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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Construction Trade Advisory & Appeals Board - 12/17/2020 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING Construction Trade Advisory&Appeal Board City of Corpus Christi Via WebEx Vide Conference Thursday, December 17, 2020 1:00PM BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: STAFF PRESENT: Ramiro Munoz, III,Chairman Luke Fry, Deputy Building Official Garry Camp—Vice Chairman Catherine Garza,Agenda Coordinator Paul S.Cervantes James Pendleton,Senior Plumb/Mech Inspector Jared Merdes Norman Walters, Senior Electrical Inspector Mike Wanzer I. Call to Order-Roll Call Chairman Munoz called the meeting to order and a quorum was established with no absences. II. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. III. Approval of Absences: None. IV. Approval of Minutes: Special Meeting-August 31,2020&Regular Meeting-September 17,2020 A motion was made by Mr. Cervantes to approve the minutes listed above. The motion was seconded by Vice Chairman Camp and the motion passed. V. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding the Construction Trade Advisory&Appeal Board 2021 Meeting Calendar Staff informed the Board that there are a few changes to the calendar presented. The time of the meeting will be changed from 1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; a meeting date will be added for January 21, 2021 so the Board can meet to approve the Annual Report before final submittal. A motion was made by Mr. Wanzer to approve the calendar with amendments mentioned above. The motion was seconded by Mr. Merdes and the motion passed. VI. Briefing and Discussion Regarding Process Changes for the Construction Trade Advisory &Appeal Board 2020 Annual Report Ms. Catherine Garza, Development Services Agenda Coordinator, presented item "VI" for the record.A Resolution was passed by City Council on March 17, 2020 approving revised policies for City Boards/Commissions. More specifically, the resolution includes new process changes to the submittal of annual reports(Section 10.3.8). The report must include the following: (1) a statement of the goals and objectives for the previous calendar year; (2)description of the actions taken in furtherance of those goals and objectives during the previous calendar year; (3)the number of times board met or failed to meet; and (4)the goals and objectives for the new calendar year. In years past, annual reports were done administratively with no involvement required by the Board/Chairman. For this year's report, it will be completed and submitted electronically after it is approved by the Board. The report will be reviewed by the Board in January with a deadline submittal on the 31st. No action by the Board was taken on this item. VII. Deputy Building Official Report&Discussion Regarding the 2021 Code Adoption Cycle Luke Fry, Deputy Building Official for Development Services, gave a brief introduction. He began the report by informing the Board on current areas of concern the Department will be addressing with the building community. He said the Department has received many complaints regarding drainage issues at new construction sites as well as infill lots. The Department has also been experiencing illegal construction activity. Wth respect to the code adoption cycle, Mr. Fry informed the Board the Department will be postponing adoption of the 2021 ICC codes until 2022. For the next year,the Department will review the 2021 series and get community/stakeholder input for any potential amendments. At this point, Mr. Fry asked the Board for input on this proposal. Mr. Merdes agreed with this plan as he believes there are still some individuals in the building community that experience problems with understanding the 2015 codes; Mr. Wanzer concurred. VIII. Future Agenda Items for March Meeting Mr. Merdes brought up Energy Compliance. He has witnessed non-compliance for existing buildings regarding doors that do not meet energy code air leakage requirements. Door/window installations are not compliant or verified/permitted. He has had conversations with some door vendors/manufacturing companies and spoken to their sales team who are not aware of existing codes. He felt that more outreach needs to be done with vendors/suppliers. Discussion took place regarding the Boards membership requirements as the Board's roster is not fulfilled. The Board felt that the membership requirements are too stringent which may be the reason they are experiencing issues with filling positions. Mr. Wanzer felt one of the positions should be filled by a member related to the supply/vendor/wholesale manufacturer community to help with outreach. Mr. Merdes said that the previous Electrical Advisory Board included someone from this type of category. He felt that this component is now missing since the boards were combined to establish the Construction Trade Advisory/Appeal Board. The Board expressed that the membership requirements need to be revisited and said they have had previous discussions about making an amendment. Chairman Munoz brought up the need for consistency regarding commercial/residential plan review guidelines to meet minimum code requirements. He also asked for information regarding plan review goals and if the Department is meeting target deadlines. Chairman Munoz also asked if certain letters/forms can be consolidated because there are times when he has submitted four separate letters for one building (form surveys, elevation/foundation certificates, windstorm etc.). He said this would be very helpful. Vice Chairman Camp mentioned he has experienced issues with final inspections done by the Fire Department after plans have been approved; there needs to be better communication between the departments.These inspections have caused unplanned change orders which can incur high cost. He also felt there needs to be more consistency regarding inspections done by Development Services inspectors. IX. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, Chairman Munoz adjourned the meeting at 1:55 p.m.