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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Electrical Advisory Board - 06/16/2005 t:1 111110/ 4 ) 0V6171818.20Q� � 22 City of 2oa ;itCo uS CEIVEp- = ChristiYSECf.ETRY'S wVMINUTES OFFICE ti� SPECIAL-ELECTRICAL ADVISORY BOARD MEETINq'�, t t`6£6,C0 Development Services Conference Room Wednesday -June 16,2005 - - 3:00 P.M. Board Members Present: Kyle Budd Charles Sebbert Bill Ewing Jr. Richard Gray Craig Loving Martin Adrian Robert Conolly Shane Torno Lee Montgomery Board Members Absent: None Staff Members Present: Alonzo Garza, Interim Building Official/Plans Ex. Coordinator David Lewis, Chief Electrical Inspector Julie McCoy, Recording Secretary Liz Lara, Secretary CALL TO ORDER Chairman Kyle Budd declared a quorum and called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. ROLL CALL The first item of business was roll call. *Board members, Richard Gray and Lee Montgomery, missed roll call but arrived at 3:05 p.m. EXCUSED ABSENCES This item was skipped by Chairman Budd. According to City Ordinance, special called meetings do not require absences to count against board members. APPROVAL OR CORRECTION OF MINUTES—May 18,2005 (Special Called Meeting) A correction was needed on page 4 of 4. Chairman Budd, clarified the motion made to say "Chairman, Kyle Budd, made a motion to have a line item added to the electrical permits for service rebuilds that would generate a temporary release immediately and an inspection within 48 hours." Motion by Martin Adrian, seconded by Craig Loving to accept the May 18, 2005 minutes as amended. The motion passed unanimously. L/C CJCI'VtiMn SCANNED • V d LATEST INFORMATION ON STATE LICENSING This item was skipped for the moment. AEP SERVICE REBUILDS Chairman Budd invited AEP representatives and electrical contractors to the meeting to discuss complaints or problems that they have been experiencing with service rebuilds. Mr. Budd asked contractors to stand up, state their name and discuss their concerns. Building Official, Alonzo Garza asked that comments and concerns be addressed during agenda item number nine, petitions from the audience. LATEST INFORMATION ON STATE LICENSING Mr. Lewis stated that the State Electrical Advisory Board is having a meeting on June 271h in Austin, Texas. The will be discussing their online newsletter, current information, proposals, and reports from the executive office of the compliance division. The invitation is open to all electrical contractors and participants. Mr. Lewis and Alonzo Garza will be attending the board meeting during their visit to Austin, Texas. Based on reports, CEU numbers have gone up. The Development Services center has had some internal discussions on reinstating the exam process for city licenses for accommodation purposes. There has also been internal discussion to eliminate or set up a time table for removing all city electrical licenses that expire. In response to Martin Adrian's question of everyone being required to have a State License, Mr. Lewis indicated that the state has not removed the authority from the city. Basic state law is to have a valid license weather it is held by the State or City. Chairman Budd stated that he received an email that said July 1, 2005 was the target date to start operating from the 2005 Code. Mr. Lewis responded to Chairman Budd's comments and indicated that his information was correct, but the city will still have to adopt the 2005 NEC code before it can be implemented. The actual adoption of the NEC is recommended by the board. AEP SERVICE REBUILDS Chairman Budd stated that AEP service rebuilds is back on the agenda. This item has been on the agenda for 8 months in a row. Chairman Budd asked the board if they had any comments regarding the motion passed during last months meeting regarding AEP Service Rebuilds. Reference: Motion made on May 18, 2005 "Chairman, Kyle Budd, made a motion to have a line item added to the electrical permits for service rebuilds that would generate a temporary release immediately and an inspection within 48 hours." Mr. Lewis stated that the motion made was well meant by the board, but would have limited effect. In response to Chairman Budd's question of staff not approving the addition of the line item, Mr. Lewis indicated that staff would not be making any immediate additions or changes to the current processes. Elwttlel Advisory Board Minurts June ,2005 Rpt 2of5 §1110, V ADDING AN AEP REPRESENTATIVE TO THE BOARD Chairman Budd would like to see what the chances are of expanding the board for one more board member. If the addition is approved, the board would like to see a service representative from AEP on the advisory board. Mr. Budd stated that it would be good idea to have a service representative from AEP on the board so a report is given. Bill Ewing stated that Joseph Harney, Assistant City Attorney was present at last months meeting and the board needed to make the motion for a recommendation. If a motion was made, it would go to City Council. Motion by Martin Adrian was made to open up a spot for an AEP Representative on the board. The motion was not seconded. Mr. Lewis began by asking the board what the meaning of a service representative was. In response to Mr. Lewis's question, Martin Adrian stated that a customer service representative was someone from the service department. Ken Griffin, AEP Manager of Community Affairs suggested that the title could be AEP Field Representative. A field representative was someone working hand in hand with the electricians and had a lot interface. In response to Mr. Griffin's suggestion, Alonzo Garza stated that the position should have a title excluding AEP's name. The City could not single out any other retail energy company. The position could be open to the Co-Op. The board would need to define what the position is going to be and take out the AEP Representative title in order to carry the request forward. In response to Mr. Garza's suggestions, Lee Montgomery stated that the description for the position should say any distribution company that delivers power within the city limits. Motion made to open up a spot for an AEP Representative on the board. Motion opposed by Chairman Budd, Robert Conolly, Shane Torno, Bill Ewing Jr. Motion failed. Motion by Martin Adrian, seconded by Lee Montgomery to recommend electing a Field Representative from a utility power distribution company that services the Corpus Christi area to be appointed to the board. Motion Approved. Elaineal Memory Board Minutes lune Page 5 .of 5 P 60 V BUILDING OFFICIAL'S REPORT The Building Official's report was given by Alonzo Garza. Mr. Garza began his report by stating that the Development Services Advisory Group met once again. The consultant that the City hired was George Arimes. He stated that Mr. Arimes has been assisting the department with evaluating the operation, structure, cost of services and overall analysis. He has challenged the department to think outside the box. Mr. Arimes has made suggestions of relocating the employees to other divisions in the department instead of by discipline. Mr. Garza also stated that the Electrical Inspectors are short one position. The department only received a total of three applications. Paul Cervantes is one of Mr. Lewis's new inspectors that came from another city department. Re-outs are consuming a lot of the inspector's time. The department is seeing an increase in inspections. Mr. Garza suggested to board members to report any problems that they have encountered with the Click2Gov system. In response to Mr. Garza's technology update, Chairman Budd stated that the Click2Gov system was a great thing. Mr. Budd frequently utilizes the system in his office. Mr. Garza also stated that inspectors were using their tablets. Real time results for inspectors were being recorded in the data system. The inspectors are in a pilot mode testing all three pieces of computers. The city inspectors are limited under the WIFI cloud, but have ordered phone cards to install that will connect via cellular phone in areas where the WIFI cloud has not been extended. By the end of the year, the city including the Island should be saturated with WIFI antennas. In response to Mr. Garza's report, Martin Adrian inquired if the City uses contractor inspectors. Mr. Garza stated that the City ordinance does allow third party inspectors, but the department is looking at paying the inspectors' overtime while means are not available. Lee Montgomery stated that he felt the city needed the help of a third party inspector. BOARD MEMBER AND STAFF DISCUSSION OF FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Chairman Budd apologized for not discussing the isolated grounds topic. The item did not appear on this month's agenda. Mr. Budd requested that the item be added to July's agenda for the next meeting as well as the Citizen at large position if approved by legal. Having special called meetings was a concern expressed by some of the board members. Since the Development Services conference room is utilized every Thursday's from 1:00 to 5:00, a conference room was not available for the board to meet on their regular days. Julie McCoy, recording secretary, stated that a conference room was available and has been reserved for the Electrical Advisory Board for the remainder of the year. The meeting room is located at City Hall 1" floor across from the City Secretary's office. Chairman Budd stated that until council changes the city ordinance to meet on Wednesday's, attendance at special called meetings will not be counted. E4auial♦dviwry Board Minora lune ,2005 Page 4 ofS In response to Mr. Budd's comments, Mr. Garza stated that if Council approved changing the meeting date, Mr. Garza and Director Barbara Holly would not be able to attend. Department Head meetings are held on the third Wednesday of every month at 3:00 and that meeting would conflict with the Electrical meeting. Chairman Budd stated that he felt that City staff should be present for Advisory Board meetings. He made reference back to the motion made on March 16, 2005 where Chuck Sebbert and Craig Loving made a motion to support the ordinance change and move the meeting date from the third Thursday to the third Wednesday of every month. The board agreed and the motion carried, but if the motion needs to be rescinded that will need to be discussed. Chairman Budd stated that the problem is not the board meeting, but staff making it to the meetings. Council will need to approve the date and meeting location. Julie McCoy stated that Barbara Holly was trying to get the agenda item on Council's agenda mid July. Mr. Garza stated that he was going to speak to Barbara Holly about the meetings that are in conflict with the boards'. PETITIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE Chairman Budd stated that he had invited some representatives from AEP to discuss some concerns about service rebuilds and electrical contractors to express some of their concerns while out in the field. Chairman Budd opened up the floor to the petitioners and requested that they state their name and issue. Russell Canales of Advantage Electric, Randy Perry of Perry Electric, Brandon Raines of Accurate Electric, and Calvin Floyd were present. The gentlemen discussed their experiences of rebuilding electrical services, working with AEP and the City of Corpus Christi. The petitioners described a variety of methods used and covered a period of 40 years. ADJOURNMENT Motion made by Lee Montgomery, seconded by Bill Ewing Jr. to adjourn the meeting at 5:00 p.m. DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES A onza Interim Building Official/Plans Examiner Coordinator Posted On Mtn Button Beard CM Manage mu Cie Momper Mrs!Dept Butlebng Memel El ecia al Advisory Board Minutes June 16,2005 Pape S of