October 2021 Minutes

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Minutes Notes of the October 28, 2021 Monthly Meeting

President Dave Goodloe called the business meeting to order at 12:58 PM 

Approval of Minutes: 

Motion made by –Jeff Bowdell

Supported by – Jerome Hanna 

All ayes – motion passed

Approval of Treasurer’s Report: 

Motion made by- Tim Hollis

Supported by – Jeff Bowdell

All ayes-motion passed

Old Business: 

1. Website Maintenance, Dave provided all the necessary documents to have our webmaster update the website.

2. December Meeting, Invitations going out with in the next couple weeks to all active members.

3. Marijuana Homes,

4. Nominations to the Board, The Board is currently seeking nominations to the board to be sworn in at our December meeting. Contact Tim Hollis hollist@rochesterhills.org; Larry Butler lbutler@cityofnovi.org or Tim Berger tberger@oaklandtownship.org if anyone is interested or wants to nominate someone.

New Business:  

1. Codes- Effective Dates: The discussion was focused on how the state did not follow the statutory laws in place when adopting a new code. Books are not available prior to the effective date, communities have not been given official notification on the adoption of both the Plumbing and MRC codes.

It was brought up by Jeff Bowdell that he had a conversation with Forrest Wahl from HBA who spoke to Keith Lambert about the codes and it was discussed that the HBA wants to the state to go back to the way code adoptions use to be done and not the way things are being done now a days.  It was also discussed that PA 368 has been violated and suggested that all organizations raise their dues by $20 to raise money to have a lobbyist attend the code changes to represent our industry.  Currently there is no representation from the code enforcement side our business at these hearings.  Some communities indicated that they have a lobbyist available to them already. 

1. Open Topics,

 Wayne Jewell indicated that code changes for 2024 codes are available and is encouraging all members that can go on line and vote to do so.  There isn’t enough representation from Michigan voting on these changes in the past.  There are changes proposed in the Building Code for heavy timber construction that is both concerning and interesting.  There are already high rise buildings being construction out of heavy timber in Washington State and Columbus Ohio.  American Wood Council has a video available showing a fire test on a three story building that everyone should view.  

President Goodloe asked the members how they are handling the material shortages in their communities.  Most communities require any openings unprotected to be temporarily closed off before they will allow insulation to be installed if windows are back ordered.  Oakland Township and Rochester Hills does not allow a c/o to be issued without the siding and windows completed.  Most communities will extend permits that are expired and projects incomplete when the delays are from material shortages.

Scott Cope from Rochester Hills asked if anyone is requiring a permit to install a chair lift in residential homes.  Now that the state does not get involved in these it’s up to the communities to enforce the provisions in the MRC.  The current MRC (2015 or is it 2018) is silent to the installation of these devices and has no minimum clearances to install them too.  Tim Berger from Oakland Township has taken permits in the past.   The inspected to confirm it was installed per the manufacture specifications.     

Close Meeting:

Motion made by –Scott Cope

Supported by – Tim Hollis

All ayes – motion passed

. 

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Viazanko

Secretary/Treasurer

September 2021 Minutes

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Minutes Notes of the September 23, 2021 Monthly Meeting 

President Dave Goodloe called the business meeting to order at 12:48 PM 

Approval of Minutes: 

Motion made by –Larry Butler 

Supported by – Scott Cope 

All ayes – motion passed 

Approval of Treasurer’s Report: 

Motion made by- Report unavailable, on line banking glitch, will provide it for next meeting 

Supported by – 

Old Business: 

1. Website Maintenance, Dave will have it completed by the October meeting 

2. Low Voltage permits, Larry indicated that the City of Novi saw on the states website that they have low voltage as an option on their permit application. Lake Orion requires a separate permit for low voltage. Orchard Lake does not require a permit but it is required to be installed to code. City of Pontiac indicated that RECI indicated that the 2017 NEC requires a permit that was exempt in the 2014 NEC. Electrical Inspectors should convey to department heads of this change. 

3. Storm Water Drainage, President Goodloe indicated that there is new requirements coming out from EGLE (formerly DEQ) and communities should look at their Ordinances to see if they need to be modified. 

4. Stair Measurements, Scott Cope reminded the membership that Rochester Hills is working on setting up a meeting with builders, contractors and any communities that are interested to see how everyone can be consistent. Tom Berger asked if there’s been an issue in other communities. He’s had some cases he’s had to deal with in the past. Shelby Township uses a 2-block system to measure? Hold onto your hats this topic is still developing. 

New Business: 

1. December Meeting: President Goodloe indicated that the venue for the December meeting is at Canterbury Village and will be hosted on December 9th. 

2. Amount for gifts, The membership voted on spending up to 750.00 for the gifts. 

Motion made by –Glenn Bartoni 

Supported by – Tom Berger 

All ayes – motion passed 

3. Marijuana Grow Homes/Caregivers, President Goodloe asked how communities are regulating marijuana grows. Pontiac is amending their Ordinance to try and get things under control. Lansing has bills in process to sunset a caregivers requirements and 

reduce the amount of plants permitted. No one knew the bill number. Lake Orion has amending their Ordinance to restrict the amount of plans allowed. 

4. Open Topics, 

President Goodloe asked what the communities are doing to utilize funds from the Covid relief grants. Lake Orion is looking at converting their plan review process to be all electronic. City of Pontiac is looking to make up “smart zones” within the city that will have Wi-Fi. 

2018 MRC Al Boscaglia from the City of Southfield how communities are going to enforce the 2018 MRC since the state hasn’t given clear direction and books aren’t available. Every member indicated that none of them have received an official notice from the state of the new code going into effect. The 2018 MPC is adopted even though no books are available and no one was given official notice. Jeff Bodel spoke with Keith Lambert over a week ago. He indicated to Jeff that the bureau is not at all involved with the code adoption process and is being done administratively. Mark Stimac indicated that if the state doesn’t adopt the 2018 MRC that the builders can use a supplement document that allows them the ability to use portions of the 2018 requirements even though we’d be under the 2015 MRC. Jeff Bodel indicated that organizations need to raise fees so that there is a funding source to support lobbyist to represent our industry in Lansing at these code change hearings. 

5. Nomination for the Board, The Board is looking for nominations to the Board. The nomination committee is set with Past Presidents Larry Butler and Tim Berger. 

Close Meeting: 

Motion made by Doug Lowe 

Supported by Larry Butler 

All ayes - motion passed. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Michael Viazanko 

Secretary/Treasurer

June 2021 Minutes

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Minutes Notes of the June 24, 2021 Monthly Meeting

President Dave Goodloe called the business meeting to order at 12:01 PM 

Approval of Minutes: 

Motion made by –Gerry McCullam

Supported by – Scott Cope 

All ayes – motion passed

Approval of Treasurer’s Report: 

Motion made by-Scott Cope

Supported by – Larry Butler 

All ayes- motion passed

Old Business: 

1. Bylaw changes, Gerry provided the membership the history for the proposed change to the by-laws. Both Gerry McCullam and Tim Hollis worked together to amend the by-laws to allow for up to four active members (currently allows two). This was proposed by Scott Cope during our March meeting. Some communities have larger staff that would benefit to be a member of OCBOA as an Active member but the current language restricts this to only two members. Since the membership was notified in the required time, the proposed changes comply with the By-Laws.

Motioned by: Gerry McCullam

Supported by: Mike Wilson

All attending members voted to approve-motion passed

1. Website Maintenance: President Goodloe will work on the website over the summer to get it up to date.

1. State Complaints: Rochester Hills notifies residents if their contractor isn’t responding to the complaints.

New Business:  

1. Low-voltage permits: President Goodloe asked the members if they require a permit for low voltage wiring. Novi has been requiring them since 2020 as a separate permit. Orchard Lake does not require a permit but it’s inspected to assure it’s installed to meet code. Both Rochester Hills and Orion Township both require a separate permit and it’s inspected by the Electrical Inspector. Vice President indicated that the State of Michigan has “low voltage” identified on their permit application. There will be more discussion on this topic in the future, stand by for news!

1. Open Discussion:

   1. Storm water drainage requirements was discussed but did not get much input from the members. Effective November 1st, new regulations were going into effect. Since this topic isn’t typically reviewed by Building Departments but usually Engineering, the members had no input.

   2. OCBOA is going back to in person classes at Iroquois Club in September.

   3. Scott Cope asked the members how they inspect stair risers. Since the code requires measurements from a “hard surface”. Rochester Hills is in the process of hosting a joint meeting with builders, contractors and other inspectors to get equal enforcement to this provision. ICC Commentary is specific on the method of measuring. With or without carpet? That is the question? Get your studying complete, I’m sure this will be talked about again in the fall. Interesting topic

   4. President Goodloe asked the members who has ICC Certified permit technicians. Rochester Hills requires this as part of the hiring process. It allowed them to raise the pay scale to attract highly qualified customer service staff members. Orion Township also has support to require this as part of employment.

   5. December Meeting will be back at Canterbury Village. Details to follow

Close Meeting:

Motion made by Scott Cope

Supported by Larry Butler 

All ayes - motion passed. 

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Viazanko

Secretary/Treasurer

Attending members

David Goodloe

Mike Wilson

Mike Viazanko

Jeff Zielke

Gerry McCullum

Larry Butler

Jim Albus

Scott Cope

Jeff Bodell 

May 2021 Minutes

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Minutes Notes of the May 28, 2021 Monthly Meeting

President Dave Goodloe called the business meeting to order at 12:07 PM 

Approval of Minutes: 

Motion made by –Gerry McCullam

Supported by – Tim Hollis 

All ayes – motion passed

Approval of Treasurer’s Report: April verbally presented by Michael Viazanko  

Motion made by-Gerry McCullam

Supported by – Mike Wilson 

All ayes- motion passed

Old Business: 

1. Bylaw changes, Gerry provided the membership the history for the proposed change to the by-laws. Both Gerry McCullam and Tim Hollis worked together to amend the by-laws to allow for up to four active members (currently allows two). This was proposed by Scott Cope during our March meeting.

   1. Some communities have larger staff that would benefit to be a member of OCBOA as an Active member but the current language restricts this to only two members.

   2. President Goodloe asked if the by-laws should include website maintenance duties of a board member. Tim Hollis indicated that if it’s in the by-laws it would prevent the board from assigning it to a different board member if they get too busy. Keeping it out of the by-laws allows for much more flexibility to get this duty completed.

   3. Since the proposed by-law changes were not sent out in the required time prior to the meeting, the vote from the membership will take place at the June meeting.

2. Retaining walls, President Goodloe is interested in getting information from the members so he can review for Lake Orion. Since he was absent last month he wanted to get up to date on how they’re being handled. Tim Hollis has offered to provide him a copy. Larry Butler provided information on how Novi handles these.

New Business:  

1. Open Discussion:

   1. President Goodloe asked for input on how communities handle state complaints against a builder. Tim Hollis provides some insight on how Rochester Hills handles them. Gerry McCullam acknowledged that they haven’t had one in years. There was discussion in regards to writing complaints under “workmanship” and if it can still be used since it’s not in the actual code. Mike Viazanko brought up that it was presented by Keith Lambert a couple years ago that we were allowed to write workmanship since it’s in the builders licensing law. I’m sure there will be further discussion on this topic, hang on tightly.

   2. President Goodloe asked the members how they handle in ground pools and changing of the grades. Rochester Hills explained their process. Novi mentioned that the pool contractor has to remove the access dirt so they don’t change the grade and affect the surrounding properties.

   3. President Goodloe asked how communities are coping with construction material shortage and costs. Some communities will issue a temporary ℅ if items on backorder are an interior item. The exterior needs to be completed to protect it from the weather. It appears that most communities handle these on a case by case basis.

   4. Past President Tim Hollis brought up the challenge he faced on enforcing the requirements in their deck guide. A builder says it’s not a legal document since it’s not adopted by the state. Tim explained that it’s a guide for people to use since the MRC is silent on how to meet the requirements for guardrail loads etc.

      1. i.Orion Township requires guardrail connection details to be included on the plans submitted for permit.

      2. ii.Orchard Lake hands out the deck guide to their residents and contractors with positive feedback. way to go Gerry!

   5. President Goodloe asked if anyone would be interested in doing June's meeting in person. The attending members had no interest since we already voted to stay virtual until after summer. Idea crashed and burned.

Close Meeting:

Motion made by Tim Hollis

Supported by Larry Butler 

All ayes - motion passed. 

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Viazanko

Secretary/Treasurer

March 2021 Minutes

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Minutes Notes of the March 25, 2021 Annual Meeting

President Goodloe called the business meeting to order at 12:02 PM 

Approval of Minutes: 

Motion made by –Scott Cope 

Supported by – Jeff Zielke

All ayes – motion passed

Approval of Treasurer’s Report: March  

Motion made by-Gerry McCullum

Supported by – Bruce Johnson 

All ayes- motion passed

Old Business: President Goodloe discussed.

1. Here is the up to date amount of members from Michael Viazanko. The membership renewals are currently at 44 members with 50 members signed up with Madcad.

2. Classes/Training, David Goodloe asked the membership about extending the eligible attendees to other individuals needing Act 407 credits that are not members of OCBOA. It was supported by the membership to allow for them to attend even if they are not active members. This support will be in effect until the end of the current Act 407 cycle. This will be discussed at the September meeting to see if we should extend it further. The reason for allowing the additional attendees is to get other inspectors and other code officials the necessary training needed to get their registration renewed in September. It doesn’t seem that LARA is going to make any adjustments or extensions to the deadline due to the pandemic. Gerry McCullum will review the bylaws and bring it back to the Members at the April meeting to make sure we are not violating any of them.

3. The members discussed the need to have damage assessment training with Oakland County. Tim Hollis mentioned that Semboia is currently working on setting up a training with them for their April Semboia meeting. OCBOA will wait and see if that class is scheduled before proceeding with setting a class up for the members.

4. Members have agreed to continue using Iroquois Club when in person meetings are resumed.

New Business:  

• Hybrid Training, It was discussed with the members about having a “hybrid” style meeting. Having a meeting in person while it would be streamed to the members that couldn’t attend due to covid restrictions. It was recommended to postpone any in person meetings until the organization regroups after the summer months. This will be determined on the status of the covid restrictions at that time. All the members agreed to proceed with zoom meetings until the summer break.

• Tim Hollis gave an update on what Rochester Hills is doing about roofing permits. They are currently still working on a program and brochures and will present it to the members when it’s completed.

• Tim Berger advised the members that COCM Spring conference will be in person as of now. The education agenda has been up loaded onto the website. They will also have some training done remotely so people will have to check their website.

• Scott Cope has asked for the membership to review the by-laws to allow for additional staff members that hold a supervisory position within a community to have a membership that will allow them to vote or hold a board position if they are an “associate” members. The membership was receptive to the idea and wanted it reviewed. Gerry McCullum has volunteered himself and Tim Hollis to research it and bring an update back to the April meeting.

• It was presented to the membership by Mike Viazanko that Glen Dempsey from Ann Arbor wanted to know if OCBOA would be interested in joining up with Mid-Michigan Code Officials about doing a joint training session with other organizations in Michigan. They want to split the cost to have an all-day virtual training with Russel Thornberg. The membership agreed that OCBOA is not interested in joining up with them. OCBOA is an organization that does not have extra funds to commit to this cost.

• President Goodloe announced that he is working on a policy and procedure regarding record retention at Orion Township. He will share the final document with the members when it’s completed.

• The members have expressed to the Board that the Eventbrite process is a great option for registering for OCBOA events. Michael Viazanko will look at making a couple small changes to make it easier for members to log into the meeting. Many members tried to log in with the information on their calendar reminder but it didn’t work. This new registration method will continue even when in person meetings take place again. Registering on line through Eventbrite will eliminate the need for members to pay in cash.

Close Meeting:

Motion made by Gerry McCullum

Supported by Mike Wilson 

All ayes - motion passed. 

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Viazanko

Secretary/Treasurer

February 2021 Minutes

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Minutes Notes of the February 25, 2021 Annual Meeting 

President Goodloe called the business meeting to order at 12:03 PM (since Mike Wilson was late) 

Approval of Minutes: 

Motion made by –Dave Goodloe 

Supported by – Jeff Zielke 

All ayes – motion passed 

Approval of Treasurer’s Report: January & February 

Motion made by- Tim Hollis 

Supported by – Tammy Murray 

All ayes- motion passed 

Old Business: President Goodloe discussed. 

1. Michael Viazanko provided an update to the attendees on the membership renewals and Madcad. There was a total of 35 renewals and 19 communities renewed with Madcad 

There are some communities that paid Madcad but still have to renew their membership 

New Business: “Roundtable” 

• Classes/Training, Discussion from the membership to charge for virtual classes that have Act 407 credits. Instructors are charging the organization and the cost has to be absorbed by the attendees. It was also discussed that during these unprecedented times that the organization allow guests to attend that are a staff member from a community in good standing. It was motioned by Tim Berger and supported by Tim Hollis to charge a fee of 20.00 per attendee for virtual meetings with Act 407 credits. All members approved motion passed. This will be discussed further if we have to stay with virtual meetings after June. 

• The Board has to work on getting ideas on to process payments with the least financial cost to the organization. Details will come forward at next month’s meeting. 

• Attendees discussed the option of relocating the in person meetings once we are able to do so. Currently OCBOA is losing money at each in person meeting due to low attendance and no shows. We have to pay a minimum fee that isn’t always met therefore the organization has to cover the shortage. Though it was discussed it was decided to stay at Iroquois Club. As we transition to electronic payment this will eliminate the cost burden of no shows. Board will discuss with Iroquois Club what they intend to do in the future for the organization. Details to follow. 

• It was also brought up that the membership renewal fee should be raised from 35.00 to 50.00 to help with the shortage and be comparable with other organizations. It was motioned by Dave Goodloe and supported by Larry Butler to raise the fee beginning on January 1, 2022, all members agreed motion passed. 

• Roofing permits, (got to love them) Tim Hollis from the City of Rochester Hills wanted to discuss with the members the progress they are making on this topic. They’ve been working on completing a new procedure that they will be implementing in the next 60 

days. He’s agreed to share with the members at the March meeting on the final outcome. Details to follow and I’m sure more discussions on this topic coming. 

• Tim Hollis from Rochester Hills also wanted to discuss how communities are enforcing insulation requirements for finished basements. He asked if everyone is requiring compliance to the energy code. The responses are as follows, some communities allow people to leave the rolled down blanket insulation installed on new construction and make then insulate below it. Some communities allow them the slice the plastic covering on the blankets and then insulate in front of the blankets. He also asked how communities handled older homes. On older homes they some just require insulation and other communities had no input. What appeared to be a simple topic actually became an eye opener on how each community handles this topic? 

Close Meeting: 

Motion made by Mike Viazanko 

Supported by Larry Butler 

All ayes - motion passed. 

Respectfully submitted, 

Michael Viazanko 

Secretary/Treasurer