Summary of July 25, 2018 Member Meeting

Post date: Aug 22, 2018 8:14:19 PM

Alliance for Regulatory Coordination

Summary of Member Meeting

Meeting Date: July 25, 2018

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

The meeting was convened at 9:05 a.m. by Bob DuPont, of Regulatory Guidance and Design, LLC. Attendees introduced themselves and identified the organizations they were representing.

Regarding possible future legislative initiatives, three topics were addressed as follows:

On carbon monoxide detection; forced-air furnace provisions, DuPont recapped the meeting he and Richard Paur had with representatives of the Wisconsin Hotel and Lodging Association on June 27, 2018. Richard Paur summarized the concerns of ARC members which were discussed during the meeting. He explained that current law is silent concerning carbon monoxide detectors on more than one floor of multifamily buildings served by roof-top forced-air furnaces, where the detection method requested by the WHLA is utilized. The WHLA method allows detectors located in every fourth dwelling or living unit on a floor served by a forced-air furnace.

DuPont said the WHLA representatives recognized the problem identified by ARC members, and they agreed to develop recommended statutory changes to address concerns raised by ARC members. The goal is to have agreement between the WHLA, ARC and the Department of Safety and Professional Services before January 2019, when the next legislative session begins.

James Price said building owners in northwest Wisconsin are concerned about having to tie carbon monoxide detectors into the central fire alarm system, due to the likelihood of false alarms triggered by carbon monoxide detectors located within dwelling or living units. Joe Hertel explained that most apartment buildings and hotels are constructed so that their carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors located within dwelling or living units send their alarm signals to a supervised location, not directly to the building alarm.

On wedding barns, DuPont summarized his phone calls with Nancy Mistele, Director of the Wisconsin Office of Business Development, and Jeff Curry, in the office of Representative Tranel. Both Mistele and Curry said they understood that the Senate failed to take up 2017 Assembly Bill 187, during the last legislative session, due to concerns related to alcohol licensing, not due to concerns with the building safety provisions of the bill. DuPont said that Jeff Curry indicated that Representative Tranel would like to reintroduce legislation during the next legislative session if he is reelected in November. Curry expects such new legislation would be the same as 2017 Assembly Bill 187, which passed the Assembly during the last legislative session. Price said that wedding barns are popular in northwest Wisconsin, and this legislation would be helpful.

On repeal of fees for municipal plan review participation, DuPont reported that the joint letter to the DSPS, from the ARC, League of Wisconsin Municipalities, and Wisconsin Economic Development Association, is currently being routed for signatures. The letter asks the DSPS to include in their budget request, repeal of statutory provisions that require the DSPS to charge plan review participation fees to second class cities and municipalities that are delegated or appointed as agents of the DSPS to conduct state level commercial building plan review. DuPont said he expects the letter to be sent to the DSPS by the end of the week, and will keep ARC members updated concerning any DSPS response. DuPont related that recently Ed Ruckriegel had asked him whether Permit to Operate fees could be included in the dialogue concerning fees charged by the DSPS to delegated municipalities. Currently, the DSPS requires the City of Madison to collect PTO fees for elevators in Madison, and to forward such to DSPS. DuPont said he would research the PTO situation and make a recommendation at a later date.

Regarding progress on ARC priorities during the past year, the group reviewed and accepted the July 2018 status report from DuPont. Discussion focused on several points as follows:

• • Encouraging the DSPS to maintain a focus on customers with customer involvement in DSPS decisions regarding services of the Industry Services Bureau;

  • Improving the deployment of DSPS resources among programs and services for safety and buildings; and

  • Participating in the Wisconsin Emergency Management efforts to create Building Evaluation Strike Teams to help respond to disasters.

Regarding ARC priorities for the next year, the group reviewed and generally agreed with the proposed update developed by DuPont. Under the proposal, there would continue to be eight priorities; however, several priorities would be updated in response to recent legislation and developments related to building regulation by the DSPS and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Discussion focused on the following areas:

• • Improving coordination of state and municipal regulatory efforts for safety and buildings by encouraging legislation to establish a statewide uniform code for one- and two-family homes which were initially constructed before the State Uniform Dwelling Code went into effect;

  • Encouraging code update activity for reviewing the 2015 and 2018 editions of NFPA 1 to update the State Fire Prevention Code;

  • Encouraging code update activity to establish requirements in the UDC for repairs made to homes initially built under the UDC; and

  • Pursuing implementation of statewide inspection of commercial building construction, with an emphasis on hospitals, nursing homes, community based residential facilities and hospice facilities.

DuPont said he would send the proposed new priorities to all ARC members for their review and approval, since not all members attended the meeting today. If no opposition is heard from any ARC Classic Member, the new priorities will be posted on the ARC web site.

Regarding the venue for future ARC meetings, DuPont said that the ABC has offered continued use of their facility, even though they are no longer members of the Alliance. He said Brian Flannery suggested meeting at Sun Prairie Fire Department Station 2, nearby on Grand Avenue in Sun Prairie, starting in January 2019. Ed Ruckriegel said Madison Fire Department Station 11, located nearby on Nelson Road, would also be an option. Cory Gall offered use of the new training facility of Steamfitters Local 601, on Town Center Drive, near Sprecher Road on the east side of Madison. All three suggested locations are within ten minutes of the current venue at ABC. It was agreed to utilize the ABC facility for the October 2018 ARC meetings and to decide the venue for subsequent meetings at that time.

The next meeting of Alliance Members was scheduled for October 18, 2018, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. The meeting will be held at the offices of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.

This summary was prepared by Bob DuPont, Regulatory Guidance and Design, LLC.

It was issued on August 22, 2018.