Administrative Brief
COMMISSION INFORMATION MEMORANDUM
VOL. 31 NO. 34
October 29, 2009
ADMINISTRATIVE BRIEF FROM GARY HOBBIE
Building Services Division - Development Services
In response to requests from contractors within the community, the Building Services Division will hold
its third contractor educational seminar on November 12,2009 at the Bicentennial Center. The class
will be presented by Mike Roberts, Building Official, and Ron Deneault, Senior Plans Examiner, with
technical support by Sue Cline. Fire Resistive Construction will be covered in this class. Target
audiences of Class A, B, C and D Contractors were sent special invitations to attend this specialty
education class, which counts towards their required continuing education requirements for the City's
contractor's license.
At the August 'Roof Fram ing' class, 74 contractors attended with 64 pre-registering by the original
deadline. Late registrations were accepted through August 26 resulting in an additional ten
participants. There were six walk-ins and a few no-shows. All Class A, B, C and D and Specialty
Framing Contractors were sent an invitation to the class. To date, we have averaged 73 contractors
in each of the two classes, and 147 contractors attending classes this year.
We will look at 201 0 as another growing year for education as many contractors will be renewing their
license and possibly needing additional hours to meet licensing requirements. We will consider
charging a minimal fee to cover costs for handouts, rental location, and refreshments served at each
education sem inar. Several other education topics have been suggested from surveys conducted;
including permit acquisition, footing and foundation requirements, instructions on reading and
understanding the IBC and IRC Code, narrow portal requirements, stair construction, permit
application and design criteria, plumbing and AlC, old building exterior preservation and maintenance,
and any classes to educate contractors on the laws and regulations in Salina.
One area, Chapter 17 for Special Inspections, remains to be completed prior to the adoption of the
2006 International Building Code. Very few items remain before the 2006 International Residential
Code can be brought to the Commission for adoption. The National Electrical Code and Uniform
Plumbing Code are approved by their sub-committees with the Uniform Mechanical Code nearing
completion. A new set of updated building codes could be completed prior to year end.
Local building contractors were issued 45 new home permits by the end of September. Additionally,
21 home additions and 137 housing remodeling projects were issued building permits. We have seen
43 residential carports and garages, and 33 miscellaneous residential permits for this same time
period. This is approximately one-half the number of new homes constructed during the same period
in 2007. From these reports, the economy is showing its effect on new home construction in the
community.
In addition, commercial building permits have slowed; with six new buildings permitted and 81
commercial alterations completed through September 2009. There were six Saline County permits for
commercial buildings and structures for the year. We have several new commercial projects under
design and review and have had several DRT meetings with no building permits issued this year.
Advertisements for the Building Official's position have been made public on the City's website, as
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well as the International Code Council's website. We presently have over two dozen applicants
interested in the position offered. We will continue to take applications through November 4, 2009.
The selection and interview process will take over a month to complete, with hopes of having a person
onboard early in January 2010.
If you have any questions on any building code or building-related project, please don't hesitate to
stop by our offices or give us a call at 309-5715. We are more than happy to answer any questions
you may have.
MONDAY'S MEETING
Enclosed are other items on the agenda. If any Commissioner has questions or cannot attend the
meeting, please contact me.
Jason A. Gage
City Manager