Over the past two years, SAFEbuilt’s Marketing Department, under the direction of Juliana Ficheli-Hoffman, has brought forward-thinking, creative ideas to life through a close partnership with the agency VYE. These collaborative efforts have earned four prestigious industry awards and two honorable mentions, highlighting the power of combining SAFEbuilt’s strategic vision with VYE’s execution, more specifically, their HubSpot expertise to deliver meaningful content.

Here are the awards we are proud to celebrate:

• Davey Award — Best Use of Animation or Illustration (Silver, 2024): this award recognizes the impact of animated storytelling in our City Manager Interactive module.
• WebAwards 2024 — Professional Services Standard of Excellence from the Web Marketing Association: celebrating the successful design and launch of the SAFEbuilt website.
• The Communicator Awards — General B2C Distinction: awarded for our “City Manager Maggie” interactive tool, which captures public sector stories with authenticity.
• The Communicator Awards — B2B Advertising Campaign Excellence: our Public Works video was recognized for its sleek and professional content, which delivered service line awareness messaging and highlighted the value we bring to local communities.
• Honorable Mention from the 2024 Marcom Awards for the Bring Your Vision to Life interactive story campaign. There was also the HubSpot Solutions Partner Program Impact Awards (H1) submission in which VYE celebrated the success of our SAFEbuilt Impact Case Study, showcasing the marketing efforts through the agency’s HubSpot efforts and planning.

Juliana oversees content creation and also serves as Director of Marketing for SAFEbuilt and its nine (9) subsidiaries, including Interwest Consulting Group and Calvin, Giordano & Associates, Inc. She combines strategic vision with creative execution, managing brand strategy, content development, and marketing intelligence to ensure consistent messaging across the organization.

Under her leadership, these award-winning campaigns not only generate high-quality leads for the sales teams but also create awareness of SAFEbuilt’s broad service offerings. By building a best-in-class marketing infrastructure, including the integration of HubSpot and Salesforce, Juliana has enhanced engagement and set the stage for measurable growth across all brands.

Through our marketing efforts, we have redefined how community development services for the public sector can be marketed while consistently delivering content that supports the needs of local government leaders and the communities they serve.

We are excited to build on this momentum and look forward to more successes ahead!

The post SAFEbuilt Marketing’s Vision Powers Four Award-Winning Campaigns with VYE appeared first on CGA.

Let’s explore how coastal areas are adapting to these challenges and implementing innovative solutions to protect their beaches, including:

• Living shorelines: natural defenses against coastal erosion
• Manmade defenses against erosion
• Community-led efforts
• Resilient coastal community infrastructure

Protecting our shorelines includes protecting our communities

Coastal regions are largely populated and often thrive on fisheries, farming, and tourism. But rising water levels and vanishing beaches are dealing a devastating blow to local communities.

The number of people impacted by shoreline erosion only continues to grow. California tops the coastal populations chart with 26.8 million people living in coastal counties, followed by Florida with 16.2 million, New York with 15.9 million, New Jersey with 7.2 million, and Texas with 6.9 million.

Living shorelines = natural defenses against coastal erosion

Coastal states are increasingly turning to living shorelines, which use natural materials to stabilize coasts while providing habitat benefits. The goal of living shorelines is to protect the coast while also preserving or enhancing the natural ecosystem. They’re generally considered more environmentally friendly than hard structures, though they may not be suitable for all locations or levels of wave energy.

Specific examples of living shorelines include the following:

Beach nourishment

Beach nourishment involves adding sand or sediment to eroding beaches, widening them to create a buffer against erosion. This method offers several key benefits: it immediately restores beaches, preserves their natural aesthetics, enhances recreational value by providing more space for activities, and protects coastal infrastructure from erosion and storm damage.
By mimicking natural beach processes, nourishment maintains the shoreline’s appeal while effectively safeguarding coastal assets.

Up-and-coming developments:

• Use of compatible offshore sand deposits: Coastal engineers are now focusing on finding sand sources that closely match the grain size and composition of the native beach. This ensures better stability and longevity of the nourished beach, reducing the frequency of repeat nourishments.
• Integration with other erosion control methods: Modern beach nourishment projects often incorporate additional elements such as dune restoration, strategic placement of sand-retention structures, or nearshore artificial reefs. This holistic approach provides multiple lines of defense against erosion.

Planting native vegetation

Planting native vegetation, especially on dunes, is an effective method to stabilize shorelines and combat erosion. This natural, eco-friendly approach offers multiple benefits. It enhances biodiversity by providing habitat for local flora and fauna. The diverse plant life improves coastal aesthetics, creating a more vibrant and attractive shoreline. As a cost-effective solution, vegetation requires minimal maintenance once established, making it an economical choice for long-term coastal protection.

Up-and-coming developments:

• Dune restoration initiatives: These projects involve rebuilding and stabilizing sand dunes using native vegetation. Healthy dune systems act as natural buffers against storm surge and wind, while also providing habitat for coastal wildlife.
• Wetland and estuary rehabilitation: Coastal wetlands and estuaries play a crucial role in absorbing wave energy and storm surge. Restoration efforts focus on removing invasive species, replanting native vegetation, and restoring natural water flow patterns to enhance these ecosystems’ protective capabilities.

Manmade defenses = immediate solutions for erosion

While living shorelines offer ecological benefits, local governments often opt for engineered solutions like jetties, groins, or seawalls due to their immediate effectiveness in high-energy environments, ability to protect valuable coastal infrastructure, and longstanding familiarity among coastal engineers and policymakers.

Jetties

Jetties are long, narrow structures extending from the shore into the water, typically built at inlets or river mouths. They help maintain navigable channels by preventing sand from filling them in. Jetties also protect harbor entrances and can create calmer waters for boats.

Benefits:

• Maintain navigation channels
• Protect harbor entrances
• Reduce dredging needs

Groins

Groins are similar to jetties but are usually shorter and built perpendicular to the shoreline. They interrupt longshore currents, trapping sand on their updraft side.

Benefits:

• Accumulate sand on one side of the structure
• Widen beaches in specific areas
• Can be used in series to protect longer stretches of coastline

Breakwaters

Breakwaters are offshore structures, either floating or fixed, that reduce wave energy before it reaches the shore. They create a sheltered area of calmer water behind them.

Benefits:

• Reduces wave impact on the shoreline
• Protects harbors and marinas
• Can promote beach accretion

Community-led efforts allow residents to take action

Many coastal towns are taking matters into their own hands with local initiatives to protect their shores.
Grassroots projects include:

• Homeowner sand fencing programs: Local governments are partnering with property owners to install sand fencing along beachfronts. These fences help capture and accumulate wind-blown sand, building up natural dunes that protect against erosion and storm surges.

• Volunteer-based beach profiling and monitoring: Citizen science programs train local volunteers to regularly measure beach profiles and collect data on shoreline changes. This not only provides valuable data for coastal managers but also increases community awareness and engagement in coastal protection efforts.

Resilient coastal community infrastructure

Many coastal communities facing erosion challenges are reimagining their infrastructure to be more resilient and multifunctional in the face of environmental impacts. These efforts include focusing on:

• Flood-resistant public spaces: New waterfront developments are incorporating flood-resistant designs, such as elevated structures, permeable surfaces, and strategically placed berms. These spaces can withstand occasional flooding while providing recreational areas for the community.
• Green infrastructure for stormwater management: Communities are implementing rain gardens, bioswales, and other green infrastructure elements to manage stormwater runoff. These natural systems help reduce erosion from heavy rains and improve water quality by filtering pollutants before they reach the ocean.

Managed retreat planning

Some coastal areas are beginning to implement managed retreat strategies for areas where erosion is progressing too far to recover. This includes gradually relocating infrastructure and homes away from high-risk zones. If your community is considering a managed retreat plan, these options might benefit you long-term.

• Long-term planning and zoning changes: Communities are updating their comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances to restrict new development in high-risk coastal areas and incentivize inland relocation. This includes creating coastal buffer zones and adjusting building codes to account for future sea-level rise.
• Property buyout programs: Local and state governments are establishing voluntary buyout programs for properties in the most vulnerable areas. These programs offer fair market value for homes, allowing residents to relocate to safer areas while converting high-risk properties into natural buffer zones.
• Restoration of natural coastal habitats: As properties are removed from high-risk areas, these spaces are being restored to their natural state. This may involve replanting native vegetation, reconnecting tidal marshes, or creating dune systems that act as natural barriers against storms and erosion.

Where to go from here

As we face the challenges of climate change and rising sea levels, our approach to coastal protection is evolving. From traditional engineered solutions to innovative living shorelines, communities across America are employing a diverse range of strategies to safeguard their beaches and coastal infrastructure.

At CGA, our landscape architects, civil engineers, and planning experts are experienced in helping coastal communities prepare for the future of ocean-related challenges.

Contact us today and learn how we can bring your vision to life.

The post How to Prevent Beach Erosion: America’s Changing Shorelines appeared first on CGA.

Loveland, CO – CGA is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Community Development Leader Awards (CDLAs). These awards are designed to celebrate the efforts and steadfast dedication of municipal leaders such as city managers, public works directors, city engineers, building officials, and others whose contributions go unrecognized.

The company is inviting the entire community: residents,

city officials and their peers to nominate the most deserving individuals for the 2023 CDLA Awards. The deadline to submit nominations is January 15, 2024, at 11:59 PM CST. Winners will be announced in February 2024 and will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to the community. For more information on eligibility and the nomination process, please visit CDLAwards.com.

“The CDLAs are a chance to shine a spotlight on the service of our municipal and public agency heroes,” said Chris Giordano, CEO of SAFEbuilt. “In our work nationwide, we see their dedication, innovation, passion, and leadership — not only in everyday tasks but also in challenging times like disaster recovery. The CDLAs aim to highlight these efforts and inspire other municipal leaders.”

Award categories include:

• City Manager of the Year
• Community Development Director of the Year
• City Engineer / Public Works Director of the Year
• Public Service Innovator Award
• Community Builder Award
• Sustainability Trailblazer Award
• Future Leader Award

Nominations for the 2023 awards are open to individuals who should be recognized for their work and contributions to community improvement. Chris Giordano emphasized the accessibility of the nomination process: “We’ve streamlined the process to encourage nominations from those closest to these leaders—their colleagues, residents and community partners. They are the ones who have directly seen and felt the impact of these leaders’ efforts.”

This inaugural CDLA not only marks a pioneering moment in recognizing municipal excellence but also stands apart in its national scope and influence. Unlike regional or state peer-to-peer recognitions typically seen in city officials’ associations, the CDLA’s broad range and reach promise to inspire and impact professionals across the country, setting a new benchmark in acknowledging the vital contributions of city and municipal leaders.

For more information regarding all ten different awards and the nomination process, visit CDLAwards.com.

Please click here for the original press release.

The post Nominations Now Open for the 2023 Community Development Leader Awards appeared first on CGA.

Fortunately, Electronic Plan Review (EPR) can make backlogs a thing of the past and help municipalities better manage the high and low fluctuations of building activities. Using today’s digital technology, municipalities can streamline the traditional permitting process and usher in a future of faster plan review turnarounds — streamlining operations, reducing costs for applicants while simultaneously avoiding budget deficits, and improving overall service.

1. Faster turnarounds

By implementing EPR, your building operations will realize immediate results through a streamlined and scaled plan review process that more efficiently manages fluctuations in activity levels. This is achieved through the use of parallel plan reviews, and the use of multiple plans examiners who evaluate various aspects of a project concurrently — including standard building code components, engineering standards, and zoning

2. Stabilized budgets

Unpredictable and unstable permit revenues make it difficult to ensure an always-positive contribution to the General Fund. However, omitting costs associated with traditional plan reviews (printing, storage, mailing), broader access to technical reviewers, and shorter turnaround times collectively help your building department manage more reviews in the same amount of time, thereby increasing your permit revenues.

3. Increased customer service

Municipalities that use EPR to optimize plan review processes experience not only improved efficiency and consistent revenues, but also increased customer service that comes with the accessibility, ease, and transparency that EPR provides. Delivering constant, remote access to plans from any device, EPR promotes project accuracy and transparency throughout each stage of development. 

With digital commenting, stakeholders can coordinate and discuss detailed aspects of a project in real-time to optimize communication and avoid errors that could lead to delays or failed inspections down the road. Additionally, inspectors in the field can easily pull up plans to ensure the critical compliance components of a project are being met, minimizing inspection oversights, keeping projects moving, and ensuring top-quality development.

4. Broader perspective with National Plan Review (NPR)

EPR can put a wealth of tools and knowledge at your fingertips. And, depending on your provider, the EPR you choose can not only help you solve your immediate challenges but can also help you build new strategies for the future.

For example, our National Plan Review (NPR) service combines EPR and scalable staffing to leverage the breadth of our national knowledge base to your municipality’s unique projects, codes, and requirements. With a broader — in this case, national — perspective and support, you can uncover new opportunities for processes, revenue, relationships, and projects with greater insight and efficiency.

Ready to make the change?

CGA provides building and remote plan review services to over 1,000 communities across the United States. As a partner, you’ll benefit from on-demand access to a wide range of technical expertise for simple to complex projects; ensuring faster turnarounds, stabilized budget revenues, and increased customer service.

The post 4 Ways Electronic Plan Review (EPR) Helps Your Community appeared first on CGA.

Here are just a few tried-and-true tips for upping your customer service game, delivering successful public sector projects, and keeping your residents happy. 

1. Look ahead and put the right supports in place

No matter the project, understaffing and inadequate resources lead to inefficiencies, budget creep, and delays. On their own, each of these things leads to frustrations — and combined, can make your job incredibly difficult.

It’s important to identify early on the places where you will need strategic and practical support to ensure your budgets are stable and you are operating at maximum efficiency.

For some municipalities finding the right talent fit for a full-time staffing gap is ideal (but, unfortunately, tends to be time-consuming and costly). But for others, scalable, flexible interim staffing is a practical, effective solution for staying on budget while supporting immediate needs and fluctuating workloads.

2. Think of everyone on your team as a customer service representative

Everyone involved in your project is a potential point of community contact. That means everyone is responsible for delivering customer service.

When you are confident that every professional working on your project upholds the same high standards of customer service that you do, you can be confident in a project’s eventual success. It’s not unreasonable — in fact, it’s a good idea — to ask potential project partners about how much experience or training their team members have in customer service. This will help make sure you’re delivering the end experience you want to be known for.

3. Expect the unexpected 

Even when you’ve taken all the right steps, assembled the best team, and considered every angle for your project, things don’t always proceed as expected. Anything from a natural disaster to a simple inspection delay can greatly impact your community, your project, and your reputation.

But when you have the right partners in place, there’s a plan already in place for what to do when things don’t go as planned. For example, our disaster recovery assistance can get your community functioning quickly after catastrophic events, just as our expedited plan review and inspection services can help you navigate tight delivery timelines.

4. Equip your community with easy-to-use tools

Paper processes can be quick to slow a building department down. But these processes are familiar and established, making them difficult to change. So, how can you move into the digital era and keep up with rising demands without creating complications for residents and developers?

The key is to ensure that the technology is intuitive, easy to use, and provides new benefits to the user. Take electronic permitting and inspector software, for example. This technology allows community members and contractors to track permit projects from start to finish.

This type of transparency is no longer a luxury — it’s becoming a necessity to streamline projects as high-impact growth continues to affect communities of all sizes. 

5. Be transparent and over-communicate

These days, you might not have the time to issue a press release or hold a town hall for every budget update. Meanwhile, your community members want to know how their tax money is being spent.

Bringing in a partner can not only help you keep projects moving forward but can also help keep your community involved and informed. From organizing community workshops and forums, to creating surveys to get resident opinions on future projects, you don’t have to do it alone. A third-party partner can help you stay in touch with residents to improve satisfaction — and improve the final outcome of your next project.

CGA has what you need

Whether you need supplemental staff, a full-service embedded department, increased efficiencies, or innovative tools, CGA will help you deliver a higher level of customer service at every touch point to help your projects (and your community) thrive. 

The post Improving Government Customer Service: 5 Ways To Up Your Game appeared first on CGA.

So, how can you introduce customer service to your community? Here are five steps you can consider today.

1. Give Visibility Into Your Public Works Projects

By nature, public works services are incredibly visible. When handled transparently, community leaders can show that these projects are helping to improve quality of life — after all, park redesigns, improved transportation, and other local projects are all beneficial once complete.

While projects are underway, it’s important to:

• Use social media to provide real-time updates such as road closures, utility interruptions, and progress of maintenance and repair projects.
• Communicate with residents frequently to keep them informed about current and future public works projects, as well as address any concerns or issues that residents may have.

Source: ARTBA Bridge Report

2. Encourage Community Involvement and Feedback

Because community members are the ones who use public works services, their feedback is essential in improving those services.

• Hold regular community events. These can be used to inform residents about public works services, as well as to gather feedback and suggestions from residents. Community events can also be used to showcase public works projects and highlight the benefits they bring to the community.
• Use surveys and feedback forms to gather feedback from residents about their experiences with public works services. This feedback can be used to identify areas for improvement and make changes to improve the quality of service.

Source: Infrastructure Report Card

3. Enable Timely and Efficient Maintenance and Repairs

While maintenance and repairs are necessary to ensure that the community’s infrastructure is functioning correctly and is safe for residents to use, it’s important to provide timely and efficient work to minimize impact on residents’ lives.

• Prioritize emergency repairs. Public works officials should have a system in place to respond quickly to emergency repair requests, such as water main breaks or sinkholes. Responding quickly to emergency repair requests can help prevent accidents and reduce the disruption to residents’ daily lives.
• Communicate repair and maintenance status so that residents are aware of when a project is expected to be complete, and why the project is important for the community. Without these communications, public works projects can be seen as nuances versus essential services being performed for the overall safety and well-being of the local residents.

Source: USA Facts

4. Invest in Technology

Technology can be used to improve communication, streamline processes, and provide better service delivery.

• Electronic permitting software makes it easy to stay organized, keep your team on track, and know which projects you have ongoing and the status of each. Having this information at your fingertips makes it easier to navigate conversations with the community and plan for future projects.
• Use technology such as sensors and monitoring systems to detect issues before they become significant problems. This can help prevent accidents and reduce the time and cost of repairs.
• Invest in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GIS can be used to map public works infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and water treatment facilities. This can help public works officials identify areas that need maintenance or repair, as well as plan for future projects.

5. Measure the Success of Your Customer Service Improvements

It’s important to make sure that any customer service improvements you make are measured to ensure they are effectively helping your department and improving resident satisfaction.

• Customer satisfaction surveys are an easy way to gather feedback from residents about their experiences with public works services. This feedback can be used to identify areas for improvement and make changes to improve the quality of service.
• Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs), such as repair response times or the number of potholes repaired during a designated time period, can help public works officials identify areas for improvement and make changes to improve the quality of service.

Improve Customer Service With Third-Party Support

Many times, customer service is a priority for communities, but lack of staffing and/or funding makes it difficult for community leaders to provide the level of support that is expected by local residents and businesses.

At CGA, we specialize in community infrastructure development and services, including civil engineering, permitting, inspections, and more. With local expertise and the backing of a national company, we have the staff on hand to inform your project, keep timelines moving, and make projects more seamless and less disruptive to your community.

Ready to see how we can help improve community relationships?

Learn more about our public works services.

The post 5 Ways To Improve Customer Service in Your Public Works Department appeared first on CGA.

It took place on March 30 at the FLA Arena in Fort Lauderdale.

Congratulations to David Stambaugh for landing the top spot on our company’s leaderboard, Chris Giordano for taking 3rd place in the CEO scoreboard, and Jenna Martinetti for securing first place for CGA’s women’s employee team!

Well done to everyone who participated!

The post Corporate Run 2023 appeared first on CGA.

When city growth is handled in a thoughtful way, urbanization offers a number of advantages to city residents, local economies, and even the environment:

• More job opportunities
• Economic diversification
• Increased tourism
• Improved public transportation systems
• Greater access to social services

But rapid growth can present a number of challenges for the city officials and building departments managing plan reviews, safety inspections, code compliance, and internal staffing.

Spikes in plan review activity and staffing shortages can create frustrating approval delays for developers, who need to keep their projects moving smoothly, and for the city, which loses revenue opportunity when high-value initiatives stall.

The Benefits of Leveraging Auxiliary Staff

Auxiliary building services staff is a budget-friendly supplemental solution for cities experiencing rapid growth and development. Here are six advantages of using auxiliary staff to keep projects moving forward.

1. Scalable Engagements Can Help Accelerate Plan Reviews 

Normal ebbs and flows in permit application activity are to be expected – but with urbanization on the rise, and the American Rescue Plan Act going into effect, cities could soon see a major surge in plan review submissions.

Ballooning backlogs cause approval times to increase, frustrating residents and developers, but  auxiliary staff can help you accelerate the plan review process by supporting the work of your in-house team, minimizing your backlog, and helping to keep projects moving. Scalable service models allow you to ramp up your auxiliary engagement as activity increases, and dial it back when the workload subsides.

2. Cost-Effective Ways to Address Staffing Issues

When building departments face staffing shortages, traditional avenues for managing backlog activity include hiring more full-time employees and implementing mandatory overtime for current staff.

But both options can be costly. Mandatory overtime is expensive and may cause employee burnout if used as a long-term solution. Hiring full-time employees comes with built-in costs:

• • • Recruiting and talent sourcing
    • Hiring and onboarding (average cost per employee is $4,000)
    • Training and continuing education
    • Providing jobsite equipment
    • Maintaining full-time salaries when workload decreases

Auxiliary staff eliminates recruiting, hiring, training, and equipment costs, and allows you to design your engagement based on volume of work, helping to alleviate budgeting issues associated with high backlog volume.

The post Benefits of Addressing Growth Challenges with Auxiliary Staff appeared first on CGA.

The City of Wilton Manors’ Urban Form and Density Report, determined the steps needed to best redevelop Wilton Manors’ mixed-use districts, while maintaining the City’s small-town identity and character celebrated there today. Through effective inventory and analysis studies and public engagement workshops, CGA was able to not only identify the future urban form of the City’s mixed-use districts–the true connective spine of the community, but also effectively develop a step-by-step guideline of recommendations to achieve the maximum potential through increasing density by tiered development incentives in order to strengthen and animate the public realm.

We are so proud of the work the CGA team put in too this project and look forward to seeing in implemented in the City of Wilton Manors.

Click here for an in-depth look at the work that went in to this report.

The post CGA wins Outstanding Study/Plan Award from the Florida Planning and Zoning Association appeared first on CGA.

On July 1, CCNA thresholds for continuing services contracts increased under CS/CS/HB 441. The approved bill increases the maximum limit for CCNA continuing contracts for Engineering, Landscape Architecture, Surveying, and Architecture from an estimated per-project construction cost of $2 million to $4 million and increases the maximum limit for procuring a study from $200,000 per study to $500,000.

Read the bill details at www.flsenate.gov

View a copy of the enacted bill HB441

Chapter No. 2020-127

House of Representatives Staff Analysis of the Bill

Download the flyer

The post Consultants’ Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA) Legislative Update appeared first on CGA.