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Crow Wing, Cass boards eye building code responsibilities JOINT MEETING Cass County Correspondent BACKUS - Cass and Crow Wing County commissioners spent much of the hour allotted Monday for state building codes trying to sort out what would be state and what would be county responsibilities if the counties were to adopt the state building code.
James Marka and Kevin Mealhouse, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, made a presentation on the state codes and answered questions during Monday's meeting.
In an interview Monday afternoon, Cass Administrator Robert Yochum said Cass County staff next will research the state building code laws to further clarify state versus county responsibilities and to better clarify what additional minimum responsibilities the counties would assume with a local building code.
County staff also will research whether there would be any insurance saving for homeowners if homes were built under a building code, he said, as well as whether a county building code could apply to Leech Lake Reservation unless the reservation also adopted a building code.
Marka told the boards state building codes apply statewide to commercial and licensed public facilities. These codes include state professional design rules, handicapped accessibility standards, plumbing, manufactured and prefabricated home standards and state fire codes as well as national electrical codes.
Counties currently must have a person designated to confirm handicapped accessibility under a state code. Environmental Services Director John Sumption said Cass has such a designee.
The state has licensed residential building contractors for about the past 17 years, Marka said, but not all contractors building residential homes and garages obtain that license. Only when counties implement a local code do all contractors in that county have to obtain a state license, he said.
Homeowners in a county having a local code must hire a licensed contractor or waive the requirement and assume responsibility themselves for their building's construction relative to state standards, according to Marka.
There currently is state legislation pending to require all counties to adopt the state building codes, with enforcement to be phased into effect, Marka said, adding that legislation may not pass in the 2008 session, but likely will in the future.
Currently, the state building code is mandated for the seven-county metropolitan area and has been adopted voluntarily in seven additional counties of the state's 87 counties, mostly along freeway corridors radiating from the metro area, Marka said.
"Are there more rules than we can enforce?" he asked rhetorically, answering, "Yes, there are." The state inspection department has 103 people on staff, but not all the codes are fully enforced throughout the state, he admitted. The state is hiring more trouble-shooting inspectors, he said.
Cass Commissioner Jeff Peterson said he would like to see the state settle on an energy code that works before encouraging counties to get involved in implementing state codes.
Marka said the state has spent millions with the University of Minnesota on researching the energy code requirements, but admitted by failing to get contractors involved that the state did require too tight a construction standard that did lead to mold problems. He said the state builders association likely would be involved in preparing future standards. In general, the state code is updated every three years, he added.
Anyone who has questions about state building codes can contact the state's regional representative for Crow Wing County, Jim Marka at (320) 234-0367, e-mail jim@hutchtel.net or for Cass County, Dennis Lockwood at (218) 755-0003, e-mail dennis.lockwood@state.mn. us.
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