David Mistick

The G20 Summit: A Disaster?

Excitement abounds as Pittsburgh prepares to host the G20 summit in September. Perhaps not quite the excitement shown over the Superbowl win this year, or the Stanley Cup returning to Pittsburgh this year, but then we are a city of sports fanatics.

The G20 will be a major showcase for a beautiful city. Building and business owners within the golden triangle, however, are preparing for the two-day event as though a major natural disaster were headed our way.

A city built of bridges and tunnels, Pittsburgh traffic is difficult on a good day. Add the rolling security shut-downs of major roadways as dignitaries make their way in and out of their events and Pittsburgher's know there will be no quick or easy way to head into or out of the office. Employers and building owners know it too, and are planning almost as if a pandemic were scheduled for September 24, 2009. Plans being considered include everything from a complete holiday, to housing essential workers in the office buildings, to telecommuting and more.

Building owners and managers are establishing communication protocols to alert each other in the event protesters become unruly in their area. Along with foreign dignitaries and media, protesters are estimated to be 50,000 strong during the meetings. Buildings constructed mostly of glass are stockpiling plywood in anticipation of broken windows. Security checkpoints are being examined and strengthened. Every aspect of managing a business or a building in downtown Pittsburgh is being scrutinized to insure the least possible disruption to property, people and procedures.

Supplies are being gathered, and work plans put in place. This is business continuity planning as surely as are the plans for hurricanes and fires. Fortunately, the G20 comes with more advance warning. Savvy property and business professionals are taking full advantage of the opportunity to have their plans firmly in place.

DAVID MISTICK NO LONGER AT CHURCH RESTORATION GROUP

David and many of his key long term project managers are no longer at Church Restoration Group. He continues to be involved in disaster planning and restoration across the United States. David may be reached at 412-812-0211, email dave@mistickpg.com

Hurricane Recovery

Well it looks like Hurricane Ike will press the patience and resources to the limits in the next week.  Currently wreaking havoc on the islands in the Caribbean It looks as if Ike will turn toward the Gulf Coast and possibly hit New Orleans.  It has been a cruel and intense hurricane season already and there is a lot of it remaining.

It appears that FEMA, the state and the city did a great job in the evacuation last week. People are still trying to return home  though largely due to the inability of the power companies with shared resources to bring the grids back up.

We should keep the residents and the responders in our thoughts and prayers as we head into this next storm.  It will test their human resolve to continue on in the face of these back to back storms. It is almost a certainty that public and private resources will be strained. Hopefully the public recovery efforts will be as successful as the evacuation was.

Church Restoration from Flood

Today throughout Florida many church congregations are facing the prospects of cleaning up the mud and water in their churches and schools. After the surge of angst and nervous energy to restore the facilities many will have an unhappy moment when they realize that they have no flood coverage.
This coverage is often not included in basic property policies. A few enlightened captives make this an essential part of their programs. However, most of the carriers offer no basic coverage.
Be good stewards---know your perils, ask informed questions and protect your church home.

Church Insurance Coverage

Over this busy summer season I have been consulting on several significant church fire claims. All of them are losses in excess of two million dollars. Although they represent different congregations in different geographic locations they shared one common element. That common thread was inadequate coverage for the cost of code upgrades.
Sometimes common sense does not prevail. It would seem a simple truth that a hundred year old church with replacement costs in excess of three million dollars would require more than fifty thousand dollars in code and ordinance coverage.
Just think of current code requirements regarding fire detection and suppression, accessibility, make up air requirements to cite only a few. Be good stewards of your church properties and consult your local code official as to what requirements might come into play in the event of a significant fire. Then discuss coverage for those issues with your insurance broker.

Dave Mistick To Address Church Insurance Company's Annual Spring Meeting

Once again the Church Insurance Company, the primary insurer of Episcopal Church property in America, has invited Dave Mistick to address its annual nationwide meeting of diocesan administrators and risk managers. For several years Church Insurance has asked Dave to share his insights on disaster planning and restoration with this group. Dave brings more than thirty years of experience in historic and disaster restoration to the podium. His hands on view of the disaster world is always informative with a healthy dose of humor.

Circumspex To Exhibit at DRC Show

Paul Campbell and I are pleased to announce that Circumpex will be exhibiting at the DRC show in Niagara Falls APril 28th and 29th. The full power of Circumspex our web based disaster planning software will be demonstrated. It has recently received rave reviews in initial rollouts at businesses and colleges. For more info please visit www.mistickpg.com until our new Circumspex web site appears next month.

Total Contentz Seminar by Barb Jackson A Huge Success

Once again Barb Jackson hits the mark with professional training. At her recent seminar in Baltimore attendees lavished praise for her efforts. She is absolutely the Queen of contents restoration in the US. Her time in our organization transformed our total in house cleaning and processing operation. Those were the breakthrough years. Hopefully many more of you can avail yourselves of her talents.

Historic Building Valuation at IMUA Conference

I am fortunate to have the opportunity to speak at the national conference of the Inland Marine Underwriters Association in Dallas this week. I will share the podium with Jonathan Held of JS Held and Company. Jon is well respected as one of the leading experts in property claims valuation in America.

In our session we will consider exactly what it means to be "historic". The term is often misused and misunderstood. We will investigate the concept of certified historic restorations and federal tax credits. The group will also become acquainted with the similarities and differences in historic districts and how they impact valuation.

We will also address methods and strategies to properly value historic buildings. The attendees will learn critical issues to consider in setting realistic values. This process will assist them in creating valid claims parameters for losses incurred while covered by builder's risk policies.

I will present examples of interesting and challenging historic building restoration claims that we have managed throughout the United States. My presentation will include a project reclaiming virgin first growth heart pine to match existing flooring in a cathedral dating from the late 1700's. We will also focus attention on the use and abuse of the claims process by certain specialty consultants. This would include a claim where an expert in adobe huts was brought in to determine the exact plaster formulation in a nineteenth century church.

There is a reason that historical restoration is sometimes referred to as hysterical restoration.

We will take a tour of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

View Mistick's Disaster Planning advice on ezinearticles.com

Please take a minute to view my most recent piece of small business disaster planning advice:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Fifteen-Minutes-For-Small-Business-Disaster-Survival&id=1076084