“We are ecstatic to have helped so many of our clients capture 24% of the available stimulus grant money. This is the kind of make-a-difference success I originally became an engineer for,” says Kevin Wood, Vice President of M·E Companies and leader of the firm’s Water/Sewer Services Group. “The most exciting thing about the funded improvements is the far-reaching benefit they will have. We didn’t think about each project and client need in isolation, but rather strategized about how to get the most out of every stimulus dollar we applied for.”
 
An example of the firm’s approach to pitch projects that, combined, would ‘regionalize’ benefits is the Crooksville Waterline Extension project (ranked #7). The project will connect the Village of Crooksville’s existing water distribution system to the Burr Oak Regional Water District’s Water Treatment Plant, which will also be improved with stimulus dollars (the project ranked #4).
 
We have always set out to assist communities improve the quality of life of residents and we are proud to have been able to do so in such a real way,” Wood says.   M•E also assisted communities in obtaining funding for sewer projects, including the following:
 

Project & Community/Owner	Grant Amount	Loan Amount
New Sanitary Sewer Lines Noble County Commissioners	$5,000,000	$4,100,000
New Sanitary Sewer Lines Village of Harrisburg	$1,070,897.50	$750,000
WWTP Demolition & Sanitary Sewer Franklin County Sanitary Engineer	$1,045,000	$400,000
WWTP Improvements Tuppers Plains Chester-Water District	$151,500	$50,500
Subtotal	$7,267,397.50	$5,300,500

M·E Companies Awards Scholarships to Future Engineering Students (May 2009)
KAYLA LUZADDER of New Lexington High School (Perry County) and TODD WILLIAMS of Philo High School (Muskingum County) will each receive a $2,000 scholarship from M·E Companies toward their college tuition this fall. Luzadder plans on studying welding engineering at The Ohio State University - Newark, and Williams will study engineering at Ohio University - Athens. M·E's 2009 Scholarship Program received 167 applications from high school seniors in southeastern Ohio counties. This is the seventh year M·E has awarded the scholarships. Ohio University, as an independent third party, reviewed the qualified applications and recommended the recipients.   

M·E Hosts Future City Competition (January 2009)
For the sixth consecutive year, M·E Companies served as the local host for the National Engineers Week Future City Competition™—Ohio Region. Teams from 19 Ohio middle schools, and more than 30,000 students in 1,100 schools in 40 regions nationwide participated at this year's competition held January 17, 2009.
 
Five schools were awarded medals in the competition in addition to 15 special awards. The first place team receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to represent the Ohio Region at the national finals, February 18-20, during National Engineers Week. The top five teams:
 
First Place – Bexley Middle School, Bexley
Second Place – Immaculate Conception Academy, Norwood
Third Place – Batavia Middle School, Batavia
Fourth Place – St Vincent de Paul, Mt Vernon
Fifth Place – Vatican Academy Homeschool, Sunbury
 
The Best Map special award, sponsored by M·E, went to:  
 
First Place – Anna Middle School, Anna
Honorable Mention – Great Western Academy, Columbus
 
The competition invites teams of 7th and 8th graders to create a city of the future using SimCity™ software, creating a map, and building a 3-D model of it. Students also write an abstract describing their city and an essay pertaining to the year's topic. Teams are judged on their oral presentation about the city, computer design and map, model, essay and abstract.   

First "Super Street" Intersection Designed in Ohio (October 2008)
M·E has designed the first "Super Street" intersection in Ohio in association with the S.R. 4 Bypass widening for the Butler County Transportation Improvement District (BCTID). The use of traditional widening techniques (short of a full interchange) would result in an unacceptable level of service (LOS) in the 2030 design year on S.R. 4B from the interchange with S.R. 129 to the intersection with Dixie Highway. Therefore, alternative design methods were considered to reach and maintain an acceptable LOS for projected traffic volumes.  

What Exactly is a "Super Street"? The "Super Street" intersection design improves operation on the main road by reducing stops for through traffic on the major road and delay for left turns onto the minor road. The "Super Street" design eliminates movements or signal phases from the minor road. This allows the intersections to operate more efficiently by overlapping turning movements. Traffic on the minor road cannot proceed straight through the intersection and is instead redirected to 1) take a right onto the major road, 2) make a U-turn through a median crossover, and 3) turn right to proceed on the minor road (see graphic). Because this type of intersection design decreases delay time at the signals on the major road and only slightly increases the signal delay for the minor road traffic, this design is most appropriate for intersections where the major road experiences high through volumes and the minor road lower through volumes. States using some form of "Super Street" design include Michigan, North Carolina, and Maryland.

S.R. 4 Bypass Widening Project - The project involves converting this two-lane state route into a four-lane facility. The "Super Street" design is being considered for three locations along the corridor, including the S.R. 4B/Symmes Road intersection. The BCTID and ODOT will study "Super Street" installations at other locations out of state before work begins on S.R. 4B to assess and minimize potential problems. In addition, the BCTID, ODOT, and the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce will cooperate in educating the public on the new traffic pattern and issuing frequent communications regarding project progress.

Click here to view a video illustrating the Super Street intersection design, courtesy of the Ohio Department of Transportation District 8. 
 

M·E's Client Newsletter Available Online (October 2008)
In M·E's Fall issue of The Innovator:

• M·E Designs Ohio’s First “Super Street”
  
• New & Ongoing Project Highlights
  
• Staff Additions & New Certifications
  
• Upcoming Events
  
• The Start of a Transportation Coalition
  
• Building Engineers of the Future & more ...

Download the Fall 2008 issue.  

M·E Designs First Operating MIEX® Water Treatment Plant in Ohio (July 2008)
The MIEX® system at Burr Oak’s water treatment plant is the first operational system of its kind in Ohio, and the tenth in the United States. M·E Companies has worked with the Burr Oak Regional Water District for several years, and recently helped them complete installation of the MIEX® system to come into compliance with the Ohio EPA’s Stage 1 Disinfection Byproducts Rules. The system went into operation the first week of May. M·E’s responsibilities included assistance in negotiating a contract with the equipment manufacturer, detailed design, and construction administration. The MIEX® system by Orica Watercare is a new, innovative, pretreatment process technology that reduces dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from raw water, thus reducing Disinfection Byproducts (DBPs). DBPs are regulated by the EPA and some are considered carcinogenic. The MIEX® resin has also been effective in the reduction of sulfide, nitrate, and arsenic by as much as 70%. The name MIEX® comes from "Magnetic Ion Exchange" — the ion exchange resin beads contain a magnetized component that allows the beads to act as weak individual magnets.

The District chose to install the MIEX® system at their existing surface water treatment plant to reduce DOC levels and ultimately reduce trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), while design and funding acquisition is ongoing for their new groundwater treatment plant. The project had an accelerated timetable in order for the District to receive a permit-to-install and complete construction to meet the Ohio EPA’s compliance schedule. The District’s staff completed the installation of the MIEX® system, as well as the necessary piping and pumps to connect the system to their existing facilities.

The Burr Oak Regional Water District is located in Athens County and provides bulk potable water to 16 satellite systems and nearly 23,000 customers within Athens, Hocking, Morgan, and Perry counties. For more information on the MIEX® system, CALL our New Lexington office at 740-342-6695 ext. 221. 

M·E's Client Newsletter Available Online (July 2008)
In M·E's Spring issue of The Innovator:

• First Operating Miex® Plant in Ohio
• Sewer Model Provides Insight for Development
• M·E a Team Player in Community Development
• Acquisition Key in New Corridor
• M·E a Partner in Complete Streets
• Forefront of GIS Technology Update
• New Endangered Species Web Site

Download the Spring 2008 issue.   

M·E Companies Awards Scholarships to Future Engineering Students (May 2008)
MATTHEW GUSLER of Pickerington High School North (Fairfield County) and JESSICA ROCKWELL of Sheridan High School (Perry County) will each receive a $2,000 scholarship from M·E Companies toward their college tuition this fall. Gusler plans on studying engineering at Purdue University and Rockwell will study aerospace engineering at The Ohio State University or Virginia Tech. M·E's 2008 Scholarship Program received 106 applications from high school seniors in southeastern Ohio counties. This is the sixth year M·E has awarded the scholarships. Ohio University, as an independent third party, reviewed the qualified applications and recommended the receipients. 

M·E Becomes a Partner of the National Complete Streets Coalition (April 2008)
"Complete Streets" (a term coined by the America Bikes Board) accommodate the need for an integrated, connected street network that serves all of its users, including motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. The idea is not revolutionary in concept, it only makes sense that streets be designed to cater to everyone using them, but the reality validates the need to pay closer attention to the streets we travel. Does your street have sidewalks and/or crosswalks? Does it have a bike and/or bus lane? Are there wide shoulders and/or refuge medians? These are only a few features of complete streets often missing in our neighborhoods.

M·E is now a proud Bronze Partner of the National Complete Streets Coalition, a diverse coalition of more than 50 organizations, including AARP, the League of American Bicyclists, the American Public Transportation Association, and the American Planning Association, among others. The coalition supports complete streets policies across the country, including the recent Senate Bill S. 2696 (3/3/08), The Complete Streets Act of 2008, promoting street design that is safe for all users.

In addition to improved safety for all users, a few key benefits of complete streets include:

• Economic growth as a result of a balanced transportation network, reduced travel cost and time, and increased property values.
• Public health improvement as a result of street features that encourage users to engage in a more active lifestyle (walking/biking), as well as improved air quality from reduced motor vehicle use.
• Reduced congestion as a result of additional travel choices.

Visit www.completestreets.org for additional information on the National Complete Streets Coalition.

M·E Enhances GIS Capabilities (February 2008)
A geographic information system (GIS) allows users to create, store, integrate, edit, analyze and share geographically-referenced data. Any information that can be located spatially by X, Y, Z coordinates (longitude, latitude and elevation) or by other geographic data such as zip codes and mile markers, can be fed into a GIS. Data entered into a GIS from any number of sources can then be transformed, transferred, integrated, overlaid, processed and displayed in many different formats that make the information easier to interpret, analyze, and share. M·E combines the power of a GIS with trained experts who can manipulate the software to create precise visual mapping that “speaks more than a thousand words.” The maps they produce can be used to display current conditions at specific locations (such as a transportation corridor or a site to be developed), as well as to forecast or model future conditions based on any number of variables (such as planned improvements or environmental changes).
 
In an effort to stay at the forefront of GIS technology, M·E has joined ESRI's Business Partner Program. The ESRI Business Partner Program is a network of more than 2,000 domestic and international developers, consultants, data partners, value-added resellers, authorized instructors, and authorized partner education centers that, utilizing ESRI technology, provide solutions and training to meet the GIS needs of every industry. Working together, ESRI* and its business partners solve business problems with new software applications, data, value-added services, and training.
 
Through participation in ESRI's Business Partner Program, M·E staff will stay up to date and receive training on new and developing technology, have access to the latest GIS software, and be connected to other program partners leading the GIS industry. In short, M·E will be better able to help our clients’ GIS needs, from software research, to training and implementation. 
 
In addition, M·E has a GIS professional certified by the GIS Certification Institute (GISCI**), one of less than 2,000 certified professionals in the world. Mr. Rodney Saylor, GISP, has the knowledge and expertise to match GIS vast capabilities to clients’ project-specific needs.
 
* Founded in 1969, ESRI (www.esri.com) is the world leader in the GIS software industry. ESRI offers innovative solutions that help users create, manage, analyze, and display information to make timely decisions and solve problems they encounter every day. ESRI’s comprehensive product line ranges from desktop GIS to GIS for the enterprise.
 
** The GIS Certification Institute (www.gisci.org) is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit organization that provides the geographic information systems (GIS) community with a complete certification program. GISCI offers participants from the first early years on the job until retirement a positive method of developing value for professionals and employers in the GIS profession.
 
Trademarks provided under license from ESRI.
 

M·E Hosts Future City Competition (January 2008)
For the fifth consecutive year, M·E Companies served as the local host for the National Engineers Week Future City Competition™—Ohio Region. Teams from 30 Ohio middle schools, and more than 30,000 students in 1,100 schools in 38 regions nationwide participated at this year's competition held January 19, 2008.
 
Five schools were awarded medals in the competition in addition to 15 special awards. The first place team receives an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to represent the Ohio Region at the national finals, February 18-20, during National Engineers Week. The top five teams:
 
First Place – Heritage Middle School, Westerville
Second Place – Genoa Middle School, Westerville
Third Place – Felicity-Franklin Middle School, Felicity
Fourth Place – Arbor Hills Junior High, Sylvania
Fifth Place – Anna Local Schools, Anna
 
The Best Map special award, sponsored by M·E, went to:  
 
First Place – Arbor Hills Jr High, Sylvania
Honorable Mention – Genoa Middle School, Westerville and Heritage Middle School, Westerville
 
The competition invites teams of 7th and 8th graders to create a city of the future using SimCity™ software, creating a map, and building a 3-D model of it. Students also write an abstract describing their city and an essay pertaining to the year's topic. Teams are judged on their oral presentation about the city, computer design and map, model, essay and abstract.