Ed Salenieks leads Water and Wastewater Team in Toronto

As a child, Ed Salenieks grew up in an area of Toronto that was experiencing rapid urban growth. Construction sites were a great playground for Ed, introducing him to the possibilities of how buildings transform landscapes.

With a civil engineering degree under his belt, Ed focused on environmental engineering after graduation in the late 1970’s when protection of our natural environment became recognized as an important public issue.

After graduation, Ed worked for a few firms before
joining a large Ontario-based, multi-disciplinary consulting engineering firm. Here he worked on a number of First Nation projects in Northwestern Ontario, mostly remote fly-in communities which lacked basic water and sewage services. “Community consensus and acceptance was always essential to project success,” relates Ed, and this understanding laid a solid foundation for his approach to other work. “The consulting engineering business is ultimately about building something that serves your client’s needs, be it for public or private enterprise. Being involved from concept development through design and construction helps you understand all aspects of this business, and makes you a better engineer.”

While Ed had a successful career at another large consulting firm, he wanted the opportunity to work on larger, more complex projects for a company recognized as one of Canada’s leading water and wastewater design firms: Associated Engineering. Since joining Associated Engineering in 2005, Ed has worked in our Toronto office providing high quality services to current clients as well as expanding services to new clients.

Some of the highlights since joining Associated Engineering include managing design and construction services for the new $28 million state-of-the-art Belle River Water Treatment Plant for the Town of Lakeshore and the new $15 million Schomberg Water Pollution Control Plant for York Region. “Every project has its unique challenges,” says Ed. “My philosophy is ‘On time and on budget, while fully meeting the client’s expectations.’ Sounds simple, but it is not always easy to do. Water and wastewater treatment facilities are always multi-disciplinary undertakings and getting everyone to understand their scope and deliverables are key tasks for the project manager.”

With 27 years of consulting experience, Ed understands that we never know it all, “but experience does teach us to know the right questions to ask. Much of what we do, we learn on the job and not in the classroom. Mentoring our young staff by partnering them with senior staff on project teams is key to helping their development.” Complementing his work life is Ed’s personal love of the outdoors and his family. “I enjoy sharing time with family and friends either at the cottage or boating.”

Happy Retirement to Art Poisson and John Dagenais

In February, Associated Engineering bid Happy Retirement to two long-serving employees, Art Poisson and John Dagenais.

Art Poisson joined Associated Engineering in 1971 as a Junior Engineer. Since then, Art has quietly and devotedly provided sound engineering and dedicated service to clients throughout the Vancouver Lower Mainland and overseas.

At Associated Engineering, Art is best known as “Mr. Langley”, for his work as the City of Langley’s engineering consultant for more than 20 years. Senior Engineer Ed Bird remarked at Art’s retirement reception, “Where some clients move from consultant to consultant looking for a better deal, the City of Langley looked exclusively to Art to provide their engineering expertise."

Art has a long list of career accomplishments, including municipal infrastructure throughout the Lower Mainland, the Expo 86 site development, many large shopping centres, fisheries enhancements, First Nations community developments, and airport projects. Art also spent time in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the design of a sanitary sewer system. In recent years, Art was involved in developing the BC Municipalities’ Master Municipal Contract Documents Municipal Infrastructure Design Guidelines Manual, Residential Site Planning and Engineering Standards, and the City of Surrey’s Low Pressure Sanitary Sewer System Design Guidelines. The common theme that Art has brought to his projects is integrity, thoroughness, and sound engineering judgement and advice.

Art’s dedication to his projects was exemplified in his work ethic. At his retirement party, daughter, Connie, advised that many weekend family outings encompassed site inspections of Art’s current projects. Along the way, Connie said, both she and her brother learned how to read engineering drawings, a skill she still uses today!

John Dagenais joined Associated Engineering as a Surveyor in 1969. Over almost 40 years of service to the company, John has provided world-class service on many world-class projects. John was a Surveyor and Construction Inspector on the Fraser River Flood Control Program. This multi-million dollar program included dyking, flood boxes, pump stations, and ditch construction in Delta, Pitt Meadows, Coquitlam, and New Westminster. From this project, John moved onto survey and inspection on major projects such as the Annacis and Lulu Island Wastewater Treatment Plants Upgrades, SkyTrain Operations and Maintenance Centre Expansion, Deltaport Container Terminal, and Vancouver International Airport Runway Overlay and Electrical Upgrading. In between, John oversaw the construction of many roads and highways in the Lower Mainland and across BC.

John’s work allowed him to indulge in his passion: collecting bottles and rocks. Over the years, John accumulated many treasures during his surveys and inspections. Advised his wife, Maxine, he also found a few trinkets along the way as well! We wish John and Maxine and Art and Myrna happy treasure hunting and a long and happy retirement.

Land development booming in Saskatchewan

Commercial and residential land development in Saskatchewan is at near record highs, especially in Saskatoon and Regina. The industry is experiencing unprecedented growth. In Regina alone, the value of building permits in 2005 was $242 million and $277 million in 2006. 2007 is already ahead of 2006’s pace. This is a big achievement for a relatively small city of 200,000.

University of Regina Lab Building

Associated Engineering continues to be an integral part of this development. Our involvement in projects such as the University of Regina Lab Building, Regina Research Park Provincial Health Lab, the RCMP Heritage Museum, the Regina Provincial Correctional Centre, and subdivision developments in Regina, Martensville, Langham, and Nipawin helped us to become established as one of the leading engineering firms in Saskatchewan.

Our Infrastructure Group Manager in Regina, and the Project Manager responsible for much of this work, Tom Williams, P.Eng., states, “We are at the forefront of a wave of development that is beginning to be seen outside our borders. Saskatchewan is in the beginning of a boom.”

Residential subdivision development is a very critical part of this work. In 2007, Associated Engineering will provide design for over 1800 lots in Regina and the surrounding area, of which 300 are scheduled for servicing this year. The total construction value for this year’s work alone is approximately $12 million.

Associated Engineering has prepared conceptual studies, pre-design, and detailed design, and has provided general engineering and resident inspection services during construction for several developers in Saskatchewan. There is currently a lot shortage in both Regina and Saskatoon with little or no inventory. In fact, most of the lots approved for development this year have already been sold. The City of Regina, currently sold out of industrial property, is planning to develop 35 acres this year and 65 acres in 2008.

Tom, a long time Land Development Engineer, notes that he is very proud of the working relationships we have developed with this group of clients and the work that we have accomplished over the past few years. “We have built a strong team and have a good reputation in the industry.” Tom’s land development team in Regina includes Ken Galt, Rod Benroth, Dolores Picard, Darin Schindel, Brad Panko, Victoria Ritco, Jon Schneider, Lisa Hastings, Toni Ivan, and Esther Vennard. Also providing valuable input as part of the land development team in traffic studies and road network anaylsis is the Transportation Group in Regina with Monique Kealey and Marina Melchiorre.