GardenFest Returns To Bakersfield College April 9

March 2011
UPCOMING EVENTS
APRIL 7
Chapter Board Meeting. 11:30 a.m. Don
Pericos, Hageman Road, Contact Carl
Caldwell at (661) 399-3600.
APRIL 8 & 9
Garden Fest, Bakersfield College at
Bakersfield College Environmental
Horticulture Arboretum. See at right.
APRIL 11-12
Construction Industry Legislative Conference, Sacramento. Contact Larry Rholfes
at 800-448-2522.
APRIL 15 & 16
Chapter Awards Judging. Contact Javier
Lesaca at (661) 836-0229.
MAY 5
Chapter Board Meeting. 11:30 a.m. Don
Pericos, Hageman Road, Contact Carl
Caldwell at (661) 399-3600.
MAY 13
Vendor Fair, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Beach
Park. Javier Lesaca (661) 836-0229.
JUNE 2
Chapter Board Meeting. 11:30 a.m. Don
Pericos, Hageman Road, Contact Carl
Caldwell at (661) 399-3600.
JULY 7
Chapter Board Meeting. 11:30 a.m. Don
Pericos, Hageman Road, Contact Carl
Caldwell at (661) 399-3600.
JULY 13-16
CLCA Summer Meeting, Embassy Suites,
Mandalay Bay Resort, Oxnard. Visit
www.clca.us/summer
AUGUST 4
Chapter Board Meeting. 11:30 a.m. Don
Pericos, Hageman Road, Contact Carl
Caldwell at (661) 399-3600.
NOVEMBER 16-19
CLCA Annual Convention, Maui, Hawaii.
Visit www.clca.us/convention.
GardenFest
Returns To
Bakersfield
College April 9
Garden Fest, now in its 7th year, has become Bakersfield’s premiere springtime
garden event. Garden Fest will be held April 9, and is an open house featuring the
Environmental Horticulture and Agriculture programs at the college. The event
draws thousands of visitors to the Bakersfield College campus for family fun.
In 2005, the BC Environmental Horticulture program held a plant sale called,
the “Environmental Horticulture Plant Sale” -- not too catchy. The following year
the name Garden Fest was adopted and the event had 8 participants. Each year the
event has grown larger and more popular and now attracts over 150 participants
with vendor booths featuring gardening, pets, farmer’s market, cooking, outdoor
leisure, arts and crafts, and environmentally friendly home improvement ideas.
The Garden Fest Country Garden Seminars will be presented at the California
Landscape Contractors Association (CLCA) Country Garden Stage hosted by
Dale Edwards, “The Sultan of Sod” and Lindsay Ono, “The Plant Professor.”
Along with Dale and Lindsay, industry professionals will inform attendees about
gardening, floral design, pet care, cooking and more. Plus, learn about ponds at
Buck’s Build-A-Pond live installation seminar.
Last year’s vendor booths included nursery, landscape, pet, and home improvement businesses, community gardening clubs, schools, Bakersfield College clubs
and organizations, community organizations, forestry, parks and recreation, arts
and crafts vendors, and green organizations. Garden Fest also features a farmer’s
market anchored by BC Renegade Ranch and Murray Family Farms. Fresh food
prepared by the outstanding BC Culinary
Arts Department will be available throughout the day. This year, Garden Fest will be
expanding the outdoor leisure section introducing RV’s and travel.
And, for the car enthusiast, the “Mean
and Green Car Show” is back. This event
features muscle cars and and industry produced hybrid automobiles.
Proceeds from event entries support
BC scholarships and program funding. For more information, become a friend of
Garden Fest or the BC Ag Ambassadors on Facebook or visit our website:
www2.bakersfieldcollege.edu/gardenfest or call Sally Sterns at (661) 395-4446.
2011 Kern County
Chapter Board of Directors
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
WAYNE COX
(661) 589-9516
Century Landscape Inc.
[email protected]
PRESIDENT
CARL CALDWELL
Coastline Equipment
[email protected]
(661) 399-3600
TREASURER
RYAN HERDT
(661) 325-9530
Ewing Irrigation Products
[email protected]
SECRETARY
MEGAN RIOS
(661) 325-9259
Rios Design Studio
[email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT
OLGA SEE
(661) 325-8186
O. See-Em-Bloom
[email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT COMMUNICATIONS
CHRIS HERNANDEZ
(559) 292-5302
John Deere Landscapes
[email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT EDUCATION
LINDSAY ONO
(661) 395-4938
Bakersfield College
[email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT MEMBERSHIP
ED DANIELS
(661) 869-2590
Innovative Landscape
[email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT PROGRAMS/EVENTS
JERRY KOOP
(661) 363-6639
Alpha & Omega Gardening
[email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
TOM JONES
(661) 326-3148
City of Bakersfield Recreation and Parks
[email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT ASSOCIATE
MEMBER REPRESENTATIVE
DALE EDWARDS
(661) 397-7611
Old River Sod
[email protected]
CHAPTER LEGISLATIVE CHAIR
JIM RIOS
(661) 325-9259
Rios Design Studio
[email protected]
AWARDS & VENDOR FAIR CHAIR
JAVIER LESACA
(661) 836-0229
Lesaca Landscape Company
[email protected]
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
JERRIE BEARD
(530) 321-1701
Beard & Associates fax (530) 621-2043
[email protected]
The CLCA Kern County Chapter newsletter is published monthly. Copy and advertising deadlines
are the 10th of the month preceding publication.
Materials may be mailed to: Beard & Associates,
PO Box 7, Pollock Pines, CA 95726. Emailed submissions are also welcome at [email protected]. For information on advertising and
rates, contact Jerrie Beard at (530) 621-1701.
2
• March 2011
CLCA State Headquarters
1491 River Park Drive, Ste. 100
Sacramento CA 95815-8899
(916) 830-2780 • (800) 448-2522
(916) 830-2788 Fax
email: [email protected]
2011 CLCA State
Executive Board
PRESIDENT
Robert Wade
Wade Landscape Inc.
[email protected]
(949) 413-6839
PRESIDENT ELECT
Eric Watanabe
(818) 831-1390
Majestic Pools & Landscapes Inc.
[email protected]
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Bill Schnetz
(760) 591-3453
Schnetz Landscape Inc.
[email protected]
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Ted Sandrowski
(530) 345-6101
Sandrowski Landscaping Inc.
[email protected]
DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Chuck Carr
(818) 300-0176
Carr Landscape Management Inc.
[email protected]
DIRECTOR OF CHAPTER SERVICES
Kevin Fairchild
(714) 541-1000
Illumiscapes TLC
[email protected]
DIRECTOR OF EVENTS
Michael Hertzer
(800) 761-9191
Modern Landscaping Inc.
[email protected]
DIRECTOR OF LEGISLATION
Shari Collins
(805) 552-9457
Verdant Landscaping
[email protected]
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Steve Jacobs CLP, CLT (760) 945-4321
Nature Designs Landscaping
[email protected]
DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP
Javier Lesaca
(661) 836-0229
Lesaca Landscape Company
[email protected]
DIR. OF RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Frank Niccoli
(650) 592-9440
The Village Gardener
[email protected]
From the President:
Carl Caldwell, Coastline Equipment
It looks like spring may be on the way. We’re
starting to see some changes in the weather. I
hope you’re all gearing up for a productive
spring season.
I would like to thank everyone who attended
the home show last month and especially to
our members who went above and beyond to
man our booth. Thank you also to those who donated the
materials to make our booth look nice. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. It was a great show except for the uncooperative
weather on Friday. We had a number of people come by who
expressed an interest in becoming new members. And, we
were able to educate the public on the importance of hiring
licensed landscape contractors and promote our member
contractors.
Our March meeting at Reimer’s Nursery was great. Dave
Reimer always puts out a great spread, and his nursery is
ready for spring. Lots of beautiful new plants are ready to
plant. Thank you also to our other speaker, Jerrie Beard, who
provided us with great information on creating a web
presence for our companies.
On April 11-12, CLCA state will be hosting their annual
grass roots training and legislative conference in Sacramento.
If you would like more information, contact me or call Larry
Rohlfes at state at (800) 448-2522.
I hope you have all submitted your entries to our chapter
Beautification Awards. You can download the entry form and
sponsorship information from our chapter website at
www.CLCAkerncounty.org. If you have other questions,
please contact Javier Lesaca at (661) 836-0229. We still have
open spaces for sponsors for the event.
Be sure to visit our web site at www.CLCAkerncounty.org
for updates on upcoming events and to view information and
photos from past events.
Let’s have a great year for 2011 and keep growing our chapter.
Carl Caldwell
CO-DIRECTOR CHAPTER PRES.
COUNCIL SOUTH
Kevin Fairchild
(714) 541-1000
Illumiscapes TLC
[email protected]
CO-DIRECTOR CHAPTER PRES.
COUNCIL NORTH
Michael Mitchell
(916) 501-5393
MJM Lighting
[email protected]
ASSOCIATE MEMBER DIRECTOR
Tom Noonan
(916) 652-9530
Ewing Irrigation
[email protected]
BRUCE CASON
(559) 447-1997 • (888) 800-8483
15390 S. Fowler Ave., Selma CA • http://www.agsod.com
Growers of Quality Fescue & Bermuda Sod
www.clcakerncounty.org
Connecting With
Your Customer
By Angelia Woodside Beckstrom
Senate Bill 7, signed in Sacramento,
under the governance of Arnold
Schwarzenegger, put a water conservation
goal in place asking California to use
20% less water by the year 2020. To
comply with this legislative decision,
water district offices have been tasked
with diminishing their water use by 20%.
A variety of programs have been created
across the state to incentivize Californians
to lower their water usage.
CLCA members who are current on the
latest water management strategies aimed
at efficiently conserving the use of landscape water are not surprised to see water
districts ask their customers to account
for, and better manage the amount of
water used outdoors.
In direct contrast with the level of
awareness inside the landscape industry,
is the lack of interest amongst residential
water users to take actions to conserve
water. In order for water districts to
http://www.westcoastturf.com
CLCA Kern County Chapter
achieve their 20% water conservation
goal, they will need to target inferior
landscape management, substandard
irrigation systems and human error
within the residential segment of the
market.
Many homeowners in our state are
under financial stress, and not inspired
to spend money retrofitting their landscape irrigation system for ultimate water
savings. In response, some water districts
are instigating programs to financially
penalize “water hogs”. Irvine Ranch
Water District is attaching a financial fine
to the water bills of those folks who are
considered to be exceeding their appropriate use of landscape water. Moulton
Niguel Water District is preparing to roll
out a water budget based billing rate
program to customers. This program
could charge up to $5.25 per gallon to
homeowners who are flagrantly irresponsible with their landscape water usage, or
those who unknowingly use too much
water because of broken pipes in the
irrigation system.
Customer demand for knowledgeable
landscape designers, and contractors is
expected to rise. Financial penalties will
generate motivation for homeowners to
seek professional landscape contractors
and designers to help them find solutions
to live within their newly prescribed
water budget. Typical backyard gardeners
will not be able to provide real solutions
to land owners that need professional
water management. An authentic qualified landscape professional designer and
contractor will then become a necessity,
not a luxury. CLCA’s Water Manager
Certification Program can prepare you to
better manage water and work within a
water budget and position you as the go to
expert on water management. Visit
www.clca.us/water for more information.
As a designer, a core skill is translating
verbal needs into an actionable plan.
Improve the retrofit aspect of your landscape improvement design plans by
adding calculations for proposed water
savings to them for your client.
Take the initiative to get involved in
your chamber of commerce; be visible and
available to them for help in addressing
their landscape water use frustrations.
For details and updates http://www.water.ca.gov/wateruseefficiency/sb7/
http://www.kernturfsupply.com
March 2011 •
7
CLCA’s LinkedIn Groups Provide
Great Discussion Platform
Thanks to the efforts of Barbara Landrith,
CLCA’s on staff PR person, CLCA has a
large presence on LinkedIn. The group
has members from all over the country
and the world. There are also several discussion groups where LinkedIn members
can post a question and receive answers
from other members around the country,
or the world.
To join a discussion group, all you
need is a free LinkedIn account (visit
www.linkedin.com) and join the CLCA
group. I highly encourage you to join. I
have made some great professional
connections on LinkedIn.
Here is a discussion I recently took
part in. Join us, and let me know what
you think of the issue.
LinkedIn Discussion
A current client, over 20 years, is telling
me contractors are giving him FREE
drawings for his interior lay outs and
expects the same for landscape drawings.
Anyone doing this or heard of this?
Megan Rios • As a landscape architect
and CLCA member, I have found that the
general public sees nature (plant material)
and ideas (designs) to be cheap and free.
Allowing these notions to continue only
reiterates the ideal that design and nature
hold no intrinsic value.
The whole point of design is to offer
better monetary value to the property,
reduce long term maintenance, add curb
appeal or establish visual loyalty from the
customer, client or public.
We as nature advocates, need to
6
• March 2011
educate the public on the value of nature
and professional design and connect it to
monetary value, whether it adds value or
savings. Connecting these ideas to
business verbiage can aid in increasing
the value of our craft for public and
ecological needs and use.
If you give it away for free, your craft
and tools will be viewed as unnecessary.
Include cost and add value... “You get
what you pay for.”
Scott Volmer • In tough times, I see a lot
of people giving things away that they
should not. Race to the bottom if it keeps
up, and free drawings are usually worth
just that, nothing.
John Black • My understanding (and
please, correct me if I’m wrong!) is that
C-27 contractors may only provide “shop”
drawings, i.e. only for their own use in
installation, and are not allowed to be
used for bidding or installation by others.
If this is true, then your drawings could
be priced as low as your business model
can support.
Mark Brown • Educate your clients,
copyright your sketches, designs, and
never leave anything with a client without securing a deposit and a fee schedule
contract. As a licensed C-27 for over 28
years doing design/build, I have had
every possible client profile. Now, with
referrals (our only client base) this does
not seem to be a problem. No one ques-
tions paying for a doctor visit or a
consultation with an attorney, so why
would a potential client kick at paying a
consultation fee for a first visit for a
potential design. If they squawk at paying
$100 for an hour’s worth of your time,
refer them to someone else. I remind them
that in that hour, they will receive more
than their money’s worth from a site
evaluation, horticultural advice and
design possibilities. I encourage them to
carry a tape recorder, take notes and ask
questions. This will eliminate the “tire
kickers” who want and expect “free” estimates, and “free” advice. They get exactly
what they pay for! They will NEVER
appreciate the expertise and training
needed to develop a solid plan that can be
built for their budget. I have seen a few of
my concepts stolen, but even though they
may have to, I’ve never had to avoid
somebody in the grocery store. Charge for
your time, get deposits, have signed agreements/contracts. We are in business to
make money, and any client worth having
will recognize that. If not, politely refer
them to the local Home Depot.
This is just a sample of the many discussion to be found on the CLCA LinkedIn
groups. Join today and ask a question or
share your experiences.
JIM MUNCIL
6901 Bradshaw Road, Sacramento, CA 95829
916-364-2946 / FAX: 916-366-8817 / 800-875-1972
[email protected] / www.villagenurseries.com
www.clcakerncounty.org
state level, plus find links to CLCA headquarters, and a list of
chapter members and suppliers. And, you won’t want to miss
our photo gallery from past events.
Our Home Show booth featured not only great information,
but a beautiful carpet of Old River Sod thanks to Dale Edwards
and Old River Sod. The sod was a big hit and admired by many
visitors who then walked away with the Old River Sod product
sheet. Some attendees recognized Old River Sod from their
involvement with the Relay For Life Event in May.
Thank you to Olga See of O. See-Em-Bloom Landscaping and
Nursery who donated a beautiful array of plants in a cement pot
plus the background color and shrubs. Olga brought the plants
from her new nursery located on Calloway Drive where Cooper’s
Nursery used to be.
CLCA headquarters loaned us a backdrop featuring CLCA’s
commitment to water savings in the landscape. The colorful
banner mentioned the Irrigation Auditor and Water Manager
Training and Certification programs provided by CLCA.
Thank you to our volunteers
Megan Rios and Olga See share information on water savings in
the landscape and the importance of hiring a licensed landscape
contractor at the Home Show in February.
A hearty thanks to the Board members who manned the booth
and made the event a success!
•Ed Daniels of Innovative Landscapes (Membership)
•Ryan Herdt of Ewing Irrigation (Treasurer)
•Carl Caldwell of Coastline Equipment (President)
•Olga See of O. See-Em-Bloom (Vice President)
•Jim and Megan Rios of Rios Design Studio (Legislative
Committee and Secretary)
Chapter Educates
Public at Home Show
The Kern County Chapter of the CLCA hosted a booth at Home
Show 2011 at the Kern County Fairgrounds February 18-20. We
set up our space in the additional tent behind Building 2. The
Chapter’s aim was to promote the hiring of licensed landscape
contractors to the general public, especially home owners who
are considering installing new landscapes. Board members who
manned the booth distributed a list of chapter member names,
emphasizing that our members are licensed, honest contractors.
As part of this public education effort, Board members at the
show booth related the risks involved when using an unlicensed
contractor, everything from shoddy work to insurance liabilities
for injuries that may occur on the job. The intent attendees were
then referred to the CLCA Kern County Chapter’s website for
information on and a link to the Contractors State License
Board’s website (www.cslb.ca.gov) where consumers can check
the status of a contractor’s license and insurance coverages.
The chapter website is at www.CLCAkerncounty.org. It not
only contains information for the consumer, but also provides
information on what is going on in our chapter, plus features
such as applications for upcoming events like the Vendor Fair,
GardenFest, and Beautification Awards. Visit the chapter events
calendar to find out about upcoming events at the chapter and
CLCA Kern County Chapter
Contact:
Carl Caldwell
(661) 510-2154
4252 Saco Rd.
Bakersfield, CA 93308
(661) 399-3900
March 2011 •
3
CSLB Reminds Licensees to Comply with
New Laws Effective January 1, 2011
From the California State License Board website: www.cslb.ca.gov
Several new state laws and regulations
passed in 2010 to help improve or
standardize professional codes that affect
California contractors become effective on
January 1, 2011. The Contractors State
License Board (CSLB) operates under the
state Business and Professions Code, yet
several other codes affect the way
contractors conduct their livelihood. The
laws affect “A” General Engineering, “B”
General Building and “C” Specialty
contractors differently so awareness of
the changes is important to keep your
business in compliance.
Stop Work Orders –
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Senate Bill 1254 (Leno) established that
CSLB can issue an immediate “stop work”
order to any contractor who does not have
a current and valid Certificate of Workers’
Compensation Insurance or Certification
of Self-Insurance, or a statement on file
with CSLB certifying that he or she has
no employees and is not required to
obtain or maintain workers’ compensation
insurance coverage. The order is effective
immediately when it is served.
Failure of any employer, officer, or any
person having direction, management, or
control of any place of employment or of
employees to observe a stop order issued
and served upon him or her is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in
the county jail not exceeding 60 days or
by a fine not exceeding ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), or both. An employer
who is subject to this section may protest
the stop order by making and filing with
the CSLB Registrar a written request for a
hearing within 20 days after service of the
stop order.
(See Business and Professions Code
§7127.)
Mechanic’s Liens –
Mandatory Proof of Service Affidavit
Assembly Bill 457 (Monning) ensures
that any property owner will be notified
if a mechanic’s lien is placed on their
property. Contractors, subcontractors or
materials suppliers who are not paid for
their work on a home improvement
project are entitled to file a mechanic’s
lien with the county Recorder’s Office on
the property to force payment. The new
law ensures that consumers will be
notified of a pending lien. If the property
owner is not notified, the lien becomes
unenforceable.
(See amended Civil Code §3084 and
3146.)
Cooling Systems –
Commercial Refrigerant
“A” General Engineering, “B” General
Building, C-20 HVAC, C-36 Plumbing,
and C-38 Refrigeration contractors’
projects may be affected by a new Air
Resources Board (ARB) regulation to
minimize leaks of environmentally
harmful refrigerants that takes effect on
January 1, 2011. The regulation, known
as the Refrigerant Management Program,
applies to the larger industrial and commercial systems that use high global
warming potential refrigerants – those
typically used in supermarkets, cold
storage warehouses, food processing
plants and process cooling operations.
The program builds on long established
federal rules on refrigeration systems.
Beginning in 2011, businesses running
systems with a refrigerant capacity of
more than 50 pounds must fix leaks
within 14 days of detection. These
businesses must also keep on-site records
of all leak repair work and other refrigeration system servicing, including receipts
of refrigerant purchases. The regulation
also affects any person who installs,
services, or disposes any appliance using
a high-GWP refrigerant or sells, distributes and/or reclaims high-GWP refrigerants. Businesses whose systems use only
ammonia or carbon dioxide as refrigerants
are not subject to the rule. The Refrigerant
Management Program also affects wholesalers, distributors and reclaimers of
refrigerants. There will be a gradual
phase-in of facility registration, annual
reporting, and fees that are scheduled to
take place from 2012 to 2016.
(See Health and Safety Code §38500
related to the California Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2006.)
For more information on other new laws
and regulations, visit the CSLB online
newsroom: http://www.cslb.ca.gov/
GeneralInformation/Newsroom.
CLCA Water Management Certification Test
The demand on landscape contractors to
provide more efficient water management is the highest it’s ever been, and
will continue growing for the foreseeable
future. CLCA’s Water Management
Certification Program was started in
2007 and helps reduce landscape water
usage by using a water audit, budget and
advanced irrigation technology. The
program is designed for green industry
professionals like landscape contractors,
4
• March 2011
landscape designers, landscape architects, HOA property managers, water
agency personnel, city water conservation personnel, students in the landscape industry and anyone from the
public concerned about saving landscape water.
CLCA’s Water Management Certification program carries the WaterSense
Label from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and is also approved
for continuing education units by
PLANET .
Certification is open to anyone in
the landscape industry. Once you pass
the written test, you are provisionally
certified until completing the one-year
performance requirement for full certification.
For information, a study guide and a
schedule of upcoming written tests, visit
www.clca.us/water-pro/
www.clcakerncounty.org
Grass Roots Training and Legislative
Conference April 11-12
CLCA invites all members to attend the
Grass Roots Training Session April 11,
as well as the Construction Industry
Legislative Conference the next day in
Sacramento. The association will pay
most lodging and travel costs as well as
reimburse registration expenses for all
members who attend these two events.
These gatherings offer opportunities to
learn about issues that potentially have a
big impact on your business. They also
provide information and tools that can
help you work with CLCA to find legislative solutions to industry problems.
April 11 Activities
The Grass Roots Training Session begins
at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel
at 1 p.m. on Monday, April 11. Guest
speakers will discuss: why it’s important
for businesses to engage in grass roots
lobbying, a case study of another group’s
accomplishments when its members
involved themselves in the political
CLCA Kern County Chapter
process, how to approach a legislator, and
the future of landscaping as California
implements Senate Bill 375. Special
emphasis will be placed on explaining
two or three specific bills that participants will be asked to discuss with their
legislators the next day.
The training session will be followed
by a no-host cocktail reception and
hosted dinner at a Capitol-area restaurant.
One or more legislators will be invited to
join CLCA for this intimate social event.
CLCA Headquarters will make reservations for out-of-town members at the
Holiday Inn Express. Hotel guests will
share a room with another member.
Members who do not wish to share a
hotel room may request a private room if
they are willing to pay an extra fee.
April 12 Activities
The legislative conference, sponsored by
the Construction Industry Legislative
Council (CILC), begins at the Sheraton
following a complimentary continental
breakfast. There, speakers will discuss
legislative or regulatory issues of importance to the construction industry, including the underground economy, the state's
financial predicament, and “hot” bills in
the state Legislature.
Following a group luncheon, participants will walk to the Capitol where to
participate in pre-scheduled meetings
with their legislators. No participant
should feel that he or she should be an
“expert” for these meetings, since the
CILC will provide briefing materials and
other handouts on key issues. Most of the
meetings will involve several conference
participants.
The second day will conclude with a
no-host cocktail reception at the nearby
Pyramid Alehouse from 4-6 p.m.
How to Participate
For questions about the training session
or legislative conference, contact Larry
Rohlfes at (800) 448-2522 or email
[email protected]. To sign up, visit
www.clca.us/legconference/index.html.
March 2011 •
5
CLCA-Kern County Chapter
PO Box 7
Pollock Pines, CA 95726
CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED
CSLB Cautions Licensees to Only Deal Directly
with Board for Renewal or License Changes
The Contractors State License Board’s
(CSLB) Renewals Unit has been contacted
by several licensees who attempted to
renew their licenses through an outside
business, rather than directly with CSLB.
In some cases, doing so caused delays that
caused their licenses to expire. As a
result, they must now pay late fees.
The Attorney General’s Office recently
announced a $2.4 million settlement
against the perpetrators of a similar
scheme. CSLB has also learned that the
Better Business Bureau (BBB) has received about 50 complaints over the past
couple of years about companies that offer
to file regulatory paperwork for people in
both the Sacramento and Los Angeles
areas. Business names of those companies
usually include the words “Renewal” or
“Filing.” The BBB complaints indicated
that the company charged a fee to register
or change the names of corporations with
the Secretary of State’s Office or renew or
change the names on city and county
business licenses, but failed to do so.
CSLB reminds its 310,000 licensed
contractors that it sends renewal notices
approximately 60 days before a license is
set to expire. The application and renewal
fees, or fees to make any other changes to
a license should be addressed directly to:
Contractors State License Board
P.O. Box 26000
Sacramento, CA 95826-0026
Licensees should also be aware that credit
card payments for renewals or exams are
accepted in person at CSLB’s Sacramento
Headquarters, located at 9821 Business
Park Drive.
Applying for, renewing or changing
your license or company name can be
done through the appropriate government
agency without additional cost. If you
have any doubts, contact that government
agency directly to assure the appropriate
fees are sent to the correct address.
Contact your local police or sheriff’s
department and Better Business Bureau to
report suspected fraud if you receive
suspicious mail that solicits fees for
changing licensing or business name information. You can also file a complaint
with the Attorney General’s Office.
Update Your Company
Profile on the State Website
You may be the best landscape contractor there ever was — but if no one can
find you, they will never know.
Through CLCA’s Contractor Search at
www.clca.org, potential clients will be
able to find you quickly and easily.
Please make sure your profile is
updated. Look under Membership >>
Update Member Information and
update your listing, plus add a brief
paragraph about what you do. Be sure
to update your participation points!