Masonry Magazine September 2004 Page. 53
News continued from page 49
South Carolina
Reported by the Herald Tribune, "State approves Charleston building arts schools," July 8, 2004:
The Commission on Higher Education voted Thursday to give the Charleston School of the Building Arts approval to begin looking for its first students.
The commission voted to allow the school to advertise for its first class of students to enroll in the fall of 2005.
The School of the Building Arts was established five years ago and currently offers classes in conjunction with the College of Charleston, which has a program in historic preservation, and Clemson University, which has an architecture program.
The school will teach techniques, such as plastering and masonry, and will be the nation's first four-year artisan college, organizers say.
Texas
Pictured above, Paul Hoggatt, owner of Hoggatt, Inc., in Houston, awards Judge Ted Poe, who is running for Congress in Texas, with a political action committee (PAC) check at a recent MCAA-Texas Masonry Council (TMC) event. Judge Poe is a friend of the industry and strongly supported by MCAA members in the Houston area. The event raised over $3,000 for his campaign.
For more information about the Texas Masonry Council, visit www.texas-masonrycouncil.org.
Note: Please send any local, state or regional news to Jennie Famsworth at jen@lionhrtpub.com or c/o Lionheart Publishing, Inc., 506 Roswell St., Suite 220, Marietta, Ga. 30060.
The Voice of the Mason Contractor
Masonry Helps Achieve Quality Growth in Texas
City governments across the state of Texas are feeling the financial squeeze created by finite land being the primary source of revenue for property and sales taxes. By requiring the increased use of quality masonry products within city limits in residential and commercial areas, several Dallas/Fort Worth-area cities are seeing property values increase and sales tax revenues bolstered by quality businesses wanting to locate in more attractive areas.
In support of this trend, the Southwestern Brick Institute has embarked on a program to assist municipalities with "quality development," in residential and commercial zones, by addressing code requirements that encourage increased use of masonry products.
Residents of cities who proactively protect their tax base by enacting masonry ordinances benefit in many ways. The increased revenue coming into the city in the form of taxes provides the funding needed to maintain excellent schools, parks and libraries, as well as ensuring that law enforcement and emergency services are adequately funded. On an aesthetic level, cities with masonry ordinances just look better and tend to attract high-quality businesses and residents.
In the City of Sanger, Texas, a recent request to address metal building codes in commercial areas prompted the city to evaluate their construction codes in commercial and residential areas. The city led by Mayor Tommy Kincaid and his council, City Manager Jack Smith and City Secretary Rose Chavez - increased the residential masonry requirements to 100% and the commercial requirements to 90%. Previously, masonry requirements were only 10% for residential and 50% for commercial.
Bob Dillard, the City Attorney for Sanger, assisted the council in drafting ordinances that give the city a more progressive quality approach, much like the approach taken in high-growth Flower Mound. Doug Collins, Deputy Director of Planning in Flower Mound, sees Quality Growth continued on page 52