Summary of March 18th Meeting

Post date: Apr 07, 2011 7:33:34 PM

Alliance for Regulatory Coordination

Summary of Member Meeting

Meeting Date: March 18, 2011

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

The meeting was convened at 9:35 a.m. by Bob DuPont, of Regulatory Guidance and Design, LLC. Attendees introduced themselves and identified the organization they were representing.

Mr. DuPont highlighted the attendance of two new members of the Alliance; the International Association of Electrical Inspectors, Wisconsin Chapter, represented by Steve Froemming; and the Wisconsin Code Officials Alliance, represented by Scott Satula and Tom Johnson. Richard Paur, also a member of WCOA, briefly described the purpose and objectives of that new organization.

DuPont referenced the document entitled “Summary of Provisions Related to the Safety and Buildings Division Contained in the Governor’s Budget Proposal, 2011 Senate Bill 27”, which was previously sent to ARC members. Bob congratulated ARC members on the success of getting several ARC recommendations into the Governor’s Budget Bill; specifically the creation and naming of the new Department of Safety and Professional Services, and the transfer of five building-related consumer protection programs from the DATCP to the DSPS. After a brief discussion there was agreement that ARC would not take a position or lobby regarding provisions in 2011 Senate Bill 27, leaving that up to individual Alliance members.

Attendees next reviewed and discussed the draft document entitled “Concerns of the Alliance for Regulatory Coordination Regarding Operations of the Safety and Buildings Division”, dated March 7, 2011, developed by Bob DuPont. Henry Kosarzycki suggested adding to the list of concerns the topic of supervising professionals and compliance statements required by the Safety and Buildings Division. Henry reported that the Division is seemingly changing its policy regarding supervising professionals, apparently attempting to limit the number of supervising professionals involved in any one construction project. He informed the group that the AIA-Wisconsin Society recently submitted a formal code change proposal which, if implemented, would allow multiple supervising professionals on a construction project. DuPont commented that the supervising professional concept is complicated by the fact that for plumbing, fire sprinklers (and soon for electrical systems) there is a licensed professional installer who is, by statute, responsible for the work done under their supervision.

Richard Paur reminded everyone that the design professional and supervising professional can be the same person or can be multiple persons. He gave an example of where good project management is helpful, such as where fire walls are breached by mechanical system installation, where solutions then need to be implemented through coordination of various system designers and construction trades.

Bill Babcock said that AIA-Wisconsin supports the concept of supervising professional but wants state and municipal policies regarding such to reflect the realities of the marketplace. He said that AIA-WI would support a mandate for an Architect or Professional Engineer to be involved according to a defined and reasonable scheme. DuPont said that he would add the topic of supervising professionals to the draft list of concerns.

Amy Bliss suggested that the wording of the list be changed to have a more positive tone. Everyone agreed and DuPont said he would redraft the list so it more positively focuses on topics that ARC would like to see worked on by the State.

Concerns were shared about the following topics not on the draft list of concerns: 1.) the current statutory allowance for a letter of credit or a surety bond being used to qualify a business to become a Liquefied Gas Supplier; 2.) the content of the examination for the Restricted Appliance Plumber license; 3.) a desire for clarification by administrative rule about what type of plumber licenses qualify a person to work on water reclamation systems, especially the portions in close proximity to wastewater piping; and 4.) the fact that the Department of Regulation and Licensing does not track continuing education hours for licensees. The group agreed that these four topics should be added to the draft list.

There were no suggestions to remove any items from the draft list of concerns.

Jeff Beiriger suggested that the Alliance reinforce that it likes code councils and would like to see code councils involved in efforts of the department to address concerns of ARC. Jeff also suggested the list mention the need for coordination with other state agencies; using construction site soil erosion and storm water management as examples where coordination is needed. The group agreed.

Jim Boullion said there were so many items on the draft list of concerns that it would be difficult for the Department to focus on all of them; saying even the top seven concerns could seem overwhelming. Annie Early suggested that lapsing of funds should be the overarching concern of the Alliance for now; saying that many other concerns seem directly tied to the lack of resources available due to lapses.

DuPont mentioned that better resource allocation among the programs of the Safety and Buildings Division could also help address some of the concerns on the draft list. Richard Paur agreed, saying that the City of Milwaukee uses service-level criteria set forth by the Insurance Services Office (ISO) for setting their staffing levels. Richard said it is a needs-based system of resource allocation. Steve Breitlow expressed support for using such a system in the Safety and Buildings Division.

DuPont distributed a draft two page briefing paper entitled “How to Improve Customer Service in the Safety and Buildings Division”. The paper addresses the current organizational structure of that division and recommends changes as outlined in DuPont’s earlier recommendations presented to the Alliance.

Jeff Beiriger suggested that the Alliance focus on three high-level areas of concern at this time, in order to provide timely input into consideration and further development of the Budget Bill, 2011 Senate Bill 27. The three high-level areas are: lapsing of funds, resource allocation, and issues surrounding the departmental merger and division organizational structure. The group agreed with Jeff’s recommendation. DuPont said he would draft a briefing paper on those topics for Alliance members to review before the next member meeting.

DuPont asked if there were any concerns about the proposal by the University of Wisconsin, Department of Engineering Professional Development to provide discounts to Alliance members for UW professional development courses, in exchange for ARC members placing a link to the UW on their web sites. No concerns were raised. DuPont said he will work with the UW and report progress at the next meeting.

The next meeting of Alliance Membership was scheduled for April 15, 2011, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., at the headquarters of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin, 5330 Wall St., Madison, WI.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:50 a.m.

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

It was issued on April 7, 2011.