The K.B.Foster Team
Ken Foster, PE » Principal
Kenneth B. Foster, Founded K.B.Foster Civil Engineering, Inc. in 1978 and has been providing engineering services to the public for over 31 years. Mr. Foster's special expertise is related to management of large scale projects in our environmentally sensitive area. As Chief Financial Officer and Principal Engineer of Foster Engineering, Mr. Foster has the responsibility for supervision of seven professionals and technicians in the fields of engineering design, environmental analysis, plan review, surveying and government affairs assistance.
Mr. Foster currently holds, or has held, the following public positions: 1) Member of the North Tahoe Community Plan Team; 2) North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; 3) Six year member of the North Tahoe Recreation Commission (1972-1978); 4) Director (Past President) North Tahoe Public Utility District (NTPUD), Tahoe Vista, California. North Tahoe P.U.D. serves sewer, water and recreational services to the north shore of Lake Tahoe and has undertaken State grant funded erosion control projects (1979-1983); 5) Chairman of the Tahoe City Design Review Committee (TCDRC). TCDRC is appointed by the Placer County Board of Supervisors to provide architectural and design review of all commercial projects in the North Shore portion of Placer County; and 6) Director of the Tahoe Sierra Preservation Council, Tahoe City, California. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Truckee-Tahoe Contractors Association. Ken is also a private pilot and has flown a single engine cessna through 14 countries.
Trent Baldwin, PE » Project Manager
Trent Baldwin with 12 years of experience comes to K.B. Foster Civil Engineering with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Nevada, Reno. As our new project manager he is responsible for engineering and staff oversight. His past involvement with large teams of multi-disciplined technical professionals has given Trent the tools required for the sensitive projects within the Tahoe and Truckee areas.
Trent also has previous experience as a consultant and as a project manager working on projects consisting of airport improvements, DOT freeway design, City and County roadway improvements and various other general heavy civil projects.
Trent is an active member of the community, serving the Nevada Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers as president-elect.
Thomas E. Taylor » Architect
Mr. Taylor possesses over 49 years of experience as an Architect and Structural Designer. His project experience includes: historical restorations, residential, commercial, institutional and industrial buildings - types I through V. As the senior architect on several projects he has been key to management of the construction of hotels, shopping centers, multiple residential developments and churches. He has provided project management, construction team supervision, conceptual and detailed estimating, contract negotiation as well as coordination of contractors, engineers, public agencies, owners, etc. Prior to joining K.B.Foster Civil Engineering, Inc. 21 years ago, Mr. Taylor supervised architectural departments in multi-disciplinary firms and also provided consultation to large, private firms in Nevada, California and Oregon.
Prior to joining K.B.Foster Civil Engineering, Inc., Mr. Taylor worked for several private developers throughout California, Oregon and Nevada as an architect. He also ran his own architectural design business at various times for a total of 15 years. Additional experience includes a two-year assignment in Saudi Arabia for a large U.S. architectural and engineering firm.
Lonnie Kirby, P.L.S.
Lonnie R. Kirby possesses over 18 years of land surveying experience in California and Nevada. He graduated with a B.S. in Forestry from the University of Missouri and is a Registered Land Surveyor in Nevada and California. He has been the Professional Land Surveyor in responsible charge of hundreds of surveys in the Lake Tahoe/Northern Nevada region. He is very familiar with local control networks and the issues associated with the seasonal surveying challenges faced in the Tahoe Basin. The majority of his project experience includes construction staking, topographic surveys, boundary surveys, ALTA surveys, subdivisions, lot line adjustments, water rights, and elevation certificate surveys. His experience and understanding of construction staking and his attention to details leads to cost savings by promoting correct construction and eliminating extra trips to correct work. Prior to joining K.B.Foster Civil Engineering, Lon was responsible for conducting the field survey of all types of surveys including some underwater topographic surveys. He also worked for the US Forest Service for over 16 years on three National Forests primarily responsible for timber sale preparation as Manager of the Districts Timber Program.
Melanie Hill » Engineer
Melanie, our most recent addition to our professional team at K.B. Foster Civil Engineering, Inc. is a graduate from San Jose State University with a B.S. focusing on structures in Civil Engineering.
Melanie has already been involved with our projects from field surveying to working on topographic design and general civil projects.
Prior to her work here at K.B. Foster Civil Engineering, Inc. Melanie worked for Deens Corp., Inc. in San Jose, CA. for 3 years which focused on transportation and traffic. Some of her projects she was involved with the Almaden Expressway Widening, Lyndale Area Improvements and VTA Utility Lines Segment Relocation U.S.
Ryan Thomas » Engineer
Ryan has been with K.B. Foster Civil Engineering, Inc. for almost 3 years now as one of our staff engineers who was a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a B.S., magna cum laude, in Civil Engineering. Ryan has become an integral part of our company's operations, working both in the field and in the office. As part of our survey crew, he has worked extensively on topographic, bathymetric, and boundary surveys. Working as a design engineer in the office, his time with the company has given him design experience in the areas of site grading, underground utility replacement and design, BMP design and retrofits, structural design for decks, design of retaining walls, and seismic analysis. As a part of these projects, he has also gained experience working on projects for the City of South Lake Tahoe, Aramark Lake Tahoe, North Tahoe Public Utility District, Tahoe Truckee Unified School District, the Town of Truckee, and Placer, Nevada, El Dorado, Washoe, and Douglas Counties.
