By Marie Rohde Milwaukee is cautiously building toward a law that would direct more public contract money toward women- and minority-owned companies. The caution stems from a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established lawmakers must prove past or present ...

Tagged with: Ashanti Hamilton Craig Anderson D. Wilson Consulting Group DBE Marvin Pratt Ossie Kendrix preference Rhonda Kelsey Wanta Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association WUCA

By Marie Rohde

staff writer

Dick Wanta, the executive director of the Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association, gave members of the commission that oversees the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District a history lesson the other night.

Tagged with: blog Deep Tunnel Hot Topics Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District MMSD Wanta Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association WUCA

By Marie Rohde The pending sale of American Concrete Pipe to County Materials Corp. is forcing underground contractors to assess the industry’s power structure. “There’s still a lot of competition,” said Dennis Siegle, executive director of the Wisconsin Concrete Pipe ...

Tagged with: American Concrete Pipe County Materials Department of Workforce Development DWD Globe Contractors Wanta Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association WisDOT WUCA

By Marie Rohde Property owners wanting a flood of relief from sewage backups during heavy rains will see a dribble instead. They also could get a bigger tax bill and may be forced to spend thousands of dollars to fix ...

Tagged with: Alliance for the Great Lakes Capitol Drive Deep Tunnel Department of Justice Department of Natural Resources DNR Kevin Shafer Milwaukee Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District MMSD Shorewood Wanta Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association WUCA

By Marie Rohde The Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association will ask Congress to ban bid preferences by amending the Clean Water Act, the association’s top official says. Richard Wanta, WUCA’s executive director, said the Milwaukee city ordinance has cost taxpayers an ...

Tagged with: Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Agency EPA local preference Milwaukee MJ Construction Scott Maly United Sewer & Water Wanta Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association WUCA

By Sean Ryan An attempt to use a city property to lure a construction company to Milwaukee must overcome the business trends that push contractors away. A Milwaukee Department of Public Works proposal would free up a 2-acre lot at ...

Tagged with: American Subcontractors Association of Wisconsin Beiriger bid preference business contractor Department of Public Works Milwaukee Preston Cole property Wanta Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association

By Paul Snyder Twin Lakes-based Powers Lake Construction Co. Inc. has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. Jerry Kerkman, an attorney with Milwaukee-based Kerkman & Dunn representing Powers Lake Construction, said the construction and excavating ...

Tagged with: Chapter 11 International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 Local 139 McGowan Wanta Wisconsin Department of Transportation Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association

By Sean Ryan Milwaukee County soon could give a bidding advantage to the contractor that hires the most county residents for a project. The goal of the county resolution, sponsored by Johnny Thomas and Theo Lipscomb, is to eventually offer ...

Tagged with: bid contract Johnny Thomas Lipscomb Milwaukee County preference Wanta William Sackerson Construction Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association

By Paul Snyder Three contractor groups are aligning themselves with the Department of Workforce Development in support of changes to the state’s prevailing wage law. Those groups — the Construction Business Group, the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association and the Wisconsin ...

Tagged with: ABC Associated Builders & Contractors of Wisconsin Brian Mitchell Construction Business Group Department of Workforce Development DWD law Markson prevailing wage Robb Kahl wages Wanta Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association WTBA

By Sean Ryan Contractors trying to win public works contracts in Milwaukee are continuing their attempts on multiple fronts to overturn the city’s local preference law. American Sewer Services Inc., Rubicon, and United Sewer and Water Inc., Menomonee Falls, on ...

Tagged with: American Sewer Services appeal Brian Mitchell law lawsuit local preference Milwaukee MJ Construction Pocan public works Underground Pipeline Construction Wanta Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association