, and some personal reflections on my work as my hobby.

For the second consecutive year a bill to permit Indiana land surveyors the right of entry onto private property failed to pass the Indiana House of Representatives. The bill previously had passed the Indiana Senate by an overwhelming vote of 45 to 3. The Realtors Association voiced opposition to the bill on philosophical grounds relating to property rights. This opposition apparently carried weight with the House. Indiana law permits right of entry for county surveyors and for employees of the Indiana Department of Transportation, but not for private land surveyors. The practice of most Indiana land surveyors is to advise property owners of the need to cross private property to discover the best evidence for sectional control. For property owners not at home my company’s practice is to hang a note on the property owner’s door stating that we are conducting a boundary survey and find the need to cross the owner’s property to gather sectional control monumentation. We include the name and address of our company. The Right of Entry bill will be submitted to the Indiana legislature at its next session. At a hearing on the bill ISPLS member David L. Gaston, L.S., presented our position on the right of entry issue to the Realtors Association and to the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns. Gaston reviewed the history of the issue and provided a brief summary of surveying concepts involved.

The Indiana Association of Cities and Towns and Realtors  emphasized that the proposed right of entry statute will permit land surveyors access to highly secure areas, including water treatment facilities, military bases, and land of pharmaceutical manufacturers. An amendment requested by Homeland Security to exempt Class I structures was called into question by committee members because a term broadly interpreted included apartments and townhouses.

On March 4, 2010 the Vincennes University Surveying Alumni Foundation (VUSAF) presented the Vincennes University Surveying Program (VUSP) with three Topcon GTS-235W total stations complete with tripods, prisms, and targets having a market value of $25,000. Thanks to seed money provided in 2007 by ISPLS and the ISPLS Southwest Chapter the total value of surveying equipment supplied to the VUSP is $55,000. Currently the balance in the VUSAF is $14,500. I hope that this program will eventually be extended to all Indiana schools of higher education having surveying programs. The VUSP now has for use by its students a laser scanner, a robotic total station and other GPS equipment financed also in part by other grants and VU funding. With both two-year and four-year programs in place the addition of this high tech surveying equipment will promote greater interest in the VUSP.

The ISPLS Board of Directors (BOD) voted to relocate the ISPLS office from its present location at 8325 S. Emerson Avenue, Suite B-2, Indianapolis, IN 46237.  The new, modern building will provide easy access from I-65 via County Line Road or from the East Southport Road exit. The new location will provide space for small group seminars and workshops. Parking will be available outside the ground floor entry. Other professional organizations also occupy the building. Outdoor signage will identify  ISPLS. Another  important feature is the unit’s modern wiring that will meet our current and future computer needs. The date for the move to the new location will be announced soon.

Charles M. Coyle, Jr. L.S., President Elect, is now providing on list-serv a summary of BOD meeting minutes. We urge ISPLS members to keep abreast of ISPLS activities through list-serv. We solicit your ideas, concerns, and recommendations relating to ISPLS. The BOD will address your comments at future BOD meetings. The ISPLS Past Presidents Council (PPC), currently chaired by Daniel G. Kovert, P.E., L.S., ISPLS immediate past president, provides help and guidance to the current ISPLS administration.

Recently Randall D. Miller, L.S. in a letter to the BOD and the PPC recommended six areas for ISPLS involvement. Several of the recommendations will require long-term planning. In his letter Miller stated, “I cannot express my concern enough to you that ISPLS must take a harder look at protecting its profession. Our methodology has been to have a full-time lobbyist. I and others have agreed with the initiative. However, we have become extremely entrenched in that effort and not focused on some very important practical day to day issues.” We agree with the ideas and suggestions he outlined. However, to achieve solutions will require time and long-range planning by the BOD.

With the advent of spring our work loads begin to increase. We have the opportunity to bid on new projects. My father once told me, “Son, if you get all the jobs you bid on, you are bidding too cheap. There is no way one company can do it all.” Even though the real estate market is showing signs of life, in Southern Indiana the progress is still at a slow pace. The Edwardsport Power Plant is the one large project under way in this area. My company completed its part of the project last year. Economic recovery will be slow in coming, perhaps not for four to five years.

Now on a personal note I’ve found myself searching for a hobby as I near the fifty-year mark. I’ve tried hiking, golf, walking, woodworking, and quad-biking on mountain trails. These efforts have been to no avail. My wife Kimberly and I have a son enrolled in the VUSP and a daughter in her junior year at Linton High School. Recently my wife and I drove to Terre Haute one evening for dinner. During the 45-minute drive I talked about my company’s current and upcoming projects. My conversation focused on my work and not about our family. It was simply about my work as a surveyor. I apologized for dominating the conversation. Then I said that I needed a hobby. My wife then turned to me and said that I didn’t need to find a hobby because I already had one. My work as a surveyor was my hobby. She observed that I loved what I did as a surveyor. It was my hobby whether I knew it or not. It’s great to have an understanding wife who accepts the fact  that perhaps I spend more time with my occupation and not enough time with those I love.

My final comment is to wish all ISPLS members GOOD LUCK as you wrestle with these difficult economic times.

James C. Tibbett, R.L.S.
ISPLS President