Summary of February 17th Meeting

Meeting Date: February 17, 2011

Location: Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

The meeting was convened at 9:40 a.m. by Bob DuPont, of Regulatory Guidance and Design, LLC. Attendees introduced themselves and identified the organization they were representing.

Mr. DuPont reported that the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Engineering Professional Development, under a federal funding grant, is facilitating a meeting for the Safety and Buildings Division on May 5, 2011, concerning the Wisconsin Building Safety Network. The meeting is about the advantages of energy conservation codes for buildings. DuPont also reported that he and the UW-Madison Department of Engineering Professional Development are exploring opportunities for ARC to cooperate with that UW Department in providing educational opportunities for ARC members.

The February 11th meeting with Safety and Buildings Division Administrator Tom Nardelli was fruitful, as reported on by Annie Early, Dave Bloom and Bob DuPont. During that meeting, Bob DuPont and Alliance member representatives Annie Early, Dave Bloom, Jim Boullion and Richard Paur, formally introduced Nardelli and the two S&B bureau directors, Berni Mattsson and Randy Baldwin, to the Alliance for Regulatory Coordination. Mr. Nardelli said the Alliance was a good idea, and that it could act as a sort of “hopper” that can collect and process ideas among various groups so that what comes out the bottom of the hopper is something that the agency can more easily deal with. Nardelli also said he welcomed continued communication with the Alliance, saying that he is open to meeting regularly with the Alliance, perhaps attending member meetings on a quarterly basis.

Bob DuPont distributed a draft list of 15 concerns regarding operations of the Safety and Buildings Division. There was agreement to continue developing the list and to review it during the next ARC member meeting in preparation for presenting the concerns to Tom Nardelli.

Regarding the Commerce reorganization contained in 2011 Wisconsin Act 7, Bob DuPont reported that the Act does not authorize the Secretary of the Department of Administration to eliminate positions or transfer funds from the Safety and Buildings and Environmental and Regulatory Services Divisions, as the proposal had originally provided. DuPont said that he understands the Erosion Control program for commercial building sites may be transferred back to the Safety and Buildings Division, from the Department of Natural Resources. Bob asked if any Alliance members have concerns about such a transfer. No concerns were raised.

DuPont reported that the Budget Repair Bill contains provisions that may have a net positive effect on the Safety and Buildings Division’s financial situation. It appears that the more than one million dollar lapse from the Safety and Buildings program revenue appropriation, planned by the Doyle Administration to take place before June 30, 2011, may not occur due to the S&B appropriation already being depleted. However, it also appears that any savings accrued due to employees paying more for their health insurance and retirement during April, May and June 2011 may be lapsed to the general fund, to help balance the state’s overall budget.

Senate Joint Resolution 9, a proposed constitutional amendment was distributed by DuPont. The proposal would prohibit the types of lapsing of funds that have depleted the Safety and Buildings program revenue appropriation by over ten million dollars over the past eight years. Although there was general consensus that stopping lapses was a good thing, due to the general nature of the resolution, there was agreement that ARC would not lobby on the resolution, leaving it up to Alliance member organizations to take a position on the resolution.

Brad Boycks raised concern over difficulty in obtaining information about fire incidents from the Safety and Buildings Division. Such data is required to be reported to the National Fire Incident Reporting System by each fire department in Wisconsin. Brad Liggett said that the Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs Association is interested in helping everyone gain more access to fire incident data.

Bob Neale explained how Alliance members can participate in various committees of the International Code Council. He encouraged everyone to participate to the fullest extent possible, emphasizing that there are numerous opportunities open for virtually every segment of the construction industry. Bob Neale also announced an ICC meeting, on the International Green Construction Code, to be held on April 20th in Chicago. More information is available on the ICC website, www.iccsafe.org.

Excerpts from the book Servant Leadership, by Robert K. Greenleaf, were distributed by DuPont, who explained his vision of Alliance members acting as voluntary trustees to the Safety and Buildings Division, compelling the Division to become a more serving institution with improved customer focus. DuPont also explained how he felt that Greenleaf’s observations regarding leadership, both conceptual and operational, seemed applicable to the situation within the Safety and Buildings Division.

DuPont next distributed information about the current structure of the Integrated Services Bureau of the Safety and Buildings Division. He explained how the structure for program supervision is not consistent among the various programs administered by that bureau. The programs for commercial building plan review and inspection, plumbing plan review, and POWTS plan review, are split into geographic sub-units of the state; thereby involving multiple section chiefs in the supervision of those programs. On the other hand, programs for boiler and pressure vessel inspection, anhydrous ammonia system inspection, fuel gas system inspection, electrical consultation, elevator inspection, fire prevention and plumbing consultation are not split in such a manner, with just one section chief overseeing those programs statewide.

Alliance members next received a document entitled Safety and Buildings Division Organizational Consideration from Bob DuPont, which contains recommendations on reorganizing that Division. The recommendations were developed by DuPont in consultation with Mike Corry, former two-time S&B Division Administrator and Ron Buchholz, former S&B Deputy Division Administrator. DuPont reviewed the entire document and explained the rationale for his recommendation to reorganize the Division.

Several Alliance members said the recommended organizational structure seemed to make more sense than the current structure. Experiences with customer-based sections, such as the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Section, have been positive according to several members. There was agreement that dialogue about the S&B organizational structure and ARC member concerns about S&B operations should continue during the next Alliance Member Meeting.

The next meeting of Alliance Membership was scheduled for March 18, 2011, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., at the headquarters of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin, 5330 Wall Street, Madison, WI 53718.

The meeting was adjourned at Noon.