FULTON — New York State Police have arrested the owners of Shameless Towing and Recovery, saying they violated state workers’-compensation law.

Amy Stoutenger, 48, and Ralph A. Stoutenger, III, 49, of Fulton were charged with second-degree insurance fraud, offering to file a false instrument, both felonies, as well as separate charges of insurance fraud and offering false statement under state workers’-compensation law, also felonies.

State police said in a release that the arrests sprang from a New York State Insurance Fund investigation into Shameless Trucking and Shameless Towing and Recovery from 2014 to 2017. 

“Ralph and Amy Stoutenger, owners of the company, are accused of not paying about $319,013 in Worker Compensation Insurance,” police said.

The police said audits, banking records, and employees who were paid in cash and by check provided proof for the case.

The Stoutengers were arraigned in Fulton court and released on their own recognizance. They are due back in court May 24.

New York dairy farms produced 1.13 billion pounds of milk in February, down 2.3 percent from the year-ago period, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently reported.

Production per cow in the state averaged 1,805 pounds in February, down 3 percent from 1,860 pounds a year prior.

The number of milk cows on farms in New York state totaled 625,000 head in February, up 4,000 head from year-earlier levels, NASS reported.

The average milk price received by New York dairy farmers in January 2018 was $16.70 per hundredweight, down $1 from December 2017, and off $3 from January 2017. 

In neighboring Pennsylvania, dairy farms produced 861 million pounds of milk in February, up 0.3 percent from a year earlier.

UTICA — On Jan. 1, C2C Construction Solutions, LLC (C2C) opened its doors in downtown Utica. The design-build firm is organized to work under a single contract with a project-owner to provide both design and construction services. 

“Design-build offers our clients a single point of responsibility that combines the creative element with the contractor’s knowledge of how to build,” says David L. Kleps, company president. “Our name — C2C — says it all: ‘Concept to Completion.’ The reason for re-incorporating is to better coordinate our services and ensure the integration of the design and construction processes … To be clear, we are not architects or engineers. C2C has in-house draftsmen who prepare detailed architectural proposal-and-construction plans that are closely reviewed for New York State code compliance. The company hires independent architects and structural, site, mechanical and electrical engineers who carry their own professional-liability insurance. Our philosophy is to keep these functions separate for the client in order to assure independent oversight of our plans.”

The new firm employs 32 people, which includes six in the office and a field crew of 26. “The staff has years of experience constructing all types of buildings, including manufacturing, warehousing, and major rehabilitations of old manufacturing plants, auto dealerships, and custom-vacation homes. We are a Butler Manufacturing Career Builder licensed to erect pre-engineered buildings in Oneida, Madison, Herkimer, and Onondaga counties … To date, our team has been responsible for projects totaling more than 3 million [square] feet. Our focus is on serving the private sector within [a radius of] 100 miles of Utica. C2C is off to a good start for the year with bookings for several new buildings worth more than $8.5 million. I project total sales for 2018 at $12 million to $15 million.” 

Historically, the idea of splitting the functions of design and construction didn’t appear until the Renaissance, when artists such as Michelangelo began accepting architectural commissions. By the 20th century, architects and general contractors were usually two distinct entities. “I think the move to combine design and building again gained momentum back in the 1970s,” notes Kleps. 

“There are some obvious reasons for the increased acceptance of the design-build process. First, it offers a shorter construction timeline and usually lower costs. Second, the use of pre-engineered buildings ensures better quality control and … [enhances] safety on the job site. Third, design-build allows for more flexibility in responding to unforeseen events and changing circumstances. And finally, combining the design and build processes keeps project owners from being placed between the architect/engineer and the contractor, because the design-build company assumes the responsibility for errors and omissions. In other words, the costs and associated risks of the project are transferred to the design/build team. My four decades of experience tell me that owners prefer to avoid any finger-pointing when problems arise by establishing a single point of responsibility.”

The growing reliance on design-build is confirmed by a 2011 study undertaken by RSMeans Reed Construction Data Market Intelligence, which found that 40 percent of non-residential construction in 2010 was completed by the design-build process. RSMeans also found that design-build was used most frequently in the military sector, followed by the commercial-building construction sector, and the medical-building sector.

Obstacles and opportunities

Kleps noted some potential obstacles to the growth of C2C. 

“The increasing acceptance of pre-engineered buildings and the ability to utilize conventional materials on the exterior are clearly driving the demand, but the industry is facing labor shortages,” declares the company’s president. “During the last recession, the building trades lost a lot of skilled labor that’s been hard to replace. Finding skilled craft workers is still a struggle, and I believe it’s the number-one issue facing the industry. Young people today don’t seem to have an interest in construction, in part because the school guidance counselors encourage everyone to go to college. C2C is basically looking for people with a good work ethic who like to work outside with their hands and who are eager to be cross-trained in multiple skills. Our best success has come from hiring local residents with farming and military experience. Fortunately, we have a young crew that is very stable, which gives us a competitive edge … Finding qualified superintendents, however, is more difficult. While we already have seven very qualified superintendents who have collectively been on the team for 80 years, C2C is always looking for additional project superintendents.” 

Kleps’ concern about the labor shortage is shared by the Associated General Contractors of America, which recently issued a study showing that 75 percent of member firms surveyed were planning to increase their headcount in 2018 and 78 percent of the same respondents were having difficulty filling skilled-labor positions. 

In addition to the problem of potential labor shortages, Kleps is also concerned about rising material costs. 

“We’re seeing price increases for our building materials,” he emphasizes. “In recent years, pre-engineered buildings across the industry have typically seen increases of 1 percent to 2 percent annually. But this year, steel-material suppliers have announced an 8 percent increase. To avoid the price increase, one of our clients hurried to place his order, which saved him around $40,000. We’re obviously concerned about the rising costs already announced and uncertain what might happen if the … [current administration] initiates a trade war because of the recently announced [steel and aluminum] tariffs. Equipment costs and rental prices are also increasing, so that’s another area of concern. Thus far, it hasn’t been an impediment to new construction, and interest rates are still historically low.”

Despite industry obstacles, Kleps is optimistic about C2C’s position in the Mohawk Valley. “I think the new tax-reform legislation has given a real boost to business optimism,” he opines. “Lowering the corporate rate has a bigger impact on small corporations, which now have more money to invest back into the business. I’m also bullish because of the resurgence of downtown [Utica], driven by the decision to move the new hospital into the city center. In addition, the potential of the nano-center in Marcy and the drone development being done in Rome will have a huge impact on new construction for the long term. C2C anticipates continued growth, and we’re well positioned to handle it.”

About Kleps

Kleps grew up in New Hartford and graduated in 1976 from Canton ATC (renamed SUNY Canton). He worked for a year in the Mohawk Valley with a local contractor before taking a position in San Francisco with a large firm doing design-build just as the concept was gaining acceptance. While in San Francisco, he worked on the design of two Butler buildings which were shipped to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Kleps followed the shipment and spent 16 months supervising the erection of the structures. Returning to Utica in the summer of 1979, he joined Charles A. Gaetano Construction Corp. and spent the next 38 years guiding the design-build division before assuming the position of president with C2C.

C2C scheduled to build new JBF Stainless manufacturing facility

C2C Construction Solutions is under contract to build a new 38,000-square-foot production and corporate-office sited on 5.7 acres in the Herkimer County Rte. 5S South Industrial Park in West Frankfort. The project owner is JBF Stainless, which is in the process of closing on the property next to the Heidelberg Baking Co. The project owner manufactures stainless-steel equipment for the food, beverage, dairy, and cosmetics industries. The JFB project specified a Butler building that includes a building height of 60 feet with capacity for up to 10-ton bridge cranes and up to 5-ton gantry cranes. Construction is slated to begin in April with a scheduled completion in the fall.

JBF Stainless was founded by Jake Feldmeier in 2011. Before founding JBF, he was the president of Feldmeier Equipment, headquartered in Syracuse. JBF Stainless received a $680,000 grant from round-7 of the New York State Consolidated Funding Application process, which represents about 20 percent of the building cost. 

— Norm Poltenson

WATERFORD — Seven education and recreation projects will get off the ground this year with funding support from the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. 

The grants are aimed at “inspiring people to learn more” about New York’s “legendary canals” and further explore the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, according to a Corridor news release. 

The grants range from $2,000 to $7,000 and are leveraging an additional $77,231 in private and public project support. 

“While large investments often draw the greatest attention, small projects are adding up to big results for communities and the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor as a whole,” Bob Radliff, executive director of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, said in the release. 

Over the past 10 years, the Corridor says it has made 69 small grants to communities and nonprofit organizations that have spurred $1.67 million in additional investments in heritage preservation, recreation, and education.

The 2018 Erie Canalway grant award in the Central New York region is in Madison County, which received $7,000 to conduct a feasibility study for four potential hand-launch sites for paddlers along the Old Erie Canal State Park between the Town of DeWitt and Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum in Chittenango. 

Down the road in the greater Mohawk Valley region, Montgomery County received $7,000 to develop an app for use along the Erie Canalway Trail through Montgomery County to share stories of the people and history of the Mohawk Valley, the release stated.