Building News

Merrill Lynch has raised its forecasts for contract prices of coal for power plants and steel mills in 2008, predicting that prices will jump by as much as 200 percent, after recent supply disruptions resulted in a severe global shortage.

Contract prices for coking coal, used to make steel, are expected to reach a record high of $300 a tonne, a three-fold rise from an agreed price of $98 last year, amid a "supply apocalypse" following recent weather-related supply disruptions in Australia, Merrill Lynch said in a research note on Friday.

Neal Ezell, the president of Ezell-Morgan Construction, has just been appointed to the Building Code Board of Appeals for the city of Lawrence where he will serve a 3 year term.

Aquila, Lawrence's natural gas provider, has increased their rates effective June 1, 2007. The increase only affects the customer charge which increases from $12/month to $16/month for residential customers. So regardless of the amount of gas a customer uses, their bill will increase $4/month. This type of charge helps to stabilize the utility's income which can vary greatly over the course of the year, but dissuades consumers from conserving fuel.

New national air conditioner standards have been put into effect starting January 1, 2006. Air conditioners are now required to have a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) of at least 13. This is up from the previous standard of 10 SEER set in 1992. While this is great news for consumers, this new requirement falls short of what was expected. The new standard was also supposed to include the requirement that furnaces have a minimum of 93 Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE). The current standard for furnaces is only 80 AFUE. In the Lawrence climate, the more efficient furnace represents a much greater cost and energy savings than the more efficient air conditioner. Ezell-Morgan has been installing both high-efficiency units in all their homes for the last 4 years.

The City of Lawrence has adopted a new building code that will go into effect on January 1, 2008. The code Lawrence currently uses dates back to 1997. The new code is called the 2006 International Residential Code or IRC. One of the unique things about this code is that it will require builders to construct their homes to meet new energy efficiency standards in accordance with the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Builders will be required to submit a list of the energy efficient features they plan to include in the structure to meet the code. During construction, city inspectors will then perform a special inspection to confirm the inclusion of these items. Ezell-Morgan's standard energy package easily surpasses these code requirements.

The City of Lawrence has raised impact fees yet again. Starting January 1, 2008, the impact fee assessed on the purchase of a 1" water meter increases from $4,680 to $5,000. The city charges this fee on new construction with the idea that new homes constructed in Lawrence are somehow a burden on the community even though 100% of the cost of their infrastructure is paid for in the cost of the lot and property taxes paid by new homeowners average nearly double those paid by the average Lawrence homeowner. New development also pays for 100% of the cost of major thoroughfares like George Williams Way and Wakarusa Drive. In 2005, Lawrence impact fees were nearly triple those charged in Wichita, and double those charged in Olathe, while many communities like Topeka have no impact fees. Since 2005, Lawrence has increased the amount of their impact fee by over 28%, while Olathe has increased theirs by 7.5%. However, the City Commission continues to look to the new homebuyer for additional funds for parks and street maintenance.