HAVE YOU HEARD?

David Brent, PLS – Associate Surveyor | 10 Years of Experience

1. Why/how did you get into Surveying?

Land surveying is a profession that I stumbled into after high school. It started off as a summer job on a field crew pounding construction stakes. I eventually ran my own field crew and then worked my way into the office.

2. What was your career path to get into Surveying?

For me, it was all on-the-job experience. I started off in the field and then transitioned into the office and started pursuing my professional license.

3. What is your favorite part of Surveying?

I enjoy the diversity of the projects we get to work on and the variety of services we provide. It has also been exciting to the see the advancements in technology within our industry since I first started.

4. What is your advice for anyone looking to get into Surveying?

If possible, try to find a mentor. I’ve had a few different mentors throughout my career and they’ve each contributed significantly to my growth as a land surveyor. Because there are so few college surveying programs out there, mentorship and on-the-job training are a great way to break into our profession.

 

Mike Long, PLS, CFedS – Director of Surveying | 40 Years of Experience

1. Why/how did you get into Surveying?

I was an Architectural draftsman and was asked to assist on a Survey crew. It was great to work outdoors using Survey instruments and to see how the data made its way onto paper.

2. What was your career path to get into Surveying?

My journey started with the US Army. My aptitude tests placed me into the Geodetic Survey program which I surprisingly excelled. This allowed me to work all over the country on a 3-person crew, including a 3-month project in Puerto Rico.

3. What is your favorite part of Surveying?

I enjoy working with talented people forming a team to complete a project.

4. What is your advice for anyone looking to get into Surveying?

Enroll in a Survey program. This will enlighten you on all the elements that make up Land Surveying. There are so many opportunities online and this will make you a well rounded Land Surveyor.

 

We would like to wish the following employees Happy 5 year Anniversary!  Thank you for your continued years of service!

We would like to wish the following employees Happy Anniversary!  Thank you for your continued years of service!

Please join us in congratulating our newest Associates!

Wood Rodgers, Inc. is thrilled and proud to announce the promotion of Derek Kirkland to Partner and Principal Planner in our Reno Office. Derek has over 20 years of combined experience in land development and transportation planning. His unique set of qualifications have developed through his work on a broad range of projects including community master plan projects, residential and commercial site planning and design, land use analysis, parks master plans, city and region wide master plans, bike trail design, as well as leading multi-modal transportation corridor studies, and transportation grant writing and management. In his 11 years at Wood Rodgers, he has helped develop our Transportation Planning Services in Nevada and Northern California and leads the planning efforts for planning projects in Nevada’s rural counties.

Q&A with Derek Kirkland, AICP | Principal Planner

Who are your inspirations?

I’ve had a lot of great inspirations throughout my career. My parents inspired me to go to school, what work ethic looks like, and what values mean. My wife, Jessica, gave me inspiration to finish school and pursue my career in planning. She has always believed in me even when I was unsure. I have been fortunate to have worked with and learned from some of the best and have had a lot of mentors along the way. Many of these inspirations are still associates, partners, and clients here at Wood Rodgers today or were here in the past. Someone who was a part of the development community here in northern Nevada for a long time who had a notable impact on my career who recently passed away is Karl Matzoll. Karl gave me my first start as a civil engineering intern at Barker Homes when I was 17. He was a mentor, a friend, and someone who gave me a lot of inspiration throughout my career. He gave me a lot of great advice about life, and always taught me to believe in myself and work hard. A major inspiration for me who I have worked with from day one, gave me the foundation for my career and advice that guided me to where I am today is Todd Gammill.

How have you grown in your career since starting at Wood Rodgers?

I started my career at Wood Rodgers when they acquired Matrix Engineering in 2005. I quickly learned what planning was at Wood Rodgers (the fun group, although survey gave us a run for our money!) and learned from a few Planning legends while I finished my degree to become an official planner. The experience I got in my first 4 years at the Wood helped propel my planning career. After spending some time on the public side during the Great Recession, which my experience at Wood Rodgers helped me with tremendously (Wood Rodgers was still a client during this time), I knew it was time to return to the Wood. Back now for almost 8 years and learning again from the best I have expanded my experience to working on both Nevada and California projects and have grown from a staff planner, to senior planner/Associate, to now Principal Planner. I am grateful for the numerous opportunities Wood Rodgers has provided to me since 2005 having helped build my career along the way.

What have been your toughest challenges in your career?

The toughest challenge in my career was the Great Recession. Not knowing what was ahead after just one year out of college, and having to start all over. That challenge turned out to be a positive as it took me out of my comfort zone and forced me to learn new things, become a more well-rounded planner, and led to a lot of new relationships both personal and professional.

What are your future goals?

I want to continue the Wood Rodgers legacy of a great place to work. I have really enjoyed the 11+ years working here and hope to give others that same experience. I want to continue to work for great clients and be part of projects that help transform communities.

What kind of advice would you give to others following in your footsteps?

Be a good person, treat all people with kindness and respect. Listen, be a sponge and absorb as much information from those around you. Work hard and make a difference, you get out what you put in, and don’t be afraid to step up or make a mistake as both will improve your career. Most importantly, believe in yourself and drink lots of Bud Light!

Groundbreaking Ceremony for Post-acute Facility in Elk Grove, CA

Wood Rodgers Vice President, Matt Spokely and Project Engineer, Adam Fischlin, both attended the groundbreaking ceremony for this Elk Grove post-acute facility a few weeks ago.

Wood Rodgers, Inc. attended the groundbreaking ceremony on November 14^th for this exciting project! We provided the professional civil engineering, landscape architecture, and surveying services for this $28M, 15-acre property located east of Lotz Parkway, and north of Whitelock Parkway in Elk Grove. This 59,000-sf facility will serve as a 60-bed post-acute transitional care facility for patients who require continued, short-term, care for recovery. Scope of services included design development drawings, support of project entitlements, construction drawings, and mapping.

Topography surveys included boundary conditions and tie-ins to existing improvements and provided entitlement application preparation support as well as processing support through the City of Elk Grove Development Services Department. Mapping included the preparation and processing of the project final parcel map and required easement dedications concurrent with the civil construction drawings.

Landscape architectural services included the submittal of entitlements, creation of design development package, and coordination with other disciplines with regards to site design, landscape features, and overall project design goals. Our team also reviewed project schedules, programmatic design requirements, City of Elk Grove landscape and irrigation ordinances, and design recommendations by the client and architect. Wood Rodgers prepared plans that were used to define the character and essentials of the project including selection of materials to solicit Planning project conditions of approval. These plans were also used to facilitate landscape pricing and serve as a technical design guideline for working drawings and coordination between project design and planning team members. Minor landscape design modifications were provided as necessary for permit approvals. Also included, was the preparation and processing of landscape and irrigation plans.

In addition, Wood Rodgers also prepared a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan based on the requirements of the State Water Resources Control Board.

Construction is scheduled to begin in April 2023 to June 2024 and can’t wait to see this project fully constructed!

Wood Rodgers is excited for our 2023 ACEC Commendation Award for one of our exciting projects!

The Town of Paradise Storm Drainage Master Plan (SDMP) provides the Town with a valuable resource that is facilitating post-fire rebuilding efforts that will reduce future flood damages while improving resilience to other disasters. Our team completed the SDMP within tight schedule and budget constraints and the Town put the work products to immediate use while the SDMP was still being developed. Key work products include a detailed drainage system base map that required an extensive data collection effort, a drainage system model that provides flow rates and flood depths throughout the Town, a tool that quickly identifies potential flooding issues on parcels, recommendations for projects to address the most significant existing drainage issues, and information to support a detailed drainage system design for planned transportation projects.

The successful completion of the SDMP was the result of the creative application of advanced technologies and close collaboration between the Town and our team. Development of the SDMP required efficient coordination between our internal team, our subconsultant, and the Town. Town staff’s rapid responses to requests for information led to the quick resolutions of questions related to the drainage system configuration. The team quickly responded to requests from the Town which facilitated beneficial solutions to drainage issues associated with roadway improvements that other consultants were planning in parallel with the development of the Storm Drainage Master Plan. Our team also provided timely information that promoted rebuilding structures that would be less likely to flood. Creative applications of technology included direct integration of field data collection into the Plan’s Geographic Information System (GIS), efficient resolution of complex flood modeling issues, effective presentation of Plan results, and efficient development of capital improvement recommendations. The final work products met and exceeded the Town’s expectations for the Storm Drainage Master Plan.